Showing posts with label jewish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jewish. Show all posts
Monday, 15 February 2021
Thursday, 29 March 2018
A STEM Haggadah
Are you all ready for Pesach? Of course not! The list of
things which require attention at Pesach time seems endless. I'm not here to help you clean, menu plan or decorate. I'm here to think about the children.
Small children always require attention. And to be learning. And to actively engage in
open-ended learning. And to have Torah values in all of their thoughts. And of course
STEM learning. Since these priorities were all at the top of your Pesach prep
list, I have helped you out with a STEM Haggadah and Pesach toy.
This Haggadah is a series of pattern block challenges. Pattern blocks were invented fifty years ago to enhance mathematical, geometric reasoning, critical assessment, and creative design.
Lay the pattern blocks inside of the Seder related images. Testing how to manipulate each of the six shapes to best create the picture. Creating their own images is part of the fun as well.
Children can use this Haggadah, before, during, and after the Seder to enhance their learning and keep them quietly engaged. You're welcome.
Pattern Block Haggadah
Chag Kasher v'Sameach!
Friday, 3 October 2014
Yom Kippur Yonah Project- So Much Fun!!!
Two years ago I posted Yom Kippur Crafts X 3, which is one of my most popular posts. It is about to get SOOO much better!
This year I had my class make the big fish for Jonah [Yonah] to hide in, just like I described in the aforementioned blog.
In short:
Cut a big fish twice for each student.
Let them finger-paint on one side.
Place the other fish on top and let them pat t down.
Peel off and marvel at mirror images.
Leave the fish to dry.
I had very thick paper towel tubes cut to fit between the fish pictures to hold a 3-D Yonah.
Then I had a brilliant idea and found some balloons.
I stretched the balloons over one side of the tubes.
When the fish dried, I stapled them around the tube.
Meanwhile the students fashioned Jonah out of pipe cleaners and added eyes to the fish.
Do you understand the brilliance of this project yet?
As The Book of Jonah [Sefer Yonah] recounts, after three days in the fish's stomach, Yonah was spat out onto dry land.
Place pipe cleaner Yonah inside the fish.
Turn the tube mostly vertical. Count to three for the three days (optional).
Pinch a small piece of the balloon, pull it back, and release.
Yonah goes flying through the air (and onto dry land)!
This is incredibly entertaining for ALL ages. (It was hard for me to put my fish down so I could type this. My toddlers claps with glee every time Yonah goes whirling through the air).
Shana Tova! Techatevu V'Techatemu.
Here are fish templates of both sides.
This year I had my class make the big fish for Jonah [Yonah] to hide in, just like I described in the aforementioned blog. In short:
Cut a big fish twice for each student.Let them finger-paint on one side.
Place the other fish on top and let them pat t down.
Leave the fish to dry.
Then I had a brilliant idea and found some balloons.
I stretched the balloons over one side of the tubes.
When the fish dried, I stapled them around the tube. Meanwhile the students fashioned Jonah out of pipe cleaners and added eyes to the fish. Do you understand the brilliance of this project yet?
Place pipe cleaner Yonah inside the fish.
Turn the tube mostly vertical. Count to three for the three days (optional).
Pinch a small piece of the balloon, pull it back, and release.
Yonah goes flying through the air (and onto dry land)!
This is incredibly entertaining for ALL ages. (It was hard for me to put my fish down so I could type this. My toddlers claps with glee every time Yonah goes whirling through the air).
Shana Tova! Techatevu V'Techatemu.
Here are fish templates of both sides.
Thursday, 14 August 2014
Eat. Full. Pray. Parashat Eikev.
Last time I blogged about Parashat Eikev, we looked at the meaning of consequences and we made birkonim [benchers]. The reason we made birkonim is, although this parasha is almost 9/10s of the way through the Torah, we now learn the mitzvah to thank Hashem after we eat. The passuk simply states "וְאָכַלְתָּ וְשָׂבָעְתָּ וּבֵרַכְתָּ". 'And you will eat. And you will be satiated. And you will bless'.
