Hebrew By Holidays

Today I was back teaching at the religious school. Getting back into the swing of things after the holiday is not easy and I will have to do it three more times with the rest of the slew of holidays coming up. Still, teaching in the computer lab, doing this the kids enjoy and enjoy the things myself, makes it easier.

The teacher who brought her kids in today teaches Hebrew. In talking with her ahead of time, I knew she wanted me to find things for the kids to do on the computer that focused on the current Jewish Holidays and taught words associated with them. Of course, I can get some leeway, which makes things easier.

For instance, I found a site that has Hebrew matching, like the old concentration game. The cards have the words written in English and Hebrew and the computer also says the name of the object (you can set it for Hebrew or English). I had the students set it for Hebrew so they could hear the words being said. While one of the categories was not Rosh Hashanah, or any other specific holiday, I stretched a little. One of the categories is nature. Since nature play a major role in some of the holidays, and especially in the upcoming holiday of Sukkot, I allowed them to use this one. There is also a category for fruits and it is customary to eat a new fruit on the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, so I let them use this one.

It is always easier when the teacher is flexible as well. In fact, a few of the sites we went to had a number of games. Some were not related to Hebrew, but were related to Judaism, such as playing hangman with words from various Jewish Holidays. When the teacher does not object, and today’s did not, after I have them look at the things I specifically wanted to cover, the can play some games as well. Of course, I do monitor closely to make sure it is all appropriate. So, today was a fun day getting back into the routine.