Welcome to Kita Alef! שָׁלוֹם כִּיתָה א
Embedded Files
1/31/25
This week, we completed the Lamed unit with a חֲגִיגָה (hagiga) -celebration. But before I share with you this fun event, here is how we started the unit.
Shalom Lamed שָׁלוֹם ל
After becoming familiar with the new letter and its sound, students explored the classroom for words containing ל Lamed. They examined the wall boards, looked at posters, and searched through books.
Here are some of the words they discovered:
יוֹגָה אוֹתִיוֹת
LETTERS YOGA
Students had a blast twisting and turning to create the letter ל with their bodies.
And here they joined together, forming one large Lamed🙂
Our favorite vocabulary word in this unit was 🍨 גְלִידָה (glidah), which means ice cream. The students were eager to share their favorite flavors of glidah. Some enjoyed שוֹקוֹלָד (shokolad) - chocolate, וָנִיל (vanil) - vanilla, or תוּת (tut) - strawberry. Others preferred לִימוֹן (limon) - lemon, מַנְגוֹ (mango) - mango, and even מֶנְטָה (menta) - mint. Personally, Ani ohevet glidah shokolad banana!
The students were thrilled by the story about “Doda” (Aunt) Leah, who makes a special appearance in their virtual class, treating everyone to glidah – ice cream. When she discovers that Gila is absent due to being חוֹלָה (cholah) – sick, she hops into her ice cream truck and heads to Gila’s house to bring her some ice cream and a "Gedt well" card from her classmates.
Oh la la! Glidah, glidah, glidah!
On Wednesday, Mora Maya from the KG class surprised the first graders with glidah! Dressed as and embodying Doda Leah from the story, Maya brought joy to the classroom. It was such a pleasure seeing their smiles widen and their eyes sparkle with excitement.☺️
Students were given various flavor choices, allowing us to review the flavors we have learned in Hebrew.
Chaval (חֲבָל) - Too bad!
Just like in the story, one of our students was absent because he was choleh (חוֹלֶה) - sick. However, there’s no need to worry! The first graders came together to create a big Get Well card, and Mora Maya personally drove to his house to deliver it along with some ice cream🍦:)
Here we are rereading the story about Doda Leah.
Students also had an opportunity to rearrange letter cards to form words from this unit's vocabulary. Once they completed this task, they organized the words to construct sentences.
Watch them read the sentences
We continue to write down new words and sentences in our notebooks.
Coming back from winter break, the students were excited to start the third book of Ariot with the letter Kaf. The letter כּ (Kaf), like the letter ב (Bet), changes its sound when the dot in the middle is removed. This lesson also introduced students to an ending letter for the first time. The letter כ (Chaf) changes its form to the final form ך (Chaf Sofit) when it appears at the end of a word. In total, five letters in the Hebrew alphabet change their form in this way.
Students explored the classroom, searching for and writing words that contained the letter כּ
The following new words were introduced:
כּוֹתֵב “kotev” - writing (masculine)
כּוֹתֶבֶת “kotevet” - writing (feminine)
כּוֹאֵב “ko-ev” - hurts
כָּחוֹל “kachol” - blue
כּוֹכָב “kochav” - star
בּוֹכֶה “bocheh” - crying (masculine)
בּוֹכָה “bacha” - crying (feminine)
אֵיךְ “Eich” - How
כָּךְ “kach” - this is how.
This unit includes two stories engaging stories. One of them is about Dina who brings a blue jug (kad) to class. Her friends are thrilled when they see a blue fish inside. However, disaster strikes when the jug slips from her hands and breaks into pieces. Oy Vey!! Dina quickly retrieves the fish from the ground, only to hear it complain about being hurt by her grip. Thankfully, Dina swiftly places the fish into a new jug. Now content, the fish expresses itself by writing with bubbles “Tov Bakad V’tov bakita”.
Following the story, the first graders colored their own jug and wrote about its color and its content.
We continued to use our dry erase boards, and practiced asking "Eich kotvim?" How do we write?
Each student was prompted to recall how to write a specific word from past units and then write it on the board.
This is how we write
כָּךְ כּוֹתְבִים
☃️We have been observing the weather daily and discussing winter weather words. We see שֶלֶג “sheleg” - snow outside and it’s קַר מְאוֹד “kar meod” -very cold.
After reading a story about a snowman who is missing some of his body parts, and singing songs that teach us body parts vocabulary (head, eyes, nose, mouth, etc.), students drew a snowman - אִיש שֶלֶג “ ish sheleg” following step by step instructions. The final step involved labeling the body parts of their snowman. They did an excellent job!
See the 1st grade singing "I have a head..."
Students also collaborated to create a large bulletin board size "Ish Sheleg," labeling all the body parts they had learned in Hebrew.
Students in action
חנוכה שמח! HANUKKAH SAMEACH
Why do we observe eight days of Chanukah? This question serves as the central theme for the opening song in our Hanukkah unit.
To address this question, we watched an animated Chanukah story divided into three parts: the lives of the Jewish people before and after the Greeks arrived in Eretz Israel, the miracle of the victory in the war, and the miracle of the oil. Students observed, listened to, and discussed the events and their chronological order. Additionally, The story assisted students in distinguishing between the Greeks (Yevanim) and the Jews (Yehudim).
We expressed our gratitude to G-d for the victory and the miracle of the oil with a song in Hebrew; “Todah, Todah Elokim, Todah al Hanisim”.
As we delved deeper into Chanukah's lessons, the students particularly loved the Jug of Oil project. They began by coloring and decorating a jug of oil, “Kad Shemen” for Beit Hamikdash—only to then symbolically “break” it, just as the Yevanim (Greeks) did😨. Some struggle with the challenge of destroying their own work, but fear not! Each student transformed into an archeologist and a restorer, reassembling their Kad into a beautiful collage.
Drawing designs on the oil jugs🧑🎨
"Destroying" the Jug of oil😣
Restoring
And the final product...
After concluding the unit with an engaging animated story that showcased the different Svivonim (dreidels) in Israel and the diaspora, the first graders had the opportunity to play with dreidels in class.
Yesh Yod י
And then there is Yod! The first graders were thrilled to greet the letter Yod with a cheerful song. This unit marks the final chapter in the second book of Ariot!
Students enjoyed searching for words containing "Yod" throughout the classroom and recorded them on a dry-erase board.
This unit's vocabulary includes:
יֵש (yesh) -there is
יָד (yad) -hand
יוֹשֵב (yoshev) -sitting for a boy
יוֹשֶבֶת (yoshevet) -sitting for a girl
יוֹיו (yoyo) -yoyo
חִידָה (chidah) -a riddle
יַחַד (yachad)-together
In the story Hagiga Bakita, the virtual class is having a Hagiga, celebration. First, each student sits, and then the teacher presents them with riddles. The students are thrilled when they successfully solve the riddles. To wrap up the celebration, Ariot arrives with a box filled with yoyos, one for each child. As you can imagine, the students quickly get out of their seats:)
Inspired by the story, the first graders eagerly set out to craft their own riddles in secret.
To wrap up the Yod unit, we held our very own Hagiga (celebration), allowing each student to present their Chidah (riddle) to their classmates.
Our celebration would not have been complete without yoyos! The 1st graders were thrilled to receive their own yoyo🪀with the first letter of their Hebrew name on it (like in the story). You can imagine the excitement in the room, and of course, no one was sitting anymore;)
Here are the written and illustrated riddles
Shalom Tet ט
We completed the letter Tet unit, which introduced the “EH” vowels, Tzeireh and Segol.
