Dear Parents,
     This week before our winter break our friends worked on Fine and Gross motor skills.   We did some indoor water play and played with Dinosaurs in the Block center, and wished Leah well since she has been out sick all week. We hope she feels better soon.  Here are some highlights of the week:

Sensory 

This week we filled up our Sensory table with soapy water, an assortment of sponges, cups, and the baby dolls from our dramatic play.  Our friends were invited to give all the babies a bath.  Our friends used the sponges to scrub the body parts of the baby.  Once their babies were all clean they took them out of the tub and dried them with a towel.  Our friends were so gentle with how they held and cared for the babies.  Once the babies were all clean some friends scrubbed their own arms and heads. 

Fine motor

The children were invited to work with some Montessori style practical life trays this week.  They transferred water and rice using pitchers, spoons, and eye droppers.  Our friends also had fun making a sticky paper collage.  The Morahs set up contact paper on a wall and a variety of loose parts such as letters, shapes, spools, and sticks. our friends were invited to create designs and patterns on our sticky wall. 

Gross motor 

In our Outdoor environment we explored and constructed towers with blocks.  The children built towers as tall as themselves!  Then they took round blocks that they found and rolled them down the hill.

Wishing everyone a delightful winter break and we will see you on January 2nd.  A new student, Mia, will be joining our class after winter break- we are very excited to welcome her!

Morah Felicia and Morah Menucha

Dear Parents,
     This week in the classroom was a winter wonderland.   In the Block center, our friends played with fluffy "snow".  They were invited to build a snowman with the big loose parts in the area like fabric and tubes, yet our friends had their own ideas and went ice skating instead!  The ground was so slippery, we talked about different weather and how snow falls when it's really cold outside.  we asked our friends What else can we do in the snow?  Morah suggested sledding, instead they pulled the fluff a part and threw it in the air.   We matched mittens and practiced putting them on and getting each finger in each hole- it is so tricky!- then we hung them up using clothes pins and practiced using our fine motor skills.
            This week we also played with ice.  We explored in the sensory table and even painted it!  The children experienced the properties of ice.  It started out as a solid and over time slowly melted turning into liquid, amazing!  It was fun changing the ice into different colors and discovering when more water was added the ice would disappear.  Also this week our friends were invited to play with snow clay and make snowflakes out of loose parts like pipe cleaners, jewels, and other shapes.
        Other activities we did were make a sticker collage, play with the light table, and nesting dolls.  Morah Menucha explained sizes, as we learned about smallest to biggest and then played a game. 
Check FB for the pics. Thanks for a fun week.
   Have a restful weekend,
                  Morah Felicia and Morah Menucha

Dear Parents,

        Happy Chanukah!  This week we continued with our Chanukah unit.  As promised we took the time to get super messy with fingerpaints and our friends loved it!  We made chanukah cards, created a beautiful resistant art piece, explored olives and olive oil, polished silver, sorted dreidels and built Menorahs.  Here are some highlights of our week:

Discovery

 This week we greeted our friends with olives and olive oil.  Our friends were invited to touch, smash, and even taste the olives.  The Morahs talked about how olives were so special because they make oil.  Like the oil the Maccabees found in the temple.  They experimented with the olives by squeezing and observing the drips of oil or the effects of their actions.  The children were fascinated by the texture of the olive; it's slippery property and how that made it difficult to hold and squeeze.  Later we asked the children, "do you think we can make oil out of the olives?"  and we tried by smashing them in a jar.  Then we extended our exploration into the art center and painted with oil.  The children were encouraged to stick their brushes though the olive and dip their paintbrush into the olive oil to begin an open-ended art exploration.  Having the olive on the brush reminded them that it comes from or is a derivative of olives!

In connection with our Chanukah unit the children created beautiful Star of David relief painting.  Canvases, finger paints, driedels, and candles were all set up on  our table inviting our friends to explore.  They were encouraged to use what they were comfortable painting with.  Some friends used their hands to smear and mix colors together on the paper and even on their bodies!  Others were more reserved and chose to experiment by dipping only one finger in the paint and then paint with an object they saw on the table. After the paint dried, the children peeled the tape from the canvas to reveal a beautiful Star of David.  Through this part of the activity our friends strengthened two motor skills: hand-eye coordination and fine motor as they ripped the tape and put it on the table.  Then we practiced our counting skills by tallying up all the points on the stars.  Finally, we explored the artistic technique known as negative space as we removed the tape. 

Gross Motor

This week our friends played driedel hopscotch in our room.  The morahs printed dreidels and taped them to the floor with the number 1-8.  Our friends were invited to follow a variety of instructions to make it across to the other side.   They had fun skipping numbers and colors along with practicing waiting their turn, balance, agility.

Thanks for another great week.  Make sure to check our group FB page for pictures of all our invitations to play and provocations. 

