Olive and Oil paint

In the story of Chanukah there was only enough oil to burn for one night of light but because of Hashem that little bit of oil lasted all eight days, the exact amount of time it took the Jews to make more oil. We celebrate this miracle by eating foods cooked in oil, and lighting a candle on our Menorahs for eight nights.  So what does oil look like? Where does it come?  Does it smell?  What does it feel like? What can we use it for?  These are some questions we answered as we explored olives and oil.  The oil felt wet like water but it wasn't clear like water, it also didn't have a distinct smell either.  We saw our paper become translucent as we painted with oil on the paper. We squeezed the olives until we saw liquid come out. Could this be oil? Experimenting was enjoyed by all.

Menorah exploration 

Our friends had their own menorah to explore. They saw how shiny and fancy it looked so that means we have to be gentle and handle with care.  We counted nine spots to hold nine candles.  We noticed the spot in the.middle was taller than the rest, we learned this had a special name, we call it the Shamash which means helper in Hebrew.  We only had one menorah so even though it was really hard our friends waited patiently for a turn with it. Instead of using candles Avery balanced dreidels placing the largest of the dreidels in the middle.  We counted, and noticed there were exactly 4 branches on the either side of the shamash.

Next week we will be working on making our very own menorahs we can take home and light each night of Chanukah.  Shabbat Shalom!

                        

Chanukah

                         Chanukah 

This week in the Blue room we introduced Chanukah. During Chanukah it's customary to eat  a special food called latkes, potato pancakes fried in oil.  We eat these fried cakes along with other fried treats like donuts to remember the significance oil around this holiday. Potatoes were put in the sensory table for our friends to explore. 

                         Art

We also did Dreidel spinning art.  We set some some paint on the table along with some paper and instead of paintbrushes our friends used dreidels to spin or dot paint on their paper creating a personal design. This was a great activity to build fine motor skills.

                     

                                                     Dramatic Play 

Our friends had fun building a cave to play dreidels in.  In the block center we moved some shelves and some curtains to make our own cave to spin dreidels just like in the Chanukah story.

Next week we will continue to explore Chanukah. Shabbat Shalom 

Its all Sensorial

                                                           It’s All Sensorial

This week in the Blue Room we explored lentils in the sensory table.  The Morahs put a variety of kitchen utensils along with pots, pans , and bowls.  The inspiration for this activity was taken from this week’s Parsha,  Toldos.

                                                            Spices

Also this week we explored three spices, Paprika, Cinnamon, and Oregano.   First we smelled the spices.  The cinnamon smelled spicy.  Shaya thought one spice smelled like Pizza while the Paprika smelled smoky.  Each day we provided a different opportunity for our friends to use the spices .  One day we used the spices to paint and glue with so we could compare textures and colors.  On another day we added the spices to our playdoh and discovered our playdoh had a new scent and texture.

                                                            Highlights                                       

Mason and Morgan used their words and found a way to work together during play time.  Morgan and Mason were playing in the sensory center.  Morgan had spoon that Mason wanted to use , with some guided help  Mason asked Morgan if you could use the spoon when he was finished  and Morgan said, “sure.”

 

Next week we will be introducing Chanukah and welcoming a new friend, Levi to our room Shabbat Shalom