Tuesday afternoon Hebrew program

T'filot (prayers) + Chuggim (electives):
Interactive Prayerbook Hebrew & Electives 

Hebrew is a beautiful magical language. The study of Hebrew, its roots, meanings and personal connection to each individual is a powerful experience. Tuesday afternoons are a multi-level, multi-age grouping that creates a vibrant and amazing community of 4th - 7th grade students. Tuesday afternoons focus on learning Hebrew through interactive ways; developing skills in decoding, reading and speaking. Another focus is delving into the siddur to develop personal understandings of the prayers, read the prayers in Hebrew and know what the words mean. It's an important part of our B'nai Mitzvah journey for al students. 

Tuesday Afternoons at a Glance

Chuggim
Students choose a chug, elective, that shares conversational Hebrew. Each chug lasts 3 weeks until students choose another one for their next session. Consider how amazing it is for students to community connect in a multi-age group of friends while doing the following:

Cooking with Hebrew: recipes, words & phrases. This chug includes sushi making, shakshuka and the ever popular and positive: Nevei Chopped!

Hebrew Theater: games and communication with conversational Hebrew

Hebrew Games: running around using Hebrew phrases as part of the games

Environmental Hebrew: discussing taking care of our earth through activities like Havdalah spice gardens and community-building through ropes course activities 

Hebrew and the Arts: expressing creativity in designing ritual items and magical items (example: dream catchers) 

Learning Our Siddur 
Students learn in multi-age, ability groups (carefully placed to ensure each child feels comfortable and surrounded by friends). We use a prayerbook Hebrew program created to share t'filot, our beautiful siddur prayers, in deeper opportunities of study with small groups to provide connection and individuality.

Vocabulary - learn to read, identify and understand the words inside the prayers through games and ritual

Reciting - learning to chant and read the prayers to beloved tunes; in small and large groups

Reflection - creating a personal kavannah through creative writing, music and expression

Reading - comfortably decoding and reading the prayers with tools like highlighters and reading highlight strips

Trope - learning the marks and embracing the mystery of Trope in prayer practice 

Here are answers to a few commonly asked questions: 

Attendance: What if my child cannot make every Tuesday? Let's have a conversation. We want students involved and understand we may need to share with other important activities. We will work it out together! We plan to offer a special Skype session during the week for students unable to attend in person. 

What if my child will be late due to our schedule? That's fine! We placed chuggim at the beginning of the afternoon so that if your child needs to come a little later, none of the prayerbook learning will be missed. 

What is my child doesn't yet know much Hebrew? This program is designed to meet all students where they are at in ability and progression of the language. Our goal is for students to love learning, feel safe and be successful.