Showing posts with label chumash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chumash. Show all posts

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Summer tutoring... something to think about

 “Ma, is it 4 o’clock yet?” calls 10-year-old Yossi from the playroom. “I’m so excited! I can’t wait for my Chumash lesson to begin!”

Over the past four months, this conversation has been repeating itself in homes all over the word, as school children struggling with Gemara, Chumash, or Mishnayos eagerly await their live online lesson using the unique Shreiber Method, a series of skill-based, enjoyable lessons which help boys regain their confidence in learning. (At present the service is only available to boys, with a girls option presently in the works).

The Shreiber Method was first developed by Rabbi Levi Eisenberg, M.S. Ed, an experienced teacher and graduate of Yeshiva University’s prestigious Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education. Through teaching various subjects across boys elementary and high school grades, Eisenberg witnessed many students struggling with these important Hebrew subjects. The students, often very bright and creative, were missing basic skills that could easily be taught. In an effort to help these students get back on track, The Shreiber Method was born.

The method helps students by focusing on two elements: 1. By providing some basic tools needed for independent learning in each subject, and 2. By focusing on content mastery. The combination of these two factors leads to an increased feeling of confidence in the subjects at hand, a confidence not previously experienced by these students. This newfound confidence naturally leads to a strong increase in enjoyment, motivation, and class participation.

“After just a few lessons using The Shreiber Method, Yossi's confidence shot through the roof,” says his Rebbi from Philadelphia, PA. “He went from hiding behind his sefer during Chumash period, to raising his hand to volunteer reading the Pasuk.”

Similar to learning how to ride a bicycle or learning how to ski, The Shreiber Method teaches the skills of learning in a student-led way; using the text directly, the student leads the lesson himself, guided by the instructor. There are no vocabulary drills, memorization, or tedious exercises. As a result of the student-led style, The Shreiber Method has proven effective using video call services such as Skype, Google Hangouts or FaceTime.

“My son actually came over to ME on Shabbos and asked to go over the Pasuk he had learned last week with Rabbi Eisenberg. He was eager to show me how he can do it all by himself,” describes a mother in Hawaii. “My son has actually grown to LOVE learning Chumash and looks forward to his tutoring session every week.”

The Shreiber Method is also a great option for homeschooled children who, while not necessarily struggling in their studies, have few options for lessons with a live teacher.  Most importantly, the Shreiber Method teaches the main skills necessary for independent learning, a primary goal for most homeschool parents.

The student-led aspect of the lessons has also proven to be successful with students facing ADHD or other learning challenges.

“Twenty three of our students have experienced exceptional success with the unique and creative Shreiber Method,” explains Rabbi Shimon Semp, Dean of Yeshiva Talpios in Monsey, N.Y., a mesivta high school for students with learning challenges.

The Shreiber Method is also unique in that there is no second-guessing if the lessons will be a smart investment of time, hope, and money.

“Immediately after the first or second lesson, the student and parent will be able to see for themselves if our method is producing the desired results” says Eisenberg. “We are confident that the results will speak for themselves. There are no empty promises.”

To better help the student, Rabbi Eisenberg remains in contact with the child’s parents and teacher throughout the process. After each lesson, the parents receive a summary of what was learned and accomplished. This ongoing communication ensures accountability from all sides, something sorely lacking from most traditional tutors. At the conclusion of the lessons, too, Rabbi Eisenberg will also remain in contact with both the parents and teacher, ensuring that the child finds his place and is learning and performing independently.

“I never enjoyed learning any of the Hebrew subjects in school,” concludes Yossi. “Most of the other kids in my class just knew how to read and translate better, and I was stuck. After my lessons with Rabbi Eisenberg I’m doing really well in class. I’m happy to go to school in the morning.”

To learn more about The Shreiber Method, or to reserve dates in the limited Summer schedule, call (323) 487- 9847, email rle@ShreiberMethod.com, or visit Shreibermethod.com.

From my sons personal experience with Rabbi Levi, I cannot recommend his tutoring enough. It is such a relaxed and great way to get your son caught up or ahead of the game in Chumash or Gemara for the coming school year.

Wishing you all a wonderful week,
Always,

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Gifting our kids with the Love of learning

A few weeks ago, my husband bought me these gorgeous tulips for Shabbos. 
I put them next to the window and noticed how they all just naturally started leaning toward the sun.

The tulips gain nutrients by leaning toward the sun, allowing them to grow.

In a small way, this is very much like people. Children in particular.

We will naturally lean toward what feels good to us. What we like and enjoy.

If a child is artistic, they will love coloring and crafts.

If they like math, they will love all things numbers and see the math in every day life every where.

For the longest time I have always been drawn to child led learning. It just makes so much sense to me. If a child enjoys learning something, feed it and let them enjoy it as long as they wish.

The idea of forcing a child to learn something made no sense to me.

But as my children get older, I realize as an Orthodox Jewish mother, that there are some things that my kids will not love learning but as Jewish children, they need to do it.

So how do we 'force' our kids to learn things that they are not necessarily crazy about?