Have a restful Shabbos.  Morah Felicia and Morah Menucha

Chanukah is coming!

Dear Parents,
   This week in the classroom we started introducing the Holiday of Chanukah.   Jewish Holidays give us the opportunity to remember something special Hashem did for us.  Some questions we kept in mind while planning this unit are, "What is Chanukah?" and  "How do you we celebrate Chanukah?"  Some of our activities we did this week are read books, hunted for oil, played driedel like the Macabees, and created a heirloom Menorah that will be sent home today for you and your family to use for the holiday.  Here are some highlights of the week:

Discovery Table

As the children entered early in the week we had  a table top dedicated to all things Chanukah.  There were pictures of Menorahs, Chanukah books,  pretend frying pan, some latkes, gelt, and dreidels and a Menorah with candles.  The children were invited to explore everything on the table.   Our friends loved taking the candles and putting them into the Menorah, taking turns spinning the driedel, and flipping latkes.  Gavin  took the frying pan and put it in the oven for the latkes to cook.  Morah told him that we use lots of oil to cook with our food during Chanukah.  Then we "tasted" them, mmmm delicious.  Later in the week the Sensory table had all the same things inside hidden in cloud dough and our friends, especially Leah,  had even more fun sifting for the Chanukah treasures, matching colors with the candles and the dreidels.

The big Chanukah book
         Morah Menucha shared the story of Chanukah. She tells us long long ago during the the time of the second temple, the holy land was ruled by a mean Greek king named Antiochus and his people. The Greeks treated the Jewish people poorly. They took land from the Jewish people, destroyed the Beit Hamikdash, and made it illegal to study Torah and keep mitzvot, like Shabbat. The Jewish people would learn Torah while hiding away in caves but when Greek soldiers came by they would quickly take out dreidels to play so they would not get in trouble.  No one could stand up to them until the brave Maccabees came.  They finally drove the Greeks off the land and took back what was theirs.  Being brave means doing something that may not be easy and we may feel a little afraid because it's new or different but we do it anyway. We can all be brave like the Maccabees.  On Wednesday Morah told us about the miracle of oil.   First, the Maccabees thought the Greeks ruined all of the oil so they searched and found a jar with just enough oil to burn for one night. Because of Hashem's great miracle, the oil burned for eight nights! The Jews cleaned the Beit Hamikdash and began to serve Hashem again. On Chanukah we celebrate the joy that light brings when overcoming darkness by playing fun games like dreidels, singing songs, and eating yummy food. After reading the story our friends were invited to be like the Maccabees and search for the little tiny bit of oil. Morah gathered the children in spot of the room and they were encouraged to cover their eyes while the oil was being hidden. Then when the oil was hidden our friends got up searched for the oil. Davis really enjoyed the is activity and wanted to keep playing all the way through lunch.

Menorah Making

This week our friends were invited to make a Menorah they could take home to use. We gathered rocks from outside to use as the base for the candles and got some tiles the children could use to glue the rocks on.  Pictures of Menorahs were set out as visuals along with an example from previous years.  We counted the rocks as we placed them on the tile.  How many spots do we need for our candles?  We counted nine! Eight candles nicely in a row and one Shamash, that we learned was the helper candle, used to light all the rest.  After the children glued their rocks onto their tiles they had the opportunity to paint and decorate with mosaic tiles to personalize it even more.  Most of the children started off so interested in dipping their paint brush into each color of paint on  their pallet before they plopped the marbleized mixture on to their piece.  Then after some time hands, fingers and some arms were covered in paint and being stamped onto the paper!  Rivkale and Ronan appeared to love the feeling of the the cool wet paint on their hands and arms. This gave the Morahs an idea there will be some messy finger painting next week so the children really get a chance to explore more.

Check our Facebook for pictures.  Next week we will continue with our Chanukah unit.  As always wishing you a restful weekend.

 Shabbat Shalom, Morah Felicia and Morah Menucha   

 Dear Parents, 

    This week we started our Gratitude/Thanksgiving Unit along with Parsh Vayeria. Here are some highlights 

        Parsha 

We learned that Avraham and Sara helped other people who were traveling through the hot desert.  The tent they lived in had 4 doors and their doors would always be open so they could see all travelers coming from all directions.  Once their guests were fed and had water to drink Avraham would tell them about the ways of Hashem.  One week Avraham was not feeling well, suddenly Hashem appeared to Avraham to help him feel better.  Although Avraham was grateful that Hashem came he wanted human guests to come so he could serve and teach them. Soon after this Avraham saw three travelers in the distance.  Not wanting to miss the opportunity he ran out to welcome them in.   Once Avraham and Sara got them settled the travelers told them they were special messengers sent from Hashem.  They were there to heal Avraham and to tell them they were going to have a baby!  Sara laughed, being so old she didn't expect to have any babies.  One year later Avraham and Sara welcomed their baby boy, who they named Yitzchok, meaning laughter because he brought such joy to the couple.  After eight days Yitzchok was the first baby boy to have a bris milah, a mitzvah for Jewish boys ever since.

