2's Class - Miss Emily & Morah Mimi

Dear Parents,

Chanukah is in the air! This week, we've been busy with lots of fun activities to celebrate the holiday. We decorated bags for our menorahs using crayons and Chanukah stickers, which the kids really enjoyed and finished our beautiful menorahs to go home.

We also made latkes (levivot)! The kids helped grate the potatoes and we sang “5 Little Latkes Sizzling in a Pan!” Then we got to try the latkes. Some friends loved them and they were not to some of our friends taste. We baked Chanukah cookies using Chanukah-shaped cookie cutters.

After our davening circle, we sang all of our favorite Chanukah songs, like Antiochus, I Have a Little Dreidel, Where is the Oil?, and Maccabee March. It's been such a fun way to get into the Chanukah spirit.

Our friends are really into the menorahs in the classroom. They love counting the candles and identifying the shamash. We read tons of Hanukkah books. A favorite is “Hanukkah Hop.”

Wishing you all a happy Chanukah full of joy and light! Have a wonderful Winter break and enjoy some family fun time!

Shabbat Shalom,

Dear Parents,

Shabbat Shalom! 

Dear parents,

This week in preschool!

This week in preschool!

After the high holidays we’re getting back into the swing of our routine and being at school for a full week. We played so much and had so much fun!

We went animal crazy. Every day was a new animal activity, whether it was playing with figurines or playing in a Noach themed sensory bin. We talked a lot about the story of Noach and played some fun games. We even played with a parachute one day and bounced animals around like they bounced on the water in the tayva.

For some art, we painted fall leaves to go on our bulletin board. Our friends really love to use dot art and they did such a great job trading off colors with each other.

Our friends have really been into the story “Beep, Beep, Go to Sleep” about three robots going to bed. They love to shout “Beep beep!” at the right time. It’s a really interactive book and we’ve been reading it a lot during circle time.

Until next week,

Ms. Emily and Morah Mimi

This week in preschool! What an adventurous week we had. Our friends had so much fun playing with all the different set ups and activities. Here’s some things that were popular:

• Keys and rings. Keys and rings are a great fine motor and task persistence tools. The friends must figure out the correct side to string the key on. It’s an often requested game that I take out of the cabinet but it might be put out as a permanent toy soon with how popular it’s become!
• Playdough. Playdough is a great sensory tool that also strengthens those fine motor muscles. We have juicers that the friends can extrude Playdough from and they love to use even their gross motor muscles to squeeze the extruder  down and get the Playdough to come out of all the holes. We also do a lot of dramatic play with Playdough. Making of pizza and cakes is very popular! 
• Cars and ramps. This was a fun one! Our friends learned science and math concepts when they figured out how to problem solve getting the ramps to stay upright. They really enjoyed watching the cars zoom across the room too!

We also did some painting activities as we got our projects ready to go home for Sukkot. Our friends loved to do the huge group painting activity and had a ton of fun getting messy and using those creative muscles. 

We talked about how we heard the shofar blow and dipped the apple in the honey. They were so excited to tell us that they did it. This week we talked about our next holiday coming up, Yom Kippur. We are learning how to be nice to one another. We know that sharing is a mitzvah but is very hard to do and will take time. When we want a toy we ask our friend "can I have it when you're done" We might have to wait, which is hard to do as well. We are working on this and it is not easy.

Yom Kippur is all about Teshuva, repentance and saying sorry. We are learning that we should do mitzvos and be gentle. We ask our friends if they are ok if we do an oopsy. If we, by mistake, pushed a friend, we could ask the friend: "How can I make you feel better?" If they aren't ready to tell us, we will wait until they are ready. A lot of times, we see children wanting a hug.

This week, we talked about the things that we can do to be a good friend.

We also learned about the story that is told on Yom Kippur with Yonah and the big fish. Hashem told Yonah to tell the people to be nice to each other. He ran away and got swallowed up by a big fish. He davened for three days and then the fish spat him out. He then listened to Hashem and did what he needed to do. I asked the children can we run away from Hashem and they said no because Hashem is everywhere and we sang our favorite song. “Hashem is here, Hashem is there, Hashem is truly everywhere.”

