The battery in my camera died so I couldn’t post photos of Shalom School’s Tu B’Shevat (“the Jewish Arbor Day” lesson, which included planting little broccoli sproutlings (little trees, get it?), but I really wish I could upload the audio ’cause it was the kind of hilarious philosophical discussion that can only be overheard in kindergarten classrooms.

I feel like this holiday was one of my most successful lessons thus far as a Sunday School teacher. We walked around Monterey square collecting magnolia seed pods and pinecones and followed roots to branches with our pointer fingers and delved into the sacred geometrical attributes of God’s creation…

Teacher Yenta: So, check it out, you’ve got an apple, it’s got seeds inside. And oranges have seeds. And what about the giant one? It’s an avocado seed…

Kindergartener: I hate avocados.

Teacher Yenta: Fine, well, I promise never to bring guacamole for snack. So, see all these seeds are different, but each of them has all the information to make a whole big tree, which in turn grows more fruit, which has more seeds that pass on the information. Isn’t that cool?

Kindergartener: God is really smart.

Teacher Yenta: I know! What a great system, right? God made it so everything is made from seeds and can keep going on and on…

Kindergartner: Is everything made from seeds?

Teacher Yenta: Yes! It’s a pattern, see? Even though these are all different things, they grow in the same way!

Kindergartner: Am I made from a seed?

Yenta (sweating): Um…yes….

Kindergartner: How did I get planted?

Yenta: Ask your mother. Now, who wants apple slices?