Kitah Gimmel

I challenged each grade to decorate a mini sukkah with unconventional materials (think Project Runway). The Gimmel class received party favors and had to get creative with their decor! Not only was this a fun and engaging way to celebrate the holiday, but students participated in the mitzvah of decorating a sukkah as well as learning you can decorate a sukkah with anything! Students also enjoyed walking around sukkahs decorated by other grades and discovering the materials they had to work with!

We were so excited that Hanan was able to spend time with all the students in the sukkah this week. He certainly has a style of mixing music and dancing with stories that is incredibly engaging. It was a beautiful opportunity for children to spend one last meaningful moment in the Tifereth Israel sukkah.

Ms. Linda took her students into the sanctuary to change their environment when it was time to engage in prayer study. Today they talked about the silent Amidah and students were able to find a place of their choosing in the sanctuary to get comfortable, and have their own silent moment. The children understand the importance of this space but had a sense of freedom as well.

Student's in Ms. Linda's class joined Mr. Noah's class for a fun and engaging tefillah lesson in the sanctuary. Students were in groups and challenged to find specific words in different prayers, act out, come up with creative alternatives and get more familiar with common prayers. This lesson was adapted from a creative Shacharit from USY from many years ago and is a great demonstration of how to utilize all resources, not just those designed for the age group that is taught.

Kehillah Tefillah is our once a month tefillah with Rabbi Dorsch and Bar. We have been doing Havdalah together and it is a great way to engage the students in the process of starting a new week after Shabbat.

One of the books the Gimmel class is working in is The Great Israel Scavenger Hunt. They are loving learning more about Israel and sharing their first art project, Israel skyline bottles. They worked to draw a skyline with architectural details that you would see in Israel and then filled with layers of colored sand (salt) to create an almost sunset look. Linda has loved the time she has spent in Israel and is excited to share her experiences with the children!

One of the high lights of the gimmel class is their Israel Scavenger Hunt textbook and everything they get to learn. Ms. Linda also has a passion for teaching all about Israel and sharing and connecting her experiences to the text.

Kitah Gimmel is a tight knit group, many of which have known each other for years! This is a true chaverim!