Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from August, 2012

Short Parsha Riddles: Ki Seitzei / כִּי תֵצֵא

דְּבָרִים / Devarim / Deuteronomy 21:10–25:19 Click for printable PDF version . Don’t forget to read this week’s Parsha Poem and parsha overview .  Plus… copywork and parsha activities – something for every week of the year! UPDATE:  Now with AWESOME colouring page !!!   פָּרָשָׁת כִּי תֵצֵא Parshas Ki Seitzei דְּבָרִים / Devarim / Deuteronomy 21:10–25:19 [ 1 ] For speaking bad words, this lady got sick With tzara'as and so they all sent her out quick Now we learn this mitzvah straight out of the Torah: To always remember __________'s Loshon Hora. [ 2 ] Some things we can mix and it comes out alright We can wear clothes with threads made of black and of white You can wear checks and plaids, but this parsha says You should never wear clothes made up of __________! [ 3 ] The easiest easy, the hardest of hard Two mitzvos earn you a “long lifetime” card; To honour a parent’s the toughest of tough, But __________…?  Why, that’s such simple stuff! [ 4 ] Once, bat

Narration on Pieter Bruegel The Harvesters

Naomi’s narration: “Looking at this painting... it looks like cheese because it's all yellow, and it's autumn, and some people are having a picnic and there's a town in the background and children playing and someone going fishing.  The people are poor people [peasants] and the people come from Ireland.  Some men are cutting down the wheat and the wheat looks like tents.  I do not like this painting because it's all yellow!  I prefer paintings with bright colours:  pink, purple, green, blue, red, turquoise and orange.” This is not exactly up to our usual standards, but it’s a start.  We’re both t rying to get back into the swing of things, which is surprisingly tough right now considering that, theoretically, we learn all through the summer.  (I have no idea how she decided that the people were Irish, but I suppose peasants look like peasants all the world over…) Here’s how we do picture study narration: After a few minutes of guided picture study, where I ask quest

Ki Seitzei Parsha Summary: A mother bird? How absurd!

This is a basic overview of the parsha story in a format that can be adapted for a wide range of ages. Sources include parsha text, commentaries and midrash.  When introducing midrash or other non-pshat elements, I  use the words “some people think” or something similar. ( find out why ) Please see the Vayeishev overview for how we use these narratives  in our homeschool.  I also have copywork sheets to go with the weekly parsha… enjoy!  בס״ד Only five more parshiyos in Sefer Devarim – it’s almost Simchas Torah! We already know that bnei Yisrael are going to go in to conquer eretz Cana’an (which would become eretz Yisrael) and destroy idols there. But what if the soldiers see beautiful women there, and decide to marry them? Do you remember the plan of wicked King Balak? He tricked the men of bnei Yisrael into marrying women from Moav and Midyan. Those were not nice women, and when the Jewish men married them, it made bnei Yisrael weak. Pinchas finally killed Zimri and the Moavi

Bubbie Sez…

So what do you think of this facebook ad???  Is it weird, or is it just me?  I don’t even know if it offends me or if it’s wacky enough to fly under the radar.  Take note:  there are just oodles of important messages here… you don’t want to join a shul (of course , because you’re a hip young thing, wink wink) but your “Bubbie” would love it if you did!  (aw, shucks) but don’t worry, because look how cool SHE is! (arms crossed like a rapper, sunglasses, big goofy toothless grin) and there’s a “membership plan” which means it’s maybe cheaper than you think! did you notice it’s a “young adult” membership plan, which implies you wouldn’t be the only hipster caught dead there??? A couple of shuls around here have run campaigns like this in recent years, including one that said, on great big posters, “Look, Bubby, we joined a shul!” (if I recall correctly). I wonder about these ads because, well, why “Bubbie”?  Maybe because your cool Boomer parents would never interfere by suggest

Jewish Homeschool Bloggers – check in here!

