Parshat Toldot: TWINS

Every week when I walk into the first grade class, the kids jump on me asking "what are we making today?!?!?" This week, one little girl said "Emily, so far we have made rainbows, stars, sevens, and camels!" Her simple statement made me so happy. I realized that I have been taking one very simple concrete and visual image or idea from each project and exploring it in different ways - through Torah, art, science, math, language, etc. It was very gratifying to feel like maybe this way the kids will easily recall what we have done and maybe even be able to recall the connections to the Parsha and other areas.

This week's idea was "twins," based on the birth of Esau and Jacob who are described as fighting in their mother's womb (an image the kids love!) Because of fertility treatments, twins are so much more prevalent than ever before and there is at least one set of twins in every class (I didn't know any twins growing up!). We talked about the different types of twins (fraternal and identical, I did not get into conjoined!). We talked about how even identical twins can look different based on the impact of their environment and personality (examples they can be encouraged to think about - rich/poor, fat/thin, happy/sad expressions, piercings, jewelry, makeup, suntan, hairdye, etc).

As always, if I had more time, more attention, older students, etc, there are many interesting ways to take this topic...

1) Torah - how were Jacob and Esau different both physically and in personality? What contributed to these differences? Were they fraternal or identical twins?

2) Science - genes/DNA, fertilization, nature/nurture - great National Geographic article

3) Math - symmetry (for some reason, there seems to be an obsession with teaching little kids about symmetry)

4) Art - also symmetry, there are some awesome photography projects of twins

This is my handout that I used only with the older kids.

I found a cute and relatively simple project on the theme of twins that most of the kids enjoyed and were able to complete in the short time we have. I lifted the projects entirely from this blog post entitled "symmetry twins" on the "Arsy Fartsy Artroom."

Basic steps as follows:

1) Fold big paper in half.

2) Draw face in pencil.

3) Outline face in permanent marker.

4) Take paper to the window and trace the face exactly with marker.

5) Design and decorate the twins either identically, a bit different, ALOT different

6) Color the backgrounds in contrasting colors.

There were alot of fun aspects of this project. Kids loved getting up and going to the window to trace (anything not to be in their seats! :)))

They also really enjoyed thinking about silly ways to make the "twins" different and especially thinking up names (often rhyming ones) for them.

I realize that in the photos, the kids and the classes may appear to be a campy paradise. It would be disingenuous to not mention the many classroom management challenges I face (mess, noise, etc) - but that may be for a different blog. Nonetheless, so many projects did come out absolutely ADORABLE and I would definitely do it again - its a keeper :)

Shabbat Shalom!