Yonah song: TTO ( Mary had a little lamb)

There was a man named Yonah. He got swallowed by a whale.

He did Teshuva for three days, and he lived to tell the tale.

Oh, Yona, Yona Yona got swallowed by a whale oh Yona Yona Yona he lived to tell the tale.

We enjoyed making honey cake. It was fun pouring, measuring and mixing in the bowl. Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur it is customary to ask for honey cake so that it will be the only thing you should ask for in the coming year. 

Until next week!

Ms. Emily and Morah Mimi  

We were explorers this week! We had tons of fun exploring different things all through the school and classroom. We played with sensory bins, which is quite a lesson in responsibility, because we have to make sure all the material stays in the bin as we play with it. The bins are apple and bee themed for Rosh Hashanah. We washed apples, which is a great life skill as well as a sensory activity. We printed apple stamps for our Rosh Hashanah project, which is creative art. We even got to explore the big field in the big school!

We threw pretend bread into the river for tashlich, which we sang a song during, “We’re Going to the River,” and talked about “oopsies” and being forgiven for these oopsies that we might do. But mostly we discussed how we keep our hands to ourselves. We discussed not touching each other's bodies. Our verbiage is “my hands stay on my body.” We also introduced taking turns. How we say, “I’m using it right now” when we’re not done with something and our friends must wait until we say “I’m done now” for their turn. Such a hard concept for a two year old! We’re so proud of how far we’re growing! 

This week in preschool! Here are some fun activities we did this week and what learning they promote:

• Keys and rings have been super popular. They promote both hand eye coordination, task persistence, and fine motor development (or the development of the muscles in their fingers and hands; super important for holding a pen/pencil in the future and even tying their shoes).
• Babies have been a hit in the classroom for a bit now. Taking care of babies is a dramatic play practice as well as life skills. We have pretend diapers to put on the babies and we’re slowly learning how to strap them on (another fine motor and problem solving activity as well!).
• Sorting apples. Sorting apples by color is a great math activity. Sometimes we even challenge them by adding tongs and making it a fine motor activity as well. We do the sorting into colored bowls or even cupcake tins. This also ties back to our Rosh Hashanah lessons!
• Art. We did some art this week! Some marble painting flowers where we used our big muscles to shake a box and get the paint all over and some “honeycomb” printing! This is both creative processes. If your child does not have one it’s because they chose not to do the activity, which is perfectly alright.
• In circle time we’ve been doing "The Shofar in the Shul goes Toot, Toot" "Dip the Apple in the Honey" “Five Little Monkeys Swinging From a Tree” or as the friends all call it, “Mr. Alligator.” This promotes counting forwards and backwards from one to five. This also promotes voice modulation as we have to whisper when Mr. Alligator creeps along.
  

Until next week,

Ms. Emily

Hello!

• Coming to a teacher and telling them they need help for one.
• To use their words (“stop!” or “no!” or “I don’t like it.”)
• To try to default to not retaliating.

Hello everyone!

Welcome to the new school year! I know that some of you haven’t experienced being in school before and others feel like seasoned professionals by now. Nevertheless, welcome to this terrific milestone and welcome to the twos!

            This week our main focus in the classroom has been routine, schedule, and getting comfortable with your children. I know there’s been a lot of separation anxiety so far but I want to reassure you that it’s totally normal. Once we build trust with your child, then the separation anxiety and tears will lessen in the mornings. Our friends need to feel safe and loved to stop the separation anxiety but I can tell you this: after you leave the crying usually lasts for five minutes tops. Then they’re off to playing and exploring the classroom.

            Back to our routine. This week has been all about getting your child used to being in this new environment with a new set of rules and expectations. We’re learning all over again how to sit for circle time, how to wash our hands, how to clean up after ourselves, and how to become autonomous. Because that’s the true goal of the year, to create autonomous, or self-sufficient, beings within our classroom. Hopefully by the end of the year your child will be taking out their own lunch, cleaning up after themselves both with toys and at meal times, helping dress themselves and aid us in diapering or toileting. All of these are long term goals and will take baby steps to get there. We’ve started our journey this week and though it feels like there’s a long way to go, I guarantee you the end of the year comes faster than you think.

