Hebrew School classes at The Levy Library

Hebrew School Class Visits – posted 3/17/26

Dear Parents,

We’re now in Passover season, with lots of stories for classes visiting the library!

We began on Thursday, 3/5, with Morah Emuna’s TK/K class striking a “pey” pose for Alef-Bet Yoga and then sharing Max Makes a Cake. In this story, Max runs out of patience waiting for his father to come help him make a Passover birthday cake for his mother, so he does it himself, layering matzah with cream cheese and strawberry jam frosting! See what recipes – real or imaginary – you and your child can come up with for a Passover birthday cake! (The class didn’t have time for a book exchange so they returned on Thursday, 3/12 to borrow books.)

Morah Beila’s first and second graders enjoyed Hooray! It’s Passover!, a story that features a lively seder and ends with the hunt for the afikomen. Play a guessing game – your child thinks of a place to hide the afikomen and then you have to guess. Next, switch places, so you think of the hiding place and it’s your child’s turn to guess where you would put it. What else might you guess about in this game?

As usual, Sunday, 3/8 was very busy, with three classes for storytime and two classes for a brief book exchange. Morah Emuna’s TK/K class did “pey” poses for Alef-Bet Yoga and then we read Four Special Questions, a nice overview of the seder from the perspective of a little boy who will be old enough to ask the four questions next year. There is a double-page spread with a picture and caption for each of the ten plagues. Ask your child to draw a picture of one that they remember. If it’s a particularly scary one, like the death of the firstborn, here’s your chance to talk about it and reassure your child.

When Morah Liad’s third graders came to the library, I read them The Passover Lamb, in which a newborn lamb attends a seder! Tell your child a family story about a time when something surprising happened at Passover. Books can easily provide an opening for wonderful conversations.

On Sunday I also read A Persian Passover to Morah Leetal’s third and fourth graders. This book, set in Iran, really resonated with both teacher and students, all of whom were familiar with the Farsi expressions in the book. You can have another wonderful conversation by describing a typical Passover of your childhood – in Iran or elsewhere. What is the same today? What is different? We did this book again with Morah’s Leetal’s class on Tuesday, 3/10 – a popular choice!

Morah Leila’s 5^th graders and Moreh Yaakov’s 6^th graders had their usual brief library time for a book exchange that Sunday. And on Tuesday, 3/10, and Tuesday, 3/17, Morah Sharon’s 5^th/6^th grade class came for a book exchange. These classes are now embarking on their library biography project to read about an IDF veteran or Holocaust figure. We will officially start on Sunday, 3/22 and Tuesday, 3/24. This project is meant to introduce students to a notable Jewish life and encourage library use. It will culminate in the students briefly sharing what they’ve learned with the class and their parents on Sunday, 4/19 and Tuesday, 4/21 during the last half-hour of the school day. Your children will be bringing home a four-page handout with the instructions for the project and space for taking notes. I will also share that handout in WhatsApp, so please watch for it. When you get the handout, please read it carefully. You are encouraged to help your child with the research – it can be a learning experience for you both.

Thank you!

Happy reading!

Your librarian, Annette (library@sephardictemple.org)