Shalom Families! Hebrew learning at Temple Emanuel isn't about memorizing words or perfect grammar - it is about building joyful, meaningful connections with our traditions.
Our younger students (PreK-3rd), are exposed to Hebrew through crafts, songs and movement our younger students are hearing Hebrew and interacting with it each week. If you are looking for a fun way to expose your student to more Hebrew between sessions or over Thanksgiving break, here are some ways to do that
Alef Bet by Debbie Friedman
Sing the Alef-Bet Song with Ms. Sara
Shalom Sesame Aleph Bet Song
If your student is looking for a way to interact with the letters a bit more, I suggest Jigzi. Jigzi is a website, which has content about Hebrew, holidays and more. Feel free to check it out.
Ji Alef Bet Letters -a link to a playlist about the Hebrew Alef-Bet, which includes stories for each letter.
Ji Alef Bet Stage 1: Letter Animations - a link to a play list to share the animations from the activities on the site. (This is not an interactive playlist.)
If you would like games or activities for your student to do on Jigzi, please reach out to Kathy.
Our older students (4th-7th) are learning to decode letter by letter, building to words, phrases and full prayers. All of this is in preparation for their B'nai Mitzvah. The goal of the program is decoding - not reading. As mentioned before, reading means understanding each word, decoding means being able to sound out the words. Upon entering B'nai Mitzvah class (about 8 months before their big day), the goal is that they can decode with confidence.
Here are some links to help the older students gain more confidence with their Hebrew decoding:
Fast Track Hebrew Course - a way to relearn Hebrew as a parent or help your student review
Yotzer Or - Tap and Hear - a way to practice the Yotzer Or prayer word by word
Avot V'Imahot - Tap and Hear - a way to practce the Avot V'Imahot prayer word by word
Please have your student practice their Hebrew over Thanksgiving break. If you need more ideas to reinforce their learning or different activities. Please reach out to me sooner than later, so they can make progress with their practice.