            In Ms. Emily’s circle time, we’ve been keeping it very short. Our welcome song is sung first. It’s called “The Good Morning Train” and we sing each friend's name, greeting them with a playful “Choo-choo!” The friends love to be acknowledged and it also helps everyone learn who each other is. Then we move onto a felt story. This week we’ve been doing “Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons.” It’s a great felt story that promotes counting, memorization, and even goes over a body part (the belly button, which really helps for them to identify when we’re changing diapers and need them to show us their stomach so we can change them quicker). Then we usually do a quick story—this week we’ve been reading “Chika Chika, Boom Boom.” It’s an alphabet book which helps with letter recognition and understanding.

            In our Judaic circle with Morah Mimi we’ve been singing the usual blessings, giving tzedakah, and kissing the torah, and reading mitzvah notes (try to leave one at drop off. The papers are located in the pen box and can be left there when completed). Here are some songs we’ve been singing:

“We Open One Eye”

We open one eye, we open two.

We say Modeh Ani ‘cause it means thank you.

We wash our yedayim six times that’s true.

That’s what every Jewish boy and girl must do.

            This is followed by the Modeh Ani blessing. Then after we say Shema we sing this song:

“Hashem is Here!”

Hashem is here, Hashem is there. Hashem is truly everywhere.

Up, up, down, down,  right, left and all around.

Here, there and everywhere that’s where Hashem is found!

            We look forward to an amazing year with your children. The best part of teaching is watching them grow, learn, and explore. We can’t wait to watch it happen!

Until next week,

Hi! I’m Ms. Emily and I will be your lead teacher this year. I love the way that children see the world, with wide eyes and open hearts. I love how much they teach us day after day. I love introducing them to the world. Welcome to the new school year! Welcome to preschool! Welcome to our classroom. This is such an overwhelming time for both children and parents alike but you’re not going to be in this alone. We are here to be a teammate to you and your child for the duration of the school year. I am here to make all our transitions into this new year easier for everyone involved and to make your child’s life at school fun and meaningful. I know this is an uncertain time for your child but know they will be safe, loved, and have tons of fun in our classroom!

Important Classroom Notes:

·        Please have ALL belongings labeled with your child’s name.

·        Please provide a few sets of weather appropriate clothes.

·        Please provide an earthquake kit (see handbook for details).

In our classroom, we believe in an open-ended play-based learning environment. Basically, the children choose what they want to play with and it’s our job to provide set-ups and activities that promote learning in all the domains.  I try to base our curriculum off of interest and the particular needs of the children. I love to create set ups and activities that pull the children into the world that we’ve created for them for that day. Each day, especially now that your two-year-old’s are discovering much more, is such an adventure and leads to such amazing teachable moments. This year I have set the goal to helping your children become more autonomous (being self-sufficient). In this classroom our friends do as much as they can for themselves with the guidance of the teachers in order to be successful. We will also be focusing heavily on the social-emotional domain of learning. We plan on helping our friends learn the words they will need to communicate with others. We will learn how to play with others and learn important life skills that we will need for the rest of our lives.

I truly believe that Preschool really works well when everyone is involved. We love having parents share what’s going on at home and really be a part of the classroom environment. Questions about what’s going on on a day-to-day basis are welcomed and encouraged in the classroom, but we encourage you to limit the amount discussed at pick-up. More in depth conversations are perfect to send us over our classroom emails! We want you to feel a part of this team. Integrating family and the child’s home life is important to building the classroom into a safe environment where your child can feel comfortable to learn and grow. I can’t wait to watch it happen and to meet everyone in the next couple of weeks! I can be contacted at any time through my school email and will be sure to respond as soon as I can.

Thank you,
Ms. Emily
[email protected]

Dear parents,

We are very excited to have your children in our class this year!  We hope to infuse them with a love for Judaism by approaching all learning with creativity and enthusiasm.  They will be learning the Hebrew alphabet and Hebrew words.  The Jewish holidays will come alive as they participate in hands-on experiences.  The children will be encouraged to perform good deeds(Midot Tovot) as we collect and share mitzvah notes daily.  The Judaism program includes sensory activities, music and movement, yoga, felt stories and puppet play!

Morah Mimi

From  Ms Emily and Morah Sarah