JCC Havurah

Dear First Grade Aleph Havurah Families! We had a colorful and creative class this past Saturday continuing our discussion of Noah's Ark. We started class with our junior engineers using simple objects to make rainbows. Using a CD, flashlight, clear container of water, and a piece of paper, and no instructions, the group found all sorts of ways to make rainbows reflect onto our paper, into the water, onto the table and even onto ourselves! It was a really cool experiment.  James then suggested to put all of our CDs "together in a rainbow shape". The results were magical, reflecting rainbows all over the classroom. We then had our STEAM holiday specialty with Reuben where he helped us make Mishloach Manot, gifts to give to our loved ones for Purim. Using different sizes and colors of legos, we each designed and built our own lego frames and wrote a card for the gift as well. Some students, like Charles and Alexa, opted for function with their frames, m...

Hello Wonderful First Grade Havurah Families! We started our new cycle this week! During class time, we will be focusing on the story of Noah's Ark. We kicked off the day by building model homes that would be later used in illustrating the story... Then, we held hands as we did our usual Shabbat rituals. This cycle's holiday specialty will be Probot Artistry, focused on STEM activities. We met Rueben, who taught us, step by step, how to create groggers for Purim using lego pieces. If you are interesting in replicating this fun and easy build, you can check it out here: https://biblebeltbalabusta.com/2012/02/29/lego-gragger-a-diy-version/ When we returned to the classroom, Ali read the Noah's Ark story. Among the inquisitive questions asked were: -Could that really ever happen? -Is Noah a real person? -How many animals are there? We then revealed that the houses we had made would actually be part of a flood demonstration, like the flood from our story, and it was...