FROM MISS LISA

Spring has sprung, bringing with it the delightful world of bugs! Our science center is buzzing with curiosity as students explore photos of many different kinds of insects. They’re getting hands-on with life cycle figures of bees, ladybugs, and butterflies, helping them understand how these fascinating creatures grow and change. We also have a variety of real bugs preserved in resin, along with rocks and wooden pieces, giving children plenty of opportunities to observe, touch, and discover the tiny wonders of nature.

During group time, we’ve been having fun with our colored bugs while building important thinking skills. We played “Guess What’s Missing,” which encourages observation and memory, and continued practicing pattern recognition. We started with simple patterns by type of bug, such as beetle, fly, beetle, fly, and then moved on to color patterns like green, yellow, yellow, green. The students are becoming quick thinkers and are getting very confident in predicting what comes next!

Our sensory area has been full of rich, hands-on exploration! We’re using rainbow-colored dried garbanzo beans in our trays, where students are scooping, filling, and pouring while building coordination and focus. Porcelain bowls and glass mugs add weight and new tactile experiences, encouraging thoughtful play. We’ve also hidden tiny micro dramatic play animals in the beans, turning the activity into a fun challenge that supports visual discrimination, concentration, and the all-important pincer grasp.

We also offer good old-fashioned H2O as a sensory option. Especially after coming in from the playground, water play provides a calming, grounding experience for children who may need a moment to relax and reset before transitioning back into the classroom.

Have a wonderful weekend

FROM MORAH CHANIE 

On Wednesday we celebrated Israel.  We decorated crowns, pretended to go to Israel and then we had a parade. We also decored cupcakes with blue frosting. 

We learned about the story of Rabbi Akiva who did not go to school so he could not read. When he was older he went to school and started learning with the small children it was hard for him but he kept on trying.  He later  became a great Rabbi. 

Shabbat Shalom 

FROM MISS LISA

I hope you all had a great Pesach break. The children were definitely excited to be back. During the week we kept activities simple so we could re-acclimate to our school routines. 

FROM MORAH CHANIE

We all had lots of fun preparing for Pesach.  The "prop" box should contain everything (except food items) that your child would need for the Seder.  Please save it for the Seder so the children will feel special.  I wish you all a Happy Pesach & Shabbat Shalom! 

FROM MISS LISA 

Cooperative dramatic play has become very popular in our classroom lately, both indoors and outside. We are seeing the children work together as firefighters, building a fire truck with the large blocks on the outdoor stage, pretending to be construction workers, and even using spray bottles outside to create their own hair salon. Through this kind of imaginative play, the children are collaborating, negotiating roles, and building shared storylines together. Dramatic play strengthens language development, social-emotional skills, problem-solving, creativity, perspective-taking, and self-regulation. It also supports confidence, cooperation, flexible thinking, and early planning skills as children learn to work through ideas and scenarios with one another. 

The students are also learning that compromise is essential to playing with a group. There is give and take and we respect each other’s feelings and choices in the play. The conflicts that naturally arise are teachable moments and great opportunities for problem solving.

Have a wonderful Pesach break

FROM MISS LISA

We have been focusing our attention on birds lately, and the interest has taken flight. Our science center is filled with bird photos and micro-dramatic bird figures, while nearby, children are using small blocks to build “nests,” strengthening their creativity and early engineering skills. Bird stickers have been a popular addition to our artwork, supporting fine motor development and self-expression.

A favorite group activity was “Tape the Feather on the Bird,” which encouraged body awareness, spatial reasoning, and cooperative play. In our sensory trays, children explored birdseed alongside tiny birds, scoopers, bowls, and lidded cups—an experience rich in sensory input that also builds hand-eye coordination, focus, and early math skills such as measuring, filling, and comparing.

Our bird gallery features photos of the egg hatching process, and the addition of chicken life cycle figures has sparked curiosity and scientific thinking. This naturally led to many conversations about eggs and the animals that hatch from them, prompting us to introduce the frog life cycle in our science center as well. Through these explorations, children are developing observation skills, making connections, and beginning to understand life cycles in a meaningful, hands-on way.

We also enjoyed reading “Who’s Egg?”, a fun and interactive book where children used clues from both the text and illustrations to guess which animal was inside each egg. This inspired a classroom favorite: “I’m thinking of an animal…” where we give clues and try to guess. Games like this strengthen language development, listening skills, memory, and critical thinking, as children learn to use descriptive language, make predictions, and draw on prior knowledge.