Students practiced writing the letter ט on whiteboards
Hunting for words with ט around the classroom is engaging and fun.
Students teamed up to arrange the Alef Bet cubes in perfect order!
They continued by reading all the letters combined with the vowel Tzeireh.
In this unit, our new vocabulary includes:
טַבָּח (tabach) - chef/cook,
טוֹב (tov)- good (masculine),
טוֹבָה (tova) - good (feminine),
טֶלֶוִיזְיָה (televizya) television,
אוֹטו (oto) - car,
and טוֹסְט (tost) - toast.
Students were captivated by the story of a tabach (chef) who becomes distracted and fails to make a good toast
They were thrilled to receive their own chef hats, decorate it, and act out the story.
And let's not forget the chef's mustache🥸🧑🍳☺️
Watch us in action, comic style💬
Here we are, celebrating after our performance.
Celebration with Chet 'חֲגִיגָה עִם ח
We celebrated the letter Chet with new vocabulary words and an engaging story. In this unit, the vocabulary includes: חֲגִיגָה (chagigah) -celebration, מִשְפָּחָה (mishpacha) - family, אָח (ach) - brother,
אָחוֹת (achot) - sister,
חָדָש (chadash) - new (for male), and חֲדָשָה (chadasha) - new (for female).
In addition, we introduced the words: דוֹד (dod) -uncle,
דוֹדָה (doda) -aunt,
and בּוּבָּה (bubah) -doll.
We started the unit by searching for words with Chet throughout the classroom.
Students had 5 minutes to write as many words as they could find.
✍️Students in action.
This week's story focuses on family celebrations, titled "Chagigah BaMishpacha." Bina is excited to welcome her new brother, “Ach Chadash!” The party gathers friends, her teacher, and family members including Aba, Ima, Saba, Savta, Dod, and Doda. As the new sister, Bina receives a lovely gift—a new doll, while her brother Dov is gifted a “Dov”-bear. Ha, ha, ha, בְּדִיחָה “B’dicha” - a joke😂
מִי בַּמִשְׁפָּחָה? WHO IS IN THE FAMILY
The first graders were excited to share pictures of their families and tell us who is in their family.
Explore our ח Chet pages in our notebooks!
We are working on improving our handwriting to ensure it is neat and stays within the lines.
Here is Zayin הִינֵה ז
The letter Zayin sounds like Z. Our latest vocabulary words include: זָז “zaz” - moving (for male), זָזָה “zaza”- moving (for female), אַוָז “avaz”- goose (male), אַוָזָה “avazah- goose (female), אַוָזוֹן “avazon” - little goose, and זָהָב “zahav” - gold.
The students had a lot of fun playing a game reminiscent of the freeze game, incorporating the words “zaz,” “zaza,” “lo zaz,” and “lo zaza.” This activity has proven to be an excellent method for reinforcing the vocabulary and its meanings.
אֵיפֹה ז בַּכִּיתָה?
WHERE IS ZAYIN IN THE CLASSROOM?
יוֹגָה אוֹתִיוֹת LETTERS YOGA
We are writing and illustrating words and sentences in our notebooks
We continue to observe the changing weather, noting the chillier days, רוח (Ruach) - wind, and fewer עלים (alim) - leaves on the trees and the ground.
We read a poem about autumn leaves, and similar to the characters in iTaLAM, the first graders had the chance to collect leaves outside (בחוץ - bachutz) and bring them into the classroom.
הִינֵה אֲנַחְנוּ בַּחוּץ Here we are outside
Here is Vav הִינֵה ו
We have made an excellent start with the second book of Ariot! The book begins with the letter ו Vav and the vowel ֹו Holam (Oh). Our new vocabulary words include: וָו “vav” (hook), וָרוֹד “varod” (pink), אֲדוֹן “adon” (Mr.), דֹב “dov” (bear), יוֹם “yom” (day), הַיוֹם “hayom” (today), and בּוֹא “bo” (come over). Additionally, we learned that when Vav precedes a word, it signifies ‘and’.
הִינֵה וָרוֹד בַּכִּיתָה
HERE IS PINK IN THE CLASSROOM
The first graders found the story, "Yom Balon” (Balloon Day), quite hilarious. In the story, “Adon Balon” (Mr. Balloon) visits the first graders with a colorful bouquet of balloons. Uh-oh! The balloons get loose, and Adon Balon calls them to come back. However, the pink balloon decides to play some tricks on him and change its shape. You might ask your child what the pink balloon pretended to be and how the story ended. While reading this story, we had the opportunity to review previously learned words and expand our vocabulary by adding new colors.
Yom Balon!🎈Balloon Day!
We were inspired to celebrate our own Yom Balon in class. To our surprise, "Adon Balon" sent us some of his pink twistable balloons! Along with them, he included a special letter addressed to us.
The students were overjoyed to receive a long pink balloon and shape it into a "dag" (fish).
Too bad Adon Balon himself could not be here to share in the fun and excitement. We would have loved it if he could teach us how to twist a balloon into a “dov” - bear🧸.
We wrote words and sentences with the letter Vav in our notebooks.
On Simchat Torah שִֹמְחַת תוֹרָה it's a custom for children to wave festive flags in the synagogue, while adults dance with the Torah. Our first graders made their own flags and practiced waving them while singing and dancing in the classroom.
Sukkot סוּכּוֹת
What do we say on Sukkot?
Students learned that before and during the Sukkot holiday, we greet one another with the phrase חָג שָֹמֵחַ Chag Sameach (Happy Holiday)!
What do we do on Sukkot? We build and sit in a Sukkah! The first graders learned that a Sukkah must have at least three walls and is topped with Schach.
We read a fun story about a visitor in the sukkah. When Sharona’s family sat in the sukkah with apples and honey on the table, guess who zoomed in? דְבוֹרָה - D’vorah (bee)! The children were intrigued and amused by Sharona’s family’s reaction to this unwelcome guest. Ask your child how Sharona solved the problem.
Decorating a Sukkah is so much fun! The children enjoyed writing with a Sharpie “חַג שָמֵחַ” (Chag Sameach) on their lanterns and coloring them while listening to holiday songs.
חַג סוּכּוֹת שָׂמֵחַ!
חַג סוּכּוֹת שָׂמֵחַ!
Fulfilling the mitzvah of sitting and eating in the Sukkah
Lunch in our school's sukkah
Guests in Rabbi Birnhak's Sukkah
Here is Hey - הִינֵה ה
We welcomed the letter ה and our new iTaLAM friends: Hadassah, Hillel, and Hamorah Shira. Our new vocabulary words are הַר “har” - mountain, הָרים “harim” - mountains, הִינֵה “hiney”- here is. We also learned that הַ “ha” in front of a word means "the".
אֵיפֹה ה בַּכִּיתָה?
WHERE IS HEY IN THE CLASSROOM?
יוֹגָה אוֹתִיוֹת LETTERS YOGA
We are writing words and sentences with ה
Mazal Tov, Kita Alef!
Congratulations on completing the first book of Ariot! In celebration of this achievement, each student received a special orange certificate, which reflects the color of the first workbook. The students had a great time adding stickers of all the letters they learned from the book to their certificates.
BINGO! בינגו
The first graders had a blast playing bingo! It was a fun way for them to review letters, words, and vowels they've learned so far.
They also had an opportunity to play reviewing games on iTaLAM
“Eich Hayom Bachutz?”
How is it outside today?
