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