All week the girls’ school has been gearing up for Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) – there have been special activities and lessons, an all-school assembly, and something extra special for Zoe’s class. As described in the school’s newsletter yesterday:
The fourth graders were introduced to the many celebratory and traditional foods of the holiday through a Rosh Hashanah seder (ritual feast). Students read aloud information about the food of Rosh Hashanah—including apples and honey, pomegranate seeds, beets, and green onions—before tasting the items on the seder plates. Says fourth grade Judaic studies teacher Sharona Israeli-Roth, “This activity is all about walking the walk, which makes the students’ learning so much more meaningful.â€
Grandma and Grandpa paid us a visit last week. Among our activities: enjoying the 90(!)-degree weather by wandering around a nearby farmers’ market, watching Avery’s soccer game, and gearing up for Halloween by doing lots and lots of crafts.
Zoe was having a rough afternoon one day, and I asked her if she needed a hug. As soon as our arms wrapped around each other, Avery ran over and wiggled her way in between us. “Can I tell you a little secret about hugs?” she asked, oblivious to her sister’s annoyance. “I can’t watch hugs without being a part of them. So I just join in without permission.”
Zoe isn’t running on a regular basis right now (track club isn’t until spring, and she’s not old enough to join her school’s cross country team), but she did recently compete in the San Francisco Giants Kids Race. Like last year, she ran two laps around the field — but this year she came in 2nd in the girls group and 4th overall.
We’re re-doing our backyard (another thing that has been keeping us busy as of late), and our patio furniture came in a pretty big box. In other words: the perfect place for Avery to play.
Just as fun as playing soccer (and perhaps even more) is playing with your soccer friends after a game. Here was the scene at a nearby playground last Saturday morning…
As mentioned, soccer season has begun – and Avery’s team (the Quidditch Queens, named after a game in Harry Potter) has already played two games. They won the second game (and Avery got an assist!) but, more importantly, the girls are having a blast.
I haven’t posted in quite a while. We’ve been around – just busy! I was approaching – and am now fully in – the busiest time of year at work, and the girls are busy with school, with their after-school activities, and (now that the season has begun) with hosting football-watching parties on Sundays. Zoe also ran a race last weekend, and Avery has two soccer games under her plate -pictures soon!
The girls are officially in the swing of things at school: They’ve settled into their new classes and began their after-school activities (drama and soccer for Avery, and photography and chorus for Zoe). Zoe also opted to take band as an elective this year, and trumpet was her instrument of choice. (I may be cursing her pick later, given that it’s not the most quiet of instruments, but so far so good!)
I got to the girls’ school this afternoon at a particularly quiet time: Most kids had gone home already and many others (like Zoe) were finishing up their after-school enrichment courses in classrooms. When I turned the corner of the main hallway to head outside and find Avery, I saw her through the doors; she was happily skipping alone through the playground —  a pink-and-white stripped blur — and I literally froze and watched until she skipped out of sight. It happened too fast for me to grab my phone to take a photo, but it doesn’t matter because the memory is etched in my mind. To see her in her natural habitat looking so happy and carefree made my heart swell.
It was Jewish Heritage Night at A&T Park on Tuesday, and Q and Zoe joined a bunch of Brandeis families to watch the game. I love how happy Zoe looks in this pic…
Zoe’s first week of fourth (!) grade seemed to be a success, with her reporting that her teacher (who’s new to the school) “is really nice, “has kind of has a solution for everything,” and often reminds the students “there’s no right or wrong way to do things.” Her Jewish Studies teacher also made an impact by showing the video above to the class; Zoe immediately came home and showed it to me and Safta and told me it was so special to her that she couldn’t put it into words. “You just get that feeling” when watching it, she told me later, adding that it shows there is kindness in all of us.