It has been wonderful to see the incredible cognitive and developmental growth that has taken place since the beginning of the school year.

Have a wonderful weekend 

Shabbat Shalom!!  

FROM MISS LISA 

Our exploration of sink and float continued this week. The children were excited to test new materials and make predictions. We discovered that all of the pretend food floated, while the Hot Wheels cars sank. When we tested the  micro-dramatic people and animals, the results were mixed—some floated and some sank—which led to lots of curiosity and discussion about why that might happen.

To extend the investigation, we brought the activity into choice time with small trays of water. The trays included cups, droppers, sea animals, sea glass, and containers with lids. The children explored filling containers, squeezing droppers, and experimenting with putting objects that sink into objects that float to see what would happen. This open-ended exploration encouraged problem solving, prediction, observation, and early scientific thinking.

In our sensory center, the children enjoyed playing with slime. This activity supports sensory processing, strengthens fine motor skills, builds hand muscles needed for writing, and encourages creativity and language as children describe the texture and experiment with stretching, pulling, and shaping the slime.It is extremely therapeutic for many of the children, while others shiver at the mere sight of it. We are who we are, right? What’s important is providing a variety of sensory activities so children can discover which ones are most engaging and meaningful for them.

Please remember a water bottle and provide extra clothes when needed. We engage in spray bottle play almost daily and sometimes have the water on in the sandbox. Three year olds tend to marinate in their work.

Have a great weekend! 

FROM MORAH MIMI

We have already started going through the story of Pesach. As we shared different details, the children’s facial expressions were fantastic! You could see how excited they were to feel the story come alive. We will continue learning about Pesach in interactive ways through songs, puppets, and tactile items.

We have been introduced to the famous Pesach songs that we can’t wait to share!
We enjoyed our model Seder, trying crunchy matzah, bitter herbs (don’t worry, they weren’t too bitter!), egg, and potato. We also talked about the symbolism of each food.

We  started learning the first question of the Ma Nishtana.
Have a wonderful weekend and Shabbat Shalom!

 FROM MISS LISA

We had so much fun on Purim, thank you to the families that could make it. To those that couldn’t, I assure you that your child had a blast and there will more than likely be another one next year!

Science

During group time this week we explored the classic science question: What sinks and what floats? We have been doing it daily, switching up the items and will continue for as long as they remain interested.

Each day, the children chose two items to test in our water tub. Our collection included real and plastic acorns and leaves, corks, mini pinecones, feathers, Legos, marbles, rocks, and Connect Four tokens. Before placing each item in the water, the children made predictions about whether it would sink or float, then carefully observed the results. A particularly exciting discovery was that some objects floated for a while and then slowly sank!

This activity supports many areas of development. Children practice scientific thinking as they predict, test, and observe outcomes. They strengthen language skills by explaining their ideas and describing what they see, while also building curiosity, comparison skills, problem solving, and early critical thinking as they explore how the physical world works.

Puzzlers 

Interest in puzzles has recently popped up all around the classroom! While many children have always enjoyed them, lately almost everyone has been gravitating toward our puzzle shelves. We have puzzles at a variety of levels, and many of the children are now working independently—or with a little support—on puzzles with as many as 24 interlocking pieces.

Working puzzles supports many areas of development. Children strengthen problem-solving and critical thinking skills as they figure out where pieces fit. They practice visual discrimination and spatial awareness by noticing shapes, colors, and patterns. Puzzles also build concentration, perseverance, and memory, while the physical act of manipulating pieces develops fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. It has been wonderful to see the children so engaged and proud of their accomplishments. I also see wonderful cooperation and kindness as friends come to help one another. 

Have a wonderful weekend

 FROM MISS LISA 

We have been learning about nocturnal animals. In our Science Center, the children explored photographs of nocturnal animals and looked closely at their unique features. We played a fun game of “Guess What’s Missing?” using our nocturnal micro dramatic animals to strengthen observation and recall skills. It is so cute when I can see a child is picturing the animal but the name is not coming. Their face lights up and they say “Oh! Oh!” I say “your brain could see it, huh?” 

In art, we created beautiful night skies by rolling golf balls in gold and silver paint on black paper, then adding a sprinkle of glitter to make the stars shine. This activity supported imagination, gross motor development, and sensory exploration.

Our sensory table features black sand with miniature nocturnal animals, along with stone crescent moons and stars. The children are engaging in imaginative play, as they sift, scoop and pour our own little nighttime world. 

Skills enhanced: observation, critical thinking, sensory processing, fine motor development, creativity, and expressive language.