"If this mitzvah was not stated in the Torah, do you think people would have thanked Hashem on their own?" I asked my campers. The answer was almost unanimously 'no'. When I asked them to clarify why, the answers varied.
"Cuz, you just eat and are done and move on."
"If it isn't a mitzvah, you wouldn't do it."
"You'd forget food is from Hashem."
Their answers really surprised me. I guess it is a good thing we are commanded.
It was two years ago that I last blogged about this parasha. The text of birkat hamazon I used was Ashkenazi. This time around, text is not straightforward, as I, and 1/3 of the campers, use Sephardic birkat hamazon. And everyone already owns MANY benchers.
Instead we made holders for the birkonim. Some campers argued they already have one of these too, but no one already owned one for weekday, Shabbat, and Pesach.
The campers each received three blocks of wood of differing sizes, with a large pile of extra wood pieces in the middle. Scattered around were cups of wood glue with paint brushes. The project was meant to be 'non-cookie cutter' and open-ended.
(You'll note the kids made great projects but clearly never learned about wiping a brush!)
We left our work to dry before painting them.
The work was varied and very beautiful.
Then we started painting and glittering!
Tada!
"If this mitzvah was not stated in the Torah, do you think people would have thanked Hashem on their own?" I asked my campers. The answer was almost unanimously 'no'. When I asked them to clarify why, the answers varied.
"Cuz, you just eat and are done and move on."
"If it isn't a mitzvah, you wouldn't do it."
"You'd forget food is from Hashem."
Their answers really surprised me. I guess it is a good thing we are commanded.
It was two years ago that I last blogged about this parasha. The text of birkat hamazon I used was Ashkenazi. This time around, text is not straightforward, as I, and 1/3 of the campers, use Sephardic birkat hamazon. And everyone already owns MANY benchers.
Instead we made holders for the birkonim. Some campers argued they already have one of these too, but no one already owned one for weekday, Shabbat, and Pesach.
We left our work to dry before painting them.
The work was varied and very beautiful.
Then we started painting and glittering!Tada!
Saturday, 22 February 2014
The Great Artists of Vayakel
Parashat Vayakhel recounts the building of the Mishkan and the mitzvah of Shabbat. There is very little information in Vayakhel which has not already appeared in the 3 previous parshiyiot. But let's have a look at a section about Bezalel.
What do we know about Bezalel?
The gemara further clarifies his lineage. He is the grandson of Chur the son of Miriam. Bezalel has yichus [important family lineage] and incredible, God given skills.
Then we have Aholiav.
We do not know more about Aholiav's lineage. The tribe of Dan is known as the lowliest group. To build Hashem's house, the creme de la creme is chosen next to Joe Schmo.
Why?
Because we all start out the same in Hashem's eyes! People might judge one another, from this family or the other, but it is not our place. People are great because of their God-given skills, how they harness them, and what they do with them. They are not just great because of their last name.
In keeping with the theme of great artists utilizing their great gifts, the girls and I looked at some art history. I found these posters online, made by an art teacher.
Using these posters, we compared the artists and their work. We talked about where each was from, the time they lived in, what time of art they made, and how their pictures make us feel.
Gabi has been learning about da Vinci at school and was very excited to share all she knows. She was also interested in knowing more about Jackson Pollock. Cohava liked Georgia O'Keeffe's flowers and though Andy Warhol's art was silly.
The we talked about how Hashem gives everyone talents and we need to use them.
Hashem chose Betzalel and Aholiav to build His house because of how they would use their great talents. They were the greatest artists in history. Cohava is insistent that Hashem is the greatest artist because he made everything, but accepted the point of people's skills.
I asked the girls to make similar posters for Betzalel and Aholiav.
Here are the results of Betzalel.
I plan to make a "Great Artist" Wall in the play room, using the original posters, the Betzalel/Aholiav, and showcasing their work.
Shabbat Shalom!
What do we know about Bezalel?
The gemara further clarifies his lineage. He is the grandson of Chur the son of Miriam. Bezalel has yichus [important family lineage] and incredible, God given skills.
