Posted on February 13, 2017
Hello Gan Class Families!
I hope that you are all safe and warm at home during our latest snowstorm!
Today’s class was all about Tu B’Shevat! On Tu B’Shevat we celebrate the trees. Without trees we would not be able to live. They provide us food, oxygen and materials we need. To observe this holiday, we enjoyed a fun Tu B’Shevat seder together. Below is a picture of some of the fruits that were a part of our seder.
Students made great personal connections between the Tu B’Shevat seder and the Passover seder. A specific focus was the number four. In each seder, we have four glasses of wine, or in our case, grape juice. Students enjoyed watching the color of the white grape juice become darker as the red grape juice was gradually added to their cups. Together we were able to connect the four glasses of juice to the four seasons and describe the changes to the trees in those seasons.
Another special activity was that each student planted two things. Before we planted, we heard the story about a man named Honi who sees a farmer planting a carob tree and questions him about doing so even if he will never get to enjoy the carobs. The farmer answers that he is planting the tree because someone else planted the trees that he enjoys and so he is doing the same for new generations. To have the same experience, we planted apple seeds. Apples won’t grow from these seeds for many years but we enjoy apples from trees that someone else planted for us. We also planted parsley. Parsley grows much quicker and in fact will be ready to use by Passover!
At the end of the day the 7th graders came to share a skit with us. They are working as a class to set good examples and increase Tikun Olam efforts. Each month, they have encouraged the students in our Religious School to take an active role in performing a mitzvah for others. This month, they are encouraging collections of 4 packs of toilet paper. To help remind students, they offered each Gan student a toilet paper bracelet. If your family is able to donate toilet paper, there is a collection box in the main lobby year round for 4-packs of toilet paper.
Due to February vacation, our next class will be on Sunday, March 5th. Enjoy the next few weeks!
As always. please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the Gan Class.
Michelle
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