Ms. Lindsay's KDG Class Recap
February 8th, 2015
Our Lesson
Purim!
Purim tells the story of how the Jewish people were nearly destroyed by Haman, an advisor to Persian King Ahashuerus. Through her courage, Esther, Ahashuerus' Jewish wife (he did not know she was Jewish when he married her), saved the Jews by standing up against Haman and convincing the King that Haman was evil and the Jewish people should be spared.
We read The Queen Who Saved Her People, a fun rhyming story that taught us about all of the important people associated with Purim, and Sammy Spider's First Purim, which introduced some of the holiday's traditions.
On Purim, we:
- Gift gifts to the poor
- Read the megillah - the Purim story
- Eat a festive meal
- Give food gifts (known as mishloah manot) to our friends
- Bake hamentashen, pastries shaped like Haman's three-cornered hat
After discussing Haman, the villain of the holiday, the students made their own groggers, and they are encouraged to use them to make noise and blot out his name during the reading of the Megillah on March 1st! We kept them in our classroom, so that we'd be sure to have them that morning. Though the groggers are decorated, they actually serve a double purpose! Once Purim is over, if you unwrap the decorated package, you'll see that it is a box of macaroni and cheese that can be donated to those in need (one of the mitzvot of Purim!).
Our Hebrew letter of the day was Nun, and we learned that the Hebrew word for candle ("Ner) begins with Nun, and that a "Ner Tamid" or eternal light, is present in all synagogues and reminds us that God is always with us.
The Queen Who Saved Her People
Sammy Spider's First Purim
Groggers for Purim!
Our Specials of the Day
Music & T'filah
Rabbi Ron led T'filah - we sang along with prayers and learned about different ways we can show kindness to others.
Reminder: No Sunday School February 15th
We'll see you on the 22nd!
Lindsay & Leah