Then we have Aholiav.
We do not know more about Aholiav's lineage. The tribe of Dan is known as the lowliest group. To build Hashem's house, the creme de la creme is chosen next to Joe Schmo.
Why?
Because we all start out the same in Hashem's eyes! People might judge one another, from this family or the other, but it is not our place. People are great because of their God-given skills, how they harness them, and what they do with them. They are not just great because of their last name.
In keeping with the theme of great artists utilizing their great gifts, the girls and I looked at some art history. I found these posters online, made by an art teacher.
Using these posters, we compared the artists and their work. We talked about where each was from, the time they lived in, what time of art they made, and how their pictures make us feel.
Gabi has been learning about da Vinci at school and was very excited to share all she knows. She was also interested in knowing more about Jackson Pollock. Cohava liked Georgia O'Keeffe's flowers and though Andy Warhol's art was silly.
The we talked about how Hashem gives everyone talents and we need to use them.
Hashem chose Betzalel and Aholiav to build His house because of how they would use their great talents. They were the greatest artists in history. Cohava is insistent that Hashem is the greatest artist because he made everything, but accepted the point of people's skills.
I asked the girls to make similar posters for Betzalel and Aholiav.
Here are the results of Betzalel.
I plan to make a "Great Artist" Wall in the play room, using the original posters, the Betzalel/Aholiav, and showcasing their work.
Shabbat Shalom!
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
Tetzave- Kohen clothes are sweet
Parashat Tetzaveh provides an in-depth look at the special clothing worn by the Kohanim. Last year we learned about their clothes and made Kohen paper dolls [see here]. I thought about further pursuing our organization theme and working to organize the clothes in their closet and drawers with an improved system.
Instead I rewarded their good behavior with something entirely fun.
"What is your favorite piece of Kohen clothes?" I asked.
"The me'il. I like the rimon and bells, which make music whenever you walk," Gabi replied. [Gabi loved the paper dolls last year and thought about the clothes a lot. Once she told me, 'I dreamed I married a Kohen and he was very good as his job. He liked being a Kohen so much that he even slept in his special clothes. Except his migbat hat kept falling off in bed."]
Cohava said, "The choshen with the pretty stones."
I explained to the girls that they weren't just pretty stones, and began to explain the Urim V'tumim but it is a deeply profound concept which either went over their heads or just seemed like an ipad. Either way they weren't overly impressed.
What impressed them was the project. Edible Choshen!
I put up the image of the Choshen for them to see the colors. They each got a plate, knife, and graham cracker.
Tova started on her graham cracker right away, while the girls and I discussed the color of each stone on the Choshen. Then I took out the massive container of Jelly Bellys that are on sale at Costco this month.
We carefully sorted to make sure the color of each jelly bean was as close as possible to the color of each stone. And we counted to twelve, over and over. Ruti practiced her colors. Cohava did some addition and subtraction.
Gabi tried to stick the jelly beans on the plain graham cracker but Cohava knew to wait. I gave each girl a plastic knife with white icing on and then they diligently got to work.
I thought these special treats would be gone in a second but the girls (the bigger two) were too enthusiastic to eat their art.
They put the edible Choshen in their lunchboxes to show off at school.
If we were home this week for Shabbat meals, we would make a bunch of these for dessert.
Shabbat Shalom!
Instead I rewarded their good behavior with something entirely fun.
"What is your favorite piece of Kohen clothes?" I asked.
"The me'il. I like the rimon and bells, which make music whenever you walk," Gabi replied. [Gabi loved the paper dolls last year and thought about the clothes a lot. Once she told me, 'I dreamed I married a Kohen and he was very good as his job. He liked being a Kohen so much that he even slept in his special clothes. Except his migbat hat kept falling off in bed."] Cohava said, "The choshen with the pretty stones."
I explained to the girls that they weren't just pretty stones, and began to explain the Urim V'tumim but it is a deeply profound concept which either went over their heads or just seemed like an ipad. Either way they weren't overly impressed.
What impressed them was the project. Edible Choshen!
