March 29, 2024 |

Grade 2 – Sunday in Kitah Bet

Posted on September 28, 2016

It was another busy Sunday in Kitah Bet.  The children began their morning with tefillah (prayers) in the sanctuary together with the kindergarten and first grade.  Cantor Ken reviewed a number of the morning prayers with the students. We sang some songs for Rosh Hashannah and heard the shofar.

Back in the classroom, the children enjoyed an ice breaker game together.  Hamorah Margie and I learned more about some of the interests and skills of our students as well as some things that we did not know about each other (despite the fact that we have been friends since our own days in kindergarten at Countryside Elementary school in Newton).  The children too seemed to enjoy learning new facts about each other.

During Hebrew with Hamorah Margie, the children used cards to make the words Shabbat and “bat” (daughter) as well as many nonsense words.  They also began writing the letters shin, tav and bet. 

Finally, they played “Simon Says” in Hebrew as a way to be familiar with hearing Hebrew and learning different body parts.
In our holiday session, we discussed some facts about the shofar and the concept of teshuvah that is an integral part of the high holiday season. The children learned that doing teshuvah requires a number of steps including admitting our mistakes, saying we’re sorry, trying to make amends, and trying not to repeat the same mistake in the coming year. The sounds of the shofar remind us to wake up and to try and be better in the new year. Each child had a chance to try blowing my shofar.  There are a number of expert future shofar blowers in kitah bet! The children also made Rosh Hashanah cards for various family members and friends. 

We concluded our morning together with a fun game of “shin shaker” and wished each other a shana tovah.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year!
Hamorah Joanne (and Hamorah Margie)