Peek Through Our Window
A glimpse into our week at YLS
February 5, 2016
26 Shevat 5776
Dear Parents,
Shabbat Shalom,
Morah Rachael, Morah Sharona, and Morah Yael
Explored
Last week we decided to explore one tefillah a week to gather a deeper understanding and connection to the words we say everyday. The friends voted and we chose Shema as our first tefillah. As a group we explored what the significance of Shema is, why we cover our eyes, and delved into the text to understand the meaning of the words. As we looked through the text we found the word “ahavah” was the first word in the first paragraph of Shema. This prompted us to think about all the reasons we love Hashem. We began working towards our goal of creating a siddur for each friend to use at home by creating the page for Shema! On that page, friends shared their personal reasons for why they love Hashem in the form of a letter to Hashem. What an inspiring experience!
Discovered
As an introduction to chessed, we discovered that it possible for us to be like our favorite superheroes! We read stories about well known superheroes, and we thought about what they did, what they thought, and what their goals were. We realized that superheroes try to find ways to help others, don’t hesitate to help those in need, make an action plan, and work alongside each other to implement that plan. We realized that we too, can be heroes! After discussing chessed, we thought of ways that we could be “Chessed Heroes.” Some friends continued to play with this new idea throughout the day. We are excited to continue looking for opportunities to do chessed in our community!
Created
Many friends worked together this week to create a museum of dragons. These friends dedicated themselves to drawing depictions of dragons and labeling them with descriptive names. The children hung the dragons along our walls and gave tours of the museum to the morot and the other friends.
This week we continued our conversation about the Aron Kodesh we will be creating in our Beit Midrash. We reflected back on the pictures of different Aron Kodesh designs and then created our own blueprints, which will hang in our Beit Midrash until we can replace it with our Aron Kodesh.
This week friends created bows out of their own initiative! Lots of friends joined in and found different ways to create their bows. Some friends used pipe cleaners to turn their bows in to headbands, while others used tissue paper, gems and stickers to create bows to clip in their hair. With our minds on bows, friends discussed the possibility of selling them in our store! We are looking forward to seeing what ideas these friends will come up with next!
Celebrated
After thinking about the what superheroes do, we spent time reflecting on who can be a superhero. It just happened to be that that day we had a Chessed Hero come to visit. The Chessed Hero was coming back from helping someone with their bags at the supermarket and made a stop at our learning space to talk to us about who can be a Chessed Hero. We celebrated the fact that we are ALL Chessed Heros in our own way by sharing our experiences of helping someone in need. We utilized our iPads and shared our stories in our portfolios. Some friends chose to video their stories while others drew pictures of it.
Wondered
We wondered what our world be like with no rules? We celebrate receiving the Aseret Hadibrot, but would our lives be easier if we didn’t have rules to follow? We discussed the question and read A Day Without Rules by Billy Boston. Most friends agreed that the rules that we follow in our daily lives allow us to live happily together. We tied this concept to Parshat Mishpatim during Parsha.
Ivrit at YLS
Dear Parents,
Over the past two weeks, we reviewed the weather, the days of the week, and colors. We also spent some time using full sentences to describe what we are wearing.
We continued the conversation about what we like to eat (and what we prefer to not eat). We read a story about a grandmother who made hot cereal for granddaughter (Hana-Banana) but instead gave it all away to her hungry, hot cereal loving, neighbors. In the end her granddaughter no longer even wanted hot cereal and she was happy to eat a banana instead!
The children began to understand the concepts in the story and we will continue to revisit and use the language from the story next week .
Words and Phrases:
Clothing -בגדים
I am wearing- אני לובש/לובשת
Pants -מכנסים
Shirt -חולצה
Skirt -חצאית
Dress -שמלה
Socks- גרביים
Shoes -נעליים
Boots -מגפיים
Weather -מזג אויר
Today there is -היום יש
Sun -שמש
Clouds -ענניים
Snow -שלג
Colors -צבעים
Red -אדום
Blue -כחול
Green -ירוק
Orange -כתום
Yellow -צהוב
Pink -ורוד
Classroom Objects -בכיתה
Door -דלת
Window -חלון
Bulletin Board -לוח
Teacher -מורה
Food -אוכל
Tomato -עגבניה
Potato -תפוח אדמה
Cucumber -מלפפון
Pepper -פלפל
Carrot -גזר
Hot Cereal -דיסה
Shabbat Shalom,
Morah Yael