Primary Curriculum - Welcome to Temple Beth Ami

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Guided by our caring and creative teachers and clergy, our youngest students (PreK-Gr. 2) at Machane TBA experience a broad introduction to Judaism. They explore Jewish holidays, Hebrew, bible stories, synagogue rituals, tefillah (prayer) and Jewish values such as tzedakah (charitable giving) and tikkun olam (repairing the world).

By the end of Bet (Gr. 2) many students in our program are successfully able to decode basic one and two-syllable Hebrew words, are familiar with holiday observances and able to participate in important Jewish rituals.

Primary students engage in Chugim, which are weekly specialty activities, such as Omanut (Jewish art), Shira (music), Yoga and T’filah (prayer). Students have the opportunity to engage with our Rabbis when they join classes for story time or Ask the Rabbi sessions. In addition, students engage in large scale interactive programs such as a Passover Seder, Jonah and the Whale reenactment, Noah’s Arkade Program, Jacob & Esau Sibling Rivalry Relay, and a variety Tikkun Olam activities.

Machane TBA Katan (Pre-K) Overview
Curriculum:
Katan has an experiential, interactive curriculum introducing Jewish concepts in a fun, engaging way to foster a love of Jewish learning. The major holidays are taught with an emphasis on family traditions and rituals with an extended emphasis on Shabbat. We teach about Jewish culture and Hebrew words that are relevant in their daily lives. We focus on community-building within the class to encourage friendships and provide a caring, supportive atmosphere.

Jewish Studies (Shiur):
Holidays (Chagim)
- Students will learn basic traditions about Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Hanukkah, Tu B’Shevat, Purim, Passover, Yom Ha’Atzma’ut, Shavuot and Shabbat.
- Students will engage in hands-on activities including craft projects, games, puzzles and music to learn about the holidays.
- Students sample foods associated with the various holidays, including weekly juice and challah for Shabbat.
- Students will hear stories about the festivals and learn related songs.
- Students will practice the Shabbat blessings with their weekly snack of juice and challah.
Jewish Culture
- Students will tour the synagogue with their class and learn that it is a place to pray and meet with friends.
- Students will identify ritual objects in the sanctuary.
- Students will meet our clergy in their classroom for story time and during Shira (music) and T’filah (prayer) sessions.
Jewish Values (Middot)

Students will learn about the following Jewish values through stories, discussions and activities: Chesed (kindness), Reut (friendship), Mitzvot (commandments/good deeds), Nidivut (sharing/generosity) and shalom babayit (peace in the home/family relationships)

Bible Stories

Students will learn about Noah’s Ark and Daniel and the Lions, and have fun, related activities to reinforce the stories and values.

Hebrew (Ivrit)
- Students will be introduced to the names and sounds of the Hebrew letters in the Alef-Bet order through experiential, engaging activities.
- Students will learn Hebrew words for the weather during kehillah (community) time.
- Students will learn Hebrew words for articles of clothing.
KATAN/GAN SHABBAT FAMILY EXPERIENCE –

One Friday night during the school year, we plan a special activity for students to celebrate Shabbat with Katan and Gan friends and their families. After that, we will join the Primary Pajama Shabbat Service, which is age appropriate for PreK-2^nd grade and end the evening with an Oneg.

Machane TBA Gan (Kindergarten) Overview
Learning Resources:
Let’s Discover the Alef-Bet
Let’s Discover the Holidays
Let’s Discover the Synagogue
PJ Library Jewish Values Curriculum
Curriculum: Gan has an experiential, interactive curriculum introducing Jewish concepts in a fun, engaging way to foster a love of Jewish learning. The major holidays are taught with an emphasis on symbols and rituals with an extended unit on Shabbat. Other units of study are the Synagogue, age appropriate Jewish values and an introduction to Hebrew. We focus on community-building within the class to encourage friendships and provide a caring, supportive atmosphere.
Jewish Studies (Shiur):
Holidays (Chagim)
- Students will learn about Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Hanukkah, Tu B’Shevat, Purim, Passover, Yom Ha’Atzma’ut, Shavuot and Shabbat.
- Students will engage in hands-on activities including craft projects, games, puzzles and role-playing to learn about the holidays.
- Students sample foods associated with the various holidays, including weekly juice and challah for Shabbat.*
- Students will hear and read stories about the festivals and learn related songs.
- Students will practice the Shabbat blessings with their weekly snack of juice and challah.*
- Students will learn that Shabbat is a holy time that is separate from the rest of the week.
- Students will participate in the Shabbat Family Experience to develop skills for celebrating Shabbat
- Students will design and create ritual objects to use at home.
*We will resume these activities when safe to do so.
Synagogue
- Students will tour the synagogue with one of our Rabbis and learn that it is a place to pray, learn and meet with friends.
- Students will identify ritual objects in the sanctuary.
- Students will create a sanctuary in their classrooms.
- Students will meet with our clergy in their classroom for story time and during Shira (music) and Tefilah (prayer) sessions.
Jewish Values (Middot)
Students will learn about the following Jewish values through stories, discussions and activities: Chesed (kindness), Reut (friendship), Mitzvot (commandments/good deeds), Tzedakah (righteous giving), Kibud Zekaynim (Honoring elders) and Tzaar Ba’alei Chayim (kindness to animals).
Bible Stories
Students will read and learn about Jonah and the Big Fish and Jacob’s Ladder, with the associated Jewish values. Related activities will reinforce the stories and values.
Hebrew (Ivrit)
- Students will be introduced to the names and sounds of the Hebrew letters in the Alef-Bet order through engaging experiential activities.
- Students will learn Hebrew words for numbers one through ten and for the members of the family.
KATAN/GAN SHABBAT FAMILY EXPERIENCE –
Once a year we plan a special activity for students to celebrate Shabbat with Katan and Gan families. Then we will join the Primary Shabbat Service, which is age appropriate for grades Gan through Bet, followed by an Oneg.