We monitor the weather each day using our interactive weatherboard. Students take turns looking out the window and share their observations on the board, noting what they see and how it feels. Are there Ananim -עֲנָנִים (clouds)? rain - גֶשֶם (geshem)? Is there Shemesh-שֶׁמֶש (sun)? Is it cham-חַם (hot), chamim-חַמִים (warm), kar-קַר (cold), or Karir-קָרִיר (chilly)? As the seasons shift, students will encounter new weather-related vocabulary, enhancing their language skills.
סְתָיו בָּא🍂
“Stav” (Fall) is here! We notice the עָלִים (alim) - leaves transforming into beautiful shades of צָהוֹב (tzahov) - yellow, כָּתוֹם (katom) - orange, אָדוֹם (adom) - red, and חוּם (chum) - brown. The students had a great time coloring paper leaves with autumn hues. The leaves were added to our Fall bulletin board. Additionally, they enjoyed watching an interactive story about fall and the color changes of leaves.
חֲתִימָה טוֹבָה! Hatima Tova
“Yom HaKippurim Bah” - Yom Kippur is coming. In this unit, students are introduced to the words Tov (good), Lo Tov (not good), S’lichah (sorry), and Hatima Tova (May you be sealed in the Book of Life). The first graders enjoyed the iTaLAM story about children making poor choices, recognizing their mistakes, and asking for forgiveness - סְלִיחָה (S’lichah).
In the following drawings, students reflect on their positive actions at home and outdoors before Yom Hakipurim and throughout the year. Some of their illustrations depict activities such as cleaning, assisting in the kitchen, and staying in bed all night.
Throughout the month of Elul, as we approached Yom Kippur, students documented their Mitzvot and positive deeds in their Mitzvah booklets, which are now proudly displayed on our bulletin board.
Shalom Dalet - שָׁלוֹם ד
In the Dalet unit we welcomed our new iTaLAM friends, Dan and Dina. Our new vocabulary words include: דָג (dag) - fish, דָגִיג (dagig) - little fish, דָגִים (dagim) - (many) fish, and דְבַש (dvash) - honey.
אֵיפֹה ד בַּכִּיתָה?
WHERE IS DALET IN THE CLASSROOM?
We're finding the letter ד around the classroom
יוֹגָה אוֹתִיוֹת LETTERS YOGA
We created the letter Dalet with our bodies
As we prepared to reenact the story of Dan and Dina fishing, the students had a great time crafting their own "dagim" (fish) using paper.
We spread a blue tablecloth across the floor to represent the pond, labeled a jar with the word "D’vash" (honey), and incorporated fish nets into the setup. Now, see us in action! 🎬
שָׁנה טובה Shanah Tovah
It is a tradition to create Shanah Tova cards for family and friends during Rosh Hashanah. The first graders created unique artistic cards for their families on canvas using printed paper featuring text from the Rosh Hashanah songs we sang. The students were thrilled to spot words they recognized in the text and enjoyed singing the songs repeatedly.
The children tore the paper into pieces and glued them onto the canvas to create a vibrant background.
They traced apple or pomegranate shapes onto the canvas and wrote words with a marker.
Applying watercolors to the canvas was the final touch.
🎨The first graders had a fantastic time with this project, and the results are stunning!
On the back of the canvas, the students wrote holiday greetings for their families.
Decorating the envelopes for the cards was also enjoyable experience.
In the ג Gimel unit, we introduced new iTaLAM friends, Gadi and Gilah, along with the vowel Chirik, which has the sound of ee.
אֵיפֹה ג בַּכִּיתָה?
Gimel in the Classroom
Some of our new words include גַן (gan) for garden or playground, גַג (gag) for roof, and גַב (gav) for back.
Students enjoyed the animated story about Gadi and Gila, who come to play in the playground. There, they find the letter Gimel playing on the roof. When Ariot arrives in search of the letter, Gimel jumps back into his chest.
Students made paper puppets of their iTaLAM friends and themselves, labeling the backs to remember the word "Gav" (back).
Rosh Hashanah Bah רֹאש הַשָׁנָה בָּא
Rosh Hashanah Bah רֹאש הַשָׁנָה בָּא
Students received a new workbook that focuses on holidays.
שָׁלוֹם בּ Shalom Bet
This week we welcomed the letter בּ (Bet) and a new iTaLAM friends, Barak (בָּרָק) and Bina (בִּינָה). The letter Bet (בּ) sounds like "B". However, when the dot (Dagesh) inside the Bet is absent, the letter's sound changes to a "V" sound.
אֵיפֹה בּ בַּכִּיתָה?
WHERE IS BET IN THE CLASSROOM?
New words that we have recorded and illustrated in our notebooks include:
בָּא (ba) -coming, בַּיִת (bayit) -house/home, בָּלוֹן (balon)- balloon, סַבְתָא (savta)- grandma, צָהוֹב (tzahov) - yellow, לָבָן (lavan) meaning -white.
Aba Babayit- Aba is Home
The first graders loved the story of Barak's dad coming home and surprising him with a red balloon.
They were excited to read and reenact the story
Students collaborated and built a Bayit (house) for the activity using rods and connectors.
Everyone was thrilled to receive their own red balloon for the act.
Watch the students in action
We played our first bingo game to review the letters, words, and vowels learned thus far.
Students drawing- Ani Babayit - I'm at home
שָׁלוֹם ש Shalom Shin
The letter Shin ש and the vowel Shvah were introduced in our second unit. שְ- Shin with Shvah makes the sound Sh… Shachar- שַחַר and Sharona- שָרֹונָה are our new virtual friends. Our new words with ש are: שָחוֹר (shachor)- black, שַבָּת (Shabbat)- Sabbath, and the greeting שַבַּת שָלוֹם (Shabbat shalom).
Creating Shin from found objects
אֵיפֹה ש' בַּכִּיתָה?
WHERE IS SHIN IN THE CLASSROOM?
יוֹגָה אוֹתִיוֹת LETTERS YOGA
We created the letter Shin with our bodies
הִינֵה שחוֹר בַּכִּיתָה
Here is Black in the classroom
We recorded new words in our notebooks
Ariot introduced us to the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Alef.
Students welcomed the letter with a song, learned to write Alef, and sounded it with the “ah” vowels: ָ Kamatz, ַ Patach, and ֲ Chataf Patach. They also learned new words with the letter Alef; אַבָּא (Aba) - father, סַבָּא (Saba) - grandfather, אֲנִי (Ani) - I/me, אָרוֹן (aron) - cabinet, and אָדוֹם (adom) - red.
אֵיפֹה א' בַּכִּיתָה?
WHERE IS ALEF IN THE CLASSROOM?
אֵיפֹה א' בַּכִּיתָה?
WHERE IS ALEF IN THE CLASSROOM?
אֵיפֹה א' בַּכִּיתָה?
WHERE IS ALEF IN THE CLASSROOM?
We are writing the letter Alef using round magnets.
יוֹגָה אוֹתִיוֹת LETTERS YOGA
We created the letter Alef with our bodies
אֵיפֹה אָדוֹם בַּכִּיתָה?
Where can we find the color red in the classroom?
Celebrating Elul's Hebrew b-days with a special iTaLAM song
🥳הַיוֹם יֵש יוֹם הוּלֶדֶת🎈
Mazal Tov Miriam!
Mazal Tov Lavi!
שָלוֹם, שָלוֹם, שָלוֹם, אֲרִיאוֹת!
The first graders were excited to meet “Ariot,” the lion of the letters, and to receive their first Ariot workbook.
Ariot will accompany us throughout the year, teaching us the Hebrew alphabet and vowels.
We welcomed Ariot with a song "Shalom, Shalom, Shalom Ariot"
Ariot introduced us to the Alef Bet song.
We're excited to start using our first Ariot book.
