April 2024 | Nisan 5784

Kindergarten-2nd Grade Monthly Newsletter

1st graders constructing towers in the lesson about the Tower of Babel

What did our students learn?

We started off with Noah and the Flood and The Tower of Babel. The classes discussed what the word tzedek means (righteous or just) and related that concept to Noah (he was known as tzadik b'dorotam, righteous in his generation).



When we moved onto The Tower of Babel, the classes discovered how, according to the Torah, all the different languages of the world came to be.

We discussed the four mitzvot of Purim and the the Kindergarteners used paper puppets to retell the story of Esther. Passover brought the word seder, order, and the 14 steps of the seder. We explored the story of Moses and what it meant to be a good leader.

The Second Graders discussed what qualities are needed for being a great leader and the First Graders gave examples of how they know when a person is a good leader.

Sharing Shabbat students making hamantashen

What did our students do?

During our exploration of Torah, the classes made rainbows with skittles and warm water as well as built their own towers with toothpicks and miniature marshmallows.

For Purim, Kindergartners and First Graders made groggers (noise- makers) that they shook during the Megillah reading. All the students rolled out dough to form hamantaschen that were sold at the Purim carnival with all the money collected going to Israel.

During enrichment, the Kindergarteners and First Graders used their imaginations to envision themselves standing at Mt. Sinai waiting for Moses to bring the 10 commandments.

In chug, Second Graders used sentence strips to say what they knew about the story of Passover. We turned their answers into Mt. Sinai and placed all the K-1 people at the bottom of it!

The Family Table



Kindergartners learning about the four mitzvot of Purim

The students have really enjoyed our discussions about the rituals of the holidays and the Torah stories. Here are some questions and conversation starters that you can discuss with your learner:

• Which Torah story do you like to hear over and over again?

• What happened to Adam and Eve when they did not listen to God?

• Why do we wear masks and costumes for Purim?

• What does Moses' name mean in Hebrew?

• Why did God put a rainbow up in the sky after the flood?



• What were the four mitzvot of Purim?

Student's Corner

Second graders measuring with cubits after learning about Noah and the Flood

Here are some of the many thoughtful comments we heard from our students:

• “I loved using the skittles to make a rainbow!"

• "What languages do you speak at home?"

• "I really liked queen Vashti, she stood up for herself!"

• "I would not eat from the tree if I was not supposed to, would you?"

• "My marshmallow tower tasted as good as it looked!"