Blog - Youth Activities (Religious School)

Pre-K: Last week our students learned about the concept of about B'tzelem Eloheim and how we are all made in the image of God. We are learning about kindness, compassion, diversity, difference, and being better together through the visual of "rainbow rice." The colors on their own look lovely, and when we mix all the colors together, we get an even more beautiful treat; a rainbow. This week and throughout the month of February, we will be learning about Shabbat: engaging our 5 senses, and making our own Shabbat kits! We will also be focusing on the value of friendship. What does it mean to be a good friend? What does it mean to be filled with love for each person. If we are all made in the image of God, we hope that we treat everyone with respect, kindness, and the hope for a restful and joyous Shabbat. Coming up in March: PURIM! (We will have Esther guide us through our values of bravery and courage while celebrating Purim.)

Kindergarten: Last week our students learned about the concept of about B'tzelem Eloheim and how we are all made in the image of God. We are learning about kindness, compassion, creation, and making wonderful things through the visual of Salt Dough! We were like God, creating and molding with our dough. Just as we are created in the image of God, so too can we create beautiful and amazing things. This week and throughout the month of February, we will be learning about Shabbat: engaging our 5 senses and making our own Shabbat kits! We will also be focusing on the value of friendship. What does it mean to be a good friend? How can you: "be a friend, make a friend, keep a friend?" If we are all made in the image of God, we hope that we can be amazing friends showing kindness, respect, and wishing everyone a restful and joyous Shabbat. Coming up in March: PURIM! (We will have Esther guide us through our values of bravery and courage while celebrating Purim.)

First Grade: Last week our students learned about the concept of Hakarat Hatov, or Seeing the Good! We dove into the animal kingdom and took our lesson from the observant owl. Can we be like owls, with their expert vision, always seeing and seeking out the good? We also made flowers as a reminder to seek out and notice the beautiful things in the world. A flower might not do much, might not pollinate, or give others a source of food, but a flower can come in any shape, size, color, and pattern. Each flower adds a bit of good into the world.  Just as our students are learning to see the good in the world, they are learning to be the good in the world as well. 

Second Grade: Last week our students learned about the concept of about B'tzelem Eloheim and how we are all made in the image of God. We are learning about kindness, compassion, creation, and making wonderful things through the visual of Marbling paper. This hands-on technique involves shaving cream and food coloring! You swirl any combination of colors together to create patterns, just as God creates, so does your second grader. They can create whole universes, each unique to how they see the world. While their perspectives, and universes might all be different, we are all creating something beautiful together in community and kindness. This week our students will

Third Grade: Last week our students learned about the concept of about B'tzelem Eloheim and how we are all made in the image of God. We are learning about kindness, creation, and making wonderful things through the visual of Marbling paper. This hands-on technique involves shaving cream and food coloring! You swirl any combination of colors together to create patterns, just as God creates, so does your third grader.  What does it mean to be able to create something unique? How do you think you'd approach making something so complex as a human being? Human beings are also made up of patterns and atoms, just like your creations.  How do you feel while you are creating? 

4th Grade: This week was a split lesson! Those who didn't get to make a tree for Tu'Bshevat got the chance to make a tree, twisting branches and forming the roots and leaves. Those who already made a tree, learned about Shabbat Shira and the Song of the sea. They got to see the text in the Torah at T'filah and notice where the Mi Chamocha was! They also got to do a fun paint-pour making waves and the ocean, reminding them to be fluid, flexible, have faith and sing! The other class had a chance to bake Ruggelach with our Shinshin (Israeli emissary), Talia This week, our students will split the lessons. Half will bake with our Israeli Emissary, Talia and half will do the paint pour. For the rest of the month: Coming up in March: Purim! Your student will learn about Traveling players and recreate the story of Purim. They will seek to find courage and strength within themselves and perhaps find a cause worthy of championing! 

5th Grade: Last week our 5th grade students learned about the concept of Btzelem Eloheim AND Shabbat Shira, and the connection between the 2 ideas! In Mi Chamocha, it asks: "Who is like You?" A possible answer is us! We are made in the image of God, and we can create and make beautiful intricate things. Using the concept of Zentangle, your student learned how many different patterns together can work in harmony to create beautiful things. And sometimes, when you want to emphasize that something is important or beautiful, you might change the way it looks. (Like getting dressed up, or putting extra effort into something you are working on.) Just like how the very shape of the text of the Torah changes for the Song of the Sea!! Special things are elevated, complicated, but also simple and fluid like waves. They repeat and continue, just like Torah, just like the song verses, just like the patterns, just like themselves. 

6th & 7th Grade: Last week, our students learned the foundations of WW2 and Propaganda. We spoke about Anti-Semitism in current times and what we could do to combat it. We also built up our analytical/critical thinking skills picking apart images of propaganda so we could understand the difference between truth, lies, and stereotypes. This week: We are moving into the heavier topics of the Holocaust, starting with the Warsaw Ghetto and the Warsaw Uprising. Students will have a chance to make their own choices as if they lived in Warsaw while learning about the Uprising. Here is the link to that story, if you'd like to read it in advance. (The Uprising Part 2  by You! (inklewriter.com)) Next week, we will be focusing on the camps themselves. An email will go home about the graphics we use and the stories we tell. Most of the content is reading/writing heavy, but will move toward stories, art, music, and resistance/resilience. We believe that teaching Holocaust isn't reactionary and doesn't come from a place of defense or hate. We learn about the Holocaust in order to understand our history, learn about the strength of our identities and ancestors, and to learn how to handle big topics and high stakes conversations in the future.