Grade Four – 01/24/10

Grade Four reviewed Chapter Six in our curriculum and debated on the chapter title, “Does G-d Care Which Team Wins the Superbowl or World Series?”  To answer this question, we had to discuss how sports could be played and enjoyed “Jewishly”.  We talked about the importance of good sportsmanship, of “not losing your cool” as Jacob G. stated, being patient with others who may not be the best athletes, recognizing the importance of teamwork, recognizing that it is “WE” who lost or won a game , not “I” as Arieh S. noted, being kind and fair to others and including everyone as Amy F. pointed out….just to name a few ideas.  We learned about the importance of taking care of ourselves and keeping healthy and not taking for granted the wonderful physical and mental accomplishments that human beings can make.  On one hand, perhaps G-d doesn’t care who wins, as long as the participants worked well as teams, respected one another during and after the game and enjoyed their activity.  But on the other hand, G-d likes to see us happy, working together to strive to reach a goal and celebrating our special moments.  Maybe in a way, G-d does care who wins the game! 

The students’ homework assignment is to read Chapter Seven, “Does G-d Understand Hebrew Best?” which is due Sunday 2/7/10.  Please encourage your children to DO THEIR HOMEWORK so they are able to gain the most from their classroom experience. The assignments are not complicated, usually consisting of about 5 or 6 pages to read, followed by 2 pages of exercises that relate to the chapter.   Also please remind them that in order to do their homework, it is always a good idea to actually take their books home!!!!!