Kitah Dalet

Shalom Kitah Dalet Parents,

In our 6^th Ivrit session our Daletniks

• reviewed recently learned letters and vowels
• began study of two letters making the [k] sound:  Kaf (כּ)  and Koof (ק). We noted that Koof (ק) is the only letter going below the line that is not a so-FEET (final). Also introduced was the vowel Sh’va (ְ). This one can be confusing because it makes a short, neutral sound when with the first letter of a word but no sound when elsewhere in the word.
• practiced their decoding skills at the learning stations.
• received and were briefly explained about the new home assignment, including a complete listing of six letter families. All letters in a family are considered to be the same letter, only with a somewhat different sound in different situations.

I was encouraged by the gradual progress I observed in decoding and confidence.

L’shalom till next time,

Lane Chazdon

https://images.shulcloud.com/1336/uploads/CJL-assignment-photos/Lessons-11-and-12-with-translit.pdf

Kitah Dalet families, 
    We began this morning with Cantor Lauren and Rabbi Pein leading us in  prayer and song. We sang Hinei MaTov, expressing the sentiment, "How good it is to be together." Cantor Lauren also introduced us to Olam Chesed Yibaneh, "I will build this world from love, and you must build this world from love, and if we build this world from love, then God will build this world from love." Rabbi Pein spoke about the weekly parsha and explained that while Abraham did big things like smashing idols, he also did small things like welcoming strangers, and we too must consider doing big and small things to make the world whole.
    Kitah gimmel, dalet and hay then met with Matan and Shira, our visitors from the IDF/ Israeli Defense Forces. Matan told us about his years as a military soldier, his years as an officer and his year traveling the world after his service. Shira told us about her service, her family and Leo, her partner in the canine bomb sniffing unit. They explained that 90% of Israelis in the military are in administrative  jobs as well as working in society helping children, seniors, the poor and others in need. They explained that their units become their families and friends for life. Back in class, the students wrote notes to Matan and Shira thanking them for visiting and for sharing the many interesting stories about their lives.
    The class reviewed the middot/values from previous weeks and added a new middah/value: lo l'vayesh/not embarrassing. We played a fun game illustrating how we need to be careful about what we pass to others, such as gossip and rumors and it was a race to see who could ring the bell first!. We shared a story, Rabbi Chanina's Wife and the Nasty Neighbor and then talked about ways we can help others avoid embarrassment. I introduced the class to our Be A Mensch chart and they will have the opportunity to add stickers weekly as they embody the middot/values of our tradition. 
b'shalom,
Betsy Deckert