fbpx

A Story from Teva

Teva collage

I had the wonderful opportunity to be one of the 5th grade chaperones to Teva this year. During these four amazing days, the students learned in nature, prayed, met new kids from other Jewish day schools, practiced Judaism in many ways, and learned about their role in the world. I joined our students during their ‘Limudei Chutz’ (outdoor learning) everyday and witnessed their growth. There are so many stories to tell, but I chose to share one special activity in which they learned about TOGETHERNESS.Teva

The group had a task that they had to complete according to the following rules: to take an object from the teacher and return with it to the starting line. If the teacher saw someone moving or if he guessed which individual had the object, all of them had to go back and start again. The kids started all scattered along the field. Some of them rushed to try to complete the task on their own. They failed over and over again. Students started shouting at others: “Walk! Don’t run!” Some talked to their friends trying to make a plan, but they didn’t include everyone. After each failure, more group members joined the conversation. They finally came up with a plan, involved enough people, and managed to complete the task. However, they were not pleased with their performance; it wasn’t the whole group’s achievement. They asked for one more chance.

This time, before they started, two more rules were added: in order to win, every group member must touch the object at least once; and, all students have to cross the start line. The whole group got together to talk about their strategy and agreed on it. They stood together in a line shoulder to shoulder, facing their teacher. They walked slowly staying together the whole time. When the teacher faced them, they all stopped together. Even when they were close enough to take the object from the teacher, they waited and made sure that they were ready for the next part in their plan. One of them picked up the object and they all turned around with their backs facing the teacher. The teacher tried to guess each time who was holding the object, but without any luck. They passed the object between all group members while they were walking slowly back to their start line. They made it. Together.

I felt so much joy and appreciation to see how these individuals, most of whom had just met each other two days before, transformed into a united group.

Rotem

Human Hanukkiyah and Dreidls

menorah

As a way of combining Hanukkah fun and the social curriculum, the 4th graders were asked to sculpt themselves into a human Hanukkiyah (the special 9 branched menorah used for Hanukkah)and then, in two groups, into dreidls (spinning tops used to play a Hanukkah game).  However, the challenge was to do this without any verbal or written language.  They needed to work cooperatively without talking and only using hand signals.  When they first sculpted themselves into the Hanukkiyah, one student was the definite leader who used his vision to make it work.  While it was accomplished within the time limit, the other students did not feel that they truly contributed in ways that worked for them.  When they were broken up into two groups to make the dreidl, each group took the time to work more cooperatively, and there was not the same sense of one person taking the authority upon him or herself. At the same time, it was a ‘messier’ process that required more time.

Besides being a fun activity, the students were able to learn a number of different skills and lessons:  efficiency vs. inclusivity of ideas, communicating ideas through non-verbal means, and different ways of working in a group.  Below are the pictures of them being a Hanukkiyah and the two dreidls.image

 

image image