The third graders have been doing a wonderful job so far this year. I am so impressed with everyone's attention to both in class and out of class work.
Last week we learned all about Simchat Torah. We discussed the importance of having a holiday that celebrates the Torah, and the importance of the Torah to us. I was happy to see that most of the students made mobius strips at home. It was great to hear their creative answers about how the Torah is like a mobius strip in class today.
Last week we also learned about midrash, and had an opportunity to create some of our own using torn paper. The pictures are hanging up in the classroom and I hope you all take a chance to look at them again on Back to School night next week.
This week, we went backwards a bit and learned about Rosh Hashanah. We started class with some Rosh Hashanah Trivia which gave the students a bit of a chance to show off what they already know, and learned a little bit from their classmates as well. Afterwards, we had a conversation about Rosh Hashanah symbols and what they mean. We also discussed the importance of symbols to holidays, and how we can remember them and why they are important. We discussed the Shofar in class as a specific example of this.
For homework this week, I asked students to think about a specific symbol of Rosh Hashanah and create a story about that item that helps us to remember why it is important to Rosh Hashanah. I encourage you to work on these stories together.
Starting in two weeks, when we begin our Shabbat unit, I will be photocopying the first page of each chapter from the book for your child to bring home with them. This sheet gives a "checklist" of activities that they will work on completing to help them better understand the holidays by doing activities that relate to the holiday. Some of these we will do in class, some will be homework, and others are activities that you can complete as a family. If you have any questions about this, or about anything going on in class, please don't hesistate to contact me at sweinberg@ohabei.org, or give me a call in the Temple office at 617-277-6610.
Kol Tuv,
Stacy
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