Blocks
In the block center our friends were invited to create their own tent just like Avraham and Sara.  We used some big loose parts such as foam noodles and cardboard pipes to construct the frame work of a tent and big airy fabrics to go on top.  The children crawled through and sat inside and practiced inviting each other in.

                                                                          Table Top Manipulatives

This week our friends focused on  pouring water for guests and themselves.  This is a great practical life skill to have.  Our friends built concentration and working on a tray defines work space.  Children notice mistakes, (like spilled beans) quickly and are willing to correct on their own, this is known as control of error.


This week we also worked on making our own juice out of clementines, lacing napkin holders, and folding napkins.

Gross Motor

  Our friends were invited to paint with pumpkins this week.  We set out butcher paper, pumpkins, and orange and brown paint.  The Morahs encouraged the children to dip the pumpkins into paint and then roll the pumpkins on the butcher paper to create pumpkin paint marks.  First the children enjoyed using the pumpkins to stamp the butcher paper they joyfully examined the blotchy print the bottom of the pumpkin left behind. Once the children become more comfortable with the material they started rolling the pumpkins across the paper and then the Morahs tried to catch the pumpkin to roll it back.  Pushing and swinging the pumpkin helps strengthen the shoulder, arm and leg muscles.  Balance and flexibility are also improved as the children work to focus on getting the pumpkin on the paper and rolling it hard enough to make its way across to the end of the paper.  Lastly, gripping the pumpkin helps strengthen the hand muscles needed for holding a pencil.

Next week we will continue with this unit and we hope to see all of you at our annual Thanksgiving lunch Wed. Nov. 21 at 11:30 a.m.  We hope you all have a restful Shabbos,  Morah Felicia and Morah Menucha

Transportation/ Lech Lecha

Dear Parents,
                                                                                                               
          This week our class focused on forms of Transportation and the Parsha Lech Lecha.    Here are some of the highlights of our week.
                                                                                                   

Parsha Lech Lecha 

Long ago in a land called Charan lived a man named Avraham and his wife Sara.  They lived in a place where people didnt know about Hashem, but Avraham did know about Hashem. So he and his wife Sara would teach the people of Charan about Hashem.  Many of the people in Charan learned about Hashem and became followers of Avraham. One day Hashem came to Avraham and told him he needed to pack up and move.  Avraham and Sara had so many followers that lived with them, that was a lot of people to pack up!  Charan was a desert- a dry hot place.  Traveling in the desert with so many people is not easy, there is little water and no shade from the sun. Moving would be very hard. Plus Hashem didn't tell Avraham where they would be going!  But Avraham made good choices and listened to Hashem.  And so Avraham and Sara and their followers packed up and left Charan and traveled to a land called Canaan- the land that would one day become Israel.  When they arrived Hashem told Avraham they would have a child, and from that child would come many children and from those children would come even more children, until the children that came from Avraham would be as many as the stars in the sky!  And the land of Canaan (Israel) would be forever theirs.

                                                                                                      

Tinkering/Manipulatives

This week our friends were invited to tinker and play with shapes to create their own star Mandalas.  A visual picture of a starry night sky was set out along with pictures frames to define individual work space, and shapes such as hexagons, parallelograms, squares, and triangles.   An example was displayed and the children were encouraged to add on and create their own.  Leah, Gavin, and Rivkale really enjoyed this activity. They added on to Morah Felicia's example then they started  their own.  We created patterns with diamonds and different colors.  

                                                                                                                                   

Matching/sorting

Morah Felicia invited Ronan and Davis to join her in a game.  First Morah showed images of a road, sky, a body of water and train tracks.  When  Morah showed the images of the water, Davis said, "hey that's where fishies live!"  Morah responded, "How interesting, you're right."  After all the images were presented Morah showed her friends a basket with different pieces in it.  Morah asked "I wonder where a car would move, do you think in the sky with the birds?"  Davis answered, "Noooooo, a car drives on the road"  and placed the car on the picture with the road.  We continued to sort matching the boat with the water picture and planes with the sky picture.  Ronan found a train in the basket and said, "Choo Choo"  and put the train on the picture with the train track.  Our friends were then encouraged to play the game again with each other.
                                                                                                                               
This week we also worked on creating forms of Transportation such as trains and boats out of shapes and we worked on creating a classroom boat. Our friends sanded and painted the wood pieces and the morahs helped assemble the boat. We will later experiment to see if it floats on water!

Next week we will be starting our gratitude/Fall unit. We hope to see all of our CJP families at our Thanksgiving lunch on Nov. 21 at 11:30 a.m.

And don't forget to come out to our annual  Sip and Shop this Sunday Nov. 11 starting at 6 pm.  Support our pre school and small local businesses.  As always wishing a restful Shabbos enjoy your long weekend.

