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Miss Lisa & Morah Chanie - 3's Class

Fri, 1 May 2026 11:51:00 AM

FROM MISS LISA

Science / Sensory Exploration
We revisited the concept of sink and float using our micro dramatic bugs. The children made predictions about whether each bug would sink or float, then tested their ideas in water. This hands-on activity encouraged curiosity, observation, and early scientific thinking. As they experimented, the students strengthened skills in critical thinking, problem-solving, and making predictions. The vast majority were sinkers. The next day we used all the toys in an aquarium set I would put out after. What we found especially interesting was that the micro dramatic adults floated while the children and babies sank. I was utterly stumped until it was explained to me: the babies haven’t learned to swim yet. Duh, Miss Lisa!

Dramatic Play / Sensory Exploration
Our classroom aquarium came to life with a hands-on water play setup featuring a variety of marine animals, people figures, and small containers for a “touch tank” experience. The children explored which items sink or float as they engaged in socio-dramatic play.They created their own stories and roles, strengthening imagination and social development. This activity also supported turn-taking, cooperation, and communication with peers. We practiced following classroom expectations, especially working together to keep the water safely in the tubs, helping build self-regulation and responsibility.

Special Event Reminder
Friday, May 8th is our Mother’s Day Tea, and we hope to see you there! The students are so excited to share the special gifts they’ve made and will be taking your order to prepare a bagel just the way you like it.

Some children may have a hard time saying goodbye again after the event, and that’s completely normal. Please feel free to let us know if you’d like support—we’re always happy to help make the transition as smooth and comforting as possible. We do encourage a warm, clear goodbye rather than sneaking away, as this helps your child feel secure and builds trust during separation.

Have a wonderful weekend

FROM MORAH CHANIE

We have been talking about Rabbi Akiva (who did not know who to read and decided to go to school when he was 40 years old). Rabbi Akiva became a great scholar and Rabbi. We sing a song about Rabbi Akiva every day at circle time. He was known for the saying "Love your fellow as yourself".

We also spoke about Rabi Shimon Bar Yochai, he was a student of Rabbi Akiva. Rabi Shimon Bar Yochai lived in a cave for 13 years with his son and studied Torah. We celebrate Lag B'omer this coming Wednesday in his honor. (Picnics, barbques, parades, bonfires etc.)

Have a great Shabbos! Shabbat Shalom!

Miss Lisa & Morah Chanie - 3's Class

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 12:21:00 PM

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

Miss Lisa & Morah Chanie - 3's Class

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:03:00 PM

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.

Our Classroom

This week, we worked on letter recognition and matching through a fun and engaging group activity. Using our magnetic train set, each train car displayed a letter, and the children selected animal toppers with the corresponding letters to build the train in order. Since each child had several toppers to choose from, they practiced carefully distinguishing and matching the correct letters.

We followed this activity with a story, and before we knew it, we had spent nearly forty minutes learning together as a group! It’s been wonderful to see how much their attention spans have grown. At the beginning of the year, staying engaged for ten minutes during circle time felt like a big success—now they are focused, participating, and enjoying extended learning experiences together.

Math Exploration Through Puzzles

Since the students have become so confident and skilled with puzzles, I introduced our fraction puzzles this week. We explored three different shapes—a circle, triangle, and square—each divided into equal parts. The children worked to assemble the pieces to create one complete shape, using halves, thirds, and fourths.

Through this activity, they are learning about early math concepts such as part-to-whole relationships, fractions, spatial awareness, and problem-solving. They are also strengthening their critical thinking skills as they figure out how the pieces fit together to form a complete shape.

Fine Motor Fun

We worked on our proficiency with scissors and finger dexterity by stretching rubber bands on geoboards and then snipping them with scissors causing the bands to launch in the air. The students that typically struggle with cutting persisted with the task because the outcome was so fun.

Have a great weekend

FROM MORAH CHANIE

Welcome back! It was great to see how happy the children were to see each other after the Pesach break. We are counting the Omer. We count the days from the second day of Pesach until the next big holiday - Shavuout. We have a lot going on in the next few weeks. We will be learning about Israel, Lag B'Omer and then Shavuout!!

Have a great Shabbos! Shabbat Shalom!

Miss Lisa & Morah Chanie - 3's Class

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 12:20:00 PM

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

Miss Lisa & Morah Chanie - 3's Class

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 12:04:00 PM

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

FROM MORAH CHANIE

Our class is enjoying working on our “Pesach Prop Box” and learning the Ma Nishtana. The excitement is building as we get ready to celebrate the Pesach holiday!

Shabbat Shalom!!

Miss Lisa & Morah Mimi

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:54:00 AM

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!

Miss Lisa - 3's class

Fri, 6 Mar 2026 5:56:00 PM

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

Miss Lisa & Morah Chanie - 3's Class

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 11:47:00 AM

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

We learned about the four special mitzvahs of Purim: hearing the megillah, giving gifts of food to at least one friend, giving tzedakah to two poor people, and finally, eating a Purim feast.

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!!