We had fun reenacting the story "Ani Ariot".
Alef Bet puzzles assist us in practicing the order of the letters.
Our First Week of Ivrit
We started the week learning how to greet each other with "shalom". The students enjoyed singing, writing, coloring, and playing games. They now can recognize the words Shalom Kita Alef שָׁלוֹם כִּיתָה א
We colored the words
We unscrambled the words
We cut and pasted the words in our new notebook
We wrote the words
and we searched for the words in the classroom
We also enjoyed singing while pointing to the words when we heard them
First Day Of School 2024-2025
י"ד באייר, תשפ"ד 5/22/24
Since Passover break, the first graders were busy mastering the letters צ Tzadi, ק Kof, ר Reish, and שֹ Sin. We also celebrated Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel's Independence Day.
the צ Tzadi unit, some of the verbs we learned are metzayrim (drawing), tsov-im (coloring), and metsal-mim (taking photos). In the story Anachu Lomdim Bachuts (We are learning outside), the virtual class is enjoying learning outside the classroom, drawing and painting what they see, while the teacher is taking their pictures. Unfortunately, during that week the weather did not allow us to go outside. However, the students enjoyed drawing and coloring Tsav (turtle), tsvee (deer), and tsipor (bird) inside the classroom. They did a fantastic job
כ"ח באדר ב, תשפ"ד 4/7/24
We are off to a great start with the 4th (and last) book of Ariot! The book starts with the letter פּ. Just like the letters Bet and Kaf, פּ changes its sound when the dot in the middle drops (פ FAY), and פ changes its form to ף (Fay sofit), when it is at the end of a word. This unit is rich in new vocabulary and includes two stories.
The students’ favorite was the story about a family of elephants (פִּילִים -pilim): Aba Pil, Ima Pila, and Pilon (little elephant), who together make a salad and pudding for dessert. Pilon insists on eating only the dessert and not the salad, but his father explains to him that elephants should eat salad before they eat pudding. Pilon tries to escape by claiming that he is not a פִּיל (Pil)-elephant but a פִּילוֹן (Pilon), however, the mother explains to him that he is an elephant, because he has a body - גוּף (guf), face- פָּנִים (panim), nose- אָף (af), and ears- אוֹזְנַיִים (oznayim) like any elephant has, so he needs to eat salad before dessert. Additional ּפּ and פ words in the story are: pepper- פִּלְפֵּל (pilpel)ׂ, cucumber- מְלָפְפוֹן (m’lafefon), and a drop - טִיפָּה (tipah).
The second story is about a kite - עֲפִיפוֹן (afifon). New words included in this story are: flying - עָף (af), bench - סַפְסָל (safsal), above - מֵעַל (m’al), and between - בֵּין (bein).
The 1st graders also enjoyed writing פ words with פְּלַסְטֵלִינָה Plastelina (modeling clay).
ט"ו באדר בת תשפ"ד 3/25/24
It was so much fun celebrating the holiday of Purim with the students! Here are a few pictures from our Carnival day.
We completed our Clown Puppets partnership project. Students were very happy to receive the half-colored clowns and letters from the students of Rambam school.
The first graders did a fantastic job coloring and cutting their clowns.
Here are our finished clowns
We sent a short video clip to the students at Rambam to wish them happy Purim
“Me BaMegillah?”, Who is in the Megillah? is a song introducing the four main characters in the story of Megilat Esther, focusing on their characteristics: Ahashverus Melech (king), Esther Malka Yehudiya (Jewish queen), Haman Sar Ra (bad minister), and Mordechai Yehudi tov (a good Jew). The iTaLAM story tells the sequence of events in a language appropriate to the first grade level. We watched all five chapters and after each one, the children were able to answer simple comprehension questions in Ivrit. In conclusion, each student chose a character to draw and write about.
🦁In art with Mrs. Fellegy, students were excited to paint a lion mask, as they all love to pretend to be Ariot;) We added a crown with a letter to the mask and "hiney", they can pretend to be Ariot whenever they like🙂
Eizeh yofi (hooray)! We completed the letter ע Ayin unit, and with that, completed the 3rd book of Ariot!
In this unit, the story עֲנָנִים Ananim (clouds) focuses on Hillel and his sister, Yael, who are עוֹלִים olim (going up) a mountain to observe the ananim. They ask “What’s in the clouds?” They see many shapes in them: עַיִן ayin (eye), נַעַל na-al (shoe), עוּגָה oogah (cake), עִיגוּלִים igoolim (circles), and עָלִים alim (leaves). As they continue climbing up, it begins to rain and they realize what is really in the clouds - גֶשֶׁם geshem (rain)! This story brings back vocabulary from previous units. It is also connected to our weatherboard which we visit frequently.
We are finding words with Ayin around the classroom
In the ס Samech unit, the first graders enjoyed the story about a סוֹד- “sod” (secret). סַבְתָא- Savta (grandma) tells Hadasah a secret but she would not reveal it to סַבָּא “Saba” (grandpa). Saba does not like not knowing the secret, and while he’s feeding his סוס “soos” (horse) and סְנָאִי “sna-ee” (squirrel) סָלַט חַסָה “salat chasa” (lettuce salad), he complains to them about it. When saba arrives back home…surprise! The whole family was waiting for him with a surprise מְסִיבָּה “mesiba” (party) for his birthday, and saba realized he liked the secret after all.
Students worked on a fun craft, creating a Soos (horse) and a Saba (grandpa) or a Savta (grandma) using cardstock, yarn, pipe cleaners, and clothes pins.
🐴Another fun project with beautiful results
We are writing words with Samech
כ"א אדר, תשפ"ד 3/1/24
In the past two weeks we completed the letters Mem and Nun units. We also were very excited to start the Purim unit and work on a partnership Purim project. Scroll for more details.
During the נ Nun and ן Nun Sofit (Final Nun) unit, students learned the vowels וּ Shuruk and ֻ Kubutz. They sound like “ooo”. Students discovered that Dina and Dan, students in the virtual class, are שְכֵנִים “shchenim” - neighbors. Both of them מְנַגְנִים “menagnim” - play instruments. Dan מְנַגֵן “menagen” - plays the violin and Dina מְנַגֶנֶת “menagenet” -plays the mandolin.
While playing their instruments, Dan and Dina bring great joy to their family, neighbors, and classmates. On Shabbat however, they don’t play, they sing Jewish melodies around the שוּלְחָן שַבָּת “shulchan Shabbat” - Shabbat table, instead.
The first graders created sets of neighbors of their own choice.
And they wrote sentences using new vocabulary words.
The month of Adar brings so much joy and happiness to our class. We started the unit with a song, searching for the answer to the question “Why are we so happy in Adar?” - Because in Adar - we celebrate Purim!!
On the Contrary, וְנַהֲפוֹךְ הוּא, is a theme throughout our Purim unit and a story in iTaLAM. The students found this story hilarious as it brings up funny opposites from their everyday classroom lives, for example: Ariot stands upside down, the balloon is down holding Adon Balon up, and the students are standing on chairs.
The first graders also enjoyed practicing On the Contrary in our classroom, sitting on chairs that are flipped upside down, working under their desks, etc.
We will continue this unit next week and explore the story of Megilat Ester.
Partnership2Gether
We are thrilled to reconnect with our partnership school in Israel. Rambam school is located in the city of Akko, in the western Galilee. Each of our elementary students colored half of a paper puppet clown and wrote a letter to attach to it. Their work was sent to Israel and will be delivered to Rambam next week. Students from Rambam will finish coloring our clowns and will cut, glue, and put the puppets together. They also are working on the same project, coloring half clowns, and their work will be delivered to us in a couple of weeks. Our students will finish coloring and put together the clowns that they received from Rambam.
