What we did on Mitzvah Day, Sunday, May 22...

What Happened in Grades K-2 on Sunday, May 15...

Kindergarten

To begin our day, Kindergarten drew pictures of Israel! We colored while giving tzedakah, which we’re donating to the Israeli army. Afterward, we welcomed everyone to our class before talking about our weekends, and our upcoming weeks. 

In Kehillah, we had a snack of graham crackers and water. We sang to our May birthdays, and then we headed to T’filah. In T’filah, Rabbi was back! We talked about how everything has a way of speaking, like cats meow and dogs bark. We also talked about the goat that said “what.” After, we discussed how the ability to speak is important because we as Jews understand that words are very powerful. You can influence others’ emotions with them. God spoke, and the world came to be. Words can be weapons, so we must choose them wisely. 

Back in class, we celebrated Israel’s birthday with some yummy cookies and Israeli salad that our teacher brought in. 

Last but not least, we had art. During art, we studied Israel’s flag. It’s white with blue stripes, and in the middle is the Star of David. We then made collages to make our own Israeli flags!

Grade 1

Ms. Levy told us about a holiday celebrating Israel’s Independence Day, called Yom Ha’atzmaut.  It is similar to the Forth of July in America.  She read us a book called Snow in Jerusalem about two boys living in Israel, one Jewish and one Arab.  The boys are both taking care of a stray cat who is one-of-a-kind in Jerusalem, and they don’t know the other one is also taking care of the cat.  One day, the boys find out about one another, and something special about the cat.  She had kittens!  The boys both want to take care of her and the kittens, but with the help of the cat, learn to share the kittens and let the cat continue to go between them like always.  We learned that being a Jewish Hero can sometimes be a hard thing, just like these boys found out, but we should always try hard at being Jewish Heroes in our daily lives.

Next, we made Israeli Flags, and listened to more stories about Israel from Ona, our Library volunteer.

Ms. Levy brought us a treat to celebrate Israel’s birthday and because today was the last day we would all be together in the classroom.  Next week we will be Jewish Heroes at Mitzvah Day with our parents!

Grade 2

To begin our day, Grade 2 talked about Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day). In honor of Yom Ha’atzmaut, we read library books about Israel as well as looked at the map of Israel. From these resources, we wrote down 5 interesting pieces of information per student, and then shared with the class. 

In Kehillah, we had a snack of graham crackers and water. We sang to our May birthdays, and then we headed to T’filah. In T’filah, Rabbi was back! We talked about how everything has a way of speaking, like cats meow and dogs bark. We also talked about the goat that said “what.” After, we discussed how the ability to speak is important because we as Jews understand that words are very powerful. You can influence others’ emotions with them. God spoke, and the world came to be. Words can be weapons, so we must choose them wisely. 

Back in class, we finished our Hebrew books. By now, we know the entire Alef Bet! When we finished our workbooks, we played a memory game with Hebrew letters. Last, when we were all finished, we did some puzzles. 

Next, we had a celebration. Mrs. Henry brought in cake, which was super nice of her, and it was delicious. We celebrated the last day of classes (don’t forget about Mitzvah Day next week!) and a great year. 

Last but not least, we did a fun game of Hebrew yoga. Mrs. Henry wrote Hebrew words on the board, and we as groups made out the shape of the letters with our bodies on the carpet.