As Chanukah approaches, I think about the Chanukah stories – not only those about the nissei ha chag but also about the miracles that occur in your classrooms. And somehow, sizzling latkes and sugary sufganiyot creep into my thoughts (and to-do list)! Last Chanukah, I shared some tips about enhancing your PR efforts through the lessons that can be gleaned from these Chanukah treats. Readers who implemented them thanked me for the “gift.” If you didn’t use all the ideas (or even if you did) – get ready to unwrap these tried and true hints.
Did you know that the Lookstein Center offers wonderful Chanukah resources? Click here to find original Chanukah lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, and articles created by Lookstein Center staff or contributed by Jewish educators.
What does a latke have to do with a story?
Well, you start with something simple – a potato. Add some ingredients; do something special to them – and what do you get? A delicious latke. OK – unleash this image on your parent ambassadors and ask them how their children’s teachers took something simple and turned it into something spectacular.
Are they stuck?
How did a seemingly simple teaching strategy turn a child who was frustrated with Rashi script into a parshanut super-star?
How did a morah’s simple yet magical words take a sulking child – whose mom was in the hospital having a new baby – and transform him into a proud big brother and cooperative second-grader?
Latke Cooking Activites
Here is another thought to share with your parent ambassadors:
Tell them the many ways that your teachers transform a latke cooking activity into a comprehensive cross-curriculum event.
Let’s count eight ways!
A Jewish History lesson.
A Math lesson.
A Science lesson.
A Hebrew language lesson. Read the ingredients in Hebrew rather than in English.
A Music lesson.
Students sing songs about latke making while they grate the potatoes.
A small group collaborative activity.
One group peels, another grates, and the third measures.
A bracha review. What is the bracha for a potato latke?
What if the potato latke is part of a larger meal?
A chesed activity. Students share their latkes with the class next door, the school secretary, the crossing guard, the security guard, and the school nurse.
Click here to read Chanukah Unwrapped – part II
My team and I are here to help you communicate effectively, increase visibility and loyalty, recruit and retain students, and raise needed funds. To discuss your needs, please send me an email or call 516.569.8070. Wishing you a happy and healthy Chanukah!
Kol tuv,
Candace Plotsker-Herman