1st graders at work, using new color changing markers
The new markers inspired us to be colorful, creative, and happy, as well as explore the theme Venahafoch hoo with colors.
Students introduced themselves in letters to Rambam students, wishing them happy Purim and peace in Israel.
הִינֵה אֲנַחְנוּ כּוֹתְבִים Here we are writing
מִי? מָה? לָמָה? כַּמָה?
Who? What? Why? How many?
Students wrote their own questions, illustrated, and answered them.
What's in our notebooks ?מָה בַּמַחְבֶּרֶת
ל בשבט, תשפ"ד 2/9/24
This week we introduced the מ Mem and ם Mem Sofit (final) unit.
The first graders are always excited to create the shapes of the letters with their bodies.
Some of this unit’s words are מֶלֶך “melech” - king, שֶמֶש “shemesh” - sun, יָם “yam” - sea, שָמַיִים “shamayim” - sky, שוֹאֵל “sho-el” asks, and לוֹמְדִים “lomdim” -learning (plural).
The students enjoyed the story about Hillel, who asks many questions all day long. Mee?, Mah?, Kamah?, and Lama? (Who?, What?, How many?, and Why?). Hillel’s questions are connected to words and stories we learned in past units. “Who is sick and not in the class?”, “How many fish are in the sea?”
In class, students have been practicing asking questions. They are doing a great job writing four of their own questions, illustrating, and answering them as well. Their work will be posted next week.
🌎We listened to and sang a beautiful song called ?מָה יֵש בָּעוֹלָם “Mah Yesh Baolam?”, What is In The World? The song includes many words we encounter in this unit like olam (world), shemsh (sun), shamayim (sky), yum (sea), etz (tree), and perach (flower). We will continue to ponder this question and expand our vocabulary in the coming weeks.
2/2/24
This week we completed the Lamed unit and continued our Winter unit. We also said goodbye to our Israeli friend Yoel, who returned home with his family.
🍨גְלִידָה glidah (ice cream) was our favorite vocabulary word in this unit. Students were excited to share what flavor of glidah they liked. Some like שוֹקוֹלָד “shokolad”-chocolate, וָנִיל “vanil” - vanilla, or תוּת “tut” - strawberry. Some like לִימוֹן ”limon” - lemon, דובדבנים "duvdevanim"- cherry, and even מֶנְטָה “menta”- mint. Ani ohevet glidah shokolad banana;)-
Oh la la! Glidah, glidah, glidah! On Tuesday, students were surprised with glidah! It was such pleasure seeing their smiles grow bigger and their eyes shining brighter☺️
☃️We have been observing the weather daily and discussing winter weather words. The word שֶלֶג “sheleg” - snow, is connected to the Lamed unit as well. After reading a story about a snowman who is missing some of his body parts, and singing songs that teach us body parts vocabulary (head, eyes, nose, mouth, etc.), students drew a snowman - אִיש שֶלֶג “ ish sheleg” following step by step instructions. The last step was to label all the body parts of their snowman which we were learning about. They did a fantastic job!
Students also worked together to create a bulletin board size "Ish Sheleg" and labeled in Hebrew all the body parts they have learned.
On January 30th, we said goodbye to our friend, Yoel. This was a bitter sweet day, as we are happy for Yoel to finally be back home with his extended family and friends, but we will definitely miss him here, in our classroom.
Yoel went home with a beautiful album containing pictures and letters from us. The first graders were wishing Yoel safe travel, and for God to watch over him. They expressed that it was good to know him and they would love for him to come back and visit soon. Here are their illustrated letters:
🌱Our seed are sprouting!
ט"ז שבט, תשפ"ד 1/26/24
Coming back from winter break, students were excited to start the 3rd book of Ariot with the letters Kaf and Lamed. We also started our winter unit all while learning about Tu Bishvat, the new year for the trees in Israel.
In the Tu Bishvat unit, we focused on the parts of the Etz עֵץ -tree. Students learned the parts of the tree in Hebrew through a joyful song, “Mah Yesh Laetz?”- What does the tree have? We had a lot of fun dancing and moving to the song to help us remember the names of each part. “The tree has a gezah (trunk), the tree has anafim (branches)…”
Watch the 1st graders in action
Students created booklets about the parts of the tree. Here is a sneak peek.
After watching a Tu Bishvat story about Hillel who is asking his family members why they love trees, the first graders wrote about why they love trees and pasted it in their booklets.
The books are displayed on our bulletin board for everyone to see.
Students learned that on Tu Bishvat, in Israel, it’s a custom to plant trees, eat fruits, and give tzedaka. Each student had a chance to “plant” a tree in Israel by placing their drawing of a tree on the map of Israel (The following picture includes 2nd grade trees as well).
In Science with Mrs. Viro, students planted basil seeds from Israel in a can. The can was covered with a large sticker of Ben-Gurion's head that they colored. In the coming weeks, they will watch as the seeds sprout and Ben-Gurion grows hair!
In Science with Mrs. Viro, students planted basil seeds from Israel in a can. The can was covered with a large sticker of Ben-Gurion's head that they colored. In the coming weeks, they will watch as the seeds sprout and Ben-Gurion grows hair!
Thank you to JNF for supplying the stickers.
On Tu Bishvat day, students had a Chagiga, celebration with Morah Schusterman, eating fresh and dried fruit.
We almost completed the letter ל Lamed unit. Some of our new vocabulary words are: יֶלֶד “yeled”- boy, יַלְדָה “yalda” - girl, חוֹלֶה “choleh” - sick (for a boy), חוֹלָה “cholah” - sick (for a girl), אוֹכֵל “ochel” - eating (for a boy), אוֹכֶלֶת “ochelet” - eating (for a girl), and גְלִידָה “glida”- ice cream.
LettersYoga
יוֹגָה אוֹתִיּוֹת
Students were fond of the story about Doda Leah, Gila’s aunt, who surprised the virtual class with ice cream 🍦for each boy and girl in the class. But, oh- la- la! Gila is not in the classroom. Gila is sick. Right away, Aunt Leah drives her ice cream truck to Gila’s house and surprises her with ice cream and a get-well card.
We will continue this unit next week adding flavors of ice cream to our vocabulary😋
The letter כּ Kaf, just like the letter Bet, changes its sound when the dot (or ball) in the middle drops. Also, this was the first time the students were introduced to an ending letter. כ Chaf changes its form to ך Chaf Sofit when it is at the end of a word. We have five letters in the Hebrew alphabet that change their form for that reason.
Having fun with Letters Yoga
יוֹגָה אוֹתִיּוֹת
Some of our new words are כּוֹתֵב “kotev”- writing (for male), כּוֹתֶבֶת “kotevet”- writing (for female), כּוֹאֵב “ko-ev”- hurts, כָּחוֹל “kachol”- blue, כּוֹכָב “kochav”- star, בּוֹכֶה “bocheh”- crying (for male), בּוֹכָה “bocha” - crying (for female), אֵיךְ “eich”- how, and כָּךְ “kach”- this is how.
We practiced asking "Eich kotvim?" How do we write?, and the verbs "Kotev" "kotevet" with our dry-erase boards.
This is how we write כָּךְ כּוֹתְבִים
מָה יֵש בַּכַּד?
What is in the "Kad"?
Students Drew, colored, and wrote about the color of their vase and what's in it.
