Mazel tov to our Kitah Gimmel Graduates!

You are such a caring, empathetic, and loving group of children who genuinely care about each other and the world around you. We know you will succeed in kindergarten and wish each one of you the best as you continue on your journey through life! 

Under the chuppah for a final nursery school blessing!

The well-earned graduation certificate. 

And, some end-of-year activities 

All year, Kitah Bet children explored their own similarities and differences. We capped off the year by having each child paint a self-portrait on a mirror. The process allowed the children to further explore their identity. They seem more at ease and comfortable talking about what makes us similar and different. There is not only an increased awareness of how we are all alike and different but also more confidence in who they are. Our hope is that this experience, along with the many other activities offered throughout the year, helped them begin to develop a positive self-identity, place a positive value on differences, and develop a genuine appreciation and respect for others. In that spirit, we have included a poem entitled “Human Family” by Maya Angelou. The poem really resonates with us and we thought you might appreciate it, as well!

Human Family

I note the obvious differences

in the human family.

Some of us are serious,

some thrive on comedy.

Some declare their lives are lived

as true profundity,

and others claim they really live

the real reality.

The variety of our skin tones

can confuse, bemuse, delight,

brown and pink and beige and purple,

tan and blue and white.

I've sailed upon the seven seas

and stopped in every land,

I've seen the wonders of the world

not yet one common man.

I know ten thousand women

called Jane and Mary Jane,

but I've not seen any two

who really were the same.

Mirror twins are different

although their features jibe,

and lovers think quite different thoughts

while lying side by side.

We love and lose in China,

we weep on England's moors,

and laugh and moan in Guinea,

and thrive on Spanish shores.

We seek success in Finland,

are born and die in Maine.

In minor ways we differ,

in major we're the same.

I note the obvious differences

between each sort and type,

but we are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike.

We are more alike, my friends,

than we are unalike.

Face painting in Kitah Bet

We see lots of similarities here: messy faces. 

Celebrating Shavuot

A few weeks ago we celebrated the holiday of Shavuot, which commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah to the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai. 

Prior to our celebration, each class had ongoing discussions about the rules all of us must follow (such as obeying traffic signals). More difficult for the children to grasp are the Ten Commandments and the importance of these rules for everyone. Through books and conversations, we simplified the language of the Ten Commandments and then asked the children to come up with their own rules. The children then painted “tablets” with rules we have in our own lives, both at home and at school.

We also asked Gan Avraham children to bring fresh fruit (HaBikureem is Hebrew for the first fruit of the harvest) from home. In ancient times, Jews offered bikureem to God in thanks for God's bounty. We donated the collected fruit to a local community center serving residents in need. All of the Gan classes joined together in the sanctuary, which we decorated with flowers, for a celebration with Rabbi Bloom. We sang songs and had the opportunity to go on the bima and look inside the Torah. 

Shavuot highlights loyalty, helping others, kindness and tzedakah. At the Friday Shabbat circles in each classroom, we give tzedakah. This year we will donate our tzedakah money to Urban Adamah, an educational farm and community center in Berkeley that integrates the practices of Jewish tradition, sustainable agriculture, mindfulness and social action to build loving, just and sustainable communities.