Teaching A Jewish Curriculum When You Are Not Jewish

1
Teaching A Jewish Curriculum When You Are Not
Jewish

• Tracy Rice
• Kindergarten Teacher
• Congregation Kol Shofar
• Tiburon, CA

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Group Demographics

• How many people teach in a Jewish Preschool?
• If you are comfortable sharing- how many of you
  are not Jewish?
• What is the biggest challenge you face in
  teaching a Jewish curriculum?
• What do you enjoy most about teaching a Jewish
  curriculum?

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Your Goals For This Workshop

• What do you hope to gain from this workshop?
• Are there particular concepts that you find
  troublesome?
• Are there things that you feel you do very well
  that you would like to share with the group at
  the end of the session?

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Basic Concepts

• Holidays- Going through a Jewish year and
  teaching the rituals and stories associated with
  each holiday
• Shabbat- Teaching about Shabbat through songs,
  stories and ritual
• Prayer and Blessings- Introducing and reinforcing
  the idea of talking to God. Teaching them the
  blessings and prayers for specific rituals and
  occasions.
• The Torah- both the physical object and the
  stories included.
• Mitzvot- Basic Commandments as a concept of
  values and behaviors.
• Hebrew and Israel- A basic introduction to Hebrew
  with simple words and visual aspects, and the
  land of Israel as the home for all Jewish people.
• The Synagogue and People in the Community.

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The Jewish Year Through Holidays

• The Jewish year begins with Tishrei and Rosh
  Hashanah (the Head of the Year)
• Concepts- apples and honey for a sweet new year,
  we wish each other Shanah Tovah (Happy New Year),
  we send New Year cards, the Shofar is blown
• Sample Lesson- I Was So Mad and tashlich
• Yom Kippur
• Concepts- Thinking about how we behave and how we
  can be better, we wear white clothes and no
  leather, the grown-ups fast, Yom Kippur ends with
  the blowing of the Shofar
• Sukkot
• Concepts- we eat in the Sukkah, we pray for rain,
  we decorate the Sukkah, we celebrate the Harvest
• Simchat Torah- Starting Over
• Concepts- we sing and dance with the Torah, we
  read the end of the Torah and start at the
  beginning again
• Sample Lesson- Make a Torah

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The Jewish Year Through Holidays, Continued

• Chanukkah
• Concepts- Chanukkah is celebrated for 8 days, the
  miracle of oil, special foods for Chanukkah,
  playing dreidel, Chanukkah songs
• Sample Lesson- make a Chanukiah
• Tu BShevat
• Concepts- we take care of trees, what comes from
  trees, planting trees
• Purim
• Concepts- hearing the Megillah read, the main
  characters and plot of the story, festive meal,
  gifts to the poor, Shalach Manot, noisemakers,
  wearing costumes
• Sample Lesson- Shalach Manot
• Pesach
• Concepts- the story and characters of the Exodus,
  matzah, the 10 plagues, the four questions, the
  Seder, songs for Pesach
• Shavuot
• Concepts- eating dairy, decorating with flowers,
  wearing white, the Ten Commandments, the Book of
  Ruth

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Teaching About Shabbat

• Shabbat is the celebration that happens with the
  most frequency and the hardest concept to teach.
  
• It is good to start with the basics
• The Ritual Items
• The brachot
• Songs and Stories
• The Shabbat Box for an at home connection.
• Materials for making a box
• Video storage box
• Plastic Kiddush cups from Bennys
• Candle cups from Bennys
• Candles
• Challah
• Challah covers
• Handbook for families
• Journal for families

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Prayer and Blessings

• Prayer as Talking to God
• Talking to God is easy for children and a great
  way to phrase the idea of prayer and brachot.
• Modeh/Modah Ani- The morning prayer
• The Shema as meditation
• The Shema is one of the most powerful and moving
  prayers and one that is easy to learn. I
  introduce the prayer through meditation. I take
  the students outside and ask them to listen. We
  are silent for a while then share all the things
  we heard. The next step is teaching the actual
  prayer and talking about it
• Make a mezuzah for the class and learn how it
  relates to the Shma
• Basic brachot that the class should know
• Kiddush
• Hamotzi
• Lighting candles
• Resources for learning
• Websites- www.aish.com, www.chabad.org,
  www.ritualwell.org

