You may remember the whiteboard check-in that one of our kiddos invented a few weeks ago. It was not just a one-time thing! Other kids have brought it back and it’s now part of our regular pool of check-in options. Here is this week’s: I’m so glad we are building a community in Makom @ Home where we feel safe…
Category: Learning this Week
God Hears Bnei Yisrael’s Cries
We have had ENOUGH! Last week, we read the bit of our story where Bnei Yisrael (the Jewish people) can’t handle the burden of slavery any more and cry out to God all at once. God hears them and decides to finally help (Exodus 2:23-25). Garinim (kindergarteners) had some thoughts…… What are some different ways people ask for help? Asking…
Along The Nile….
This week, we continued the Exodus story and tried to empathize with our main characters, Moshe, Yocheved (Moshe’s birth mother), Miriam (Moshe’s biological sister), Batya (Pharaoh daughter and Moshe’s adoptive mother), and Pharaoh. Garinim (kindergartners) love this story. Everyday, when we pause the narrative, they shout and want to hear more! Here’s some of what we unpacked last week. There…
Tallit Making and Trope Learning
It’s crafting time in BMitzvah! We are focused on designing and preparing for making our own tallitot in the coming weeks. Everyone has come up with their own really unique, true to themselves ideas for what kind of tallit they want- from size to colors to themes to images. It is a joy to watch their creativity at work, and…
One Crazy Time, In The Land of Egypt……
How did we become the Jewish people? This week, we started a new unit! We read Exodus 1 where we discovered how B’nei Yisrael (Hebrews) ended up in Mitzrayim (Egypt) in the first place! A short gist: A new Pharaoh rose to power that did not know about Yosef and made all of the Ivirm slaves. There were SO many…
Immersing In The Exodus Story
This week we continued our unit three learning exploring the Exodus story! All week I watched students absorb and embody this story through building, play, art, puppetry, dress-up, and more. It was such a joy to observe students immersing themselves in this essential story of the Jewish people, a story they know well already and are eager to expand upon….
How The Holiness Inside Ourselves Contribute To Our Communities ~ A Nitzanim Showcase
Nitzanim worked so hard during our second unit to create an open gallery showcasing their exploration! Learners were particularly inspired by the text that says: Torah Temimah on Ecclesiastes 7:13 “When God created the first human, God took them and showed them all the trees of the Garden of Eden and said to them, ‘See my works, how beautiful and…
The Importance of Trees and Learners Taking Charge
Makom @ Home celebrated Tu Bishvat, the birthday of the trees, with a text from the Talmud about Honi the Circlemaker. When Honi’s town had a big drought, he drew a circle and stood inside it, crying out to God that he would not leave until it rained. Spoiler: it rained! We started by sharing things we like that are…
Wrapping Up “Holy Me” and The Nitzanim Showcase!
Can you believe we’re halfway through the school year? This week, students reviewed and wrapped up our second unit, Holy Me. The Garinim (kindergartners) looked back at the highlights on our journey of exploring the holiness in ourselves and how it interacts with the holiness in the world around us. We played games to revisit this unit’s texts and stories,…
Relationships and Praiseworthy Action
This week we reviewed our learning from unit two where we explored our inherent holiness. We revisited some of our favorite projects and conversations and continued work on some long-term projects including a community weaving, a lego wall, and personalized supports to live in the Pinat Shalom (peace corner.) Kiddos reiterated ways in which we can nurture other people. We…
Rosh Pinah Presentations!
Mazel tov (congratulations) to our whole class on their fantastic Rosh Pinah (capstone) project presentations last week! Not only am I extremely proud of how well they did, they are very proud of themselves! I am proud of myself for singing in front of people. Inside I was so nervous! I am proud of how well the coffin came out….
“I Feel God When I Wear A Tallit…”
What are tzitzit (fringes)? Why does God think we need reminders about commandments? How can the clothes we wear help us connect to our own personal holiness? Do you tie any strings around your fingers to make sure you remember that big, important thing? Jewish tradition doesn’t have us tie strings on our fingers, but God does instruct Bnei Yisrael…
Remembering to Make Good Choices in the Pinat Shalom
This week we explored how tallitot, tzitzit, and other ritual objects empower us and act as a reminder to make good choices. Throughout the week we wrapped ourselves in tallitot, tied knots, and wove together ideas about connection. As we dove into the topic of making good choices, we looked to our own space and considered what supports we rely…
BMitzvah: How the Torah Does It
Our learners have been hard at work finishing their Rosh Pinah projects. Today we did a run-through of their presentations for each other, giving feedback and sharing things we liked. Wow, it’s amazing how much you learned, and you sounded really confident talking about it. I really do feel proud of myself after saying all of that. What you…
Holy Makom @ Home!
