Do you remember all of the amazing learning we did last year? What about all the brilliant, quotable ideas your kiddos shared? Check out this recap highlighting some of my favorite moments, and get stoked to start it all again in just over a week!
Our first curriculum unit last year was about Bnei Yisrael’s (the Jewish people) experience receiving the 10 commandments. It culminated in our rock star brit, the two-way promise we create every year to guide our interactions as community members. Here’s what our students came up with:
- We love everyone in the best way we can.
- We show gratitude.
- We get to be ourselves.
- Mistakes: make them, don’t copy them, and apologize for them.
- We speak with truth.
- We help everyone get what they need.
- We listen and respond respectfully to each other’s ideas.
- We all help clean up.
- We are good listeners.
- We help keep each other’s feelings and bodies safe.
I can’t wait to find out what we’ll create this year with the help of our new kiddos.
After winter break, upon our students’ request, we had a mini-unit about God. We tried to figure out who exactly God is, and noticed that it’s different depending on what story we were reading. We grappled with all these different versions of God, and what it means for people to all have tzelem elohim (godliness). Here’s what one kindergartener suggested:
- We can be brave, kind, and creative.
- We can be generous and giving.
- We can help each other find our way when we’re lost.
We unpacked more about God at the very end of the year during our short, final unit on gender in Torah. Does God have a gender? What might it be? What gender roles and expectations do Torah stories present to us? How do we feel about them? These were such great conversations! Looking forward to all the new innovation and brilliance your kiddos will bring to our learning during the 2018-19 school year.