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