JCDS visit
Apr. 5th, 2009 05:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magidMonday I got a last-minute invite to JCDS for their "Grandparents and Special Friends Day." I got there late, partway through the first-grade shacharit. I wasn't sure what to expect from it, and it turned out to be singing the highlights (one perek of tehillim, shma, the beginning of the amidah aloud together) with some movement (I couldn't tell whether it was whoever was inspired or particular kids). The one surprise for me was adding in the imahot, not only in the peticha of the first bracha of the amidah, but also adding Sara into the chatimah, which I hadn't heard before. It lead me to the question of why mothers but not concubines, too.
After that, the kids had snacks, and the rest of us headed to the cafeteria for a rather nice catered breakfast. I ran into a couple of 2nd graders I knew on the way, and one of them surprised me with a hug :-). At the breakfast, I was definitely on the young end of the spectrum; not something I'm used to, anymore. There were some speeches, and while there was lip service to there being "special friends," it's really designed for grandparents, as the heads of school called the kids "your grandchildren," and suggested ways to support or get involved at the school. I did meet one or two other non-grandparents, at least...
Next up were performances in the library. The grown-ups sat on chairs, and as the kids came in, they sat on the floor in the front. (I think I remember sitting on the floor for something similar, way back when.) The first graders started the show with a peppy bilingual song about waking up and saying Modeh Ani, then a version of Adon Olam with a different tune for each verse (some traditional, some not (a tango!)). Next up was Gan Nitzan, aka kindergarten, which started with two kids reading a couple of paragraphs about the civil rights movement (impressing the heck out of me), then all of them walking in a circle and singing a song about the freedom bus, how they'll be found in the front of the bus, (voting) in the courthouse, in the (mixed) swimming pool, and in the WHITE HOUSE! (Yep, they yelled that one :-). A dance troupe of second and third graders (mostly girls) danced to a Hebrew song K'she'hayiti Katan (never heard it before), which was more cute than very talented. The fourth graders sand a Hebrew song about their local park being closed, the Hebrew that wasn't in the refrain going by far too fast for me to catch it. And then the third and fourth graders sang another Hebrew song, Yod'im She'b'aviv," about spring coming, as well as Pesach.
Then there was time to visit the classes. I stayed for half the time: the first grade was split in halves, and my friend was in the Hebrew half that first half hour, after which I had to get home to a houseguest. The kids were able to describe the weather, and things that happen in spring, then did a worksheet unscrambling Hebrew words about spring (I had totally forgotten how challenging it is to hold a pencil and get straight lines and smooth curves when you're still learning to write). They finished with a tic-tac-toe game, each team having to read a Hebrew word to get their X or O. At least one of the kids hasn't yet mastered the game strategy, choosing a first square that let them lose, rather than draw. (I felt wicked old at this point.)
I don't know whether I've been in a first grade classroom since I was in first grade. It was interesting to see what they do (and how they keep boys with the wiggles focused).
After that, the kids had snacks, and the rest of us headed to the cafeteria for a rather nice catered breakfast. I ran into a couple of 2nd graders I knew on the way, and one of them surprised me with a hug :-). At the breakfast, I was definitely on the young end of the spectrum; not something I'm used to, anymore. There were some speeches, and while there was lip service to there being "special friends," it's really designed for grandparents, as the heads of school called the kids "your grandchildren," and suggested ways to support or get involved at the school. I did meet one or two other non-grandparents, at least...
Next up were performances in the library. The grown-ups sat on chairs, and as the kids came in, they sat on the floor in the front. (I think I remember sitting on the floor for something similar, way back when.) The first graders started the show with a peppy bilingual song about waking up and saying Modeh Ani, then a version of Adon Olam with a different tune for each verse (some traditional, some not (a tango!)). Next up was Gan Nitzan, aka kindergarten, which started with two kids reading a couple of paragraphs about the civil rights movement (impressing the heck out of me), then all of them walking in a circle and singing a song about the freedom bus, how they'll be found in the front of the bus, (voting) in the courthouse, in the (mixed) swimming pool, and in the WHITE HOUSE! (Yep, they yelled that one :-). A dance troupe of second and third graders (mostly girls) danced to a Hebrew song K'she'hayiti Katan (never heard it before), which was more cute than very talented. The fourth graders sand a Hebrew song about their local park being closed, the Hebrew that wasn't in the refrain going by far too fast for me to catch it. And then the third and fourth graders sang another Hebrew song, Yod'im She'b'aviv," about spring coming, as well as Pesach.
Then there was time to visit the classes. I stayed for half the time: the first grade was split in halves, and my friend was in the Hebrew half that first half hour, after which I had to get home to a houseguest. The kids were able to describe the weather, and things that happen in spring, then did a worksheet unscrambling Hebrew words about spring (I had totally forgotten how challenging it is to hold a pencil and get straight lines and smooth curves when you're still learning to write). They finished with a tic-tac-toe game, each team having to read a Hebrew word to get their X or O. At least one of the kids hasn't yet mastered the game strategy, choosing a first square that let them lose, rather than draw. (I felt wicked old at this point.)
I don't know whether I've been in a first grade classroom since I was in first grade. It was interesting to see what they do (and how they keep boys with the wiggles focused).