One way to review and practice vocabulary is by drawing. To practice 9 of the colors we've learned: Adom (red), Tzahov (yellow), Yarok (green), Varod (pink), Katom (orange), Sagol (purple) Chum (brown), and Shachor (black), students were instructed to draw freely but use the color that was instructed by me. While they were drawing, I randomly called out to switch colors and continue drawing. You can see the results here.
After the students finished the exercise, we discussed the differences and similarities between the drawings. What do you observe?
י' בטבת, תשפ"ד 12/22/23
Hooray! We completed the second book of Ariot. Congratulations Kita Alef!
The last letter in the second book is the letter י Yod. Our new words are יֵש “yesh” (there is), יָד “yad” (hand), יוֹשֵב “yoshev” (sitting for a boy), יוֹשֶבֶת “yoshevet” (sitting for a girl), ֹיוֹיו “yoyo” (yoyo), חִידָה “chidah” (a riddle), and יַחַד “yachad” (together). In this week’s story, the virtual class is having a "chagiga" celebration. First, each student sits and then the teacher presents them with riddles. At the end, Ariot arrives with a box full of yoyos. One for each child. As you can imagine, the students were not sitting anymore😉
On Wednesday, in honor of the 1st graders' accomplishments, we had our own riddles party. First, each student set down.
Each student had an opportunity to present a חִידָה “chidah” (a riddle) that they wrote earlier in the week. They did a great job!
Here are the riddles they wrote and illustrated
The students were very excited to receive a package from Ariot. The package contained our new splash puppet of Ariot and a certificate for each child.
Our celebration would not have been complete without yoyos! The 1st graders were thrilled to receive their own yoyo🪀with the first letter of their Hebrew name on it (like in the story). You can imagine the excitement in the room, and of course, no one was sitting anymore;)
Mazal Tov Ziggy! Winner of the HHAI annual Chanukiyah contest.
S'vivon sov, sov, sov...
כ"ה כסלו, תשפ"ד 12/8/23
Another busy week is behind us. We continued learning about Chanukkah and completed the letter ט Tet unit.
The 1st graders were very fond of this unit’s story about “Tabach” - a cook, who gets distracted and keeps on burning his toast. They were so happy to receive their own chef hat, decorate it, wear it, and take part in reading and reenacting the story!
Class of chefs כִּתָּה שֶׁל טַבָּחִים
Watch us reenacting the story
As we continued to learn about Chanukah, students especially enjoyed the Jug of Oil project. First, they colored and decorated a jug of oil- “Kad Shemen” for Beit Hamikdash, just to turn around and “break it”, as the Yevanim (Greeks) did. But no worries, soon, they all became restorers and each student reassembled their Kad in a beautiful collage. Scroll to see their finished work.
Chag Sameach! חג שמח
כ"א כסלו, תשפ"ד 12/4/23
Last week, we welcomed the letter ט Tet and the “EH” vowels, Tzeireh and Segol. Some of our new words are טַבָּח “tabach” - a chef/a cook, טוֹב “tov” - good (for male), טוֹבָה “tova”- good (for female), טֶלֶוִיזְיָה “televizya”- television, ֹאוֹטו “oto”- car, and טוֹסְט “tost” - toast. The students were very entertained watching the story about a chef who was unsuccessful in preparing טוֹסְט טוֹב -a good toast. We will complete the Tet unit this coming week
We are so excited about the upcoming holiday of חֲנוּכָּה Chanukah! An opening song in iTaLAM assists the students with counting in Hebrew up to 8, using the masculine form.
Why do we celebrate 8 days of Chanukah?
To answer this question, we watched an animated Chanukah story which is divided into three parts.
The students see, hear, and discuss the events and the sequence in which they occurred. The story also assists the students in distinguishing between Greeks (Yevanim) and Jews (Yehudim), and the actions of each group.
Here are some of the questions the student answered after watching the first part of the story:
Mi Basipur? Who is in the story? (Yehudim and Yevanim) Eifo Hasipur? Where is the story? (Eretz Yisrael, Yerushalayim) Ma B’Yerushlayim? What is in Yerushalayim? (Beit Hamikdash) Ma B’Beit Hamikdash? What is in Beit Hamikdash? (Menorah)
We expressed our gratitude to G-d for the victory and the miracle of the oil with a song in Hebrew; “Toda, Toda Elokim, Toda al Hanisim”.
We wrote letters to children in the south of Israel, who had been displaced from their homes since October 7th.
ד' כסלו, תשפ"ד 11/17/23
This week we celebrated the letter ח “Chet”. Our new vocabulary words are חֲגִיגָה “chagigah” - celebration/party, מִשְפָּחָה “mishpacha” -family, אָח “ach”- brother, אָחוֹת “achot”- sister, חָדָש “chadash” - new (for male), and חֲדָשָה “chadasha” - new (for female). We also learned the words דוֹד “dod” - uncle and דוֹדָה “doda” - aunt.
The story in this unit was all about a celebration in the family “Chagigah BaMishpacha”. Bina has a new brother “Ach Chadash”! Everyone is coming to the party: her friends, her teacher, and family members including Aba, Ima, Saba, Savta, Dod, and Doda. Bina, the new sister, is receiving a gift, a new doll. Dov, her new brother, is receiving a “Dov”- bear. Ha, ha, ha, בְּדִיחָה “B’dicha” - a joke. Students enjoyed creating the celebration on the board, read and act out the story.
Kita Alef presents: Chagiga Bamishpacha חֲגִיגָה בַּמִשְפָּחָה
יוגה אותיות Letters Yoga
כ"ח חשון, תשפ"ד 11/12/23
We had another great week in Hebrew class. The letter of the week was ז “Zayin”. Our new vocabulary words are זָז “zaz” - moving (for male), זָזָה “zaza”- moving (for female), אַוָז “avaz”- goose (male), אַוָזָה “avazah- goose (female), אַוָזוֹן “avazon” - little goose, and זָהָב “zahav” - gold.
The students enjoyed playing a game similar to the freeze game using the words “zaz”, “zaza”, “lo zaz”, “lo zaza”. It’s been a great way to reinforce the words and their meaning.
Finding words with Zayin in our classroom
Writing and illustrating words and sentences with the letter Zayin
כ"ב חשון תשפ"ד 11/6/23
We are off to a great start with the second book of Ariot! The color of the cover is “yarok”-green. Only one student guessed it right;) The book starts with the letter ‘ו Vav, and the וֹ “Oh” vowel, Holam. Our new vocabulary words are: וָו “vav” - hook, וָרוֹד “varod” - pink, אָדוֹן “adon”- Mr., דֹב “dov” - bear, יוֹם “yom” - day, and בֹּוא “bo” - come. We also learned that when a Vav is in front of a word, it means ‘and’.
Students created the letter Vav with found objects
The first graders found this week’s story hilarious. It’s “Yom Balon”- Balloon Day, and “Adon Balon”- Mr. Balloon is visiting the first graders with a colorful bouquet of balloons. Oh, oh… the balloons get loose and Adon Balon is calling them to come back. Well, the pink balloon decides to play some tricks on Adon Balon by changing its shape. Ask your child what it pretended to be and how the story ended. While reading this story, we had an opportunity to review words we learned previously and add some more colors to our vocabulary.
Writing in our notebooks is a weekly routine. The students illustrate new vocabulary words and write short sentences.
Yom Balon!🎈Balloon Day!
At the end of the Vav unit, we had our own balloon day. Surprise! ” Adon Balon” sent us some of his pink twistable balloons! He even wrote us a special letter. The students were so excited to get their own long pink balloon and shape it like a “dag”- fish. Too bad Adon Balon himself could not be here to share in the fun and excitement. We would have loved it if he could teach us how to twist a balloon into a “dov” - bear.
