Learning the Alef Bet through Board Games

The letters and words change depending on which lesson they are studying.

Tu B'Shvat Teaching Materials

How well do your students know which blessings to use for which foods?  It helps to know whether the fruit grows on a tree or in the ground.  Here are some slides I put together for use in my classes.

Here are some other things we used.

Happy Tu B'Shvat!

Tu B'Shvat at Beth El

We had a tu b'shvat seder during religious school at Congregation Beth El and planted in our brand new synagogue herb garden.

More photos here: https://picasaweb.google.com/MorahBetsy/BethElTuBShvatKids

Tying Tzitzit

My 7th graders at the reform temple got a chance to learn how to tie tzitzit today.  We were just practicing, so we didn't have kosher string, and we used brown for the shamash rather than techelet (blue) or white, but everything else was authentic.  They tied onto a key ring, and if this class is at all like the class I had three years ago, the key rings will stay on their backpacks through the next few years.

They can all sing the "vayomer" paragraph of shma, and kiss tzitzit at each mention, and they can answer these questions:

 ציצית

1)          What are tzitzit?

2)          What is the tzitzit commandment?

3)          Where in Torah does it come from?

4)          How is the tzitzit commandment different from some of the commandments God gave through Moses?

5)          What do tzitzit remind us of?

6)          What’s the name of the prayer that includes tzitzit? 

7)          Which paragraph is this?

8)          Why did the reform movement stop saying this prayer for 100+ years?

9)          Why was it added back in?

10)    Which section of the service includes this prayer?

11)    What color did tzitzit used to have?

12)    Why did they stop using the color?

13)    How many times do we kiss the tzitzit during the prayer?

14)    What is the name of the longest string we use when wrapping and then tying the knots for the tzitzit?

15)    Where else have you heard that word?

16)    In class, did we learn the Sephardic or Ashkenazi way to wrap tzitzit? Why?

17)    What do you like about tzitzit?  Are they a reminder?  Do you think you’ll like wearing them when you’re an adult? 

A Typical Day in Hebrew School

Our first verse of Torah happens to be THE first verse of Torah.  Some of us can read the Hebrew, but some just now how to read the English and illustrate the first week of creation.

We have our first spelling word.  We know the letters and the vowels, we know where to put the dots, and we know how to draw three things that go with "Shabbat."

We take turns practicing our letters, vowels and words on the computer.

After so much learning, we need a break!  A healthy snack and 10 minutes on the playground.

Sh'ma in Papua, New Guinea

I am Jewish.  Big surprise, eh?  OK, maybe not, but I feel the need to specify that before I tell you that you should watch this video of non-Jews in Papua, New Guinea singing שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל‎ with as much kavannah as any Jewish worshippers I've ever prayed with.  Fewer clothes, but equal intensity.

So, via The Schmooze:

Video: Hebrew Prayer in Papua New Guinea

By Renee Ghert-Zand

At this point, the Shmooze is used to seeing videos posted on social networking sites of cute little Hebrew school or Jewish day school children reciting the Sh’ma. But this Sh’ma video spotted and published by Israel National News the other day is quite unusual. You will not see little ones dressed in blue and white or their Shabbat best, but rather people of Papua New Guinea in their native dress reciting — in Hebrew — the central creed of Judaism.

It turns out these are Christians who have been taught, presumably by missionaries, to recite the Sh’ma to demonstrate their love and respect for Christianity’s Jewish roots. The video appears to have been shot by Yakov Damkani, a Messianic Jew.

Watch Papua New Guineans Recite the Sh’ma:

Read more: http://blogs.forward.com/the-shmooze/145812/#ixzz1d5Sv05oS

h/t Dorron Katzin 

How to have an Aliyah to the Torah

This particular video on how to have an aliyah is special for two reasons:
1) The hazzan in the film is a good friend and former colleague of mine.
2) The Bar Mitzvah boy is a puppet.  If I had to guess, I might suspect that he is even a distant cousin of one of my purim puppet play characters.

