Hebrew Curriculum

Shalom,

Ahhhh so I finally decide to purchase a Hebrew curriculum. I tried to pool together resources but it just wasn't working. I'm going to share with you what we are using and how we are using it. I also have an using manipulatives as well which will be discussed in an upcoming post.

We chose Hebrew because it was what we knew to be our original language. We absolutely love Hebrew and my children have an enthusiasm for reading Hebrew that they didn't have for English. I had the grand idea of being able to learn, plan, and teach using resources from here and there I found on the web. Two reasons what that didn't work #1 I didn't know Hebrew and I can't teach what I don't know. It's an extreme hassle trying to learn something and teach it at the same time.  #2 I just don't have the time to pull together, weed out, and try to learn before I actually teach them. Thankfully I have the good sense to at least buy a workbook.

We are using a nice curriculum from Berhman House called Shalom Uvrachah: The New Hebrew Primer (pictured above). I really really love this curriculum because it builds upon letter and vowel combinations (I am a strong supporter of phonetical learning). It also give lots of reading practice. It does not present with five practice lines and then move on. Also we have a Hebrew alphabet coloring book from Chaya Burstein which is neat and simple.  
*A quick note is that if you are not familiar with the Hebrew alefbet and sounds then you should start with Shalom alef bet: A Pre primer for Shalom Uvrachah.

The curriculum is set up into twenty six lessons.  Each lesson introduces about 1-3 letters and a vowel. The lesson starts with a brief introduction and 3 one syllable practice lines.

There are reading practice pages and activity pages throughout the lesson. the lesson last about 6-8 pages.  Some of the words are not actual Hebrew words but letter/vowel combinations to help with learning blending. We use the coloring book pages to reinforce letter learning.

One thing it falters with is adequate handwriting practice which for us is needed. For now I make extra copies of the handwriting pages for practice.  We are starting with block letters which is the easiest to learn, then we will move on to script. Most Hebrew writing that is typed is similar to block font. I realized that we had learned quite a bit from my mix & match days so we move pretty quickly through the lessons. Right now we are doing two per week but that may change soon. For independent work they complete about 2 pages.

So yeah that's what we are doing for Hebrew. Lookout for my post on homemade Hebrew flashcards and Hebrew Bananagrams!

Shalom everybody, have a productive day!

T. Henderson

Happy Monday!!

Shalom,

Today is Monday and you know what that means...the school work week begins. I normally despise Mondays but after our break I feel wonderful.

Bet Or's Schedule 2016-2017

Make Time Work For You

 Shalom,

In a homeschool, the schedule is extremely important. I  a lot of ways a homeschool is like any other education system or business, to ensure success there are schedules. Of course in homeschool, the type of schedule and how strict or lax it is is totally up to you. This is how we are scheduling our day to day and our year.  

Weekly Book Review 9/26/2016

Shalom,

Each week I will be doing a book review of books we have read or will read in our homeschool. These books will consist of primarily AA books because we do promote positive self perception rooted in our culture as an AA family. I will discuss what we loved or didn't quite love about the book, the illustrations if any, and the authors ability to communicate the literary work effectively. Monday, I will share my review on The ABC's of Black History: A Children's Guide by Craig Thompson. I have already read though the book and will allow my little boys to go through it as well.  Check back to see my thoughts!

Blessings,

T. Henderson  

Bet Or's Homeschool 2016-2017

Back to Learning

Shalom,

So today I am writing about some things planned for this year. It's a bit late but I have been writing and developing my behind off so forgive me. This year I have 7 students and one tag along. Their grade levels are 8th, 7th, 6th, 4th, 3rd, 1st, kinder, and my tag along is a toddler. This year is particularly demanding because I am developing our homeschool method and curriculum, there are three middle schoolers, a couple GT kids, and two emergent readers, plus my tag along wants to learn his letters and numbers.

Quick Update

I am waist deep into my Homeschool planning and this break (for the kids) has been awesome. They are reenergized and ready for the new school year.

This year's planning has been very intensive for me because I am doing a complete overhaul. Almost no curriculum will be used this year. There will be a ton of hands on and real life learning applications. That also means that in order for it not to be total chaos I will need to do a lot of planning before hand.

While the planning has been mentally exhausting I have found myself giddier each day as the school year draws close. This coming week I am prepping the guest house to officially make it a school house. I can not wait to share pics, videos, and updates as to how all of this turns out. I am particularly happy to share weekly videos of our learning conquest during the week. This is going to be totally awesome and amazing.

I give all praise to HaShem for allowing a blessed life and lots of love and peace. Also thanks to my husband for shelling out the bucks 😘, and my amazing kiddos for giving me ideas on what they would like to learn. Looking forward to this  school year!

Shabbat Shalom and many blessings!!!
T. Henderson

Summer Break and Things to Come....

