Wow! The end of Unit 4 already! We can hardly believe how quickly this school year is rushing to a close. Last week we reviewed everything we learned from chapter 3 of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) and the associated commentaries. Here’s what each kvutzah (group) did to recap.
Garanim
The Garinim (preK and K kiddos) had so much fun reviewing and recapping this last curriculum unit. We played a Kohelet matching game and a round of Jeopardy review (a crowd favorite). On Thursday, we spent some time reflecting on what it means for something to be holy, and specifically on what makes a moment in time holy:
- If it’s exciting!
- If it’s like a happy thing then it’s holy.
What are some moments in your life that you think of as holy?
- When I went strawberry picking.
- The first time I went on a plane. Well really it was the second time, but the first time I was a baby, so this is the first time I remembered.
- Cuddling my stuffies
- Having a sleepover at my grandparents’ house.
- Seeing a rainbow.
- Eating ice cream!
After reflecting on some of these moments, we painted them! Check out the artwork below.
Shorashim
Here’s how the Shorashim (1st and 2nd graders) tackled their week of Kohelet review. We began by looking over all the texts we studied. In groups of 2-3, kids picked a text and began constructing their end-of-unit dioramas, a tradition we’ve kept up for each unit of this school year. For their dioramas, kids had a vast array of materials at their disposal. Some kids immediately filled their paint palettes, and others began illustrating the meaning of their chosen texts to decorate their boxes.
For some of our past units, when kids created their dioramas in the final week, we were working with more narrative-based texts. Kohelet presented a unique challenge: what is the best way to visually represent a wisdom text. Kids created the scenes in which the holy moments outlined by Kohelet might take place.
To break up an intense diorama production session, the Shorashim took some time to play a matching game with the set of opposite experiences and feelings laid out in Kohelet. It was such a special moment in time to have with this group that’s been learning together all year. Kids were so excited about the game and how they could demonstrate how much of the text they remembered.
Nitzanim
The Nitzanim (3rd and 4th graders) have been hard at work creating their Pinat Shalom (Peace Corner) for their fourth showcase project of the year. At the beginning of the unit, we did a fill-in-the-blank exercise to create our own list of opposing “a time for”s. Here’s what that looked like:
- A time for playing and a time for working.
- A time for activities and a time for rest.
- A time for quiet and a time for loud.
- A time for crying and a time for laughing.
- A time for moving and a time for stillness.
- A time for religion and a time for science.
- A time for watching and a time for being watched.
- A time for sleeping and a time for waking up.
- A time for sitting and a time for standing.
- A time for Makom and a time for school.
We redid that activity here, but this time thinking specifically about when moments are where we would need to use the Pinat Shalom.
- A time for being angry and a time for calming down.
- A time for focusing and a time for rest.
- A time for being sad and a time for being happy.
- A time for having feelings and a time for feeling feelings.
- A time for chaos and a time for peace.
- A time for being with people and a time for being alone.
- A time for communicating and a time for being quiet.
- A time for fidgeting and a time for resting your mind.
You can come and see this new Pinat Shalom that the Nitzanim have created with so much thought and care next week at their Unit 4 Showcase on Friday, June 11 at 4:15pm. We’re so looking forward to the Nitzanim having their own dedicated, calm down space to use over the summer and next year.