Dear Parents,
   This week in our classroom we continued to learn and explore about animals.  A lot of our activities this week focused on building and refining our gross and fine motor skills which our friends really enjoyed.  We also did some hebrew letter and english letter recognition with puzzles and matching games.   Here are some highlights of our week.

Block Center/Gross motor

  In our Block area this week we had a farm with animals and tractors.  The children used the tractors to drive around the farm and put the animals into different corrals in the farm.   The children were also invited to sort the animals. The Morahs asked "do you think there is enough space for all these animals to live together?  Do you think they will all play together?"  Our friends are using eye/hand coordination and upper body resistance as they move the tractors and animals around the farm.  Our friends also enjoyed making animals noises as they played. 

We enjoyed playing a bean bag animal toss game.  Using a recycled wipes box we created an animal head (bear) and some bean bags.  The children took turns tossing the beanbags in the bear's mouth.  Bean bag play works on developing balance and coordination. We also learn about turning taking and social skills and following multiple directions.  We extended this game into playing catch with one another.  The children partnered up and took turns tossing the bags back in forth to each other this was a great hit. 

Art/Gross motor

This week for art our friends worked on tractor painting outside with the Peach Room.  Butcher paper was taped to the ground and paint was set out .  The children were invited to dip the tractor wheels in paint and roll it on the paper.

Inside the classroom our friends used rolling pins covered in rubber bands to paint with.  They dipped the rolling pins in paint and rolled it around the paper.  Afterwards we took the time to explore the variety of stripes each child created.  We also used this as an opportunity to talk about all the different animals that have stripes.

This week we also took some play animals and paint and the children dipped the animals feet into the paint and tracked them around a paper.  We compared footprints.  We discovered some animals have hooves others have claws, and some even have hands and feet that look like ours!  All these activities highlight to our friends the different kinds of animals that we have in the world.  They learn about the features of some animals through these art and sensory experiences.

Playdoh/Fine motor and literacy

Our friends enjoyed rolling out play doh onto their trays and then using cookie cutters to cut out letters and different shapes like ovals, triangles, squares, and circles.  Our friends strengthen their little muscles in their fingers to prepare for future skills such as gripping a pencil to write and draw.

Friday was a special day!  Along with Shabbat Sing a long our friends got a visit from a few animals that we have been learning about over the week. Check Facebook for pictures.  Wishing a restful Shabbos, Morah Felicia and Morah Menucha

Dear Parents,
   This week in our class we continued our Beraishis unit with the creation of animals and people and  the day of rest, Shabbos!  Here are some of the highlights of the week:

Literacy 

This week we made a fun game with the book, Brown Brown Bear. We photocopied pictures of the book then cut them in half.  As we read the book the children matched the heads to the tails. We practiced skills such as visual discrimination and matching.  Everyone really enjoyed putting together the pieces as she read the book with the Morahs. 

Gross Motor/Art

We had some bubble wrap fun this week creating track prints in the classroom.  The Morahs set out butcher paper, bubble wrap, tape, and paint.   The children were invited to use their imagination to pretend to walk like their favorite animal.  They could STOMP like an enormous elephant or hop like a tiny bunny.   The Morahs started off my taping a shoe of bubble wrap on to the children's foot then the children dipped their feet in paint and walked across the butcher paper.  The children enjoyed seeing the texture and hearing the popping sounds as they  walked.  We extended this play with shaving cream and outside.   Our friends loved experimenting with the different textures on different parts of their bodies.

Parsha Vayeira

In honor of Parsha Vayeira this week the Blue Room received a special invitation to be guests and eat snack in the Purple Kindergarten room.  We were welcomed with open arms.  Each kindergartner was invited to help one younger friend get settled inside Abraham's tent.  They served us oranges and sang us a special song. 

Our friends also enjoyed building animal farms in the block center. We continued to build our fine motor skills by giving animals a"bath"  We used tooth brushes and soapy water and the children were invited to scrub the animals clean with the brush.  We practiced some math and science as they enjoyed playing an animal match game. 

Thanks for a great week, wishing you a restful Shabbos, Morah Felicia and Morah Menucha  

Continuing Creation

Dear Parents,

          Our focus for the creation unit has been Hashem created EVERYTHING!  This week we picked up where we left off and continued with days 3,4, and 5.   Here are some highlights of our week:

Day 3 Creation of land and plants

On Monday and Tuesday our Sensory table was filled with sand, rocks, different plants from outside, leaves, some funnels and spoons for pouring and scooping. We love playing with the Sensory table it is a great way to start conversations while the children explore and experience with all their senses. We had a conversation about all the beautiful things Hashem created.  He created all colorful flowers that smell so fresh, the grass and leaves that are so green, the trees that are so big and strong that provide shade on hot days.  He created the sand that we run our fingers through, and rocks to build with. Thank you Hashem for creating such a beautiful world.