ט"ו בחשון, תשפ"ד 10/30/23
Mazal Tov! Congratulations Kita Alef! We completed learning the first Ariot book. In honor of our progress, each student received a certificate stating their accomplishment.
Decorating our certificates with letter stickers
This week’s story was one of our favorites. In the story, “Eifo Havhav?”- Where is Havhav?, Hillel, Hadassah, Hamorah Shira, and Havhav (the dog) are climbing a red mountain. When Havhav is out of sight, they all look for him. Ask your child where was Havhav. The students were excited about cutting out mountains from cardstock and learning how to make them stand up. Now, they can re-enact the story or create their own play, using the vocabulary words they have learned.
Introducing our Harim
The first graders celebrated their accomplishments with bingo games reviewing phonetics and vocabulary words they have learned since the beginning of the year.
They also played review games on iTaLAM.
We concluded our celebration by guessing what would be the color of the second book of Ariot. Adom? Tzahov? Yarok? Our first graders can't wait to find🤔
ה' בחשון, תשפ"ד 10/20/23
This week we completed the ד Dalet unit. Students had fun bringing the story about Dan and Dina fishing to life. First, they made “dagim” (fish) out of paper. Then, they created labels with the word “dvash” (honey) for our honey jars. We laid down a blue tablecloth on the floor to create a pond and... we were ready! The children had fun reading and acting out the story with friends, using all the props.
The letter of the week was ‘ה Hey. We welcomed our new iTaLAM friends Hadasah, Hillel, and Hamorah Shira. Our new vocabulary words are: הַר “har” - mountain, הָרים “harim” - mountains, הִינֵה “hineh”- here is. We also learned that הַ “ha” in front of a word means the.
Yoga letters יוגה אותיות
Making the letter Hay with our bodies
?אֵיפֹה מִלִים עִם ה בַּכִּתָה
Students looked around the classroom for words with ה
כ"ח בתשרי תשפ"ד 10/13/23
This week the students were introduced to the letter ‘ד Dalet. We welcomed our new iTaLAM friends Dan and Dina, and our new vocabulary words are: :דָג (dag)- fish, דָגִיג (dagig) - little fish, דָגִים (dagim)- many fish, and דְבַש (dvash) - honey.
Yoga letters יוגה אותיות
Forming the letter Dalet with our bodies
Where is ד Dalet in the classroom?
?איפה ד בכיתה
We are writing in our notebooks words and sentences with ד
How is it outside today?
We monitor the weather each day using our interactive weatherboard. Students take turns looking out the window and share their observations on the board, noting what they see and how it feels. Are there Ananim (clouds)? Is there Shemesh (sun)? Is it cham (hot), chamim (warm), kar (cold), or Karir (chilly)? We will introduce additional weather-related vocabulary throughout the year to enrich our language skills.
סְתָיו בָּא
“Stav” (Fall) is here
We are noticing the עלים (alim)- leaves are changing their colors to צָהוֹב (tzahov)- yellow, כָּתוֹם (katom)- orange, אָדוֹם (adom) - red, and חוּם (chum). Students enjoyed coloring paper leaves using fall colors. The leaves will be displayed on our Fall bulletin board. The 1st graders also watched an interactive story about fall and the changing color of leaves.
כ"א בתשרי תשפ"ד 10/6/23
Over the past couple of weeks, we completed the letter Gimel ג unit and learned about the holidays of Sukkot and Simchat Torah.
What do we say on Sukkot? Students learned that before and during the holiday of Sukkot we greet each other with the words חָג שָֹמֵחַ Chag Sameach (Happy Holiday)!
What do we do on Sukkot? We build and sit in a Sukkah! The first graders learned that a Sukkah needs to have at least 3 Kirot (walls) and it is topped with a Schach.
Decorating a Sukkah is so much fun! The children enjoyed writing with a Sharpie “חַג שָמֵחַ” (Chag Sameach) on their lanterns and coloring them while listening to holiday songs.
We read fun stories about visitors in the sukkah. When Shachar’s family prepared to eat in the sukkah, גֶשֶם-Geshem (rain) came. When Sharona’s family sat in the sukkah with apples and honey on the table, guess who zoomed in? דְבוֹרָה - D’vorah (bee). The children were intrigued by the reaction of the two families to the unwelcomed guests.
חַג שָֹמֵחַ! Happy Sukkot
Working on our Sukkah decorations
Visiting the Cohen family's Sukkah
On Monday, we went on a short trip to visit the Cohen family's sukkah. The students were impressed by the size of the sukkah and the beautiful posters and murals. They had an opportunity to hold a Lulav and Etrog and enjoyed a yummy treat😋
A lovely day at Beasley's Orchard
On Simchat Torah שִֹמְחַת תוֹרָה it's a custom for children to wave festive flags in the synagogue, while adults dance with the Torah. Our first graders made their own flags and practiced waving them while singing and dancing in the classroom.
ט' בתשרי תשפ"ד 9/24/2023
This week we completed the letter ב Bet unit and started the ג Gimel unit. To conclude the ב unit, students had an opportunity to act out the story Aba Babayit, Dad is Home. In the story, Aba is coming home and surprises Barak with a Balon Adom - red balloon. First, the students constructed a בַּיִת Bayit (house) using rods and connectors. They did a great job collaborating and taking turns building the house.
We are building a bayit (house)
The best part was when the students realized we’re going to use real balloons as props. How fun it was to see the students' surprised faces and big smiles as I pulled out a big bag of red balloons from behind my desk. They all enjoyed acting out the story and taking home a בָּלוןֹ אָדוֹם (red balloon).
See us in action
See us in action
אֲנִי בַּבַּיִת Ani babayit
Drawing ourselves in our house
The ג Gimel unit introduces new iTaLAM friends, Gadi and Gilah, and the vowel Chirik, which sounds like ee. Some of our new words are גַן-gan (garden/playground), גַג- gag (roof), and גַב - gav (back). Students enjoyed the animated story about Gadi and Gila who are coming to play in the playground. There, they find the letter Gimel playing on the roof. When Ariot arrives, looking for the letter, Gimel jumps back to his chest.
Yoga letters יוגה אותיות
Making a Gimel with our bodies
Where is ג Gimel in the classroom?
Making puppets to emphasizing our גַב Gav (back)
“Yom HaKippurim Bah” - Yom Kippur is coming
“Yom HaKippurim Bah” -Yom Kippur is coming. The words “Tov” (good), “Lo Tov” (not good), “S’lichah” (sorry), and “Hatima Tova” (May you be inscribed in the Book of Life), are introduced in this unit. The students really enjoyed the songs and the short stories from the ITaLAM program about children making poor decisions, realizing their mistakes, and asking for forgiveness- סְלִיחָה (S’lichah). Following the stories, the first graders thought about good deeds they may do at home, in the classroom, or outside. Students were happy to share and draw about cleaning up their toys, taking the trash out, helping in the garden, doing their classwork, and more. Their work is hung on the bulletin board. I will take photos of their work and post later this week.
During Friday's assembly, students wrote about an action they were sorry about and dissolved it in water.
9/15/2023
The first graders have been busy learning about Rosh Hashanah. We started with the song "Rosh Hashanah Bah, Rosh Hashanah is Coming." Using stories and songs, students learned how to greet their family and friends for the new year with Shanah Tovah!
To express what they have learned in a creative way, students created a mixed media piece of art on canvas to wish their family Shanah Tova. First, they tore and pasted printed paper on canvas to create the background. They were thrilled when they discovered that the text was taken from the Rosh Hashanah songs they have learned and they actually can read it! Next, they traced an apple or a pomegranate shape in the middle and added words and small illustrations in the background. They finished the piece using watercolors and paint markers. They really enjoyed experimenting with the material and working on the project. Enjoy a few pictures of the students at work, followed by the finished art work. They did a fantastic job.
