What is my blog about? It's about Torah family living. It's about letting Torah affect our daily lives, from mealtime to bedtime, homeschooling to farm chores.


Thursday, February 24, 2011

Read Hebrew Today curriculum review


I was very excited to have the opportunity to review materials from "Read Hebrew Today" on http://www.currclick.com/.   We have been working on learning Hebrew for some time now, and have changed materials frequently, trying to get a good fit.  I am pleased with the materials I reviewed for two reasons: simplicity and flexibility. 

Note: This review applies particularly to Evonne Mandella's program - Read Hebrew Today Vol. 1, but I will cover some of her other materials in a moment.

1. Simplicity - I don't like complex, complicated, or overly stimulating, graphic, or too much emphasis on being cute and fun.  If you are looking for a canned Hebrew curriculum, look elsewhere.  This program is simple, and consists of ingenious printable flashcards that walk you through pronunciation and vocabulary.  Each flashcard has one word.  You do not need to know any Hebrew at all to pick up a flashcard and learn or teach a new word.  It will easily fit in your homeschool program and can even be added to other Hebrew materials you may be using.  We have simply gone through about 3 flashcards a day, and reviewed the old ones.  Our folder of flashcards gets pulled out at the dinner table and we have fun reading and defining the words.  By the way, the only thing you need to do to start using "Read Hebrew Today" is print the flashcards.  We printed them on cardstock and hole-punched them to keep them in a binder.  Simply beautiful.

2.  Flexibility - I like materials that I can use in many ways.  I like options.  These flashcards give you options.  Here are some ways we have used them. 
- I teach the new word, and the kids read it out loud with me.
- The kids copy the new word in their notebooks.
- I ask a kid running by me what the Hebrew word for goat is.
- I ask them what "kar" means in English.
- We try reading the words in Hebrew off the cards while sitting at the dinner table.
- We flip through our binder and try to remember the definition without turning the page.
- We make up silly sentences with the new words we have learned.

Anyone from the beginner to someone that has been working on Hebrew for awhile can use this program.  However, her products do vary in difficulty.  Of the products I reviewed, I would list them in order of difficulty like this.

Now I know my Alephbet - same flashcard format with individual letters
Read Hebrew Today level 1 - one syllable words
Read Hebrew Today level 2 - two syllable words
The Blessing Series and The Princess Series - Bible verses in Hebrew
Hebrew Bible Readers - Bible verses with no vowels

Hebrew is such an important language to learn, as we seek to understand our Bibles better.  I would encourage you to use these wonderful tools to help you on your way.  We are enjoying them and finding them very helpful.

Evonne is also offering a wonderful giveaway.  Simply leave a comment here with a suggestion for a Bible verse you would like to see in a future "Read Hebrew Today" resource.  If she uses your verse, you will win a bundle of products from her.  Just be sure to include your email so she can contact you if you win.

I was given free materials in exchange for an honest review.

1 comment:

Sigalit Chana said...

Thank you for the honest review! I have been looking into this myself =) Happy Prep Day and Blessed Shabbat! Love to you and your sweet family =o)

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