With the weather being so amazing we took this opportunity to work outside and set up clay tables with the peach room.  The Morahs placed mirrors on the tables with clay and some water along with some sticks and leaves to explore and create with.  Some children used the loose parts to stick and add to their clay while others just enjoyed the texture and squishing it through their fingers.  The mirrors added great dimension and a different perception.  The children saw themselves, the sky, clouds, and birds and anything else that flew by as they worked!

The children also worked on a nature collage with foliage from outside and some sticky contact paper.  The examined the variety of shapes and sizes of all the leaves and flower pedals. Some were long and pointy and others were round and small. Some were smooth and shiny and some wouldn't even stick to the paper.
We also worked on a sand art project.  We took a bottle of elmer's glue, squeezed glue out to make designs, and then poured sand on top of the wet glue.  Then we brushed off the extra sand to reveal a colored design.

Day 4 Creation of the Galaxy Moon and Sun
Wednesday we played with homemade galaxy slime and talked about how Hashem created all the stars in the night sky and the moons, planets, and sun.  Most of our friends had fun rolling their own planets in the slime and stretching and pulling the sticky, sparkly slime. 

Day 5 Birds and fish
Thursday and Friday our friends worked on fish and bird puzzles building with different shapes.  We also worked on decorating our own birds with feathers.  Morah Felicia explained to the children that after Hashem created the land, water, plants, skies, moon, sun, and stars He wanted there to be creatures to live in this new beautiful world! So he created birds to fly in the sky and fish to swim in the seas.  After this explanation we sorted out our own birds and fish.  We put all the birds with a sky picture and all the fish with an ocean picture.

 Along with all of these activities our friends always have the opportunity to explore the classroom;  they enjoyed painting at the easel, cooking in the kitchen and taking care of babies.  Thanks for a great week.  Next week we will continue with days 6 and 7 of creation and expanding more into animals. Wishing you a restful and peaceful Shabbos.

Morah Felicia and Morah Menucha.

Upcoming dates:  Petting Zoo November 2

Parsha Bereishis

Dear Parents,

          This week and next week our unit of interest is Parsha Bereishis, the story of creation.  We took the story and incorporated it into our centers.  We focused on the first two days of creation this week and will continue with rest next week.   Long ago in the very beginning there was NOTHING! Only Hashem, no world, people or animals, no trees or stars, no water or light. Hashem didn't want things to stay like this.  He wanted to create a beautiful place where people could do only good and a place where he would be recognized.  Since there was no such place, Hashem decided to create it.  On the first day he started by creating light.  Hashem made the light shine part of time, called day and made dark for part of the day called night.  Then on the second day he created water then he created space in the middle filled with air called sky.  Next he made dry spots of sand, clay, and rock called land that divided the waters into oceans, lakes, and rivers.  He created trees and plants that live on this land.  Then Hashem created two great lights to tell us when it was day and when it was night, the sun and the moon.  Next he created creatures to swim in the seas, fly in the skies, and crawl on land. After this he created animals and finally created the first people.  Hashem saw that he created such a beautiful place just like he planned and he gave the people the responsibility to keep it beautiful and good by showing kindness and practicing mitzvos. This would make Hashem recognized and comfortable.  Now Hashem's work was complete so he rested and made Shabbos a time to rest.  It would be a time to celebrate all of Hashem's beautiful work, his creation of life and world.

Light and Dark

Monday and Tuesday our sensory table had white beans and black beans to represent light and dark.  We had some sun, moon, and star shapes in various sizes along with spoons and buckets.  The children hid the shapes as well as scooped and poured into buckets developing and strengthening their fine motor skills, self regulation, and vocabulary.  We took this opportunity to have conversations about Hashem creating day and night.  Then we asked What questions like what do you see in the sky in the dark time?  what do you see in the sky during the time?  Hashem created all of it!

   Gavin practices early math skills with sequencing in size.   Gavin says, "I found a big moon.  I find a small moon.  I find a baby moon."

We also explored with the light table on Monday and Tuesday the children experimented with color blocks.  They built structures and made different colors when they stacked them on top of each other.  For example Rivkale put a blue color block on top of a yellow colored block and made the color green!

Our freinds had fun exploring the contrast between white and black when we did an open painting project and used different objects to paint with such as tubes, sponges and paint brushes.  The girls took it a step further and experimented with their hands and fingers.

Wednesday and Thursday we played with shaving cream and our Sensory table was full of blue water and gems to explore. Representing the second day of creation  When playing in the Sensory table Ronan says, " the ice is cold" and picked up some of them gems and splashed them into the water.  Davis really enjoyed playing with the shaving cream he drew circles with his fingers then wiped them away to draw them again.  We made our own puffy paint with shaving cream and elmer's glue to create puffy clouds just like Hashem did!  

