tales from a far-land

School pictures are in!  They look pretty adorable (even if Madi looks a little sleepy). I cannot believe how much they have grown! Madilyn:  Kindergarten, Age 5 Aiden:  Preschool, Age 4

Here is what Aiden did yesterday at Sunday School.  We took him out of class briefly so he could celebrate Madilyn's Consecration with us. From Ms. Julia (Aiden's Class): Dear Pre-K Parents, We had a lovely morning learning about Creation ad Adam, and Eve.  We read the stories of “Adam’s First Shabbat,” and “Adam and Eve’s New Day.”  We learned that God said “kee tov” (very good) after each day of Creation.  We made Shabbat placemats that will be laminated and used in class for our mock Shabbat celebrations.  These will be sent home at the end of the year. When we discussed our week’s mitzvot, the unanimous mitzvah was being kind to our parents.  We had music and sang the “Boker Tov” song with fervor. Our Shabbat eema and abba were Maia and Jacob. Our Hebrew letter was HAY for “har” (mountain) and  “Hagaddah” (the Passover Seder guide.)  Enjoy the HAY fun sheet I sent home. Shavuah tov.

Yesterday was a very special Sunday for Madilyn.  It was Consecration Sunday. The ceremony of Consecration marks the beginning on one’s Jewish learning. When young people begin their study of Judaism, they are honored before the community as a new student and often presented with a certificate marking the occasion and gifts like miniature Torah scrolls, which Madilyn received. Temple Chai also added some other rituals to their ceremony like some special blessings for the kids and the recitation of the Sh’ma prayer.  The kids also sang a couple of Hebrew songs for us.  I think Madi's favorite part of the entire ceremony was the cake we was consumed afterward. From Ms. Ruth (Madilyn's Class): Dear Parents, Today was such a special day!!   We started off in our classroom working on our individual "Books" of Creation, setting out the creations on each day, with the seventh day being the day of Rest, Shabbat.  The children so enjoyed talking about all the...

Here is what the kids did in Sunday School this week.  From Ms. Ruth (Madilyn's Class): Dear Parents, Today was all about the forthcoming Jewish Holiday of Simchat Torah.  We started the day coloring in a flag and working on our Simchat Torah Packet, while learning all about the celebration and importance of the Torah!  During circle time we went into more detail, learning more about the Torah in regard to how it is made up including the Mantle, the Crown, the Breast Plate, the Yad (Pointer), etc., etc.  We read "Sammy Spider's First Simchat Torah" and "The Littlest Tree", a rhyming book, about how the littlest "tree", who thought he was useless,  was used for the Torah handles!! Thereafter we were happy to sit down with our friends for snack.  We pretended it was Shabbat, and Riley (as Eema) and Lucas (as Abba) lead the Blessings for the Candles, Kiddish and Challah.  Thank you so much to Lucas Lang's and Parker Ross' Families for al...

From Ms. Ruth (Madilyn's Class): Dear Parents, Today was all about the celebration and learning about the joyous Jewish Holiday/Festival of Sukkot.  We started our day working on our Sukkot worksheets, and then during circle time went into more detail learning about this Jewish Holiday and discussing the wonderful traditions.  We spoke about the Sukkah "Booth", the harvest festival, the building of the Sukkah, the Lulav and the Etrog, etc., etc.  We also read "Sammy Spider's First Sukkot" and "The Sukkah that I Built".  Thereafter it was time for snack and we again pretended it was Shabbat.  We chose our Abba (Benjamin) and Eema (Addison) and said the Shabbat Blessings for the candles, wine and the Challah, which we so enjoyed together with our yummy snacks today.  Thank you so much to Benjamin Wieland's and Addison Spatola's families for the snacks supplied today. We managed to do some revision of the Aleph Bet and were excited t...

Sunday was Sukkot Sunday for our family.  The kids attended Sunday School where they celebrated Sukkot with their classmates.  There was even an opportunity for the adults to join the celebration. We assisted the kids in creating decorations for the Temple's sukkah.  Then, we joined the kids, Cantor Wolman and Rabbi Chernow in the sukkah for singing and snacks.  Aiden's Decoration for the Sukkah Madi's Decoration for the Sukkah Singing in the Sukkah Madi and her Teacher, Ms. Ruth Madi with the Estrog and Lulav Aiden's turn Our Sunday evening was spent with friends and family celebrating Erev Sukkot.  Since our backyard is currently under renovation, we decided to create sukkahs out of graham crackers, pretzel sticks, candy and frosting this year.  It was a fun creative celebration! Daddy and Aiden Aunt Christy and Madi