You mean there's a plan?!
Since the Cheder is becoming one of my biggest loves, I’m going to try to keep a record on here of what we do. I already make notes about each session for my own reference, but this way there’s a small chance I might attract some comments or suggestions. And who knows, one day it might help someone trying to do a similar thing!
This is our second term, and we’ve settled down into eight regulars aged 4-11, plus parents. This term we’re alternating mornings and afternoons to make way for a fortnightly adult education class in the shul, but that’s turned out to be a blessing, because the slight overlap between the sessions means that the kids and the adults get to meet each other. There’s also a different dynamic and energy level in the afternoons, but I’m glad it’s only fortnightly or I’d lose my Sundays completely.
The kids have gelled into a proper group now, with a natural division into three older ones (all boys) and five younger (all girls). The oldest girl is really on the cusp, so she takes home both homeworks – the colouring sheets, which she actually wants to do, and what I call the ‘bar mitzvah course’, which she does a bit of each week with her dad, but socially she still seems to prefer being with the younger kids. At the moment I always teach the class together, but I try to give the boys (i.e. the older ones – it’s not gender-related!) a bit more responsibility from time to time, and I’m keeping an eye out for some special activities just for them so they don’t get too bored or feel held back by the little ones.
Most of the parents/grandparents stay for the session, though some of them occasionally pop out for half an hour now that their kids are settled enough not to mind. It gives them a chance to socialise with each other and with me, and to swap advice and ideas (especially around Christmas, I noticed, which is a bit of a dilemma for all the families).
It’s brilliant to have them all involved, on a practical level during the activities and clearing up, but also because they know their children so much better than I do and can give me good suggestions and advice simply from experience. Also, when they can see and hear exactly what the children are learning, they can – and do – reinforce it at home, and incorporate things that they particularly like into their family’s practice.
I think it’s good for parents and kids to do something together, and at least a few of the children learn significantly better when they don’t have to worry about when (or even, deep down, whether) their mum/dad is coming back. That’s not to say they’re particularly clingy, but they occasionally need the reassurance of knowing there’s someone there for them. Watching this has made me wonder what happens in school for children like that, whose moments of needing comfort and reassurance are left unaddressed until the end of the school day. It must affect their concentration, if nothing else.
But I digress.
My session plans have fallen into a rough pattern, which seems to work reasonably well. Our advertised starting time is half an hour before our de facto kick-off, partly to allow for Jewish Mean Time [an incurable inability to arrive anywhere on time – there’s no point fighting genetics, so the only thing to do is allow for it], but also to let people socialise and get used to where they are. I often get out some colouring pencils and paper in case the kids need inspiration, but recently it hasn’t been necessary. They run around, let off steam, have a drink of water, and talk to anyone who happens to stay still for long enough. Some of them make a beeline for the worktop where I set up my things and try to see what we’ll be doing that week; others come to tell me about things that have happened during the week, or show me pictures they’ve made and homework they’ve done. The older boys have also got the hang of how the furniture needs to be arranged and organise folding up chairs, moving tables, and fetching cushions.
We always sit on cushions on the floor rather than using chairs and tables. As I explained to them at the very first session, I would rather they wriggled when they need to, rather than spending 90% of their concentration on sitting still instead of on paying attention. Obviously there are times when they get a bit carried away, but if I let them have their fun for a minute or two they’re generally pretty amenable to stopping.
They choose where they sit – one ended up under a table this week, I suspect to see how I would react, but since she could see and hear perfectly well, I let her be. When we started in the main shul one week, they tried out a few different places before all cramming themselves onto the steps in front of the ark. I’m looking forward to seeing where they go next time we’re in there!
Once they’ve settled with Shalom Chaverim (na’im m’od version) and the greetings in Hebrew, I introduce the discussion topic for the day. I always have a detailed plan in case they really dry up, but usually the conversation takes off and they come up with stuff I’d never have thought of. The idea behind this is to get them thinking about why we do things, because if they’ve reasoned it out for themselves they’re more likely to remember it, and possibly want to try it out at home.
After the discussion has run its course, we do the craft activity for the day, which is related to the session topic. This is always done standing around the table, and the kids help to set up, so there’s plenty of moving around. The staple ideas are painting and cooking, but I try to come up with other things every so often for a change.
After we’ve all cleared up, we do the Hebrew reading practice. This is back on the cushions, but requires a certain amount of moving about for the Jolly Phonics actions and for the individual tasks. We finish off with a story, if there is one, and Shalom Chaverim (l’hitrayot version), and then they collect their homework on the way out. Someone always stays behind to help with the final clearing up, so it’s usually a good half hour after the official finishing time before everyone’s left, and means I’m not stuck doing it all on my own.
