YLE’s Kindergarten – Second Grade (Religious School)
Kindergarten – Second Grade
Kindergarten
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ur transitional Kindergarten program is designed to warmly welcome children and families into Youth Learning and Engagement programming. It meets 12 times throughout the year, including some Friday Shabbat programming. This gives children opportunities to explore the building, meet teachers, and see themselves as part of the community, while also forming a cohort of families.
The Kindergarten curriculum is designed to invite our youngest learners into the community in a way that feels comfortable and age appropriate. The learning focuses strongly on the building itself, and the important items and people within its walls. Key questions that drive learning include: What is a temple and why do I go there? What is a Rabbi and who is my Rabbi? What is a Cantor and who is my Cantor? Where do we keep the Torah, and why does it have such pretty clothes?
Our Kindergarten class will have challah and juice as a snack on Sunday mornings!
Kindergarten – Second Grade
First Grade
1st Grade meets on Sunday mornings from 8:45-10:45am.
Our 1st Grade curriculum focuses primarily on two areas of learning, celebrating the Jewish year and introduction to Jewish stories
Our Jewish year introduces them to all of the holidays they will encounter throughout the year, and focuses on the signs and symbols of the holiday so that they understand what they will see when they celebrate.
Their Torah stories take them from the creation of the world through Joseph, along with some introduction to Moses as we learn about Passover. We explore these foundational stories, touching upon Jewish values along the way.
We also begin to look at Hebrew letters in First Grade, focusing on the concept of Hebrew as a language, but without pressure into decoding. Our guiding question is “How can I interact with my Jewish world?”
Our 1st Grade class will have challah and juice as a snack on Sunday mornings.
Kindergarten – Second Grade
Second Grade
2nd Grade meets on Sunday mornings from 8:45-10:45am
Our 2nd Grade year dives a little deeper into holidays, focusing more on the story than the symbol. Their Torah curriculum explores new heroes from outside of Genesis, including Ruth and Naomi, King David and King Solomon, and foolish Jonah. They dive deeply into Jewish values, setting the tone for a lifetime of learning in which empathy, respect, gratitude, and kindness will be the guiding light. Their Hebrew education continues to play with the Alef-Bet, interacting with the letters to improve familiarity and deepen pre-literacy skills. Our guiding question is “What does it mean to be a Jewish hero?”
Our 2nd Grade class will have challah and juice as a snack on Sunday mornings.