In addition to the Carnival of Jewish homeschooling , I also thought it would be fun, timed to coincide with the start of the school year in Israel, to start our year with a roundup of Jewish homeschool bloggers in North America, Israel… or anywhere! So click the button, add your blog name and a thumbnail, and visit anyone else who’s posted… let’s get to know each other and get this “not-going-back-to-school” year started right!!!

Carnival of Jewish Homeschooling – a revival! (technically, re-reviving)

I don’t mind making this a yearly endeavour… so it’s time again to try to revive the blog carnival I started and ran a few issues of last year.  I think it’s fascinating to see what other Jewish homeschool bloggers are talking about.  I hope you will, too! Here’s a link to a previous post explaining what the carnival is about. A few quick points: You don’t have to homeschool – anyone who educates Jewish kids is welcome to participate. You don’t have to be religious – though Jewish content is important; there are other carnivals for other stuff. It doesn’t have to be recent; because I haven’t done this in a LONG time, I’m open to anything from pretty much the past year. It doesn’t even have to be YOURS; feel free to nominate another blog post you’ve read! Remember:  a blog carnival links POSTS, not blogs… so pick a couple of your best posts from the past year and submit them (links to the exact post you want included)! You can see what I mean by checking out these links to pa

So I don’t know

...how people get ahead, really.  Industrious bunnies who work hard and pay tuitions and bills on time and live happy lives.  I don't know how to be that person; I've never figured it out. I told the kids I was stupid when I was 18 and have never recovered, financially, and I think that's probably true.  Living hand-to-mouth, having kids right out of university without any kind of financial plan - or, ahem, job - divorcing without any kind of financial plan, and then just faking it and coasting on a wing and some prayers through 13 years of pretty expensive education.  The wealthiest I have been in my entire adult life is when I was a single mother, earning a nice salary at software companies, with kids in subsidized daycare.  Things were scary then, too, but at least the money theoretically stretched from end to end of each month. "When my parents were my age," I used to say, "they'd bought a house already.  They had jobs, two cars, kids in the suburbs.&

how to draw, with GZ and Chirp

This is a kid who doesn't "like" drawing... in quotation marks because the truth is, he loves to create pictures, but doesn't love to make them up from scratch out of his own head.  You might say he's not very creative, but more likely, he's just scared.  Kid #4 in a family of draw-ers, paint-ers, and other big, creative types, and of course he's worried he'll get made fun of. He has attempted various Draw Write Now draw-alongs with us (scroll down in this post to see some of his early attempts).   But this week, he discovered a "how-to" for a rather inane little kids' magazine called Chirp (from the same folks who bring you such insipid Canadian reading as Chickadee and Owl).  Now, these kids ADORE Chirp, for no particular reason I can see other than he's consistently drawn and cheerful. But the how-to draw, while it has inspired Naomi to do a few sweet doodles of her own, is like kindling in the wishful hands of Gavriel Zev

The King is in the field

I am not one for vivid dreams - or, really, any kind of dreams.  But for some reason, here in Elul, I have now had three extraordinarily vivid "King in the field" dreams.  What is this concept? Basically, in the month of Elul, God is very, very close to us indeed.  We finish the book of Eichah on Tisha b'Av with the words "return us to you, Hashem, and we will return."  In other words, meet us halfway.  This month is the fulfillment of that promise.  Turn towards Him, and He will do all the work - bringing you home again. The analogy is of a king - once a year, the king goes out into the field to meet with his populace and take any kinds of requests, however ridiculous. Within most of the theology I've read, there are two "God-concepts" - the God who is immanent (this means near; not to be confused with the near-homonym imminent, which means "coming soon").  This is tangible God - He is palpably everywhere.  The other concept is tr

Cottage Crochet!

ok, so I'm going a little nuts out here in the wilderness... crocheting like crazy, yay!  there is something so snug and cozy about sitting her bundled up in my cottage while the kids make mudpies with ted on the dock.

