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Sunday, March 5, 2017

Alef--Godly Play on Purim March 5, 2017

Dear families:
We began with tefillah.  Led by Cantor Ken, we sang the morning blessings, the shema, and “hallelu” with all the instruments.  The second grade led the V’ahavta, using the hand motions that they had learned. After singing Hatikvah and This Land is Your Land, we went back to class.

 HEBREW: We learned the letter tsadee,  צ the first   letter in tzedakah, “tzfarde’a” (frog), and   “tzipoor” (bird).  Besides taking turns reading from our text, the children review the letter packs in   pairs.

As I explained to the children, every school has periodic fire drills, just in case.  Today, we knew about it in advance, and we had time to put on our coats and hats.  We walked silently to the basketball net near the playground.  Then we returned to class—and snack with our usual brachot.

We began learning about Purim, that jolly holiday.  We celebrate by listening to the megillah, eating hamantaschen and special meals, wearing costumes, sending mishloah manot (baskets of goodies) to friends, and giving tzedakah.

I did the GODLY PLAY lesson on Purim.  As you can see by the photos below, I tell the story, using simple wooden figures and little scenery, so that each student can imagine what it looks like. After the story, I ask “wondering” questions like which part of the story did you like best, where do you see yourself in the story, what part was exciting, etc. The students are very attentive and have thoughtful answers to the questions.



Two activities followed.  CRAFT:  As a project, the children created drawings to make their own picture megillah.  During free time, students could do a word search, read books, or play Purim games.

BIBLE: With Cheryl, students read and discussed the pamphlet Esther; they thought of things that Jews everywhere do, and how to be loyal to Judaism, such as lighting candles, giving tzedakah, etc.

Our last activity was singing some Purim melodies: “When You Hear the Name of Haman,” (to the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It”), “My Hat, it has Three Corners,” and “For Purim Day,” (a song I wrote to the tune of “The Wheels on the Bus”)  

The children are encouraged to come in costume next week.  There will be a regular session on March 12, with the Purim carnival after school.

Shavua tov!

Judy and Cheryl (Esther and Tzipporah)

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