Third graders have focused on the values of chesed (kindness), emet (truth), and acharayut (responsibility). We’ve decorated Kindness Bags, and each week we deposit remembrances of kind things that have happened in the previous week. By studying the actions of Rebekah and Ruth, we were reminded that we have a choice about how to respond to others. We also discussed how the choices made by Jacob and those close to him shaped his life and the life of his family. We imagined how the story of Jacob’s life might have been different if other choices were made. We also watched some scenes in the DreamWorks’ film, Joseph:King of Dreams, and then we discussed mistakes people made and how we could apply these lessons to our own lives.
