Dear 3rd Grade Parents,
We've had a great first two weeks in our third grade class! Last week in class we spent some time getting to know each other, playing games, and making rules for our class. We even had a chance to show off everything that we knew about Jewish holidays, by playing a few rounds of "Jewish Holiday Jeopardy."
This week, we learned all about Sukkot. We talked about the Sukkah itself: how to build one, why is so important to the Jewish people, and how to decorate it. We also learned about Usphizin, and talked about the different Usphizin we invite into our Sukkah. This brought up a great conversation about Mitzvot and the different kinds of mitzvot that we can do, including inviting guests into our home. For homework, your children are asked to think about Ushpizin in a less traditional sense, and invite 7 famous Jewish people into their sukkah, and think about a question, or topic that they would like to talk to them about. Next week, we will continue this conversation by thinking about what we can gain from others who we might invite into our Sukkah.
Our curriculum this year is all about learning about the Jewish holidays by experiencing them firsthand. We will spend our class time with a little bit of reading and discussion, and lots of art projects, games, and hands on activities that will let your children explore the holidays in ways they may not have before. This curriculum encourages your students to do activities outside of class as well, that will help reinforce these ideas at home. The weeks homework assignments will reflect some of these activities, and there are even more that you can try as a family!
Each week, your child will bring home a homework folder that has a "homework checklist" that lists the homework assignment, as well as any worksheet or materials that they need inside. The homework should not take more than 15-20 minutes to complete, and may even take less. There also be links to the homework checklist and any worksheets on this blog. If for some reason you find that the homework assignments are too challenging or taking too long, please let me know!
We have such an exciting year ahead! I look forward to working with your children this year. Please don't hesistate to contact me with any questions or concerns you have. I can be reached by email at sweinberg@ohabei.org, or by phone at the synagogue at 617-277-6610.
Best,
Stacy
