And here's a letter from Morah Leah, the Judaics teacher. Just to clarify, this is a K-2 class she's talking about. I did cut out one paragraph about their Hebrew reading homework. Same with the letter from Morah Erin. I edited out some specific assignment instructions.

Dear Parents,
We are busy doing many things in our Judaic Studies lessons. Here is an update of what we have been covering.

Tefillah/Prayer
We are progressing nicely through the prayer of “Ashrei” – we sing it every day and try to follow along with most of the words. Just this week we have finished the entire prayer, which is quite an accomplishment. The children feel very proud of being able to sing along to a very long prayer. We will continue practicing it so the students can become even more fluent in their reading.

Chumash/Bible Study
We are continuing reading and translating the Chumash in its original text. At this stage, a lot of the singing/reading/translating is done by memory. We are comparing similar words and looking for clues as we decipher the translations. I did send home some Chumash review homework and had varied results. Some of the students were frustrated when they tried reviewing at home. For now, I will keep the reviewing in the classroom until they feel more confident. If your child would enjoy reviewing at home, you might try showing them a Chumash opened to the first chapter of Beraisheit. The book we use in school is in large print, color-coded and is very child-friendly, but it is important for the children to see that these ancient words are the same in all different types of Chumashim, as well as in any Torah they will ever see.

Tu B’Shvat – The New Year for Trees
The topic of Tu B’Shvat has been filling our classroom – the bookshelves feature special tree-themed books, our walls are covered with artwork depicting this holiday and even our classroom door has some extraordinary artwork and reflections on giving trees.
I read Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree to the class and we had a fascinating discussion about the question: Who is YOUR Giving Tree? The children all had different answers and it was so interesting to hear all the different perspectives on giving and receiving.
We discussed the lessons that trees can teach us and the responsibility we have to sustain trees and all living things. Our class is very environmentally aware and brainstormed for ideas of how to take care of our world to make it a place where things can grow in a safe and healthy way.
The children each imagined “What kind of tree would I be?” Each child’s unique personality was reflected in their artwork and their choice of tree.
The children have been singing Tu B’Shvat songs as well as learning the names of various fruits and grains in Hebrew. They will make their own memory matching game to take home and practice the “Shiva Minim” – The 7 types of fruit and grains that are special to Israel and that are talked about in the Torah.
To end our Tu B’Shvat unit, we will be tasting an assortment of fruits and comparing and contrasting them, using all of our senses.
Have a Happy Tu B’Shvat!
Morah Leah Herman