We will continue our Bereishis unit next week, thanks for a great week and Shabbat Shalom,  

Morah Felicia and Morah Menucha

Rosh Hashana

This week in the Blue Room we continued our Rosh Hasshan unit. Here are some of our high lights this week.

Group Projects

This week our friends worked on creating their own keepsake honey jar!  Morah Ora went to a special place called a Mikvah, to have our jars dipped so they would be kosher for the holiday, thanks Morah Ora!   First our friends painted the bottom of their jars different shades of red, and then painted the lids different shades of green creating an apple as their honey jar. Each child will be sent home with one on Friday. 

This week we conducted our first science experiment. We made apple eruptions!  First Morah Menucha cut out the core of 3 apples leaving them whole.  We mixed some watercolor in vinegar and took out some baking soda.  Each friend poured about 2 teaspoons of baking soda into their apple and before they added the vinegar, Morah Felicia asked the group, "I wonder what will happen when we add the vinegar?"  As each child added the vinegar to their apple they discovered the mixture made fizzy sounds and overflowed their apple with bubbles!  They were truly amazed saying, "whoa!" and giggling with excitement as they repeated this at least 6 more times. Then Leah decided to add baking soda to the cup of vinegar.  "Will it do the same thing as in the apple?"  It does!    Science should be viewed as thinking and trying to understand how things works and how the world works. It's not the time to memorize facts.  Our friends need multi-sensory approach to learning.Therefore, science experiments involve asking questions, probing for answers, conducting investigations and collecting data.  Our job as Morahs is to give children the opportunity to construct their own ideas.

Thanks for another great week. Check out Facebook for more pictures. Reminder, there will be no school on Septemeber 10 and 11th, We wish all a wonderful sweet year full of happiness.  Next week we will also be welcoming a new friend to the Blue room, Davis! 

Shana Tova, Morah Felicia and Morah Menucha.

This week our friends started a mini All About Me unit.  This week we also continued to explore the classroom and familiarize ourselves with the materials and the different centers in the room.  Here are some highlights of this week.

We started off the week with exploring our own faces in mirrors then practicing our fine motor skills while creating silly faces with Mr. Potato Head and loose parts face pieces.  This also sparked a review conversation about parts of the face. Morah Felicia asked, "What does a face have?"  Rivkale responded "eyes nose"  Rivkale noticed she had blue eyes  and that Morah Felicia had brown eyes. We then looked at all of our friends eyes which we later graphed.  Graphing our friends responses is a math skill, which can be incorporated by tallying up how many children are in the column.  We discussed how more friends had brown eyes then blue eyes in our class.

On Wednesday our friends did their first self portrait. Mirrors, black and white photos of each child, and markers and crayons were set out for everyone to explore and color.  All of our friends appeared to enjoy the markers over the crayons, but Rivkale and Leah experimented with them on their pictures and the mirrors.  The crayons left cool cakey pastel streaks on the mirrors.  As were coloring Gavin took some caps from the markers and put them on each of his fingers and started singing a classic lullaby song, "Mommy finger Mommy finger where are you......"  We thought this was a great opportunity to start a discussion about families and all the members in each of friend's families. Each friend took a turn telling the group about the members of their family. We discovered that Gavin has a Mommy, a Daddy, Evan, and Bella in his family.  Rivkale has a Mommy, and a Tatty, and a baby Chumi in her family.  Leah has a Mommy, a Papa, Sophia, Levy, and Adar in her family.  Ronan also has a Mommy, a Papa, and brother and sisters in his family.  Our friends loved taking turns singing their own version of this classic song.

Our friends were invited to trace their bodies in the block area and then measure how tall they were with the blocks.  Gavin and Leah were uncomfortable laying on the butcher paper so they were happy to just color on their papers. We then measured our friends with the blocks we discovered that our friends were 3 long blocks tall.

After they measured how tall they were Leah had a plan to start building a house soon after she started Gavin came and joined.  Together they constructed a home inspired by the pictures of homes in the block center.  Children use pictures of home and people to enhance their play.  Authentic pictures create a stage for more imagination and exploration.

This week we also introduced natural clay.  Our friends were encouraged to play and discover a different texture.  They pinched and manipulated. The Morahs asked their friends What does the clay feel like?  Is it cool? soft? or smooth?  Is it easy to work with? What if we add water? How does the clay change?  Can you squish it between your fingers?  Playing in small groups gives us the opportunity to enrich our children's vocabulary as they learn to work and play together.

Next week we will start our Rosh Hashana unit.  Thank you friends and families for another great week at school.  We hope you have a restful Shabbos, Morah Felicia and Morah Menucha.

Dear Parents, 

     First off we would like to welcome back all returning and new families!  We are excited to start a brand new year and we thank you for trusting us to be with your precious children through out the day. It's a privilege to nurture,  guide, and have a positive influence on their growth and development as a whole human being.  Our goal is to make each child feel safe and loved nurture independence and that natural curiosity within. Here are some of the highlights of our week.

