Posted on December 19, 2016
Hello Gan Class Families!
Today’s class was all about Hanukkah! Its a very exciting time of year and the Gan Class students are definitely looking forward to celebrating Hanukkah with family and friends.
We started our day with a whole school Hanukkah celebration in the Social Hall. First we practiced the blessings and sang some of our favorite Hanukkah songs with Cantor Ken. Then we played dreidel before enjoying some delicious latkes and apple cider provided by the Men’s Club.
In our classroom we read a story about the Macabees and how they knew what was right and fought to save the Jewish people. Students called the Macabees brave heroes during the story. We heard that after the Macabees defeated the Greeks and made them Jerusalem, there was only enough oil which lit the ner tamid to last for one day but a miracle happened and the oil lasted for eight days! We learned that we eat latkes and soufganiyot (delicious jelly donuts) which are fried in oil to remind us of this miracle and that the letters on our dreidel mean “A great miracle happened there.” Perhaps the most interesting thing that students realized was that in our story and all of the things we learned about Hanukkah, there was no mention of presents. Students decided that they are lucky to get presents from loved ones.
Before our Hanukkah experiences were over, we read a silly story called There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Dreidel and had some dreidel spinning contests. Everyone has done lots of spinning and they are now experts.
Another special opportunity we had today was that we got to learn some Hebrew with Penni Rochwerger. Penni is a mother of two of the older students in our school and is also a Hebrew Through Movement Teacher. Students learned the Hebrew words for sit, stand, walk, stop and jump by experiencing those actions along with Penni, Bina, Ann and myself.
Lastly, everyone took home their personal Arts Project Kippah today. The whole school has worked so hard on this magnificent project and the panels we have painted are currently being sewn to create the piece of art that will be displayed for our whole community to enjoy. To commemorate the experience, the Gan Class students created personal hand-print kippot using the same technique that was used on the panels. The kippot are theirs to keep and enjoy for years to come. Many of them wore them during class today. Below is a picture of all of the Gan Class kippot. They look great!
Our next class will be on January 8, 2017! Please enjoy the winter break and the Holiday Season. I can’t wait to see you all next year!
Michelle
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