Just a quick post...

I just wanted to send a huge thank you to all of the students and parents who braved the chilly temperatures to join me and Danielle yesterday at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco!! About 50 of us were able to enjoy the exhibits before the doors were open to the general public later that morning, and it made for a very special time. I hope to have another field trip this Spring if time permits and would love *all* of Omanut to be there!
Here are some pictures of CJM and the main exhibit that we went there for: Beyond Belief: 100 years of the spiritual in modern art. (We also saw two other exhibits on Kibbutz history and examining the idea of Utopia!)

The outside of the CJM

another view of the outside of CJM

inside CJM-- look at the slanted walls and architectural details!

We were so lucky to be there for the last day of the installment!

 Just a few pieces from the inside!

We continue to examine Torah and the art that comes with it in Omanut. Be on the lookout for the very special 7 canvas displays that will be coming home with your son or daughter, with a short essay about why they painted/utilized pastels/ markers/ crayons/water colors/ acrylics for their individual pieces that depict their interpretation of the first 7 days of creation.

My Omanut students continue to surprise and amaze me with their knowledge, as well as their questions, when it comes to their thought & creative processes!

FYI, We have to postpone the Family Ketubah Project that was originally set for Nov 10th because our artist had a conflict in her schedule, so we are rescheduling for January! More details as the day gets closer, but you will not want to miss this great project!

B'Shalom,
Heather

Our class painting!

Just wanted to post some pictures, as promised, of our wonderful (and very colorful!!) Omanut painting! Everyone worked so hard to complete the canvas and there was a lot of compromising and decision making done by them in the process.
We started out with the canvas "halved"-- One side for Tuesday Omanut and one side for Wednesday Omanut. Each class decided on the main symbol that they were going to draw, (as well as what other symbols were important to them) and then paint, using acrylics. At the finish, the painting looks remarkably cohesive and makes me so proud! All our students got the opportunity to put their ideas on canvas-- and that is what makes it extra great. :)

Left side:

Right side:

Close up:

The finished canvas is now on display in the hallway, but here are 2 of our wonderful Avodah TA's, holding it up so you can see how big it is! (36"x 48")

Please stop by and admire our painting in person!

We are now moving on to learning about passages in the Torah, specifically Genesis.
Omanut students will be sketching out, designing and then using their medium of choice to show their understanding of Genesis 1:1-2:3 in seven separate small canvases each. We will be sending those home for you to display once they are complete.

We look forward to as many students as possible attending our Omanut Field Trip on Sunday, October 27th. Please look in your inboxes for the Evite invitation and respond as soon as you can with how many family members will be joining us at the Contemporary Jewish Museum.

Until next time!
B'Shalom,
Heather

Symbols, Jewish art, Jewish Artists and what it all means...

Shalom, Everyone! 

It was practically buzzing with creativity this past week in Omanut, and that's a wonderful thing! We signed our Classroom Rules that we added to our community tree, and completed work on the beautiful "stained-glass" style tissue paper leaves with wishes for the new year on them, while beginning work on Jewish artists, symbols in art, and started to follow a tradition of a time of mindfulness before putting pencil to paper for our open sketch time. 

Here is the beautiful result. Feel free to come to our class anytime for a closer look!

We embarked on water color painting after our discussion about Jewish symbols and Jewish artists and Jewish art. From Chagall's classic museum pieces to Yair Emanuel's bright hand-painted wooden objects for the home that mix of Old and New world folk art, as well as Rabbi Moully's intensely eye-catching prints and Gary Rosenthal's welded metals, we had a lively discussion that sparked some new ideas, and influenced the work that was created. Here are some examples:

To cap off our studies of Jewish symbols and Jewish artists and the work that they do, the final big project that we are doing as a whole class is a 36"x 48" acrylic painting that showcases every student, as they will all be putting brushes to canvas to complete it for the entire Religious School to see.
I am so very proud of my Omanut students! They worked together and decided as a group what symbols they wanted to use, and were respectful and thoughtful about the process itself. Collaboration was the name of the game, and they worked as a community to make decisions about what style they thought would be best, as well as what the major focus would be. 

What can I say? I have the best class ever! 

Our Avodah TA's have been such a huge help to Danielle and me in the classroom, setting a great example for our students and being there to lend a hand to take attendance, work one-on-one with anyone who needs extra time or help, and they take the initiative to clean up and help to make our classroom run smoothly! Thank you, Hannah, JoJo, McKenna, Clare, Simone, Aliya, Kyla, Isabella, Sarah, Gabby and Sydney!! :)

There is more to come, so check back soon for pictures of our Omanut painting- I can't wait to have the unveiling- you will be as proud of your child(ren) as I am!


All the best,
Heather

Welcome to Omanut!

It was such a privilege to meet all of the new students in Omanut on Sunday, and as we mark the beginning of a new week tomorrow, I am excited to continue on our journey to get to know one another, establish a creative community and learn more about God, Torah, and Judaism through art and the very varied artists that produce Judaic art.

We played a name game in small groups that encouraged the students to think of "2 Facts, 1 Fiction" and there was a lot of silliness, fun and interesting facts to be found!  

Can you guess…

Who wants to own a cow? 

Who has traveled to more than 10 places?

Who is a great performer and loves art?

What family owns a hamster?

What sibling twosome has a crazy cat that eats all their socks?

Who loves mushrooms? (Ok, that was a fiction! I'm with you on that one, Z! I don't like mushrooms, either!)

To start the year on a happy note, we began an individual project to make "stained glass leaves" with tissue paper to be leaves on our classroom tree. Those leaves will incorporate each student's wish for the new year, which was fairly fresh on their minds since we just finished the High Holy Days and contemplated those goals on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We came together to produce a list of "Classroom Rules" that we will add to our classroom tree, along with those beautiful leaves. I will be taking pictures tomorrow of our completed project so you all can see the full effect of our creative endeavors!

We are learning Hebrew Through Movement, with Tammy and Yardena every class, and I love experiencing it along with the students! I think everyone likes it a lot more than traditional workbooks, and since we are using so many different modalities of learning when we do Hebrew Through Movement, it reaches all of the various learning styles.

Upcoming fun events to keep in mind:

On Sunday, October 27th, 2013 we will be meeting at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco at 10 am. What caught my eye initially was the exhibit Beyond Belief: 100 years of the Spiritual in Modern Art, and since it is their very last day of the exhibit before it leaves the museum, we will have a private tour before the museum opens to the general public! How awesome is that?!

Along with the Beyond Belief exhibit, the museum will also guide us to: Work in Progress- Considering Utopia and To Build and Be Built- Kibbutz History. We will all be meeting there and all costs for admission will be paid for by the Religious School. More details to follow as we get into October.

Here is the link to CJM:   http://www.thecjm.org

On Sunday, November 10, 2103, we will have a Family Program all about ketubah! More details to come as the date gets closer!

Danielle and I are so happy our class chose Omanut for their 3rd or 4th grade religious track. We are looking forward to a great year of learning, inspiration and creative expression!

M'oadim L'simcha!! Wishing us all a wonderful year! :)

B'Shalom,

Heather