The routine

At the beginning of the day we greet each child at the door as they say their "good-byes" to their loved ones then we continue to help each child put their belongings away in their designated spot, wash hands, sign in and get to work. Establishing a routine so that children feel safe and comfortable to explore their own environment is the goal for this and next week. Rivkale worked so hard to put her backpack on her hook then washed her hands squeaky clean before starting her work. 

 Exploring the Classroom

This week our friends explored all the centers in the classroom.  On Tuesday Leah started building with the magantiles, Morah Felicia asked what she was constructing and she said, "a castle".   Gavin enjoyed reading books in the library with Morah Menucha. Ronan loved the Dramatic play kitchen.  He started setting the table for Shabbat and then made a bracha for Kiddush.

 Group Project

Along with free exploration our friends came together and sat down for a group activity.  We Incorporated some literacy with Art.   We read a story, The Dot and then explored with our very own watercolor and dotter paints on coffee filters.  Our friends watched as the rich pigments of the paints absorb and spread through the coffee filter.  Some colors mixed together and some colors didn't.  Our friends used different techniques with paints, like blotching and brush strokes to create a variety of patterns on their paper. 

Thanks for a great week!  We hope you have a restful weekend.  Shabbat Shalom Morah Felicia and Morah Menucha

Water, Water Everywhere...

Greetings Peach Room Parents!

This week was filled with a ton of sensory exploration! We were able to enjoy some early morning water table play on the patio just outside our room. This play was a little quieter and offered some peaceful green time where our friends were able to go between our indoor and outdoor environment at their own choosing. Gavin liked watering the plants and bushes. Madison poured water from one container to another and loved going from indoors to outdoors all on her own. Shyli explored the most with using water and a paintbrush on the rocks, sidewalk and door. In our larger outdoor environment our friends continued enjoying the sprinkler. Some of our older friends from the purple room noticed the water runoff down the hill and engineered a path for the water to flow down to our sand pit. This quickly became a mud pit and was by far the most rich sensory experience that all of our friends got to enjoy. Rivkale, Gavin and Shyli were fully engaged and ready to splash, wade and wallow. Maddie observed this play and by Tuesday she was sticking her feet in. This is one of the things I love most about our school- this was child lead and such rich play/work for every age! Thank you for providing the swimsuits and towels and patience with muddy stuff coming home! Your children had a blast and experiences that they wouldn’t be getting in many other places. 

We have been observing our butterflies as they grew from caterpillars to chrysalis to butterflies and the sole survivor is ready to take flight. Our friends have diligently gathered food and helped us care for our butterfly. We have been reading and talking about metamorphosis with them as well. 

Morah Sydney was with us for a portion of the week as Morah Ora and Leah were home not feeling well. Refuah Shleima Leah and Ella! We hope you’ll be back with us next week!

As we wrap up our school year, next week will be a short but busy week as we practice for graduation performances, complete our projects and release our butterflies! On Monday school will be closed in observance of Shavuos. Thursday morning you are invited to attend our graduation celebration and our school year will come to a close with 12:30 dismissal. 

Shabbat Shalom,
Morah Ora and Morah Lindsey

Mud Play and Beauty Salon

Dear Parents,
     This week the children really enjoyed water/mud play outside.  They collaboratively worked with their friends from other classrooms to create a giant mud pit. Where they splashed, made "chocolate milk", bathed, and cooked yummy cakes.  In the classroom our Beauty Salon in Dramatic Play was Open for business, we explored water beads in out sensory table, and continued counting down the Omer until Shavous.  Morah Kayla explains why Hashem chose Har Sinai to be the mountain the Jewish people received the Torah on through a great song, and we heard a new word, humble.

  

Beauty Salon

We have opened a Beauty Salon in our dramatic play center as the children prepare for Shavuot.  The Jewish people prepared themselves before the giving/receiving  of the Torah  They put on their best clothes, nicest shoes and finest jewelry.  The children explored a similar experience at our beauty salon.  As our dramatic play center has evolved over the course of this year, the children have learned many social and real-life skills.  It is beautiful to see the children engage in authentic and meaningful cooperative and imaginative play.  On a consistent basis they problem solve, devise solutions and transform materials to represent their play scripts. 

Please visit the Facebook group for pictures of our mud play and beauty salon.

Wishing you a wonderful Shabbat and Shavuos.  Reminder, there will be no school on Monday, see you on Tuesday!
Morah Felicia and Morah Kayla

 Dear Parents,
        Here are some highlights of our week.

This week each class room got a set of caterpillars, enough for each child to have their own.  Together we started collecting data on the growth of each caterpillar and the stages the caterpillar goes through to turn into a butterfly, we learned this process is called metamorphosis!  On Monday our caterpillars were very small and were eating the special caterpillar food our kit came with.  By Thursday they had doubled in size and some had started producing a special silk around the container.  On Friday morning we discovered most were already  hanging upside down ready to form a chrysalis around their body! 

