pesach

Dear Parents,
    This week in our classroom we continued our Pesach unit.   Our friends laced their own
Afikoman bag, we painted Seder plates for our Haggadah, made our own Charoset and made a charoset sandwich.  Outside our friends went over the ten plagues that Hashem sent to Mitzrayim by hopping on stumps that had pictures of each plague.

 We retell the story of Pesach using a felt board and puppets.  Moshe went to King Pharoah demanding to let the Jewish people free.  King Pharoah refused to listen so Hasham sent the Ten Makot.  Finally King Pharoah set the Jewish people free but they had to leave so quickly.  As they traveled through the desert in the blistering hot sun the dough they had made, baked on their backs and turned into Matzah.   This is why we eat only Matzah during Pesach.  When the Jewish people came to the Sea, Moshe took his staff and parted it so his people could pass, what a miracle! When they made it across the Sea everyone celebrated with singing and dancing.  Hashem said it was time to bring the Torah to the world. The Jews had to be freed so they could receive the Torah and have the freedom to do Mitzvot.

         

Charoset/Maror

This week our friends were invited to make their own Charoset.  The children cut and grated the apples into a bowel. Then they smashed up some walnuts to add to the bowl. Lastly we added a splash of grape juice before mixing everything together. The Morahs explained the charoset symbolized the brick mortar the Jewish people used to build the pyramids so long ago. We also made a charoset sandwich with lettuce, Matzah, and horseradish.  Everyone agreed the horseradish smelled too spicy and opted out of tasting it. Morah Menucha tells us we dip three times in the charoset. 

Matzah Bakery

  Our Dramatic Center was turned into a Matzah Baker.y  The children enjoyed making matzah  in the sensory table and then putting into the brick oven to bakery. 

Wishing you restful Shabbat

Morah Felicia and Morah Menucha

This week in the Blue Room we began our Pesach unit with some hands on sensory experiences.  Our friends tasted Matzah, Karpas, and made grape juice out of grapes.  We also had some fun making our own sand playdoh to build pyramids like in ancient Egypt. 

Baby Moshe

In the beginning of this week we set baby Moshe in a basket.  We used some blue fabric, blankets, plants, a baby and a basket. Our friends really love playing in the loft so we took an opportunity to utilize this space for the provocation. Morah Felicia tells us the story about long ago when baby Moshe's mommy was protecting him from King Pharaoh and the only way to keep him safe was to float him down the river. Moshe is very special when he grows up he will protect and save all the Jewish people from the mean King Pharaoh who made the Jewish people work and work and work.  Moshe will take them to the promise land.  Setting up a provocation is an invitation to play and explore.  This provocation invites the children to role play and imagine what it was like for baby Moshe to be in the basket.  Through this platform we reinforce and learn vital skills such as empathy, sharing, turn taking, and problem solving.  Ronan and Gavin took turns trying to safely send baby Moshe down the "river" (slide).

Matzah  

This week our friends tasted matzah.  We smelled, tasted, and touched.  We compared the Matzah to Challah that we eat every Shabbat. Some questions that we asked our friends were How is the matzah different than the challah?  Our friends discovered that matzah is flat and challah is fluffy.  Matzah is hard and crunchy and challah is soft and chewy.  Do they taste the same?  The Matzah was set out all week for all of our friends to taste.  Our friends Leah and Davis enjoyed it so much they ate it every day this week!

Set the Seder table

The children were invited to take turns setting the Seder table.  This was a great activity to introduce some new Pesach vocabulary.  Morah Felicia started off by pointing to each food on the seder plate while Morah Menucha told us what each food was and the meaning behind special foods. Then we asked our friends to repeat.  Zeroa or shankbone symbolizes the sacrifice of the lamb the night before the Exodus.  Beitzah or egg represents a pre-holiday offering.  Maror or bitter herbs reminds us to the bitterness the Jewish people were faced with in Egypt.  Charoset symbolizes the mortar and brick made by the Jewish people.  Karpas are the vegetables dipped in salt water reminding us of the salty tears cried while in Egypt.  After we went over these new vocabulary words our friends were invited to match each item to the big Seder plate.  Matching with a negative space image requires visual motor skills and spatial awareness. This activity also promotes early matching skills.  We invite you to go over these new terms with your children at home with a fun game of your own!

Sand playdoh 

This week we made sand playdoh!  This was enjoyed by everyone. We first took turns measuring out our ingredients and pouring them into a bowl.   This particular playdoh call for sand, flour, and cooking oil.  When all mixed together the consistency was like a moonsand.  Even the children who are more sensitive to sticky gooey textures really enjoyed this.  Our friends were invited to construct their own pyramids.  What shape do the pyramids look like?  "A triangle"

Have a great weekend and we will be continuing to learn about Pesach next week.
Don't forget to stop by the book fair and purchase some Jewish books for your home library!

Shabbat Shalom, Morah Felicia and Morah Menucha