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The Torah

• What is the Torah? What makes it special? How
  is it different from the Old Testament?
• What does the Torah look like? How is a Torah
  written?
• Books of the Torah-
• Bereshit- in the beginning (Genesis)
• Shemot- Names (Exodus)
• Vayikra- He called (Leviticus)
• Bamidbar- In the wilderness (Numbers)
• Devarim- Things or Words (Deuteronomy)
• Stories for your classroom with sample lessons
• Creation- Eco Judaism
• Sample Lesson- Activities for each day of
  creation with a lesson on Tikkun Olam at the end-
  decorating canvas bags, planting trees or picking
  up trash.
• Joseph- Jealousy, betrayal and forgiveness-
• Monkey and Horsey, friends with real life
  problems (see handout)
• Abram and Sarai- Strangers at the Tent- Welcoming
  and Faith
• - Discussion- how do you make people feel welcome
  in your tent? Why is it important to treat
  strangers with kindness? What lesson does Sarai
  learn?
• Moses- The Journey into freedom
• Act out the story with dolls from the house
  corner.
• Make a pyramid for the wall (sample in Pesach
  Lesson)

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Mitzvot

• BTzelem- Taking care of ourselves and others-
  God created us in Gods Image
• How do we care for others- visiting the sick,
  supporting the mourners, visiting the elderly
• Shalom- peace between friends, in the classroom,
  at home (Shalom Bayit) and in the world
• Creating classroom rules that promote the idea of
  Shalom, respecting parents and teachers
• Tikkun Olam- we are Gods partners in taking care
  of the world
• Cleaning up garbage, saving water, recycling,
  reusing materials, not wasting paper
• Tzedakah- our responsibility to help those less
  fortunate- not charity
• Bringing money for the tzedakah box, involving
  the kids in the donation process
• Tzaar Baalei Chayim- taking care of animals
• Classroom animals, talking about caring for pets
• Hachnassat Ochim- hospitality and welcoming
• Discussion on welcoming guests at home and in the
  classroom

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Hebrew and Israel

• Hebrew Terms to Know
• Shalom- Hello, Good-Bye, and Peace
• Todah Rabah- Thank You
• Bvakasha- Please
• Sheket- Quiet
• Boker Tov- Good-Morning
• Chaverim- Friends
• Yeladim- Children
• Abba- Father
• Imma- Mother
• Mishpacha- Family
• Relating Israel to Children
• Israel is home for all Jewish people
• We always pray for peace in Israel
• Israel on the map
• The Flag of Israel
• The languages of Israel
• The food of Israel

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The Synagogue and People in the Community

• Interview with a Rabbi- Collect questions from
  the students and invite the Rabbi to come and
  answer them. In the future, if questions arise,
  start an Ask the Rabbi Box where you can put
  questions in.
• Take a tour of the Synagogue with journals. Have
  the students draw pictures of what they see.
  Invite them to recreate the space using classroom
  materials.
• Decorate kippot for the classroom
• Make a small Aron for the classroom
• Visit other classrooms and plan joint lessons to
  create a sense of community.
• Do projects with local Jewish Organizations
• Sample plan- JFCS Holiday Gift Bags.

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Teaching Tools

• Puppets- Puppets are a great way to capture
  interest and to encourage audience
  participation.
• Stories with a Jewish Theme that are not Jewish
  (I Was So Mad)
• Wall of the Month

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Sample LessonPesach
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Pesach Lesson Plan

• Begin by telling the story of Moses
• Build a Pyramid on the Wall of the Month
• Incorporate more of the Pesach story as the month
  goes on.
• Make Seder Plates
• Make Bag of Plagues
• Learn The Four Questions
• Culminate with a Model Seder

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Resources

• Bennys Educational Toys- http//www.tjssc.com/
• Easy to navigate website with awesome materials
  for Jewish Educators.
• Staff is very helpful and the prices are
  reasonable.
• Oriental Trading Company
• While most of their stuff is for general ed
  schools and Christian-based schools, they have a
  surprising amount of Judaica.
• There general craft supplies are also great for
  prizes and activities
• Jewish Every Day
• This book breaks it down by age and provides
  teachers with a great resource for each holiday
  and observance

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Brainstorm Ideas
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How to Get The Handout and Sample Flyers

• In an attempt to go paperless, Im not providing
  handouts.
• If you would like a copy of the presentation, Im
  happy to email it to you. Same with any of the
  other materials I have shown you today.
• Please email me at teachertracy_at_gmail.com and
  specify if you need it in a Word format.