Re’ay Parsha Summary: Diet for a Happy, Healthy Neshama

This is a basic overview of the parsha story in a format that can be adapted for a wide range of ages. Sources include parsha text, commentaries and midrash.  When introducing midrash or other non-pshat elements, I  use the words “some people think” or something similar. ( find out why ) Please see the Vayeishev overview for how we use these narratives  in our homeschool.  I also have copywork sheets to go with the weekly parsha… enjoy!  (p.s. Love the owl-eater in the picture below???  Download a colouring page of him here - scroll down or search for Re’ay, or “colouring” (spelled the Canadian way)!) בס״ד Only seven more parshiyos in Sefer Devarim, Moshe’s speech during the last five weeks of his life. Then, we’ll finish the entire Torah! Do you know when? (Simchas Torah) Do we stop reading it then? (No, we start all over again with the story of Bereishis!) Do you remember reading Bereishis last year? If not, that’s okay, because we read it over and over and over again! In De

Short Parsha Riddles: Eikev / עֵקֶב

דְּבָרִים / Devarim / Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25 Click for printable PDF version . Don’t forget to read this week’s Parsha Poem (Oops - another missing one!) and parsha overview .  Plus… copywork and parsha activities – something for every week of the year! בס״ד פָּרָשָׁת עֵקֶב Parshas Eikev דְּבָרִים / Devarim / Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25 [1] This parsha’s so humble, it really means “heel,” For the mitzvos both lofty and low; Just like our father whose name might conceal, Though lesser, his greatness would grow.  Who was he? [2] Moshe’s been quite patient with all of the Jews Kvetching to him with the words that they choose, But now here at last, he asks, “What the heck? Please, please, holy Jews, just lose the stiff __________!” [3] He came down so quickly from mountaintop’s thunder, Witnessed the Jews and their golden-cow blunder; Smashed up the tablets in anger and wrath; But how was he punished, his sad aftermath? [4] Three types of people Hashem keeps in touch, Folks wh

Nu? Hat!

I’ve made myself several hats since learning to crochet back in January , but this is a new design and I’m particularly pleased with it.  Although it’s double crochet, I used a thicker yarn than usual ( Lily Sugar & Cream Solids in Hot Blue ), which means it actually covers my hair.  I normally keep my buff headcover (tichel) on under hats, so it’s not a problem, but this feels light and comfy so far, so it’s nice to have options. Here’s a link to the free pattern on Ravelry , in case you’re interested. And here’s a picture of me, giving my best “I know you are up to something” grimace.  I’m sure you’re NOT up to something, but I was peeved because I handed the camera to Ted, he took an awful picture of the back of my head, then handed it to me and walked away, leaving me to try to photograph the back view.  So this is more like the gaze of disbelief after my unpaid craft photographer has up and quit on me. The photographs were not just for vanity, but actually also a kind o

Eikev Parsha Summary: What Hashem asks in return

This is a basic overview of the parsha story in a format that can be adapted for a wide range of ages. Sources include parsha text, commentaries and midrash.  When introducing midrash or other non-pshat elements, I  use the words “some people think” or something similar. ( find out why ) Please see the Vayeishev overview for how we use these narratives  in our homeschool.  I also have copywork sheets to go with the weekly parsha… enjoy!  בס״ד Do you remember? Sefer Devarim is one long speech by Moshe in the last five weeks of his life. Moshe starts this parsha by promising amazing brachas if bnei Yisrael keep the Torah in eretz Yisrael! Their children, their animals, their fields – everything will grow bigger and better and healthier. They will live very long lives. And enemies who try to attack will fail – Hashem will protect them in every way. A very famous expression comes from this week’s parsha: “Man does not live by bread alone.” כִּי לֹא עַל הַלֶּחֶם לְבַדּוֹ יִחְיֶה

