Our youngest students begin their Jewish education journey as they get introduced to synagogue life, prayer and Jewish culture and history.  As a group the Mechinah cohort will have a weekly tefillah using song and story to become comfortable to the prayers and rituals of synagogue service. 

Students will be introduced to Jewish values, prayers and stories. They will learn about Israel, the synagogue, and the role of the Rabbis and Cantor. Through song, art, and ritual, they will celebrate the seasons of the Jewish calendar. In Hebrew, students will be introduced to the Hebrew language with a variety of experiences as they learn the letters of the Alef-Bet and ways to use Hebrew in the classroom. 

Students will be introduced to our Biblical narrative which includes Godly Play, a technique designed in the Episcopal Church and adapted for Jewish schools at Beth-El Zedeck which invites students to explore their ideas about  our foundational stories. They will learn about Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people and explore the Holy Days through children’s literature. Hebrew will focus on practicing simple words for reading and continuing to build a holiday and prayer vocabulary.

Second grade curriculum will use stories designed to explore a variety of Jewish themes to bring Judaism into their life story. We also begin conversations about God and the meaning behind familiar prayers and study the values central to each holiday.  Second graders take turns each week taking home a Shabbat box to extend what is learned in class to the home.  Students will journal about their experience, sharing what they learned with the class.  Hebrew will focus on connecting what they have already learned with some emphasis on the prayers of the Shabbat home rituals.