Science I brought in praying mantis hatchlings for the class to observe. They are so tiny and require a live food source- flightless fruit flies, otherwise they will eat each other. We have learned that these creatures, while fascinating, are not very kind. They wave their little arms at each other and like to push their siblings down for no apparent reason. We have tried to keep them in green zone but apparently nature tells them to be very territorial. I will release some onto our orange tree and hopefully we will be able to continue to watch their growth. Goodbye Time I say it every year so if you’ve had a child with me before feel free to scroll down: The school year goes by so fast!! These kiddos have grown and developed so much since August. I look at the old pics and they look like babies. Now they are official (sniff) big kids. I blame the lack of GMOs in the food. I was doing assessments and seeing the comments in the fall and how much they blossomed and exploded by spring. Kudos to each and every one of my homies for all of their hard work and for what unique spice they brought to our classroom culture this year. It was a really fun group. I especially loved how much they loved to read and talk about books. Also an extremely funny group, from deadpan straight-faced one liners to wacky nonsense and playing with language, this class was a blast. I also want to thank all of you parents for your support and conscientiousness in all aspects of your child’s unique needs. You have been an awesome village! Have a wonderful summer! Happy Happy Father’s Day on Sunday! Especially Zach lol! I can’t believe this was our last full week of school. Some of you I might see in camp and some friends I hope to keep in touch with. We have learned so much this year: holidays, davening, mitzvos and so much more. This last week, we did a lot of yoga. We did many poses like mountain, dog, starfish, monkey, cat, and cow. We saw how calm our bodies were after we took big rainbow breaths. Our hands go up to the sky and around and back down. We enjoyed pretending that we were going up in a hot air balloon and traveling the skies. We also pretended to be in a rocketship with our bodies and we did yoga poses at the same time. We made yoga fun for the children. After spending some time doing yoga, we noticed how calm our bodies felt as we relaxed and listened to soft music. We painted the special project we’ll be sending home for Father’s Day. We’re so excited to perform the songs we’ve been practicing and can’t wait to entertain you! Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to teach your beautiful children. We learned a lot this year. Keep giving your children mitzvah notes. They love that incentive. Have a super fun and relaxing summer!
3's Class - Miss Lisa & Morah Mimi
Miss Lisa & Morah Mimi - 3's Class
Miss Lisa & Morah Mimi - 3's Class
FROM MORAH MIMI
We are continuing to talk about the holiday of Shavuos. We are so lucky that Hashem gave us the Torah. Hashem asked other nations but they said no. The Jewish people said, “ Yes, we will do and we will listen.”
We read the book: When the World Was Quiet by Phyllis Nutkis.
We had so much fun painting our flower pots with bright spring colors. Then we got right in there—patting, digging, and using our hands to add soil as we planted our beautiful flowers.
We are learning about the concepts of tall, wide and small. For example, when we play, we make tall towers, taller than us.
We also talked about what humble means and how Hashem picked Har Sinai for giving the Torah because it was humble. We are working on not teasing each other. We don’t say “me, me, or you're not beautiful” because we will hurt someone’s feelings.
We talked about how we eat dairy on Shavuot and where dairy comes from. We learned that milk comes from a cow’s udder. The farmer collects the milk, bottles it, and then it’s pasteurized to make it safe to drink. After that, a truck brings it to the store so we can buy it!
FROM MISS LISA
Games With Rules
The class has really been enjoying playing a preschool version of Uno recently. Instead of cars there is a barn with animal figures of various colors. The goal and rules are the same but it’s much more concrete and hands on. All of the students will opt to sit in for one round and many want to remain for several.
Board games actually activate connections in the players brains that help them learn. When they are faced with a problem they have to use critical thinking skills to predict possible outcomes and make decisions. In Uno they need to use visual discrimination and memory to see if they have the same animal of any color, any animal of the same color, or play a farmer piece and choose what color to change it to.
Games also help with attention span, task persistence, and turn taking.
Assessments
In the next week or so I will be sending home your child’s assessment of the year. It is important to keep in mind that they are not what your child is or isn't capable of, but what they are or are not doing in the classroom setting. I don’t pull them aside and test them, rather I observe them all day everyday, set up activities to pursue developmental academic and social/emotional goals and make notes as to where the child is throughout the year. Many students never go to the writing center. This doesn’t mean they are incapable of using writing implements or are behind the other children, it means we find ways to work those muscles and coordination through other means. When learning is enjoyable and organic it resonates more, builds confidence, and becomes an incredibly strong foundation to build more complex expectations upon. If you have any questions or comments about the assessment please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Science
We want to give a big THANK YOU to Miss Kristine for letting us check out the chrysalis phase in her caterpillars metamorphosis process! She has nine that have gone into their little changing room to become butterflies. We brought out our butterfly life cycle figures to see how it all started and what they will soon become.
Reminder
Please send a water bottle everyday. It is getting hot and we don’t have a drinking fountain outside.
