Welcome Back!!

We are very excited to be back in school again with all the Yeladim!! Now that the Holidays are over, we are really ready to start delving into our learning and have a very successful year with your children.

Simchas Torah

Last week we made flags to dance with on Simchas Torah. We then took a trip to the big Shul (Synagogue) and looked at the different items found inside- A Torah, siddur, Bimah- the platform where the Torah is read and more. Lastly the children got to take their flags and practice dancing in the Shul for Simchas Torah!

Happy Birthday Shimon!!

Today we celebrated Shimon's 4th birthday. We made birthday cupcakes in the morning. All the Yeladim made cards for Shimon, we danced around Shimon, gave Tzedakah, and ate our delicious cupcakes. A big thank you to Shimon's mom for bringing the children puzzles in honor of his birthday. 

Getting ready for Succos

Today we began learning about Succos! We talked about how the Jews were in the hot desert and Hashem wanted to protect them from the sun and snakes there, so he placed clouds all around them. To remember this special thing Hashem did for us, we sit in a Sukka-a little hut which is outdoors- for 7 days and we eat there. 
The Yeladim then painted a miniature Sukka which we will keep in our class over Succos. We also built a Succa with the wooden blocks. 
Afterwards we went outside to see the big Succa in the yard. 

Preparation for Yom Kippur

We learnt about the special Holiday of Yom Kippur, how it is a day to say we say i'm sorry for what we did in the past. We learnt about the things we are not allowed to do on Yom Kippur such as wear leather shoes, and wash our hands. We made a pair of foam slippers to wear on Yom Kippur. 
There is also a custom to eat honey cake before Yom Kippur as if to request from Hashem to give us a sweet new year just as the honey cake is sweet. The Yeladim(children) each got to make their own honey cake to be eaten before Yom Kippur. 
Many have the custom to take a chicken and swing it over their heads before Yom Kippur while reciting some blessings. The chicken is then slaughtered and its monetary worth is given to poor people. By doing this we ask of Hashem that if we are suppose to have bad decrees come upon us this year, may it be transferred to the chicken in the merit of the Mitzvah of Tzedakah(Charity). On Thursday, Rabbi Okonov came to school with chickens and the children had the opportunity to do the Mitzva of Kapporos- swinging the chicken over their heads. 

Learning about Shofar for Rosh Hashana

We had a special visitor come to our classroom and show us all different shapes and sizes of Shofars. He blew the Shofars for us and told us about the different sounds it makes. He also explained that we blow it on Rosh Hashana as a wake up call for us to think about what we may have done in the past that wasn't so good and decide for the future to do better. The children then got a chance to touch the Shofars.

We learned the letter... Aleph!

Our first week of school was a great success. It is a pleasure to have all your children in our class. They are a fantastic group and we look forward to an excellent year together. We have begun learning the first letter of the Hebrew Alphabet which is Aleph. We drew the letter with our hands in the air, made the letter with construction paper strips, and did other activities while learning Aleph.