Morah Gawel Update

Hi All -

It was nice to have a full class again! We've been running on half gas for a long time!  Sunday the kids were a bit squirrely: clearly SPRING is in the air.  We had a fun class. For mifgash the kids talked about spring break plans - JEALOUS - and we played Simon Says.  I still think it is funny how excited 12 year olds get about a 3 minute game of Simon Says.  

Small side note: we do a lot of hands on/full body action activities in class. Please make sure that your son or daughter is properly dressed so that he/she can fully enjoy and participate in class.  Kids should be in comfortable clothing that allows them to sit, stand, jump, run etc… The more we move: the more we learn! and the more we have fun! Thanks for your support. 

We had one last class period on our Egypt story and next week we will get our 10 commandments!  We discussed the 10 plagues and discussed what 10 modern plagues might look like.  We also discussed what the word PLAGUE actually means.  The kids were surprised that it is more of a nuisance and annoyance than a 'world coming to an end.' So yes, siblings and the song "Let It Go" topped the list of modern plagues.

The kids then went in to the free classroom next door and they had plagues taped to their backs. The kids had to guess which plague they were by asking yes or no questions. Finally, we played a bit of plague dodgeball. This was, as you can imagine, insanely crazy and quite fun.

Finally, we went back to our previous lesson where we learned the quote from the talmud "No place is devoid of God's presence, not even a thorn bush," and we discussed how amidst the plagues.. amidst the muck of the world, is often where we find God.  This lesson teaches us to try to look at our world and our circumstances with compassion and joy.  Because even when things seem bad, God is there. We just need to look!

We had a few minutes left in class, so we read the quote that Moses says right before God demands that he go to Pharaoh and ask to let his people go.  This is RIGHT before the plagues begin. Moses answers with a loud whine "but what if they don't listen to me!" and finally when God shows him that his staff will become a snake, Moses recoils.  This shows us that Moses was scared and unsure of what he was supposed to do.  And yet: God was with him and we know he was successful.

All of us are unsure. All of us are scared. All of us have our own personal plagues surrounding us, and yet, all of us have God within us and around us.

May we grow from strength to strength.

See you next week.

Morah Leah