Next instalment: what we’ve done so far this term.
This is our second term, and we’ve settled down into eight regulars aged 4-11, plus parents. This term we’re alternating mornings and afternoons to make way for a fortnightly adult education class in the shul, but that’s turned out to be a blessing, because the slight overlap between the sessions means that the kids and the adults get to meet each other. There’s also a different dynamic and energy level in the afternoons, but I’m glad it’s only fortnightly or I’d lose my Sundays completely.
The kids have gelled into a proper group now, with a natural division into three older ones (all boys) and five younger (all girls). The oldest girl is really on the cusp, so she takes home both homeworks – the colouring sheets, which she actually wants to do, and what I call the ‘bar mitzvah course’, which she does a bit of each week with her dad, but socially she still seems to prefer being with the younger kids. At the moment I always teach the class together, but I try to give the boys (i.e. the older ones – it’s not gender-related!) a bit more responsibility from time to time, and I’m keeping an eye out for some special activities just for them so they don’t get too bored or feel held back by the little ones.
Most of the parents/grandparents stay for the session, though some of them occasionally pop out for half an hour now that their kids are settled enough not to mind. It gives them a chance to socialise with each other and with me, and to swap advice and ideas (especially around Christmas, I noticed, which is a bit of a dilemma for all the families).
It’s brilliant to have them all involved, on a practical level during the activities and clearing up, but also because they know their children so much better than I do and can give me good suggestions and advice simply from experience. Also, when they can see and hear exactly what the children are learning, they can – and do – reinforce it at home, and incorporate things that they particularly like into their family’s practice.
I think it’s good for parents and kids to do something together, and at least a few of the children learn significantly better when they don’t have to worry about when (or even, deep down, whether) their mum/dad is coming back. That’s not to say they’re particularly clingy, but they occasionally need the reassurance of knowing there’s someone there for them. Watching this has made me wonder what happens in school for children like that, whose moments of needing comfort and reassurance are left unaddressed until the end of the school day. It must affect their concentration, if nothing else.
But I digress.
My session plans have fallen into a rough pattern, which seems to work reasonably well. Our advertised starting time is half an hour before our de facto kick-off, partly to allow for Jewish Mean Time [an incurable inability to arrive anywhere on time – there’s no point fighting genetics, so the only thing to do is allow for it], but also to let people socialise and get used to where they are. I often get out some colouring pencils and paper in case the kids need inspiration, but recently it hasn’t been necessary. They run around, let off steam, have a drink of water, and talk to anyone who happens to stay still for long enough. Some of them make a beeline for the worktop where I set up my things and try to see what we’ll be doing that week; others come to tell me about things that have happened during the week, or show me pictures they’ve made and homework they’ve done. The older boys have also got the hang of how the furniture needs to be arranged and organise folding up chairs, moving tables, and fetching cushions.
We always sit on cushions on the floor rather than using chairs and tables. As I explained to them at the very first session, I would rather they wriggled when they need to, rather than spending 90% of their concentration on sitting still instead of on paying attention. Obviously there are times when they get a bit carried away, but if I let them have their fun for a minute or two they’re generally pretty amenable to stopping.
They choose where they sit – one ended up under a table this week, I suspect to see how I would react, but since she could see and hear perfectly well, I let her be. When we started in the main shul one week, they tried out a few different places before all cramming themselves onto the steps in front of the ark. I’m looking forward to seeing where they go next time we’re in there!
Once they’ve settled with Shalom Chaverim (na’im m’od version) and the greetings in Hebrew, I introduce the discussion topic for the day. I always have a detailed plan in case they really dry up, but usually the conversation takes off and they come up with stuff I’d never have thought of. The idea behind this is to get them thinking about why we do things, because if they’ve reasoned it out for themselves they’re more likely to remember it, and possibly want to try it out at home.
After the discussion has run its course, we do the craft activity for the day, which is related to the session topic. This is always done standing around the table, and the kids help to set up, so there’s plenty of moving around. The staple ideas are painting and cooking, but I try to come up with other things every so often for a change.
After we’ve all cleared up, we do the Hebrew reading practice. This is back on the cushions, but requires a certain amount of moving about for the Jolly Phonics actions and for the individual tasks. We finish off with a story, if there is one, and Shalom Chaverim (l’hitrayot version), and then they collect their homework on the way out. Someone always stays behind to help with the final clearing up, so it’s usually a good half hour after the official finishing time before everyone’s left, and means I’m not stuck doing it all on my own.
Next instalment: what we’ve done so far this term.
posted by Gonetomars at 12:50 am
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