Dear Room 13 Families,
We began our wonderful week, like we do each week, by celebrating Havdalah together as a class. The children smelled the spices, reminding them to keep the sweetness of Shabbat with them throughout the week. After extinguishing the candle in the grape juice, the children were truly ready to begin their week. Throughout our week, we spent our time discussing the importance of the holiday of Sukkot, learning all about why we build a Sukkah, singing Sukkot songs and even enjoying visits to different Sukkot around our campus. On Tuesday, we went as a class, to spend time in the Parenting Center Yard Sukkah with Rabbi Josh. We read a Sukkot story and preformed the mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah as well as the mitzvah of shaking the Lulav. We learned the blessing for both of these mitzvot and said them aloud together. However, before shaking the Lulav, we needed to assemble the Lulav and learn about the importance of each of its branches. We learned that the palm branch is like our spine, reminding us to stand tall for ourselves and others; the myrtle branch is like our mouths, reminding us to say our blessings and use kind words with others; the willow branch is like our eyes, reminding us to look out for our friends; and the Etrog is shaped like our hearts, reminding us to think with our hearts and be kind to one another. Once our Lulav and Etrog were all ready, each child had the opportunity to shake the Lulav all around. We listened to the sound it made as each friend shook it, reminding us of wind and rain, something very important, especially at this time of year. During our Sukkot discussion we also learned about one of the mitzvot of Sukkot, Hachnasat Orchim, welcoming guests. We discussed the importance of this mitzvah during Sukkah and year round. We talked about what it means to welcome in guests; how we can introduce ourselves, show one around, ask one to play, etc. We then mentioned to the children that on Monday, we will be having a new friend join our class! The children were so excited to hear this news and wanted to know all about our new friend. They can’t wait to meet him on Monday! By Wednesday, it was time to start discussing the next wonderful, celebratory holiday of Simchat Torah, which is celebrated starting on Wednesday/Thursday night. We unrolled a small Torah scroll for the children to see, as we discussed how on this holiday, we finish reading the Torah and then start it all over again! We will continue this discussion more next week. When the children entered the room on Wednesday, they noticed something new on the carpet. In our circle, we now have colorful shapes with numbers on them for each child to sit. We will be using these shapes, throughout our day, as yet another, fun way to learn all about our shapes and numbers. We had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Sukkah exhibit created by the 3rd Graders. The children loved seeing all the different types of Sukkot that the 3rd Graders had created and looking at the different types of materials used. They even got to hear from some of the creators about how they built their Sukkah! We then ended our fabulous week by celebrating a beautiful Shabbat with Colette and her family. We also celebrated the holiday of Simchat Torah by making flags and marching with the Torah around the Sanctuary and waving our flags. It was a joyous way to celebrate the holiday and end our week together. Shabbat Shalom, Your Room 13 Teachers Reminders: *Please remember to sign your child in and out, with a legible signature, and the time in which you arrived and left EVERY day. If you have a high-lighted section, it means we need your signature or time in that space, as well as your normal spot for the day. *Friday, October 20th – Shabbat –Sienna and family– 10:15 *Friday, October 20th – Beit Issie Farmer’s Market – Please bring tzedakah for your child to bring to the Famer’s Market
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