Machane TBA Alef (First Grade) Overview
Learning Resources:
Let’s Discover the Bible
Let’s Celebrate: The Jewish Holidays
Hebrew Flashcards
Jewish Values – PJ Library Values Curriculum
Curriculum: The Alef curriculum is interactive and engaging, teaching the foundations of Jewish festivals, Hebrew letters and vowel sounds. Students learn about our ancestors from the Bible and how they helped shape the Jewish people. We continue building Hebrew vocabulary, using words for colors and parts of the body. We celebrate Holidays in our classrooms creating a festive community (Kehillah) and strive to create connections to our classmates, Judaism, the Synagogue and our larger community through discussion, art, music and holiday celebrations.
Jewish Studies (Shiur):
Holidays (Chagim)
- Students will learn about the major festivals in the Jewish calendar year: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Hanukkah, Tu B’Shevat, Purim, Passover, Shavuot and Shabbat.
- Students will learn Jewish songs and read stories about the festivals.
- Students sample foods associated with the various holidays, including weekly juice and challah for Shabbat.*
- Students hear and repeat prayers related to the festivals.
- Students will learn about the objects associated with celebrating Shabbat and practice the Shabbat blessings.
- Students will participate in the Shabbat Family Experience to develop skills for celebrating Shabbat.
*We will resume this activity when safe to do so
Bible Stories Curriculum (Torah)
- Read Bible stories such as: Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah, Tower of Babel, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, and Moses.
- Make personal and real-world connections with the stories and Jewish values in the Bible stories.
Jewish Values (Middot)
- Students will learn about Jewish values through age appropriate stories: Kavod (respect), Chesed (kindness), Mitzvot (commandments/good deeds), Tzedakah (righteous giving), Adam Yehidi Nivrah (respecting differences), and Shalom Babayit (peace in the home/family relationships)
- They will engage in discussions and activities reinforcing how these values positively influence their lives and the people around them.
Hebrew (Ivrit)
- Students will learn the names and sounds of the Hebrew letters and vowels through games, movement and other engaging activities.
- Introduce Hebrew vocabulary for colors and parts of the body through songs and activities.
ALEF SHABBAT FAMILY EXPERIENCE:
One Friday night during the school year, we plan a special activity for students to celebrate Shabbat with Alef friends and their families. After that, we will join the Primary Pajama Shabbat Service, which is age appropriate for PreK-2^nd grade and end the evening with an Oneg.

Machane TBA Bet (Second Grade) Overview
Learning Resources
My Jewish Year Holiday Book
Hebrew Letter Flashcards
Jewish Values – PJ Library Values Curriculum

Curriculum: Our Bet curriculum is interactive and engaging while encompassing a more in-depth study of Hebrew letters, vowels and words. The students will begin reading basic one and two syllable words. We focus on Jewish values and explore ways to make the world a better place using the lessons learned from the PJ Library Values Curriculum and Bible stories. We strive to create a deeper connection to our classmates, Judaism, the Synagogue and our larger community through discussion, art, music and holiday celebrations.

Judaic Studies (Shiur)

Jewish Values (Middot):
Students will learn about the following Jewish values from age appropriate bible stories and storybooks: Mitzvot (commandments/good deeds), Chesed (showing kindness), Kavod (respect), Tikkun Olam (repairing the world), Emet (honesty), Tzedakah (righteous giving), Adam Yehidi Nivrah (respecting differences), Hoda’ah (gratitude), Teshuva (forgiveness). They will engage in discussions and activities reinforcing how these values positively influence their lives and the people around them.

Holidays (Chagim)
- Students will be able to identify the major Jewish holidays: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Hanukkah, Tu B’Shevat, Purim, Passover, Yom Ha’atzmaut, and Shavuot and the modern practices associated with each holiday.
- Students will learn about their historical significance and modern practices associated with each.
- They will learn Jewish songs and read stories about the festivals.
- They will identify symbols, foods, and vocabulary related to the festivals and Shabbat, including weekly juice and challah for Shabbat.* Students will hear and repeat prayers related to the festivals.
- Students will learn objects associated with celebrating Shabbat and the Shabbat prayers.
- Students will associate Shabbat with the Biblical story of Creation and resting in their daily lives and compare Shabbat with an ordinary day of the week.
- Students will participate in the Shabbat Family Experience to develop skills for celebrating Shabbat.
*We will resume this activity when safe to do so.

Bible Stories (Torah)

Students will learn Bible stories building on the Alef (first grade) curriculum and the values associated with the stories.

Hebrew (Ivrit)
- Students will study the letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the vowels.
- Students will be able to identify differences in reading English and Hebrew.
- Students will begin to read one and two syllable words.
- They will learn how to decode cultural Hebrew words, such as Shabbat.
- Children will learn the Hebrew vocabulary words for the days of the week and object/people you find in a classroom.
BET SHABBAT FAMILY EXPERIENCE:

One Friday night during the school year, we plan a special activity for students to celebrate Shabbat with Bet friends and their families. After that, we will join the Primary Pajama Shabbat Service, which is age appropriate for PreK-2^nd grade and end the evening with an Oneg