On a more serious note, I prefer the screen text to be more Hebrew for students to use, and less puppet-centered for adults, but it's still one of my new favorite teaching tools.  Thanks Harold!

First Day of a Brand New School

After more than 10 years, Beth El now has a weekday Hebrew school class for early elementary school children, and I was honored to teach the very first class this afternoon. What an awesome experience!
 We started the same way my great grandparents began their Hebrew studies --- by eating letters of the alef-bet in honey! We also sounded the shofar, explored our brand-new student Torah scroll, watched the workers begin to install the new chairs in the freshly-painted classroom, and learned to sing two new prayers. We had a great discussion about Rosh Hashanah and whether or not God has a birthday.

iJewish is a good way to practice and have fun over the summer

I have an iPhone stuffed to the guffilte gills with audio for the Saturday morning prayers for three synagogues, siddur pages for two or three, information about the prayers, photos of ritual objects and biblical dress, tents and musical instruments, and GAMES.  Did I neglect to mention the games??

All of the Jewish publishers havemany apps and programs, but Behrman house has the best.  Here are the iPhone and iPad games for students, and I have them all.  Scroll through the adult stuff and the fun ones will appear near bottom.

This year I found a new food-sorting game for Passover, with a truck theme.  And an entire haggadah (with sounds and sound effects) for the iPad.  Add Little Scribes and Mash Passover for the little ones.  There's also a Mitzvah Match app which kids of many ages may enjoy.

Looking for something to teach basic Hebrew and simple prayers?  Start with these from Behrman House.  They also have full versions for the computer.

Babaganewz has great online resources, offline and online games for Jewish kids from the tweens until high school, but I haven't yet seen anything there for smart phones.They also have craft and recipe ideas and a focus on values.

TorahAura has a great selection of non-technological Jewish fun activities for kids, in case you decide that you need to see your own phone or computer even while the kids are awake.

Morim has lots of online practice for Torah stories and simple Hebrew vocabulary, and the kids seem to like the activities.

Davka has some fun stuff as well:

Alef Bet Schoolhouse for iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad

Alef Bet Schoolhouse teaches the Hebrew alphabet with with sound, color, animation and fun!

The Prayer Dare

This was a game my class created (in place of a quiz) to see how much their classmates knew about the prayers & vocab we studied. Each index card is numbered on the back, and they rolled dice & chose next card from that pile.

Making Havdalah Candles

(Guest post authored by David, who was 11 at the time.)

Two weeks ago, Betsy and one of the 6th grade Beth El students were learning about havdalah and its blessings, so we decided to make havdalah candles.

At-home Service for  Havdalah

After several epic failures involving a toaster oven, hot wax and cigarette lighters, we were finally able to make several four-braid and four-twist havdallah candles.  To save other people from having to repeat our finger pains and mistakes, we decided to publish a simple how-to guide.

How to Make Havdalah Candles without Burning Down Your Kitchen

• Assemble all materials:
  
  • a box of chanukah candles (including extras in case you make mistakes)
  • a source of boiling water
  • a disposable bowl
  • paper towels
  • matches or a lighter
  • a disposable fork
• Boil water.

Home-Made Matzah

All of my students got the opportunity to bake matzah this year in preparation for Passover.  3 cups of flour to 1 cup of water, 18 minutes from the first drop of water until the pan has to be in the oven, and about 8 minutes to cook.  The result tastes much more like pita than like the cardboard matzah from the store, and it hides beautifully in an afikoman cover (with a napkin).

Videos for Passover!

Frankie Singing V'Shamru

V'shamru Sung by Frankie (audio file)

V'shamru in Hebrew (pdf)



The people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath in every generation as a covenant for all time.  It is a sign forever between Me and the people of Israel, for in six days the Eternal God made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day God rested from God’s labors

Videos from my students