It is that time of year again! Summer break is here...almost. We do school year round with a 1 month break in July. In about a week my kids will lay down their books and follow a lot of their own interest. This year instead of sitting in the house we will be doing some traveling. We have plans to go to Chicago to visit Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation. We are going to SixFlags as well. I believe everyone is old enough to enjoy ( no infants this year ;) ).  There are plans for a family visit to the Ft. Worth Zoo as well as a few museum and cavern trips.  Wonderful thing about it is that we really don't have to leave our state to enjoy our summer. Texas has almost everything! 

After our summer break we will return with a new school year and a new (to us) way of doing things. Education wise, why do I feel that throwing all these stringent academics at my children will help in the long run. Does it help for my children to focus mainly academics? Will it really help my child to know how to do an algebra equation or balance their health and money? At the end of the day I want my children to experience childhood, adolescence, and adult life. I was never taught life skills i.e. money management, cooking, time management, organization skills etc. My education was mainly academics. Study, study, study then pass the test to pass the grade level. Wash...rinse...repeat. I am not interested in that for my kiddos. I want them to be able to be effective in everything they do. That means being able to manage their lives, to communicate, and to learn new things.  So stay tuned because I will be sharing how we will incorporate that into our new school year.

Our goal is to have TONS of fun this summer and to come back refreshed and focused for our new school year!

Hope everyone has a wonderful summer break and mazel tov for the new school year!

Restoration of A Nation

Today I have started on a new journey. With the help of HaShem it will be one of success. This change comes about from many conversations with my husband on developing topical writings for our people. These writing will hopefully help to explain certain teachings and concepts of our heritage as Yisrael. I will make it available here as a PDF. Please do not change or alter this document in anyway shape or form. As you share it, share its location from here. Todah!

Shalom and many blessings,
T. Henderson

Restoration of a Nation

Him Alone

In my studies I have come across many different Torah scriptures. These have been cemented in my heart the most and I reflect upon them daily.

Devarim 6:4
Shema Yisrael, YHWH Elohaynu YHWH echad.
Hear Oh Israel the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.

Devarim 6:13
Revere only the Lord your God and worship Him alone, and swear only by His name.

Devarim 10:20
You must revere the Lord your God: only Him shall you worship, to Him shall you hold fast, and by His name shall you swear.

What does this mean to me as a Torah observer and inheritor of the promise made to my people?
Yah is telling us not once but twice to revere Him alone, to worship Him alone. Even when we swear, we swear by His name. If we love Him, we will follow Him, worship Him, revere Him alone. He is the creator alone. He is the Almighty, alone.

Shemot 20:3
You shall have no other gods besides me.

This mitzvah clearly states with no confusion who our God is and that we must only serve Him. There are no other Gods. Not even one who comes close. He does not share his existence nor inheritance. He does not share His power. If we diminish Him we err from His mitzvot. He is not a plaything He is a jealous God. Our reverence, love, focus is always to Him.

Exodus 34:14
For you must not worship any other God, because YHWH whose name is impassioned, is an impassioned God.

We must be very careful not to incite His anger. We must revere Him and Him alone  because we are His and He has given his name, blessings, and covenant to Israel his inheritance.

Be set apart, follow His mitzvot.

Shalom,
Tanisha Henderson

*I use the JPS Hebrew/English Tanakh*

Foward and Onward

Shalom,

Spring is almost upon us and as my children are getting older and closer to high school I am beginning to think about years past and how our homeschool has grown. Homeschooling has been a wonderful experience with ups and downs and I have loved being a homeschooling mama to my crew. I have enjoyed being there for all their learning experiences. As we move forward I feel it is time to reevaluate and revamp our homeschool methodology and culture.

Homeschooling Kindergarten Without a Curriculum

Shalom,
 I hope this day is well and prosperous for you. Today I want to discuss how I homeschool kindergarten without a curriculum. About 7 years ago we embarked on our homeschooling journey. We didn't have much money or space. Matter of fact we were a traveling family of 6, with 5 kids 5 and under. I dove into our homeschooling with excitement and rigor. It was awesome. We used different resources: games, flashcards, manipulatives, and one of those small dry erase boards from Walmart. Our learning environment was based on action We moved, we sang, we played. Matthew (oldest) learned so much that year without curriculum and he was his most happiest with education then too. We started using curriculum the next year and almost every year after which led us to unhappiness. Matthew started to fall behind and everyone else (including me) were bored and frustrating. This year I decided to do something different, we went back to the way it was that first year. We are homeschooling without curriculum!

New Beginnings

Lot of good things are happening and to be honest I have struggled tremendously for the past few months. I find my self after much prayer going in a directed path designed by God. What I have realized is that I am the type of person that likes to do it on my own. Prideful and arrogant. Its something us babies of the family deal with, always trying to prove we can do it. Anyway thats not a good attribute so I am starting fresh. I can't do it alone. I need my father in heaven. I need my family. I need my people, God's people. So here I am officialy homeschooling my eighth year and I am starting over. Throwing away all MY way and trusting his way. I've learned to be patient for his answers and it has not only helped my life but also our homeschool. So here is to our new beginnings and I am hoping you guys can enjoy the journey of our education and growth.

Put HIM first and be exceedlingly blessed, 

Pooh