Providing Opportunities for Responsibility and Independence in Kitah Gimmel

The Kitah Gimmel morahs have noticed that as the year has progressed, the students LOVE to be special helpers! Each child craves independence and responsibility, and we, the morahs, have been looking for ways to foster and encourage these characteristics. We started implementing special jobs that each child is in charge of every day. Each day when the child enters the classroom, he or she goes through the routine of greeting the morah and unpacking snacks and lunch. Then, the morah reads the job that is posted above the child’s name that he or she is in charge of for the day. Each child takes the job seriously and refers back to his or her job throughout the day. In showing the children that they can be trusted to help with classroom responsibilities, they have begun to take ownership of the classroom.

Our jobs include the following: 

Line Leader

Leads the group from one activity to the next.

Tefillah Helper: 

This helper points to each prayer in the siddur and helps lead the bracha for food. 

Lunch and Snack Setup and Cleanup: 

These helpers set up the snacks and lunches. They wipe down the tables and help sweep the floor. 

Chair Helper:

The chair helper pushes in all the chairs so no one trips over them.

Caregiver:

If a student is feeling upset, the caregiver checks on them and helps retrieve band-aids and ice packs when necessary. The children are particularly serious about this job. If a child begins to cry, the caregivers have immediately stopped to run over and see how they can help!

Lost Item Helper: 

This helper has the job of performing the mitzvah of returning lost items.

Door Holder: 

The door holder needs to use their strong muscles and gross motor skills to push open the door and hold it for all of their friends.

Backpack Helper: 

This student helps pack up the backpacks at the end of the day. 

Depending on the number of children present that day, some jobs are done by multiple children. The key, we’ve found, is for each child to feel responsible for the functioning of the class, which in turn gives them the opportunity to develop important life skills. We are excited to see how these children continue to grow in their compassion for each other. At the beginning of the year, we introduced the concept of a “Safekeeper” to the students. We discussed how the morahs are the Safekeepers of the students at school and who their Safekeepers are at home. Now, we are showing the children how they can be Safekeepers for each other. They are all inspiring their morahs with their commitment and dedication to the task to which they are assigned each day!