Seekers Updates 1/28

Kita Alef with Stephanie

We started with our "Shalom Ma Shlomchem" ("Hello How Are You") jumping game. Afterward, each student took turns leading the Aleph-Bet song. We did some calm deep breathing to get our energy in the right place for our Hebrew books. After Hebrew and snack Stephanie went behind the whiteboard to get the Story Fairy, who looks exactly like her with pencils in her ears...but that's just because they're cousins...  Then all shared what they wanted the story to be about. The usual animals and mythical creatures were requested, and a story unfolded about a magical baby who went through a Journey of Tefillah (prayer). Wow! Please! Thanks! We learned the word tefillah and got prizes.

Kita Bet with Batya

This week, Kita Bet learned new Hebrew letters! Final chaf, lamed, mem and final mem. They are so ambitious and begged to learn new letters since they knew all the others so well after our review game!

In Judaics we learned about prayer. We learned that in Judaism there are 3 types of prayer: gratitude, praise, and requesting. Batya shared some stories about prayer and the children learned how we can communicate with the force of great mystery that we cannot see and how we can stay connected by sharing a song from deep place in the heart. We also played a pictionary game where the rest of the class had to guess what type of prayer each student loved most based on a picture they drew on the board. 

Kita Gimmel with Yardena

This week in Hebrew we advanced our vocabulary with new verbs like to sing, dance, play music, draw, drive. We played a ball game to try to remember the new words we learned, and then worked in our Hebrew binders. In the second part of the class, we learned about the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, and had our trial about evolution versus the Bible. I divided the students into judges and lawyers- they love this activity. Then we talked about the 3 different parts of prayer, discussed examples, and made a poster with examples of each one. 

Kita Daled with Heather

We began class this week like every class, by sharing good things that happened over the past week and doing neshima amuka (deep breathing) with our class Hoberman sphere. We then had time for individual work in our Hebrew binders. Then we played a Hebrew game where they were split into teams and the white board was split into two sections with letters, vowels, and words on it. I'd call out a letter/vowel/ word and whoever found it first won a point for their team. After break, we learned about the different parts of a service, including themes, flow, and vocabulary. We covered Psukei D'zimra, Barchu, Shema v'ahavta, the Amidah, Torah service, D'var Torah, Aleinu, and Kaddish.

Kita Hey with Yonatan

This week in Hebrew, we spent time in individual learning in our binders. The students have been progressing well and many moved onto the next book! In Judaics, we learned about the roots of tefillah/blessing, and how the word is connected to "knee": ברוך-ברך. We learned about how when we pray, we bend at the knee and bow to acknowledge that there is something greater than us. We also learned about the different parts of a prayer such as birkot hashachar and barchu and what they symbolize. We divided prayer into four categories: Wow, Thanks, Sorry, and Please. Each learner thought, articulated, and creatively shared their own connection to one type of prayer. A lot of time was spent on the death of Kobe Bryant. One student's "please" was to bless Kobe Bryant's soul.

Kita Vav with Yonatan

This week we focused on our B Mitzvah. We did a program by Moving Traditions about about simcha, or joy, and how it connects to our growth process regarding our B Mitzvah. We learned the shecheyanu blessing, marking unique moments of time in our lives. We discussed in hevruta (study pairs) how and what we are excited for in relation to our B Mitzvah. We also studied a Jewish text about how we can find joy in our B Mitzvah process and talked about how, if at all, our emotions are connected to our gender.

Kita Zayn with Heather

This Monday, we did a program by Moving Traditions called "teen stuff." Students came in and each had a yoga mat. We did a grounding yoga sequence and worked on letting go of things that made us feel anxious, nervous, and/or excited. Then we did three balancing activities within the yoga session.

Then they each received slips of paper from the program of “types of teenage growth." They each got a handful of the "growth cards" and sorted them into guf (body)/nefesh (soul)/moach (mind) boxes. Then they discussed in small groups what excited/stressed them about these and if anything surprised them.

Then we shared about our observations or disagreements in the way the cards were sorted. We wrapped up by discussing how ozen (ear) & izun (balance) are linked and how the way we balance is by listening to needs, along with the things that might push or pull us. This can be one way we understand “if I’m an not for myself who will be for me, if I am only for myself what am I.”