www.hebrewacademypreschool.org | Blogs | Miss Deana - 4's

4's - Miss Deana Morah Raizel/Morah Estee

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:23:00 PM

I hope you have all had a great few weeks! A HUGE thank you to Miss Jaelyn and Miss Marylou for all their hard work, while I have been healing. Our classroom has been filled with fun, exploration, movement, and exciting learning experiences! The children have been working on recognizing letters, numbers and colors through playful activities that encourage curiosity, confidence, and early learning skills.

The children tried using stencils. Using stencils has given the children opportunities to explore shapes, letters, and creative designs. As they trace, draw, and experiment, they strengthen their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and pencil control while expressing their creativity.

Yoga and music have been a class favorite lately. Through simple yoga poses and stretches, the children are learning to move their bodies, practice balance, and develop coordination. Yoga also encourages body awareness, focus, relaxation, and self-regulation in a fun and supportive environment. Music and dancing bring so much joy to our classroom! The children have been moving, shaking, clapping, and following different rhythms. Dancing supports gross motor development, listening skills, coordination, and self-expression while allowing everyone to participate and creativity, movement, and exploration.

Judaic News:

This week we learned all about Noah’s Teva. The children brought in stuffed animals to add to their classroom play, they made a Teva puppet and added animal stickers all over them. We added boats and animals into kinetic sand, as well as our manipulative table. The children used water color to paint animals. Through these meaningful activities, the children strengthened their creativity, language, sensory awareness, and social-emotional skills while making connections to the story of Noah’s Teva. We had a wonderful time learning, playing, and exploring together.

I hope you have a restful Shabbos

FROM MORAH RAIZEL & MORAH ESTEE

What a great week it has been. This week, we learned all about the story of Noach’s Teivah (Noah’s Ark). We talked about the beautiful world that Hashem created in last week’s Torah portion and how wicked the people had become. The good news is there was a good man. His name was Noach!

Noach was a good man, good man, good man,

Noach was a tzaddik in his days.

The people all around him were wicked, wicked.

The people were so wicked, I’m sorry to say.

So Noach built a teivah, a teivah, a teivah,

Noach built a teivah for everyone to see.

And who do you think lived there, lived there, lived there,

Who do you think lived there? Noach’s family.

The rain came pouring, pouring, pouring, pouring.

The rain came pouring down for forty days and nights.

The teivah had three levels. The top level was for people and food, the middle for animals, and the bottom level was for garbage. The children learned that Noach was very busy all day and all night taking care of the animals. After a long time, Hashem told Noach to leave the teivah. Noach thanked Hashem for saving him and his family, and Hashem promised Noach that He would never again bring a flood and showed him a rainbow. Every time it rains and we see a rainbow in the sky, it is a sign that Hashem is keeping his promise.

Shabbat Shalom!

Morah Raizel

Fri, 9 Oct 2026 12:02:00 PM

What a special month it has been! We celebrated so many holidays, and with each one came great lessons and experiences.

Now that we have celebrated Simchas Torah, the children will be learning the weekly Torah portion. This week, we learned all about the six days of creation and how Hashem rested on the seventh day, Shabbos.

During circle time, we played a game where the children were given different items related to the six days of creation. The children then needed to place their items under the day, for example, a fish for day 5.

Below is the song we sang this week.

For the tune, please click here.

On Yom Rishon there was light,

Hashem created day and night.

On Yom Sheini from the Torah we know,

The shamayim (sky) showed.

On Yom Shlishi, the earth and trees,

Flowers, grass, and all fruit trees.

On Yom Rivee-ee, moon, stars, and sun,

To give light to everyone.

And on Yom Chamishi,

The birds that fly and fish in the sea.

On Yom Shishi, Hashem did create,

Animals, Adam, and his mate.

On Yom Shvee-ee, Hashem’s day of rest,

Shabbat Kodesh we love best.

Hashem made the world and to show it’s true,

The mitzvos of Shabbat we do.

Wishing you a restful Shabbos!

4's - Miss Deana

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 11:28:00 AM

From Miss Deana

I hope you all had a safe and happy Rosh Hashana. This week, the children enjoyed creating their own glue collages! They practiced squeezing glue bottles, using just the right amount of glue, and carefully placing different materials onto their artwork. This activity is a wonderful way to strengthen fine motor skills, hand muscles, hand eye coordination, while encouraging creativity and self-expression. The children were excited to make their own unique collages and enjoyed seeing their ideas come to life!

For Science our little scientists had fun making honey cake muffins! The children helped measure, pour, mix, and observe how the different ingredients came together to create something delicious. This hands-on activity encouraged sensory exploration, early math skills, following directions, and scientific thinking. The children were excited to watch their mixture transform as it baked.

Judaic News:

This week the children enjoyed learning the story of Yonah and the Big Fish! After hearing the story, they used watercolors to decorate their own big fish puppets. This creative activity encouraged the children to express their ideas while practicing fine-motor skills, color recognition, and hand-eye coordination. The children had so much fun bringing the story to life with their colorful puppets!

Important Reminders:

Please take a second and write your child a mitzvah note. We read them daily at davening.

Please don’t send toys to class books are always welcome

Please make sure your child has a water cup daily

Good Shabbos,
From Morah Estee

I hope you all had an enjoyable Rosh Hashanah. The children were excited to share their experiences on Monday. During circle time, the children each had a turn to share what they did to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. The children had so much to share; I wish we had had enough time to just talk about Rosh Hashanah for twenty minutes.

Tashlich: We took a trip to the koi pond at the entrance to the school and did the tashlich ceremony by throwing all of our mistakes into the water.

Yom Kippur: The children learned about why and how we celebrate Yom Kippur. The major story that we discussed was the story of Yonah and the big fish. The story of Yonah teaches us the power of teshuva, returning to our true selves, and the fact that even if we did not do the right thing, we are allowed to fix it.

Wishing you and your family a gmar chatima tova, a meaningful Yom Kippur, and an easy fast.

4's - Miss Deana

Fri, 4 Sep 2026 12:40:00 PM

Wow what a great week we have had! In our class, we are continuing to build independence every day! The children are learning to do more things on their own, such as cleaning up after activities, putting away their belongings, opening snacks, washing their hands, and making choices during play. We encourage them to try first, problem-solve, and take pride in their accomplishments. Building independence helps children develop confidence, responsibility, and important life skills. We are so proud of how much our little learners are growing!

Fine motor, fine motor, fine motor, we are strengthening our fine motor skills through fun and engaging play! Activities such as playdough, puzzles, building with blocks, using scissors, drawing, and manipulating small objects help strengthen the muscles in little hands and fingers. These important skills support children as they learn to write, button clothing, open snacks, and complete many everyday tasks. Through play, our children are building coordination, confidence, and independence while having fun!

In our class, we are learning that everybody is a friend and everyone can play! We encourage the children to include one another, share, take turns, and show kindness during play. Through these experiences, they are building friendships and learning important social skills. Our classroom is a place where everyone belongs, everyone is valued, and everyone is welcome to join in the fun!

Judaic:

We are continuing to learn all about Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year! We are exploring some of the traditions and symbols associated with this special holiday. Through age-appropriate activities, stories, and discussions, the children are learning about apples and honey, which symbolize wishes for a sweet and happy new year. Learning about different holidays and traditions helps children appreciate diversity, learn about the world around them, and celebrate the unique traditions of others. We used dot painters to paint a shofar, honey hive, a bumble bee, and an apple. We put them around our class for the children to enjoy. Next week we will do some apple tasting!

Have a great Shabbos,

Miss Deana