Have a great weekend
Miss Lisa & Morah Mimi - 3's Class
Hard Goodbyes Recently many friends have been having drama at drop off when that hadn’t been the case for several months. I used to rack my brain as to why it happens. Could be a number of reasons or no reason but this is what they are feeling now, regardless of why. Now I work on just helping the child cope with their big, difficult feelings in a consistent and loving manner. I know it is so much harder on you than it is on your child. What a horrible way to start your day, with your baby screaming for you! In five or ten minutes they have completely let it go and are having a great time while you most likely are replaying it in your head and feeling awful. Some things to keep in mind are: the reaction is much bigger in your presence. You are MOMMY, the person they love and need the most and you are not complying to their wishes. When you are out of sight even though still upset, they begin to notice things in the room to focus on which helps them to slow down their breathing and calm down. Also, and not to sound callous, but brevity helps! Anticipation of the goodbye builds the anxiety of what’s to come. Suggesting things for them to go play with seldom works. You can name every activity they love or point out all the friends they adore and the answer will be a hard no and the inevitable is stretched out and the tension builds. The sooner they get “to it” the sooner they can get “through it.” Have your ritual kiss and HUGE hug, tell them how much you love and will miss them while they are having SO much fun and hand them to Miss Bailey or myself. This may sound weird but it is very important that you are the one putting them on our lap, rather than us prying them off of you. In doing so you're telling them that this is the person you are trusting to love and take good care of them in your absence. Some kids don’t want affection from us when you’re leaving and that’s okay too. They need time and space to feel their big feelings and learn that it doesn’t last and they will be okay. Always let me know if you want to know how long it lasted and you can have a conversation about it when you see them later. Sensory We have been doing a ton of water play lately. I have two sensory trays with water, funnels, micro dramatic sea creatures cups and jars for pouring and some sea shells. We also have a Playmobile aquarium set. This also has sea creatures plus people and all kinds of micro dramatic toys to enjoy imaginative play. The students are getting so good at keeping the water where it should be. They are also exploring the concept of volume and how different shaped containers affect the water level. Pouring skills are being enhanced as well. Remember children are concrete learners, not theoretical. You can tell them repeatedly that if they add more water it will overflow and spill; but they need to actually experience the consequence…repeatedly! Lots of fun as well as a soothing sensory experience. Super Cool Thing On Tuesday the class got to help paint a Har Sinai mural in the big school. Each child got to choose a flower stencil and the color of spray paint to help the grown up spray it on the side of the building. Serious big kid stuff. They crushed it! Have a great weekend! We are continuing our count, all the way to receiving the Torah. We know there are many rules and laws that are in the Torah. We said Na'aseh v’ Nishma, we will do and we will listen. We keep trying to do many mitzvot to bring the Torah. We started talking about our new holiday called Shavuos which is the day Hashem gave us a present, the Torah. We told a felt story about three mountains. The highest mountain and the widest mountain were fighting over which mountain the Torah should be given on. But little Har Sinai just stood there and sighed, “ I know I’m not tall and I know I'm not wide. The Torah can’t be given on me” he said. Because the tallest and widest mountains were not simple and humble, the Torah was not given on them. Hashem made the little mountain( Har Sinai) very beautiful because he didn’t hold himself high. He deserved to have the Torah given on him! We read the book: When the World Was Quiet by Phyllis Nutkis. Har Sinai song: I am a mountain so very high. I can reach way up to the sky. The Torah should be given on me because I am the highest mountain you see. Oh no! I am a mountain so very wide. I can reach from side to side. The Torah should be given on me because I am the widest mountain you see. Oh no! Little Har Sinai just stood there and sighed. I know I’m not tall, I know I’m not wide. The Torah can’t be given on me because I am the smallest mountain you see. But from all the mountains Hashem chose Sinai because he did not hold himself high. He had such simple and humble ways. From this we learn that humbleness pays. Have a wonderful Shabbos,
Miss Lisa & Morah Mimi
I want to give a heartfelt thank you for all the thoughtful gifts and warm wishes that you sent for teacher appreciation! We’re not in it for the kuddos , but yummy treats and your child’s faces when giving them is pretty stinkin great.
Literacy As I think I have mentioned, this group is extremely interested in books. I think 11 of the 14 would be completely happy to sit and hear stories all day long. Last week we revisited our Caps for Sale where we act out the story balancing bean bags on our heads to represent the caps. Another favorite is One Monster After Another by Mercer Mayer. We have laminated cards of the various monsters and the students get to put their name under the one that they want to be. When I read it I use their names and they pretend to be behaving and feeling as the character is. It gets quite silly and confusing. We recently added Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds. The protagonist is convinced he is being stalked (and is he??) by the villainous vegetable and hears the ominous “tathunk tathunk” of them following him. The class has been so excited about it I found some squishy rubber carrots online and hid them in the room. The kids are having so much fun pulling and stretching our creepy carrots and making them “tathunk” across the table. I’m seeing pictures of creepy carrots being created as well as block creations. Basically if it is orange and green it is a creepy carrot.
