Dear Kitah Alef Parents,

This week we had our Tu B’Shevat Seder, and thanks to all of the parents (and kids) who volunteered to bring in items – it was a great success! We really appreciate it, and the kids greatly enjoyed learning about Tu B’Shvat & eating the delicious food (see the photos below or our photo album).

Done with the music and the seder, we went out for break and came back to review our Hebrew letters and words. We added not one but two letters to our ever-growing Hebrew knowledge.

We have now learned two different vowels and 16 letters! The word of the day – Etz (tree) – was also quite fitting for continuing our unit on Tu B’Shevat.

It was quite a busy day but the kids had a great time.

See you all next week!

Eugene & Zephira

Dear Kitah Alef Parents,

The rain may have been pouring hard outside this week, but that couldn’t keep us from our learning and fun. After music with Rabbi Bloom, we returned to our classroom to review the letters we have learned so far and add a new one to our list:

Since we couldn’t go outside for break, we spent it in our classroom playing games and doing Hebrew coloring sheets. During snack, we read a Tu B’Shevat story, which served as a nice transition to the day’s art project: a Tree of Life. After splitting up into two groups, we discussed the different ways that we as humans hurt the Earth, and more importantly, the sorts of things that we can do to help the Earth. Then the kids decorated trees of their own with the ideas they came up with. We finished the day by working on a class tree, which the kids decorated with leaves containing their ideas about improving the world around them (see the photos below or our photo album).

The kids were really excited about the project, and the tree turned out beautiful!

In honor of Tu B’shvat, we are going to have a Tu B’shvat seder for our January 26th class. Part of the seder involves tasting a variety of fruits. We would love it if you could send with your child one of the items below. Please email us by Friday the 22nd to let us know what you can bring so we can make sure we have all of our items. For the fruits, we just need enough for each student (there are 13) to have a taste.

What we need:

• Two (2) kinds of grape juice – red and white – enough for each student to have 4 mini cups
• Fruit with outer shell – like a nut
• Fruit with an inner pit – dates, olives, cherries, plums
• Fruit with both an outer shell and inner pit – carob, avocado, pomegranate, orange
• Fruit that is entirely edible – figs, raisins, strawberries, grapes

As always, please let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you, and have a great week,

Eugene & Zephira

Dear Kitah Alef Parents,

It was great to see and meet you all for our Share-a-Shabbat! The kids seemed to really be proud of the work they have done so far in class.

We began this week in the Sanctuary with Rabbi Bloom, singing our holiday and regular Hebrew songs with the other classes. Once back in our room, we reviewed all of the letters and words we’ve learned so far, and added one more to our list:

We then went out to the courtyard for break, and came back to our classroom to have snack and hear a story called Joseph and the Treasure. We finished the day by catching up on our Aleph-Bet Books, which we have been working on throughout the year. Some of the kids finished early, and worked on Hebrew coloring sheets or a Kitah Alef vocabulary word-search (see the photos below or our photo album).

See you next week!

Eugene & Zephira

Dear Kitah Alef Parents,

It was good to be back at Bet Sefer after what seemed like quite a long break! This week we began in the Sanctuary, singing songs and practicing for our Share-A-Shabbat this Friday (01/08) with Rabbi Bloom. Please remember that in addition to the dish you said you would bring, each family is requested to bring a beverage for our Shabbat Potluck Dinner. If you have any questions, please contact Ronna (Amelia’s mom).

After music, we stayed in the Sanctuary in order to rehearse our explanation of the Torah portion story boards we made. Since we split the class into groups, Zephira and I worked with each group individually. Some of the kids took this opportunity to pick up a siddur and look at the Hebrew words in it, trying to recognize the letters we’ve learned this year. Needless to say, tomorrow’s Shabbat should be very fun (see the photos below or our photo album).

We then went on our break, coming back just in time for snack and a story. Only then did we start our Hebrew review and worksheets. This week’s letter was Vav, and the corresponding word was vered (rose).

Our list sure has grown since the start of the year! We spent the rest of the day working on Hebrew coloring sheets and listening to another great story. It was a busy day, and all of the kids were excited for their Share-A-Shabbat this week. We hope to see all of you there!

Eugene & Zephira

Dear Kitah Alef Parents,

We jumped right into Hebrew review this week, singing our Alef-Bet song while doing the accompanying dance. We didn’t have music in the Sanctuary this week because it is Hanukah, and we had our Bet Sefer Hanukah party to attend later in the day.

Because of all of the hard work the kids have put in so far this year, we took a break today from learning a new letter and word, opting instead to review our past vocabulary. After break, we read a few Hanukah stories, and headed to the social hall, where the Hanukah party awaited.

There we sang songs with Rabbi Bloom and the Mechina and Kitah Bet classes. We also enjoyed latkes, gelt, and quite a fun dreidel competitions (see the photos below or our photo album)!

We wish you all a Happy Hanukah, and will see you on January 5th, when Bet Sefer resumes again.

Eugene & Zephira