I put up the image of the Choshen for them to see the colors. They each got a plate, knife, and graham cracker.
We carefully sorted to make sure the color of each jelly bean was as close as possible to the color of each stone. And we counted to twelve, over and over. Ruti practiced her colors. Cohava did some addition and subtraction.
Gabi tried to stick the jelly beans on the plain graham cracker but Cohava knew to wait. I gave each girl a plastic knife with white icing on and then they diligently got to work.
I thought these special treats would be gone in a second but the girls (the bigger two) were too enthusiastic to eat their art.They put the edible Choshen in their lunchboxes to show off at school. If we were home this week for Shabbat meals, we would make a bunch of these for dessert.
Shabbat Shalom!Friday, 24 January 2014
Mishpatim- The way to live your life
Parashat Mishpatim is heavily laden with mitzvot with an impressive 53 (although the most mitzvot per parasha [mpp] is parashat Ki Teztei). Last year we discussed some of the specific mitzvot and made a bowling set with it.
This year we looked more at the themes. Following the 10 Commandments [Utterances] in last weeks parasha, this week seems like a let down. But really it is the details of how we live our lives. The ins and outs of daily life. Not every day is the Torah given on Mt. Sinai. But every day we still go through important and seemingly unimportant actions. It is in parashat Mishpatim that the people utter the words,נעשה ונשמה "naaseh v'nishma" "We will do an we will listen."
The daily details and accepting them without asking are just what my family needs to start focusing on. We are getting organized!
First the girls and I sat down and discussed what needs to be accomplished during the week (ie putting away laundry) and what must be done on or by certain days (ie homework due on Thursday).
Collectively we decided what would be done when.
Then I had the job of typing the schedule for each day. Print, laminate, and post in kitchen and bedroom.
Here is the system I used: A=Abba, E=Ema, and so forth.
This is how Monday looks:
So far they are enthusiastic about it and seem to have more free time, as they finish without complaining.
There is also more 'naaseh v'nishma' and less, "but WHY do I have to brush my teeth every night!?!"
Picking out clothes for school is a big deal for Cohava. She said that one of the things she misses most about Australia is wearing a school uniform. "Everyone was the same!" she declared. Choosing her clothes each day now is a laborious process.
At first they would choose their clothes and drop them on the floor.
Then I gave them each a pretty, small, reusable shopping bag (thank you post x-mas sale) and showed them how to put all the non-hanger items in the bag. Finally, hang clothes on special hook in their room.
They are really taking pride in their new, more structured daily routine. We need mitzvot and we need routine to thrive.
What does your family do to stay organized?
Shabbat Shalom!
This year we looked more at the themes. Following the 10 Commandments [Utterances] in last weeks parasha, this week seems like a let down. But really it is the details of how we live our lives. The ins and outs of daily life. Not every day is the Torah given on Mt. Sinai. But every day we still go through important and seemingly unimportant actions. It is in parashat Mishpatim that the people utter the words,נעשה ונשמה "naaseh v'nishma" "We will do an we will listen."
The daily details and accepting them without asking are just what my family needs to start focusing on. We are getting organized!
First the girls and I sat down and discussed what needs to be accomplished during the week (ie putting away laundry) and what must be done on or by certain days (ie homework due on Thursday).
Collectively we decided what would be done when.
Then I had the job of typing the schedule for each day. Print, laminate, and post in kitchen and bedroom.
Here is the system I used: A=Abba, E=Ema, and so forth.
This is how Monday looks:
So far they are enthusiastic about it and seem to have more free time, as they finish without complaining.
There is also more 'naaseh v'nishma' and less, "but WHY do I have to brush my teeth every night!?!"
At first they would choose their clothes and drop them on the floor.Then I gave them each a pretty, small, reusable shopping bag (thank you post x-mas sale) and showed them how to put all the non-hanger items in the bag. Finally, hang clothes on special hook in their room.
They are really taking pride in their new, more structured daily routine. We need mitzvot and we need routine to thrive.
What does your family do to stay organized?
Shabbat Shalom!
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