Wrapping up Pesach

Dear Parents, 

We wrapped up this short week with Pesach packed activities. We made sand playdoh to build our own pyramids like the Jewish people in Mizraim, we joined the whole school for a Matzah Factory with Rabbi Dietsch, and made Seder plates and Afikomen bags, and so much more. Here are some highlights of the week:

 

Matzah Bake

On Monday Rabbi Dietsch created a whole Matzah Factory outside for the entire school. The children went through the process of making Matzah. Our friends mixed, rolled so flat, and poked their matzah to make sure it didn't rise when baked in the oven.

Fine Motor

Our friends read the book, 'Passover,' and then were invited to make their own Afikomen bag for Pesach. We laced our bags then personalized them with marker color creations.  

On Wednesday we joined the Green Room to search for chametz. Morah Maya explained why we need to clean all the chametz out. Then Morah Felicia hid "chametz" around the room and the children were invited to hunt all the chametz down to get rid of it for Pesach. 

 

 

Our friends used watercolors to finish up their Pesach Seder plates. 

 

 

We hope you all enjoy your Pesach break, and we will see you all back at school April 6th. 

Morah Felicia

Dear Parents, 

We continue our Pesach unit. Here are some highlights:

Art

Our friends paint with corks and aluminum foil. 

Our friends also start to create their own seder plates. 

 Grape Juice

This week our friends turned grapes into grape juice. The first  step was to smash the grapes.  Using zip-loc bags, we put grapes inside then used cylinder blocks and hammers to smooth and squeeze all the juice from the grapes out.  We then poured our juice through a sifter to separate the grape pulp from the juice. Last, we made a Bracha Hagafan on our juice and drank it.  We compared our juice to grape juice in the bottle.  We discovered our juice was lighter in color but they were both sweet!  We asked which juice tasted better?  Lia said she liked our homemade juice the best! 

  On Friday we set baby Moshe in a basket.  We used some blue fabric, blankets, plants, a baby and a basket.  Morah  told 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.  We asked our friends what are some things babies need to feel safe?  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. 

This week we also said a farewell to our friends, the Atlas's, as they head off to Israel. We wish them well and safe travels.  Next week we will continue our Pesach unit. 

 Wishing you a peaceful Shabbos, 

Morah Felicia  

Dear Parents, 

  This week in the classroom we started to introduce the Pesach unit.  We did this by implementing seder materials around the class.  This gave the children the opportunity  to interact and marinate in the stuff of the holiday as we celebrate today. Our friends played a seder plate matching game  and we went over each item.  We also created our own "Matzah Factory" in our Dramatic play center. Our friends enjoyed making their own matzah.

Discovery

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,  told her friends what each food was, and the meaning behind the special foods. The children were  asked  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 of 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 skills, 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!

Art

This week we used paint with sponges and brushes to turn a box into our brick oven for our Matzah Factory.  The children enjoyed creating different textures with the variety of tools they had. 

Dramatic

This week our friends were invited to explore cloud dough in our sensory table. This extended into turning our dramatic play center into a Matzah factory.  We moved the table into our kitchen and put the oven that we painted in there as well.  We referenced a picture recipe to help us "make" our matzah. As we made our matzah we compared matzah to challah and other bread.  What makes matzah different? Our friends used words like bumpy, crunchy, and scratchy to describe the matzah. 

Literacy

We went over the phonetic sounds each letter made as our friends put together the ABC puzzle.

Community

Earlier this week during snack we had a conversation about trees and pets:

Lia- Fruits and vegetables grow on trees.  I have one at home. 

Shmuel-  I have 5 trees. 

Abigail-Yeah ,they are big. 

Shmuel- I have a bunny at home. 

Abigail-I have a cat, his name is kitty. My dog's name is Brudy. He is small.

Lia-I have 3 dogs, C.D., Gus, Teek. 

JJ- My mommy and my sister I have no pets. 

Luka- I have dogs, big. I have 3.

Next week we will continue our Pesach unit As always, wishing you a beautiful Shabbos. 

Morah Felicia

Dear Parents, 

Our Blue room friends had fun week inside and outdoors.  We have been enjoying this gorgeous weather while we can, and we celebrated a few birthdays.  Here are some highlights from our week:

Art 

This week our friends were invited to explore and use watercolor paints in the art center.  They created their own master pieces as they mixed vibrant colors together. They discovered they could change the consistency of their paint as they added more or less water.  

Morah Felicia asked her friends, "Can you tell me about your painting?"

 Lia-I make a minja paint. 

Shmuel- I painted a castle.

Luka-I make green color. 

Social Emotional/Community

On Friday we celebrated Lia's 3rd birthday. On Thursday our classroom bakers followed a recipe and made a birthday cake in preparation for the celebration.  All of our friends took turns adding the ingredients into a big bowl and then mixed all of the ingredients together. Even though it was so hard to stay patient and wait for their turn, they did it!  Morah Felicia made sure all of her friends knew they can do hard things!  Everyone enjoyed the process as they watched each ingredient come together to make something new and delicious.

 

Abigail adds her ingredient and mixes our batter all up. 

Fine Motor and Pre-Literacy

Our friends were invited to use ABC stamps with playdoh; we went over letters we know and recognize. This week our friends were invited to create silly clown faces on mirrors with dry erase makers and some loose parts.  The children were very engaged and made detailed creations. 

Blocks and Loose Parts

We had some interesting foam pieces we added to the block center. Our friends had many different plans with these pieces. Some friends took them into the kitchen and used them for cooking. Others constructed castles and bridges with them. We even used them to jump in like a big squishy pillow.  We will see where the play goes next with the foam.

JJ- I'm making a bridge for the cars.  

Lia-I'm making a castle for my baby. 

Next week we will start our Pesach unit.  Wishing you a peaceful Shabbos, 

  Morah Felicia