Morah Kayla helps our friends count the Omer.  Our friends took turns searching for the color match to the corresponding flowers on our very own Mount Sinai then sticking it on with glue.  From the second night of Pesach until Shavous we count the Omer.  Shavous is the holiday when the Jewish people received the Torah from Hashem. 

On Lag B' Omer we had a picnic outside wtih the Green and Purple room friends.  Morah Kayla explains this day is special because we honor and celebrate the life of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. 

We missed a few of our friends this week, and are looking forward to everyone being back next week!

Shabbat Shalom!

Morah Felicia & Morah Kayla

Animals and pets

Dear Parents, 
     This week we did school collaboration if animals and pets! Some morahs brought in their own pets and Morah D hosted different animals each day. The children had fun and really enjoyed engaging with all the furry friends and critters.  Our friends also enjoyed shopping for books at the book fair.  Here are some highlights of our week.

We started the week with  an animal  sorting game.  In the block Center we made a chart, one side was for pets the other side was for wild animals. We talked about how some animals can live as pets and some animals live in the wild.  We even discovered that some animals can be pets or live in the wild, like fish. So we made a new spot on our chart for those special animals.  One question asked was can seals be pets? Our friend Hammond says, "yes because I have a pool outside in the back yard."  Then we discussed how seals need special ocean water to survive.

Monday was for mammals.  In our class Morah Felicia's pet guniea pig, Trevor, made a visit. First our friends said hello through his cage. Once Trevor got comfortable morah Felicia took him out so our friends could pet and touch him. We practiced using gentle hands.  Our thought he was soft.  We talked about some of the foods guinea pigs eat. We discovered they love fruits and vegetables just like we do! His favorites are spinach and strawberries.  After we held Trevor our friends had the opportunity to draw their own picture of Trevor. Some friends chose to use the magnifying glass to get a closer look.  Then it was off to Morah D's class to meet her dog brownie.

Tuesday was for fish. Our friends investigated goldfish and guppies. They looked different in color and size but they were both fish.

Wednesday was for birds. Our friends got to hold baby chicks and ducklings and sing with Morah D's birdie.  Morah D even put the chicks and ducklings on our heads.  Our friends were so brave and gentle when holding the birds.

We also went shopping at the book fair.  We took turns searching for the perfect book.  Once each child found the one they wanted the children handed their money to Miss Michelle and waited for their change and a bookmark.

Thursday was for reptiles, the special guests were lizards and turtles.  Morah D explained that lizards can lose their tails if they are pulled on and lizards eat bugs like crickets.  In the wild, lizards need to protect themselves by laying very still so that bigger animals leave them alone.  This is called a defense mechanism, so cool!

Friday was for insects.  Morah D brought in hissing cockroaches and horned worms that turn into moths.  Our friends were a little hesitant to see them but warmed up to them after some time.   

We hope you all have a restful Shabbos.  Shabbat Shalom.  Morah Felicia and Morah Kayla

Dear Parents,
Along with introducing some Spring concepts we talked about Community Helpers. What are community helpers? What can we do to be community helpers?  Here are some highlights of our week.

Clay Table
What are our community helpers missing?  Our friends used clay to create their own faces on the community helpers. 

Community Building
We can't have community helpers without a community. In the block Center our friends created  little community using roads, cars, and buildings.

Dramatic Play 
Our friends really enjoyed dressing  up in the Dramatic play center. Early in the week they started off using the the Dr. kit on each other and experimented with all the tools.  They used a stethoscope to listen to heart beats.   By the end of the week our friends created a Dr office with a bed and used the babies as patients.

Literacy

One of the books we read this week was, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar.". The morahs prepared a game to go along with the story.  We created a caterpillar from an empty can and pasted pictures of the fruits and other foods on plastic bottle caps.  Our friends took turns searching for the foods then adding them to the caterpillar as we read the story.  Reading aloud to children in an engaging manner builds emergent literacy and vocabulary. The more a child is read to, the more we condition the child's brain to associate books and print with something that is pleasurable. With this skill we set children up for greater academic success.  

Art

This week our friends used bath lufas and paint to create a cloud painting.  We dipped the lufas in the paint and then created cloud prints on their poster board.  We used cloud pictures for inspiration

 Flower Investigation 
We used magnifying glasses to investigate a variety of flowers and then had the opportunity to draw what we saw and make nature prints on our papers with mallets. As some of our friends studied the flowers up closed they discovered different patterns on the pedals lines on the leaves. They enjoyed smelling the flowers and dissecting the parts of the flower to smash on their papers.

Thanks for another great week.  Have a restful weekend. Shabbat Shalom Morah Felcia and Morah Kayla