Dear Parents,
Wow! It’s hard to believe that it’s already winter break and even more difficult to process that we are halfway through the year! We’ve B”H had a packed yearful of fun, games, relationship building and, most importantly, tremendous growth. As we head off into a week of vacation, I want to take a moment to attempt to put on paper some of the amazing things that have been happening at Atideinu.
We started the year with Elul and Tishrei, where our themes centered around recognizing Hashem as our Father, the tremendous gift of Teshuva and the overall value of resilience (learning from our mistakes rather than denying them). As we explored the concept of teshuva being a gift, we played a unique game of hot potato where the children each got a gift from the “potato.” The children also made “love boxes” where they wrote on several pieces of paper different people, hobbies or things that they love. We discussed the idea of Hashem’s eternal love for us and realized that as much as we love what is in our box, Hashem’s love for us is infinitely more.
Cheshvan brought brand new themes as we learned how we are responsible for our own happiness. We also explored the value of believing in Hashem when things are hard and using our challenges to grow rather than break. In our breakout, we had the children decorate telescopes as we explained that sometimes we need a closer look to see the whole picture. I’m sure you remember the perspective project that your children brought home that looked like an unclear picture at first but as you looked at it from different angles it clearly became a sun from one angle and clouds from another. The group explored how the phrase, “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it,” really applies to our lives.
As we delved into Kislev, we moved along to new themes and learned about the value of self-respect, the difference between “content” and “presentation,” and of course the infinite opportunities we have to be Mekadesh Shem Shamayim. As we do each year, we made “Kiddush Hashem” jars where the children had the opportunity to document each time they made a Kiddush Hashem throughout the month and cash in each paper at the end of the month for middos money. We learned that making a Kiddush Hashem means doing what Hashem wants all the time and in any situation; regardless of whether we are in public or private. We talked about personal responsibility and how taking care of ourselves hygienically, emotionally and in all other aspects are all part of making a Kiddush Hashem. The kids were so excited to learn that making a Kiddush Hashem is not limited to their yearly Lag B’Omer trips!
We just finished Teves and learning about the importance of staying strong as a nation in a secular world and identifying building on our internal strengths. We also talked about remembering that Olam Hazeh is temporary, but we are supposed to enjoy it. For our breakout, we had a fabulous time doing a thirty minute workout, led by our very own Danny Firestone, to represent the idea of being a strong individual! Throughout the month, the children created dry erase boards to symbolize the temporary nature of Olam Hazeh, created “confidence cookie jars,” to assist with identifying individual strengths to feel confident about, and engaged in a strategy-based challenge called “Saving Sam” where they needed to use their partners to “Save Sam.” We explored the value of working with a group when faced with a challenge, versus always trying to manage things on our own.
As we entered Shevat we began to talk about the value of identifying and using our resources, as well as the importance of feeling and expressing appreciation. We broke out Shevat by going around the table and each identifying three things that we are grateful for. We turned our door into a “gratitude door” for the month, as the kids come in each session and write down things that they are grateful for that day. We had a fantastic activity last week where the children divided into groups and were challenged to create a game using only the resources within Atideinu. The kids were unbelievably creative with developing their games and using the resources here to assist them. The group talked about internal and external resources that Hashem gives us to assist us with getting through our challenges.
I want to end off by thanking all of our parents for coming out this past month for our touch base sessions. It was truly a pleasure meeting with each of you and having an opportunity to really focus on the tremendous ma’olos that each of your children have. I speak on behalf of all the staff when I say it is an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to work with your children four and a half hours a week! We look forward to the rest of the year and anticipate continued tremendous growth from all of our children! Have a wonderful winter vacation.
Sincerely,
Chana Perel Handler
Director, Atideinu