School-Curriculum

K/1

Our youngest learners spend their Sundays with hands-on, interactive lessons! We bring out the puppets and read-aloud stories with props and there is laughing and movement and asking questions each time we are together. Our youngest learners are nurtured and supported as they get to know their new friends and settle into the rhythm of Sunday School. 
They create all of these great Jewish cultural pieces from Shabbat items to all of the holiday crafts. They love music and art time and movement breaks. They love Hebrew Yoga and games! Together we learn Hebrew, prayers, Judaic culture, we explore Israel on virtual field-trips and more!

2nd Grade

2nd Grade is about creating a foundation for Jewish literacy. Our students learn more about each Jewish holiday, adding new Hebrew words to their vocabulary. They wonder about God and the world around them. They learn the core prayers of Jewish worship. Each lesson is participatory, content-rich and uses varied teaching approaches so that there’s always a project, sometimes art, sometimes building, sometimes teamwork, and each child can accomplish the goals in their own ways.

3rd Grade

3rd Grade uses such a creative curriculum! We focus on the popular Passover Song, “Who Knows One?” as the basis for the Sunday School year. For the week about One God, they learn the Shema, make Shema pillowcases and mezuzot to hang on their doors. Each number teaches more about Judaism including deeper knowledge of the holidays and Torah stories. Jewish values are woven into each session. The children really enjoy hearing this song each time and having the project of the week unveiled!

4th Grade

4th Grade focuses on the Magical Number 4 in Judaism! There are so many 4s and 40s and even 400s in Jewish tradition and learning about these make a fun and engaging way to teach all about Judaism! The children are able to go deeper into their beliefs and their questions unearth the complexities and beauty of Jewish learning!

5th Grade

5th Grade uses an amazing book, A Kid’s Mensch Handbook. Each week students learn what it means to be a true mensch. This is the perfect grade to talk about the reputation we are making for ourselves, how we want to go through the world, what we care about, and how Judaism can be our guide in this and our inspiration.  Each student keeps a Jewish Quote Book in which they record all of these Jewish sayings that will hopefully stay with them throughout their lifetimes.

6th Grade

6th grade is a special year during which the students learn about the heroes and leaders of Judaism over the millennium. They see themselves as the present and future leaders and the next chain in our tradition going back to the days of Torah. They learn more about the Torah, Bible and Jewish history. 

7th Grade

7th Grade is such an exciting year. This is the year the children mark becoming b’nei mitzvah, children of the commandments. They know about the holidays very well by this year. They have gotten a sense of Jewish history along the way, and we ensure this gets solidified this year so that they can situate Jewish events in time and context. They delve into Bible and we make sure they know the major, pivotal narratives of our people. The students are encouraged to explore their own relationship with God and can begin to articulate their sense of spirituality. The students make a list of the Jewish experiences they want to have had before they are done with highschool. 

8th–12th Grade

Teen Limmud

Our teens can participate in a weekly Teen Limmud Class. They meet after Sunday School ends. They start their class with lunch and then join in a discussion focused on topics relevant to their lives. They learn about Jewish values around giving and social justice. They participate in their giving circle where they raise their own funds and allocate them to charities that support their Jewish values. They are becoming the leaders of the next generation in this community.

Our teens also have other opportunities for leadership:

• They can volunteer as madrichim, helpers, in the Sunday School classrooms.
• They can help organize and share our children’s library including reading stories on video.
• They can help with music and art, if that is their area of interest and talent.
• They can lend their knowledge of video and editing and help us share the pictures and stories of Sunday School on our website or social media.