Weather permitting, we are engaging in mud play in our sandbox. I typically have them change into their extra clothes, hang dry the wet ones, then put them back into the original clothing. Please make sure that your child has a complete change of clothes daily.

Have a wonderful weekend!

FROM MORAH CHANIE 

This week's Purim song:  

King Achashverosh made a great feast,

He told his wife Vasti to come,

She had many pimples, one hundred at least,

She said I can’t join in your fun.

The king was so angry, he said to his guard,

 “Take her, I don’t want her, she’s mean.”

And from all the ladies that Shushan now had

Esther became the new queen.

Haman told everyone, “Bow down to me.”

But Mordechai said, “That’ll I’ll never do,

I bow only to Hashem, Hashem Elokim

and I’m proud, so proud to be a Jew.” 

We hope to see you all on Purim!

Shabbat Shalom!!  

FROM MISS LISA 

Our Science Center has been full of hands-on discovery. We recently added a scale along with a collection of rocks, crystals, acorns, and mini pine cones. The children have been busy comparing, weighing, sorting, and examining these natural treasures.

This activity supports early math development as children explore concepts like heavy and light, more and less, and balance. It also strengthens observation skills as they notice differences in size, shape, texture, and weight. Handling the materials provides rich sensory input, and experimenting with the scale encourages problem solving as children test their ideas and adjust to make it balance. I enjoy watching the discovery and how each child approaches the center.

Math

We have been engaging in a fun math activity. Each child takes a turn rolling a die and we count the dots on top. I then give them the same number of Unifix cubes to match.

The children connect their cubes either horizontally or vertically, exploring how the same number can look different depending on how it is arranged. This builds early conservation skills as they begin to understand that the quantity stays the same even when the shape changes.

Once connected, we compare our cube trains to see which is longer or shorter, and we talk about concepts like more, less, equal, and longest. This activity strengthens counting, one-to-one correspondence (enumeration), observation, comparison, and early problem-solving skills. 

We talk a lot about how we can “solve the problem” in our class. How can we fix it, how could we make it work better? It is also social/emotional. How can we modify it so more friends are included or so everyone gets a turn? We are looking in the books that we read for “clues” to solve the mystery (we LOVE a good mystery!) I ask how they think a character is feeling and what we would do to make them feel better? When accidents happen or a friend knocks over a structure, we solve the problem. Paper towels to wipe spills, helping to rebuild the structure, asking a friend if they’re okay, taking turns, etc. Encouraging children to take time to see what is happening and being accountable for the resolution helps build autonomy, initiative, and self esteem.

Have a great weekend

LET THE CELEBRATING BEGIN! IT'S ALL ABOUT PURIM!! 

We started this week with the story of Purim.  We are in middle of reviewing the story.  We are already learning purim songs.  

Purim Songs

Chag Purim

King-O

In Shushan town there lived a king,  A very silly king-o

In Shushan town there lived a king, A very silly king-o

Achashvairosh was his name Achashvairosh was his name 

Achashvairosh was his name The very silly king-o

In Shushan town there lived a queen, A Very wicked queen-o

In Shushan town there lived a queen, A Very wicked queen-o

Vashti was her name, Vashti was her name 

Vashti was her name, The very wicked queen-o

The king invited all his friends to see his pretty queen-o

The king invited all his friends to see his pretty queen-o

But she would not come, But she would not come

But she would not come, The very wicked queen-o

And so the king said she must go, that very wicked queen-o

And so the king said she must go, that very wicked queen-o

Now he had no queen, now he had no queen

Now he had no queen, The very silly king-o
Shabbat Shalom!

 FROM MISS LISA

Games in the classroom 

We have been playing a lot of games recently, including picture bingo and a preschool version of Uno using animal figures instead of cards. Through these games, children are learning to take turns, follow simple rules, and stay engaged with a group activity. Playing games together also supports important preschool skills such as early math concepts (matching, sorting, and counting), visual discrimination, language development, memory, attention, and self-regulation. Most importantly, the children are building social skills like cooperation, patience, and good sportsmanship—all while having fun!

Another game we are currently enamored with is Doggie, Doggie, Where’s Your Bone? One child leaves the circle while I give the block “bone” to another child to hide. We then sing the chant, and the child tries to guess who has it. The really fun part is that we all act like we have the bone—hands hidden and giggling conspiratorially.