My answer is to help them get really good at it, no matter how long it takes.

It's not about the worksheets and tests or how much material you can cover with them.

It's about giving them the skills to learn and understand and get really good at it. Because when you are good at something, your confidence is higher and you want to do more of it, because you 'get it.'

Scour the internet for ideas and books and resources to make whatever it is you want to learn with your child as interesting and fun as possible. 

Now is the time to give them that sweet taste for learning.

One of my kids was having a really hard time learning Chumash. I was very fortunate to come across these fabulous workbooks that have helped my son so much and given him so much confidence in his learning.



He is also learning Mishnayos and I came across these wonderful magazines, which illustrate the Mishnahs.

We homeschool our kids, so we are their primary educators. It is our jobs to instill a love and enjoyment of learning. Just like we make their veggies taste good so they eat them and will grow strong and healthy, so too when we teach our kids, we want to make the experience as 'sweet' as possible. 

Wishing you a beautiful Shabbos,
Always, 



Wednesday, February 26, 2014

For older kids- an excellent Chumash Tool

My older kids have started learning Chumash. While they are very familiar with many of the stories from learning the weekly Parshah over the years, the time has come for them to learn how to decode the actual Chumash and try to read the story inside the actual Book.


I have this wonderful activity from Lelamdam for kids to learn the root letters, how to recognize and understand the nouns, prefixes and suffixes as well as plural when learning the words in the Chumash. There are 2 levels, the second is for when the kids are ready to move on from nouns to verbs.


For those of you with little ones, put a star on this post and open it up in a few years when your kids are old enough to begin their journey inside our holy books. 

For those of you whose kids have just begun this journey, call 845-444-2648 to purchase your own set. The selling price for each level is $19.99 and it includes free shipping within the United States. An investment I highly recommend.

I also wanted to let you know that I have a fabulous Giveaway coming up soon, so stay tuned!
I hope you are having a wonderful week,
Always,

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Jewish Lullabies, Book Sets and Chumash Tutoring

Here are some fabulous Jewish resources that I personally use and love- each comes highly recommended by yours truly and loved by all of my kids- I hope they are helpful to you!

.
These are beautiful soft Jewish Lullabies. I play them for my little ones at bedtime and it really sets such a calm and relaxing mood for them making bedtime so much easier. Here is a link to get an idea of how the lullabies sound:
Really soft, serene and relaxing. So great to calm the energy at the end of the day.

Mish and Mush

I have mentioned many times before how much we love reading in our house. Now that my 6 year old is starting to read by herself, she is constantly looking for books at her level to read. We received a bunch of books from the amazing folks over at Mish and Mush. My kids LOVE these books. They are perfect for them to read by themselves, the illustrations are adorable, the messages are all meaningful and based on Torah and the kids learn so much from each book. I cannot recommend these books enough. They are from Australia but find out if your local Judaica store carries them, or you can buy them HERE. The App is also adorable, as I mentioned in this post. Your kids will love them, my kids really do!


Now this recommendation is for older kids (7+) who have started to learn Chumash. If you have been following my blog for a while, by now you know that I truly believe that a true education is not about feeding kids information. It is about giving them the TOOLS to figure things out by themselves, and teaching them HOW to learn.

My oldest son has started learning Chumash. His comprehension is off the charts. Tell him a story and he will repeat it back to you word for word. Explain a concept to him and he will get it right away. But he has had a hard time being able to open up a Chumash, translate the words and put them into a sentence.

Along came Rabbi Levi who is the brains behind The Shreiber Method. He sits with my son via Skype once a week and teaches him HOW to learn Chumash. He shows him how to break up each Possuk (sentence) and where a pause or a coma needs to go. He shows him how to translate the words and then put them together to understand what it is saying. My son actually came over to ME on Shabbos and asked to go over the Possuk he had done last week with Rabbi Levi to show me how he did it all by himself. He has actually grown to LOVE learning Chumash and looks forward to his tutoring session every week.

For those whose kids are just starting to learn Chumash, I cannot recommend The Shreiber Method enough.
Contact Rabbi Levi HERE and see for yourself how he will awaken this incredible love for learning Chumash in your child.

There are so many wonderful Jewish resources out there and I look forward to sharing them with you.

Have a wonderful week!
Always,
 

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Terrific Way to Learn Chumash

Here is a terrific Online Chumash course based on the popular Khan Academy template. Berry Schwartz uses drawings, pictures and videos to teach Chumash and Rashi in a clear and concise manner. I would have LOVED to learn Chumash like this as a kid- check out the video below to get an idea of what it's all about-



Click Here to see actual Online Classes he has made and see how your kids enjoy them-

Now that you see how incredibly awesome these video's are, head on over to his website HERE and sign up for a FREE trial- all you need to do is enter your e-mail address. Oh, and don't forget to give them a great big LIKE on Facebook- Just Click Here!

I am sure you will enjoy!

Have a wonderful week, and if you havn't entered the DotbyDot Giveaway, Click Here for a chance to win a $25 gift card to their site- Good Luck!

Always,