Sunday, October 27, 2013

Creatively Constructing

On Saturday at Havurah we were BUILDERS, CREATORS and CONSTRUCTORS of community!

We began by reviewing our first three letters (Aleph, Bet, and Gimel) with BLOCKS

 
We made squiggly letters and straight ones --
we built our Aleph-Bet tall and far
We sang our welcome song, but with a twist: Sydney, Sarah, and Jesse each suggested a different direction in which we could sing our song -- creativity was in the air!







We enjoyed Challah and juice as we raised them into the air to practice our Hebrew blessings -- our voices are growing louder and more articulate each week


In ceramics we solidified our technique of making a checkerboard on the clay and binding with water (Score and Slip)
Nate built a schoolbus, Simone shaped X's and O's (CLAY hugs and kisses), Jesse worked with oppositions--he made both a hot dog bun and then a tunnel for a train, Quincy made snowmen, and a whole team worked together to make a family
Later, we sung LOUD AND SPIRITED with Paul

Back in our classroom, we revisited our Aleph word-- AARETZ

We built our own cities, towns, buildings, castles, and landscapes
 
We used ALL the materials and tools we could find -- marble beads for rocks and bricks and decorations, sea shells, and small people, too!

Not only did we build our own community, we cleaned up like a real team --
We divided and conquered, each child with a different task for clean up -- it was amazing!

Finally, we contributed to our Aleph-Bet books.
We worked on our title pages, as well as our first two pages

Our drawings of Aleph and Bet were diversely unique and colorful -- each child is thrilled to have a book of their own that they will contribute to on a weekly basis

Can't wait for next Havurah, as we will begin to prepare our minds for the Festival of Lights --  Chanukah

Monday, October 21, 2013

Building a Story



This week at Havurah we discussed the word COMMUNITY to understand that we ourselves are a TEAM that listens, learns, and experiences with one another.

We went on an adventure to the staircase to notice the artistic space we inhabit -- the expressions of community that line our every wall.

We imagined what it means to be the creator of ones own story.

We discussed what it takes to build an imagined story - a title, an author, a collection of characters, and an adventure! We considered the difference between stories that are make-believe and stories that are real and true!


This conversation led into a group project that we will continue throughout the year -- each student created the title page for her/his own Aleph-Bet book. We will fill it to the brim as we learn the Jewish letters and the most exciting and relevant Hebrew words associated with these letters.

Aleph א for Aaretz ארץ --> Land
Bet ב for Bayit בית --> Home
Gimel ג for Glidah גלידה and Goi גוי --> Ice Cream and Nation (ice-cream eaters that we are)





In ceramics we learned how to SCORE and how to bind pieces of clay together

We talked about action words -- what we DO to the clay -- roll, twist, flatten, and even "leave it as is"

Later we sang with Paul -- he even introduced the Aleph-Bet song to help us remember our letters.

We built on the themes we discussed last week and solidified both our schedule and our group dynamic; we had a blast all along!


Sunday, October 13, 2013

Getting to Know You

This week in Havurah, classroom 4 spent some time thinking about BIG QUESTIONS! Firstly, we discussed our own ideas about what Judaism means to us. We will revisit this idea throughout the year and think about if our ideas change or grow. Kids answered the following prompt: “To me, ‘being Jewish’ means…” Here are some ideas we had:

“Celebrating different holidays.” – Rachel
“My mom, my dad and my magic blanket.” –Qunicy
“People talking together.”  -Simone
“Having friends and having the whole school come together and say Jewish things.”-Bryce
“Go to temple, sing songs and talk.” – Jesse
“Being with my family at my house and having Challah.” – Sarah
“Playing drums at Temple.” –Ethan
“Playing guitar at Temple.” – Nate

So now that we have an idea of what it means to us to be Jewish, we talked about what we want to learn and gain from Havurah this year. After an exciting brainstorming session, we all agreed that we wanted to make our own movie! This will be a big project that we will work on throughout the year, so more updates to come! One thing we will need to consider is what stories we would like to draw inspiration from.

Thinking of stories, we continued our conversation of the Jewish folktale, The Sun and the Jealous Moon. Drawing inspiration from the companionship and friendship of the moon and the stars, we drew our own drawings of people in our own lives that we love and support.




We also continued our exploration of the Alephbet, learning this week about Bet! As we settle into our classroom 4 routines, Alephbet activities, our welcome meetings and blessings over snack, we are moving forward in what is sure to be an exciting and enriching year!

Sunday, October 6, 2013

And Here We Go!


For our first day of Havurah 2013-2014, we spent the day sharing our thoughts on friendship, what the JCC means to us, dancing, creating and singing (a lot of singing). 

We began our Welcome Meeting by sharing some of our favorite things about the JCC and learned our Shalom Song which we will be singing every week to welcome our friends back. We had an exciting visit to ceramics with Catherine where we explored clay and warmed up for a year of clay creation!


We learned about the Jewish Folktale The Sun and The Jealous Moon, which we will continue to explore next week.

We reflected on what friendship means to us and learned about the jealousy that the moon felt for the sun. Next week we will get to sink our teeth a little deeper into this Jewish Folktale as we explore friendship in our own Havurah community.

After our story time we moved our feet and had a rockin' good time as Paul led us through music time! 
We wrapped up our day by exploring our first Hebrew letter of the year, Alef. Next week we will continue to talk about the letter Alef as we explore the word Aretz, Hebrew for Land. We will be exploring our own lands- classroom 4, the JCC, New York City and beyond!


Welcome to Havurah! Meet the teachers!

Each week we will be posting reflections, ponderings, ''Aha!' moments and lots of fun photos from our Havurah meetings. Let's start by meeting this years Pre-K teachers, Ani and Brigitte! 


My name is Brigitte Reisman Moreno--I am a native New Yorker currently getting my Masters Degree in Museum Education at Bank Street College of Education. I am PASSIONATE about arts education and the power of expression in children's education. After graduating from Hunter College with a degree in Studio Art, I have spent the past three years working in museums, including the Rubin Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum, where I still freelance for Family Programs. I am also student teaching as a part of my fieldwork for General Education certification, which I love! I am so excited to be a part of the Havurah family this year and can't wait to continue building this amazing community!


My name is Anielle Fredman--I am a recent graduate of Vassar College where I studied religion, music, and education. I have a passion for Jewish stories, songs, rituals, and traditions, and have spent recent years in educational settings with young children. In addition to teaching at the JCC Havurah, I am teaching downtown at a progressive synagogue called the New Shul as well as working with Bar- and Bat-Mitzvah students in preparation for their personal ceremonies. I plan to eventually go back to school for a masters/PhD in child psychology/development, but am enjoying a breath of fresh air from academia. For now, I am dwelling in settings that feel much more like home--in the classroom with little people beginning their Jewish journeys. Welcome to Havurah!