Year 2: #YHTcommunity
YHT is the place to be…to build community! Last year, students learned about people and things that we honor through our iHonor theme. This year, students will engage in lessons and activities about community. We’re calling it “#YHTcommunity.”
What is a community? How can I be a responsible member of our community? What is our responsibility to the worldwide community? These are some of the questions that we will be thinking about. Each month, lesson plans, books of the month, assemblies, and hands-on projects will address different resources or elements of a community to prompt student discussion about how we value our community and how we can impact other communities. Look out for upcoming Facebook posts and Daf Kesher articles about our Book of the Month program, assemblies, and especially our weekly Shabbat Table Talks to extend the dialogue to your Shabbat table. We invite you to sponsor a book of the month, join us as a guest reader, and participate in meaningful discussions with your (grand)children about community. In the meantime, you can sign up to be a reader or sponsor HERE.
Check back here regularly for updates on the coming months' middot:
Introduction to community: What is a community?
Book of the month: One World One Day by Barbara Kerley
October:
Topic: WATER in our community
How is water essential to a community? How are we privileged in our water access? We say a tefillah for rain on Succot. What is it like for communities that do not have clean, running water?
Book of the month: The Water Princess by Susan Verde
November:
Topic: FOOD in our community:
What does it mean to live in a community without enough food? How can we help those without food? What am I grateful for?
Book of the month: Maddie’s Fridge by Lois Brandt
December:
MONEY in our community:
In a season where we see a lot of money spending, what does it mean to not have enough money? Does all giving in our community have to be material?
Book of the month: Beatrice’s Goat by Page McBrier
January/February:
DIVERSITY in our community:
Who is in our community? How are we alike and how are we different? How can we make everyone feel comfortable?
Book of the month: Emmanuel’s Dream by Laurie Ann Thompson
March:
DISPLACED PEOPLE in our community:
What happens when a community has to leave?
Book of the month: Four Feet, Two Sandals by Karen Lynn Williams
April:
SCHOOL in our community:
Our community is a school community; some children do not have a school. What does it mean to be a child who cannot go to school? What do they do in their community? How do we show appreciation for our school?
Books of the month: I Like I Don’t Like by Anna Baccelliere (Grades 1 and 2), and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba (Grades 4 and up)
May/June:
RECYCLING in our community:
How do we care for the Earth as members of the global community?
Book of the month: One Plastic Bag by Miranda Paul