Did You Know?
That in 2017, Rosh Hashanah begins on the evening of Wednesday, Sept 20th. Yom Kippur begins on the evening of Friday, September 29th.
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and begins ten days of repentance which leads up to Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) are the two Jewish high holidays. Since the Hebrew calendar is based on a lunar cycle, the dates of Rosh Hashanah vary according to the Gregorian calendar; however, the holiday always falls during either September or October.
Here are some more facts you may not know about the Jewish New Year and the Jewish faith:
· A shofar, the world’s oldest wind instrument, is ritually blown on Rosh Hashanah. The piercing sound of the shofar made from a hollowed out ram’s horn serves as a clarion call to worshippers to repent.
· On Rosh Hashanah, families and friends customarily gather for a holiday meal. Traditional foods include apples dipped in honey, round challot, carrots, pomegranates, and dates.
· Today fewer than 15 million Jews are living worldwide, which constitutes 0.2 percent of the world’s population. The Jewish faith is practiced in 134 out of the world’s 238 countries.
· In the United States, where less than 2 percent of the population is Jewish, approximately 5.5 million Jews reside.
Grades K-5
What's In My Tool Box?
Growth Mindset and Positive Affirmations
Why Are Positive Affirmations So Effective For Children?
Children are learning behaviors and wiring their brains every day for the rest of their life. It is important that they develop positive self-belief during childhood because it will shape and frame their future. Children with a positive-self-image are less likely to use put-downs and bully others.
Every aspect of our life is affected by our self-confidence. A lack of self-confidence could impact on our academic achievements, our ability to participate socially and limit our dreams.
Sharing positive affirmations with your class could be as simple as sharing one affirmation a week. Research shows the more you repeat the affirmation, the more likely you are to believe what you are saying.
Grades 1-5
Book of the Month
Separate is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh, would be an exceptional addition to any unit on social justice, children as an activist or Latino/Hispanic History.
In this nonfiction picture book, you will become acquainted with Sylvia Mendez and her Mexican American family. Despite their American citizenship, they could not attend the school in their neighborhood: instead, they had to attend the Mexican school far away.
The Mendez family did not agree and found other families that were willing to join them in suing the school district. Separate Is Never Equal, includes the distinctive details of this case that led to the desegregation of public schools for Hispanics, seven years before Brown vs. the Board of Education.