Cooking for…

This is the time of year I jokingly refer to as our “semi-empty nest.”  The big kids are in Calgary visiting family, and we are left with a taste of what it would be like to be a totally different family – a fairly predictable life with two kids, no schools, nobody popping in and out of the house.  This period when they usually comes after several crazy unpredictable summer weeks, and this year has been the most crazy and unpredictable of all, with big kids running in and out of the house, up to all kinds of big-kid shenanigans, at all hours of the day and night.  Literally, at any moment if we’re trying to do school or have rests or anything, the door could open with a big kid bursting in, perhaps happy and calm; or perhaps, agitated, angry and shouting.  And there is always money:  they constantly need money, infusions of cash or arguments about money or debates about who owed what to whom and when. So when they go away, it’s a bit of a release.  A bit of missing them terribly. I

Frog Prince for Mary – and why

Sunday afternoon, I realized the kids were leaving without a gift for my wonderful mother-in-law in Calgary ( here are my pics from her garden, 3 years ago).  The sad part of losing touch is you never know if people are into the same things as they were way back when… but when I saw this froggie prince, I thought it might be perfect.  After many years single, she’s married to the princeliest frog (or froggiest prince) you could ever hope for, a gentleman, linguist, artist and “Grampa Mikey” to my kids since YM was about 1. He was a quick project, really just the afternoon and part of the evening:   The side and top views are a little strange, but shown here so you can see the gorgeous workmanship. ;-)   Actually, I wasn’t sure if she’d like him, so took extra trouble to make him baby-safe so he could be passed along to a younger relative if she preferred.  That mostly involves sewing the eyes instead of buttons or doll eyes, plus sewing back and forth extra times to secur

Missed-Word Monday: Viola

This is a viola. This is from a review of a plunger-based sushi maker on Amazon.com:  “This product is really easy to use. Cook the rice, fill…close, plunge, viola.” This is from a review of a muffin recipe:  “Just add some cinnamon streusel and viola - awesomeness!” Here’s a description of a playground in Australia:  “for a great few hours of fun… swings, a slide and some sort of climbing apparatus and viola! Happy kids!” The word I think you are looking for, I believe, is…       Sorry… actually, this one doesn’t annoy me at all – I’m just amused, in a geek-ish way, to think of folks shouting out the names of string instruments as they write their reviews.  “just press this little button and… Cello!”

Groise Tzuris…

There’s a Yiddish expression, “kleine kinder, kleine tzuris… groise kinder, groise tzuris.”  Little kids, little problems… big kids, big problems.  Little kids fall down, they need kisses, hugs, diapers, any number of small attentions.  It gets annoying, but you know, at the end of the day, that they adore you, that they’d do anything for you. And big kids – well, I’m stumped. Honestly, I’m stumped.  What the heck do they need? Big Boy has found himself a Woman, and by “Woman,” I mean a girl who thinks she is all grown up, the way I did when I was in Grade Whatever and I was all that and figured they should repaint the signs on the bathroom doors so they didn’t say “girls” because none of us were, dammit, and give us adult privileges without annoying hassles of any kind. I will not get into specifics, but based on events this evening, I will say that it has become very, very hard not to judge the character of this person, and by association, the character of my own child… and I am

Short Parsha Riddles: Va’eschanan / וָאֶתְחַנַּן

דְּבָרִים / Devarim / Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22 Click for printable PDF version . Don’t forget to read this week’s Parsha Poem (Vaeschanan was actually the first parsha poem ever, two years ago last week!) and parsha overview .  Plus… copywork and parsha activities – something for every week of the year! בס״ד פָּרָשָׁת וָאֶתְחַנַּן  Parshas Vaeschanan דְּבָרִים / Devarim / Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 [1] To start off this week, Moshe stands and he begs, Davening as we might well think he should; Pleading to cross on his own two strong legs, To walk with the Jews to the Land that’s so __________! [2] In the parsha of Yisro, it’s related To keep Shabbos because He created But though Torah’s reasons, Explain all the seasons, We now might this cause is debated. Why does THIS parsha tell us to keep Shabbos? [3] At the seder we read about four of these, One who is wise while one seeks to displease; One who is simple and one doesn’t know… But which one of them does this week’s pars