Aren't they amazing?
On the back of the canvas, students wrote a holiday greeting to their family.
What do we put on the table on Rosh Hashanah? Rimon (pomegranate) and tapuchim b’dvash (apples in honey) are just a few of the special foods we eat. What else do you see in the students' work?
With Ariot, we welcomed the letter בּ-Bet, and new iTaLAM friends, Barak and Bina. The students learned that when the dot, Dagesh, in the bet is void, ב, the letter’s sound changes to a V sound. Some of our Bet words are בָּא- ba (coming), בַּיִת - bayit (house/ home), בָּלוֹן - balon (balloon). The children enjoyed reading the story Aba is Home. In the story, Aba surprises Barak with a Balon Adom (red balloon). The word סַבְתָא- savta (grandma) and the colors צָהוֹב - tzahov (yellow) and lavan - לָבָן (white) were also introduced. We will complete the unit next week with a surprise! Stay tuned for more pictures and videos.
Shalom Kita Alef!
שלום כיתה א!
2023-2024
מָה שָחוֹר בַּכִּיתָה? Finding black in the classroom
⬇️Kita Alef 2022-2024⬇️
יוֹם הָעַצְמָאוּת Yom Haatzmaut
יוגה אותיות ק LETTERS YOGA
כַּמָה קוֹפִים בַּקוּפְסָה?
How many monkeys are in the box?
Students were counting and sorting by color in Hebrew
אֲנַחְנוּ כּוֹתְבִים בְּמַחְבֶּרֶת מִילִים וּמִשְׁפָּטִים עם ק
We are writing words and sentences with Kof
אֲנַחְנוּ מְצַיְרִים
We are drawing
צַב, צְבִי, וְצִיפּוֹר Turtle, deer & bird
אֲנַחְנוּ כּוֹתְבִים בְּמַחְבֶּרֶת מִילִים וּמִשְׁפָּטִים עם צ
צ We are writing words & sentences with
אֲנַחְנוּ כּוֹתְבִים בְּמַחְבֶּרֶת מִילִים וּמִשְׁפָּטִים עם פּ
We are writing in our notebooks letters and sentences with ּפ
Siddur Party מְסִיבַּת סִידוּר
Siddur Party מְסִיבַּת סִידוּר
מזל טוב כיתה א'!
This week in Kita Alef 3/10/23Getting ready for our Siddur celebration with metallic and sparkling water color
למה כולם שמחים? כי באדר פורים!
Why is everyone happy? Because it's Purim!
This week in Kita Alef 3/3
This week in Kita Alef 2/24/23סבא עם סוס Saba wuth a horse
Writing in our 3rd Ariot book אנחנו כותבים
This week in Kita Alef 2/10/23Who? What? How many? Why?
Students wrote and wnswered their own questions
We gave tzedaka for planting trees in Israel. We are proud to be a part of this meaningful and traditional way in the Jewish faith to show we care and help green the land of Israel.
Students drew trees and placed them on the map of Israel to represent the costume of planting trees on Tu Bishvat.
We completed our booklets about the parts of the tree.
This week in Kita Alef 2/3/23To celebrate our Lamed unit, students enjoyed an ice cream treat. They had a choice of vanilla chocolate, strawberry, or a birthday cake flavor.
מְמְמְ... גְלִידָה טוֹבָה!
MMM... Glidah Tovah!
Students wrote and illustrated their favorite ice cream. What kind of "Glidah" do you like?
Silly moment in Hebrew:)
A peek at our booklets "Ma Yesh Laetz?"
Why do we like trees?למה אוהבים עצים
This week in Kita Alef 1/2/23Finding words with ל -Lamed around our classroom
We are writing in our notebooks
טוּ בִּשְבָט בָּא! ! Tu Bishavat is coming
What does the tree have? ?מָה יֵש לָעֵץ
גֶזַע "Trunk "Gezah
עֲנָפִים "Branches "Anafim
פְּרָחִים "Flowers "Prachim
מָה יֵש בַּכַּד? What is in the "kad" (jug)
אִיש שֶלֶג SNOWMAN
...Work in progress
Students worked together to create this bulletin board size snowman, adding all the body parts we have learned in Hebrew, which will be labeled next week.
Presenting our own riddles
We are writing
HAPPY HANUKKAH!! חַג חֲנוּכָּה שַֹמֵחַ
Students colored and decorated כַּד שֶמֶן Kad Shemen
Helping Friends
Students restored their "broken" kad shemen
Poterry restoration
רפאות כדים
This week in Kita Alef 12/16/22הִינֵה טַבָּחִים בְּכִיתָה א
Chefs in Kita Alef
This week in Kita Alef 12/2/2022הינה האות ח' בכיתה
Here is the letter Chet in the classroom
Who is in our family? מִי בַּמִשְפָּחָה
הַר, הַר, הַר, הָרִים
Har, har, har, harim
We can create the letter ה -Hey with our bodies!
סתיו FALL
1st grade 10/21/22 newsletter
דָג, דָג, דָג, דָגִים
Fish, Fish, Fish
Students acting out the story.
We are Happy on Simchat Torah אֲנַחְנוּ שְׂמֵחִים בְּשִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה
WEEK OF 10/12/22
חַג סוּכּוֹת שָֹמֵחַ! Chag Sukkot Sameach
WEEK OF 10/12/22
Visiting Shalva's Sukkah
כִּיתָה א' בַּסוּכָּה
Eating Yummi Treat
Blessing on the Lulav
We can make Dalet -ד with our bodies!
אֵיפֹה ד' בַּכִּיתָה?
? Where is Dalet in our classroom
In the following drawings, students reflect on the good deeds they do at home and outdoors before Yom Hakipurim and throughout the year.
אֲנַחְנוּ טוֹבִים בַּבַּיִת We are good at home
אֲנַחְנוּ טוֹבִים בַּחוּץ We are good outside
1st grade 9/30/22 newsletterG'mar Hatimah Tovah! גְמַר חֲתִימָה טוֹבָה
שָ נָ ה ט וֹ בָ ה ! ! ! S H A N A H T O V A
1st grade 9/25/22 newsletter
Project in process
Look at our decorated envelopes!
אַיפֹה "שָנָה טוֹבָה" בַּכִּיתָה?
?Where is "Shanah Tova" in the classroom
אַיפֹה שוֹפָר בַּכִּיתָה?
?Where is shofar in the classroom
What do we put on the Rosh Hashanah Table?
שָלוֹם! אֲנִי בַּבַּיִת. Hello, I am home
1st grade 9/16/22 newsletterיוֹגָה אוֹתִיוֹת Letters Yoga
We can create the letter Bet with our bodies!
Building a בַּיִת Bayit (house)
Red balloons in the class!
בָּלוֹן אָדוֹם בַּכִּיתָה!
Scroll down for videos of first graders reenacting this week's story.
אַבָּא בַּבַּיִת Dad is Home
9.9.2022
1st grade 9/9/22 newsletterאֵיפֹה ש בַּכִּיתָה? Where is Shin in the classroom
יוֹגָה אוֹתִיוֹת Letters Yoga
We can create the letter shin with our bodies!
We had fun creating Shin with found objects.
שלום כיתה א 2022-2023!
1st grade 8/19 letter
Getting our first Ariot books from Ariot!
שלום, שלום, שלום, אריאות!
Creating Alef א using found red objects
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