›› Simcha Sunday, The Children & Family Education Program

 

“and you shall teach your children….”
…Torah
Bringing our stories to life, through use of Art, Dance & Storytelling
…Tefillah
Finding meaningful spiritual expression through Prayer, Blessings, Chants, & Songs
…Tikkun Olam
Honoring our covenant, as G-d’s partners, to care for one another and the planet we share - through Mitzvot and Tzedakah projects
…Tikkun HaLev

 

Click here to get the P'nai Or Children & Family Education Calendar for 2009/2010

 

Nourishing our Jewish hearts through Joyous Celebrations, exploration of the Sacred Roots of the Hebrew language, and participation in an Egalitarian, Inclusive Community.

P'nai Or's Children and Family Education program has two primary components:

SIMCHA SUNDAYS occur 3 Sundays a month. Twice monthly regular sessions begin with community singing and storytelling, before breaking into 2 class periods for Religious Education and Hebrew. Once monthly when Gimmel and Pre-B’nai students will receive a full hour of Hebrew instruction and 1 hour of experiential learning focused on the different mitzvot (commandments), middot (values) and midrash (creative) expressions of Judaism. Families are invited to participate in this experiential format along with their student.

Once monthly MISHPACHAH SERVICES give students and their families an opportunity to practice their davvening skills in services, long before their actual bar or bat mitzvah. Students from all age groups participate in leading prayers, under the direction of their teachers. Holiday, Family and Outdoor programs are interwoven into the life of the community, along with mitzvot and tzedakah projects.

››P'nai Or offers the following classes, for students age 5-13:

 

AlephBet Class for grades K-1
Belonging to Community & Developing Positive Jewish Identity. Children are
introduced to Torah, holidays & seasonal cycles, values & ethics, basic Hebrew,
and blessings. Lessons are hands-on and participatory, featuring mitzvot, creating
ritual objects and experiencing awe in nature.

Gimmel Class: (grades 2-5)
Inquiry, Critical Thinking, & Creative Expression. Students begin to experience the
Jewish story as their own, through the expressive arts. They develop critical thinking
skills through hevrutah discussions (with learning buddies) on Torah and Jewish
history. They will build a relationship to community and to our core ethics & values
through mitzvot and tzedakah projects. And they will begin to explore daily prayer as
a tool to connect with gratitude, hope and holiness in their lives.

B'nai Mitzvah: (grades 6 and up)
Life Passage Journey into Adult Responsibility. Working individually and with the group,
Reb Aryeh introduces the students to prayer, in the words of Heschel, "as a path to
developing a sense of wonder in the face of the inconceivable surprise of living."
Students will engage in textual study with the realization that what they bring to and
derive from Torah is a valid part of our sacred 3,000 year conversation.

Hebrew for all grades
AlefBet will focus on reading readiness, alephbet recognition, and simple words &
phrases, while the older grades will focus on understanding the multifaceted meanings
within the root structure of Biblical Hebrew, leading to reading and writing skills that
prepare them to engage in life-long relationship with Torah.

 

Lauren Eaton had this to say:

At my P'nai Or Bat Mitzvah, for my Torah interpretation (or Drash), I was encouraged to seek out alternative interpretations and to search for interpretations that made sense to me. Even when I tended to favor traditional interpretations, I felt that since I had researched the writings of feminist rabbis and spoken with dissenting wise members of the congregation, I was aware of the alternative points of view. But in the end, my interpretation was entirely my own.

For more information about education contact our Principal, Cantor Linda Shivers, by email at cantor.shivers@gmail.com