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