Miss Lisa & Morah Chanie- 3's Class

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 12:38:00 PM

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

FROM MORAH CHANIE

Meeshe (8x) Meeshe nichnas Adar

Meshe nichnas Adar marbim b’simcha (When Adar arrives joy increases)

TTTO: London Bridge

In the castle, lived a king, lived a king, lived a king,

In the castle lived a king, King Achashverosh

He had a very lovely queen, lovely queen lovely queen

He had a very lovely queen, Queen Esther,

She had an uncle Mordechai, Mordechai, Mordechai

She had an uncle Mordechai, a great Rabbi Mordechai

Haman wanted to hurt the Jews, hurt the Jews, hurt the Jews,

Haman wanted to hurt the Jews, mean, mean, Haman

Esther and Mordechai saved the day, saved the day, saved the day

Esther and Mordechai saved the day and the Jews of Shushan

The Jews wanted a holiday, holiday, holiday,

The Jews wanted a holiday, They called it PURIM

Morah Chanie- 3's Class

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 1:59:00 PM

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

Chag Purim Chag Purim

Chag Gadol La’yiladim

Masaichot, Ra-shanim

Shirim v’rikudim

Hava Narisha rush rush rush

Ba-ra-shanim

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

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

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

Now he had no queen, now he had no queen

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

Miss Lisa & Morah Chanie - 3's Class

Fri, 6 Feb 2026 1:01:00 PM

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!!

Miss Lisa & Morah Chanie- 3's class

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 4:07:00 PM

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

Little bear

It’s getting cold outside

Time for you to hide

Cozy warm

Repeat with different animals

Have a wonderful weekend

FROM MORAH CHANIE

In this week's Torah reading we learned about when the Jews were in the desert, Hashem gave them Mann and instructed them not to leave any over for the next day - except before shabbat, when a double portion fell. Some people tried to test Moshe by leaving mann out on Shabbat to make it look like his words weren't true. the birds came and ate that mann early so there was no mann out on shabbat. As a thank-you we show gratitude to the birds by feeding them on Shabbat Shira that is why we made bird feeders this week.

Miss Lisa & Morah Chanie- 3's Class

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 12:46:00 PM

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

This week we learned about the Brocha (blessing) of Borai Menay Mizonos. This the the blessing we make when we eat cake, pasta, pretzels etc. We practiced the blessing on Tuesday by eating a biscuit and on Thursday we had cupcakes for a friends birthday. On Friday we made a Mezonos when we had lunch. We read the book Pasta Please! by Melvin Berger.

The Parsha this week is "BO". It tells the story of the last three plagues and that finally Paroh was anxious for the Jews to leave that he came in the middle of the night to chase them out. The Jews packed up and left the next day!

Shabbat Shalom!

Miss Lisa & Morah Chanie - 3's Class

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 12:58:00 PM

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.

To conclude the rescue mission we went at it with small wooden hammers & that did the trick! We freed all of our animals while noting temperature, texture, changing from a solid to a really cold liquid, noting cause/effect, working eye/hand coordination and fine motor, task persistence and turn taking….but please don’t mention this to your child who thinks they were just having fun!

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

FROM MORAH CHANIE

This week we learned about the Brocha for Grape juice (& wine) We read the book From Vine to Grape Juice by Meish Goldish. We squeezed red and green grapes to make our own juice. We also got to taste real grape juice.

This weeks Parsha (Saturday Torah reading) is Parshat Va'aira it talks about the first 7 of the 10 plagues. We spoke about how wicked King Paroh kept changing his mind when Moshe asked him to let the Jews go out of Mitzraim.

Shabbat Shalom,

Miss Lisa & Morah Chanie - 3's Class

Fri, 9 Jan 2026 2:08:00 PM

FROM MISS LISA

Winter

We are talking about the new season of winter (so I am expecting an unseasonal hot snap to hit So Cal as per usual.) If you come into our classroom you will see all sorts of decorations,photos of frozen landscapes and animals, and snowflakes hanging from above. We removed our fall beads from the hanging branch. The students worked their bimanual and eye/hand coordination to string winter themed beads for our “snow tree.”

We have salt with pretend ice chips and winter animals in our sensory trays. Salt is fun because it sifts and goes down the funnels so quickly. Many friends are pouring it onto their hands and arms to feel the delightful tactile coolness.

Creation Station

Like clockwork in my 3 yr old classroom, the writing center has “popped!” I told Miss Deja the majority of the kids aren’t really interested, then after winter break it becomes a hot spot that I need to expand to accommodate more students. We offer scissors, masking tape and tongue depressors along with markers and pens. The creativity has been amazing to behold; as is the task persistence and fine motor improvement. Sometimes they go in with a plan while other times they determine what it is when they are finished. It’s all good in the hood! The initiative and self esteem is wonderful to see.

Thank You

Miss Deja and I want to thank you all for our Chanukah thoughtfulness! You are so kind and we appreciate the appreciation you showered on us.

Movement

Mora Mimi is now teaching in the two year old classroom. Mora Chanie will be doing our Judaic curriculum. Please remember to write your child a Mitzvah note daily as the children are very proud to have it read to the group during Davening time.

Important

Starting next week we will no longer be napping. This is often the time of year when the children can no longer fall asleep independently and are outgrowing the long nap period. Expecting three year olds to lie still and silent in the dark for an hour and forty minutes is unrealistic and essentially impossible. So you no longer need to send bedding to school. We will still have a “rest time” during the day. I will turn off the lights and have a story time with an option to lie on the rug or in the cozy area. We will also do quiet, sensory activities and some yoga so they still have some much needed down time in their busy day.

FROM MORAH CHANIE

We are now learning about the blessings we make on different foods. We started with Hamotzi (the blessing for bread, challah, matzah, wheat tortillas, etc.). We looked at a stalk of wheat and wheat kernels. We also made challah dough—we loved mixing the eggs and touching the flour! We read the book From Wheat to Challah by Meish Goldish.

We also spoke about this week’s Torah portion, Shemot. This marks the beginning of the story of the Jewish people in Mitzrayim (Egypt). We read the book A Little Girl Named Miriam by Dina Rosenfeld. The book talks about how Miriam took care of her brother Moshe ( Moses). We spoke about how Moshe asked Paroh (Pharoh) to let the Jews leave Mitzrayim (Egypt) and Paroh said "No, No, No, I will not let them go."

Have a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom!