Lamed!

Hey everyone! We've now added Lamed and TWO (yes, two!) new vowels: Cholam (long "o") and Shuruk ("oo" as in "tool"). We try to have a rule to help us remember some of the tricky letters and vowels.. for example: Bet has a base and a belly button, Tav has a toe, and so on. Today we learned that "Lamed Looks Like Lightning".

The memory trick for the vowels is a bit difficult to put into words on the blog, but it involves either putting your hands over your head in the shape of an "O" like a basketball player asking for the ball "I'm O-pen!!" and Shuruk has the dot in the middle.. like the sound you'd make if you were hit in the stomach: "Oo!" Doesn't quite work well in print, but ask your child to demonstrate.

Homework is lesson 3a and 3b, due on Wednesday.

We practiced this today by doing a speed reading game. The kids were given 5-6 minutes to practice a line in our text book, then were given the opportunity to try and read it as quickly as possible. This exercise helps with quick recognition of phoneme groups. Kids aren't penalized for long times, but are rewarded for quick times and if they improve on their own performance week over week.

We also have 2 teaching assistants with us on Wednesday and Sunday. My son Ian and his 7th grade classmate Hayley Garron are starting to do one-on-one reading with each student. This will help us to challenge those who are a little ahead of the others, and will also give some extra attention to those who need the assistance. We hope to have everyone in class get at least one session per week.. we have a large class, but we will do our best.

We also talked a little more about starting life "new" in the new year... on Wednesday when we come back we'll talk in more detail about Yom Kippur, forgiveness (both getting and giving), and the difference between starting anew while not totally forgetting about past mistakes.

Shana Tova!!!