Makom @ Home started off our new unit, Holy Me!, with a holiness scavenger hunt, finding objects in each of our homes that are holy to us. We found so many different colors of objects that we made a holiness rainbow! Our first text says that because God is holy, each of us is too. Knowing this, we thought about…
January/February 2022 Updated COVID Safety Plan
Dear Makom Community Parents, Thank you for all you have done to keep our families and our educators safe through this surge. This has been a particularly challenging season. We are excited to see COVID numbers coming down in Philadelphia. Here is an update on our plan, more like what we had anticipated before Omicron. This will take effect on…
Affirming Our Holiness Through The Shema
Why is the Shema an important part of Jewish tradition? How can we use tefilah (prayer) to connect to our holiness? This week, we reviewed the Shema, discussed why it is an important part of Jewish tradition, and reflected on the various holy objects and rituals in our lives. Last week, the Garinim (kindergartners) approached this question…
Ritual and Connection
This week we studied the Shema. We considered what it means to be charged with the mitzvot (opportunity to connect) of Shema. We thought all about rituals and mantras that support us in our everyday lives and worked together to come up with ways to enhance our experience doing repetitive rituals. After coming up with a definition of mantra “something…
A Visual Reminder to Love Our Neighbors
How can we make sure everyone can be who they are at Makom? How can we act in a way that supports people being who they are? At Makom Community we value creating a space where we show love and feel loved. One way we do that is by creating a brit, a two–way promise, that outlines our expectations for how…
A Two Way Promise
It has been so exciting to watch our Makom South Philly kiddos paint our Brit Mural. A brit is a two-way promise between learners and instructors as well as between the learners and each other. Learners have taken ownership of this project coming up with a list of expectations that are as unique and caring as the kiddos themselves. In…
Our Relationship With Nature
This week, learners reflected on our environment, continued our appreciation for trees, and brainstormed what it would look like if the world around us was nurtured and cared for. Following the celebration of Tu Bishvat (the Jewish new year of trees) last Monday, the Garinim (kindergarteners) delved into an exploration of people’s relationship with trees and other parts of creation….
Our Responsibility To The Earth
Tu Bishvat higiya – the 15th of Shvat is coming Sunday night to Monday, January 16th-17th! It is time to celebrate the second of four Jewish New Year holidays, the birthday of the trees. The Garinim (kindergartners) started off our week scavenger hunting around the classroom for Tu Bishvat facts. We read books about trees, created tree sculptures out of…
BMitzvah Update: Rosh Pinah Projects & Continuing Vaykhel
It has been a delight to watch each learners’ interests take off in their independent Rosh Pinah projects! These projects are building on what we previously learned about tefilah (prayer). We looked at the history of when Jews started praying in addition to, and eventually instead of sacrifices and temple based worship. We learned about the role of early rabbis…
The Makom Ecosystem
This week we studied Gan Eden, (the garden of Eden) and considered the Olam (world) as a creation. Kiddos discussed our roles as partners in creation and considered what it means to be part of an ecosystem. As we looked at the parallels between Gan Eden and our world. We explored what it means to nurture the light around us…
Music Making At Greenfield
In order to keep all kiddos and staff safe, we held Jewish Enrichment outside at the Greenfield playground. At first, some kids were disappointed that we couldn’t be inside, which was totally understandable. But with a few layers and the excitement of the impending snow storm at the end of the week, kids were soon excited to sing Tefilah: prayer,…
Different Is Good
This week we had the pleasure of being joined by Center City Makom educator Gaby Marantz. Upon meeting Gaby, one of our learners remarked, “Does everyone who works at Makom have dyed hair?” While brightly colored hair is certainly not a requirement for employment, we love that our team brings their full self to Makom with diverse backgrounds and perspectives….
Torah through the Generations
Makom @ Home wrapped up our first unit with a text from Pirkei Avot about the transmission of Torah through the generations. We talked about things that get passed down in our families: Speaking Russian Shabbat Jewish religion! On my dad’s side, my grandmother passed down jewelry. My dad’s grandma gave it to my mom. Some of us illustrated how…
Reflection On Nitzanim Unit 1 Showcase
For our first unit, “Love Your Neighbor,” Nitzanim (3rd, 4th and 5th graders) worked collaboratively for weeks to answer the question: “How might we practice loving our neighbors to cultivate a welcoming environment at Makom Community?” Using the project based learning model, we started this process by brainstorming things that make us feel welcome like warm/bright colors, fun images and…
Our Holy Names
This week we considered a bit of text from the Amidah (a section of daily prayer.) “You are holy, Your Name is holy, and holy ones praise Your name every day…” When conceptualizing her connection to this text, one learner shared: “The earth is God’s museum.” Kiddos reflected on what these words mean through discussion, movement, and making. Together, we…
The Holiness of Names and Exploring Praise
When have you received praise? What was that like? How is that experience connected to holiness? Our text last week came from a tefilah (prayer) that said, “You [God] are holy, your name is holy, and holy ones praise your name every day” (Siddur Ashkenaz, Amidah). Here’s how the Garinim (kindergartners) unpacked it. What’s it like to experience praise, either…