Fun fact: three-year-olds all but implode when suspense is upon them! Some blurt out the answer, others fully embrace their role as a suspect, and one child even spiked the block on the floor before being named because he simply couldn’t take the anticipation. Miss Deja and I are getting a real kick out of seeing how the class approaches games with rules!

Through games like this, children are strengthening important preschool skills such as listening, memory, impulse control, and self-regulation. These playful experiences also support social development, confidence, and the ability to follow group expectations—all while having fun together.

Reminders

• Please remember to sign your child in/out daily
• Please send a water bottle daily

Have a wonderful weekend

FROM MORAH CHANIE

This weeks Brocha was Ha'adama!  We spoke about the difference between fruits and vegetables that grow on a tree and in the ground.  We spoke about the Brocha ...boray pree ha'etz (Etz is Tree) and  ...boray pree ha'adama (Adama is the ground).  We got to taste Ha'adama  foods. Of course we all liked the melon the best.  

The name of the Parsha is Yisro.  He was Moshe's father- in-law.  This  is the Torah portion with the giving of the Torah.  We read the book When the worls was Quiet, by  Phyllis Nutkis.  Next week we learn about Purim.

Have a great Shabbos!!  

 FROM MISS LISA

We have been learning about hibernation and how animals prepare for winter. Some animals eat extra food, build a den, burrow, or make a nest before sleeping until spring. On our science table, children can explore pictures of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians that hibernate in different ways. A basket filled with moss and feathers, with a lid to keep animals “cozy and warm.” We have baskets with acorns and snow covered pine cones, this invites hands-on exploration and pretend play.

We created our own dens using cardboard boxes that we painted brown and glued moss and feathers onto them so our micro-dramatic animals can be sorted into different dens. We took a nature walk to collect items that would make the animals “cozy warm.” Then we sent them on a run around the grassy field in the back of the campus. The highlight for the children was watching the lawn mowing robot on the other side of the fence. 

Group Time

I passed out different animals that hibernate to the students during group time. Then we have them eat their acorns until their tummies are super full and I sing the song Are you Sleeping and they put it in the basket when I call their animal.

Are You Sleeping 

(Tune of Frere Jacques)

Are you sleeping 

Are you sleeping 

Little bear

Little bear

It’s getting cold outside 

Time for you to hide

Cozy warm

Cozy warm

Repeat with different animals 

Have a wonderful weekend

FROM MORAH CHANIE

 FROM MISS LISA

Art

This week, we continued our winter-themed art projects, and the weather even cooperated—hooray! The children created a snowy effect by rolling golf balls through white and silver paint inside box lids. This activity supported creativity while strengthening gross motor skills, visual-spatial coordination, and problem-solving as children guided the balls through the paint to create their designs.

The next day we got to squeeze (our favorite!) white paint onto blue paper and add biodegradable packing peanuts and cotton balls to our glorious puddles. We get some science in here too. The peanuts change shape & even consistency when a liquid is added. 

Literacy & Dramatic Play:

We expanded on our love for the story There’s an Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer by acting it out together. The children helped lay out the “bait” in the same order as the story to create a trail, chose to play the role of either the alligator or the child, and practiced following directions as the story came to life. Blocks were added to create paths for walking or crawling, adding an extra movement challenge.

This activity supported early literacy skills, sequencing, listening and comprehension, gross motor development, visual-spatial awareness, imaginative play, and problem-solving as children worked together to recreate and expand on one of our many “favorite” stories.

Have a great weekend 

FROM MORAH CHANIE 

 FROM MISS LISA

Hello families! Did I not say we would have oddly hot temps while we learn about winter? Now I am faced with the moral dilemma of whether to use my power for good or evil. 

We continued to explore winter inside with the air conditioning on. Morah Mimi let us borrow her snow man pieces on the magnet board. My favorite was the four eyed “alien snowman.” An art choice was painting foam snowflakes and adding some sparkles for our window. We also scribbled with glue sticks on blue paper then sprinkled soap flakes to create a “snow storm.” The next day we squeezed big puddles of clear glue and added little wooden snowflakes. Lots of sensory and fine motor fun. 

Science

I froze a large container of blue water with arctic animals in it for some sensory exploration. We were faced with the problem of how to get them out. We started with shaking salt on it and added glitter because we could. We noticed the salt made the surface of the ice bumpy. Next we went for spray bottles filled with warm water. Spray bottles are incredible for fine motor development. The wrist, hand, and finger action really helps the muscles develop. I recommend them as well as droppers during bath time. 

Have a wonderful weekend and let me know if you need me to change the weather according to your plans!

FROM MORAH CHANIE