Patterns The students are still very interested in creating or continuing patterns that I start. Play dough cut outs have become a pattern medium as have stickers and blocks. Many friends ask me to write their name with a two color pattern. Some were interested in putting beads in a pattern for their bracelets. As a group I introduced an A-B-B-A and they were telling me what would come next. I’ve found that if I name the items in a rhythmic chant they get it even quicker. Patterning helps children organize information and make observations as well as predictions. Reminders Please remember to sign your child in and out daily and to write a mitzvah note.
Take a peek at their extra clothes and make sure they are weather appropriate and still fit. They have had crazy growth spurts lately!
Have a wonderful weekend
FROM MORAH MIMI
We have continued talking about the holiday of Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the Omer. We will keep counting the days until Shavuos, when we were so lucky to receive the Torah. Hashem gave us this special gift to keep and cherish. We learned that Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai taught us how to be friendly and kind. We discussed all the different mitzvos we can do. We read a book called The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates. The children were amazed that the umbrella expanded every time a friend wanted to get dry. They asked, “How can the umbrella get so big?” and told me that if they had an umbrella, they would make enough room for their friends to join in. During circle time, we continued singing our song, Oh Let’s Be Friends and Join Together, from My Siddur Singalong. The children are learning to do many mitzvos inside the classroom—cleaning, listening to their teachers, helping a friend when they’re sad, sharing, and taking turns. They’re practicing how to say, “When you’re done, can I have a turn?” If the friend says yes, then they can have it. If not, they learn to wait patiently and choose something else. We also learned that on Lag BaOmer, some people like to go to the beach, have a picnic, go to the park, or eat s’mores around a bonfire. We took a pretend picnic with felt food and each child took a turn bringing food to our picnic basket. We talked about fire safety—that we never go near fire and that firefighters have the important job of keeping us safe during an emergency. We had a special Shabbos party, where Morah Raizel talked about Lag BaOmer and sang songs around our pretend bonfire. Then we enjoyed a delicious s’more snack that we put together ourselves with cookies, chocolate, and marshmallows. Shabbat Shalom!
Morah Mimi
This week, we learned all about the holiday of Lag B’ Omer, the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer until we receive the Torah on the holiday of Shavuos. Every day, we add another flower to our mountain. We are learning different kinds of mitzvos. Some of the mitzvot we talked about:: sharing with our friends, being nice to our teachers and parents, helping at home. We learned about Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a great teacher who had many students. We also enjoyed a short play—performed by yours truly—that taught us about conflict resolution and the importance of sharing. We read the book “The Story of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai by Genendel Krohn”. We sang a song and held hands (our first sing-along Siddur): “Oh, let’s be friends and join together. Oh, let’s be friends now and forever. Oh, let’s be friends and join together. Oh, let’s be friends because that’s the Torah way.” On Friday, we enjoyed our Mother’s Day Tea Party with some of our mommies. We loved showing you our gifts and doing different activities with you. We loved "preparing & serving" breakfast to you!! Happy Mothers Day!! Good Shabbos! Have a good Shabbos and a wonderful weekend!
Miss Lisa & Morah Mimi - 3's Class
Science We have rotated our science table manipulatives to a spring and insect theme. We have different colored and kinds of micro-dramatic bugs to sort by attributes. Several students have been using them to create patterns across the table and floor. We have different types of rocks and crystals to explore with magnifying glasses as well as insects trapped in resin. There are also little life cycle figurines of different animals and bugs. Right now I have out the honey bee because last Friday nature graciously provided an emergent curriculum. A student came up and showed me what he thought was a worm that he found while digging in the dirt outside. It turned out to be a bee larva. We put some dirt in a tray and brought them inside. We looked with magnifying glasses, compared them to our pretend larva and talked about the steps in the cycle that will produce a bee. It was quite cool. Mother’s Day Your children have been so excited to prepare for your special day here at school! They have made their gift and card and are looking forward to serving you when you are here. My class does a bagel buffet. Your child will quite formally present you with a “menu” (a clipboard with Vel Cro pictures of your choices.) You get to stick on what you want, then your child will prepare said bagel post haste!! I try to just have toppings that you will actually consume but ladies, I got to add the rainbow sprinkles because the kids LOVE THEM. Plus usually the chef will eat it anyway! It is a blast. I know that many of you have multiple classes to visit and a few are H.A. employees that can only pop in and it is all good here. Also mom representatives are always welcome too. Grandmas, neighbors, or friends can be here if you can’t. Please let me know if you are coming or will send a rep so I know how many bagels Miss Bailey and I will need to eat that morning. I know that at this age a second goodbye can be hard so just let us know when you need to leave and please make the goodbye as quick as possible. The sooner they get to it, the sooner they can get through it and we are here for them and you! Have a wonderful weekend! What a fun-filled week: learning all about Israel, and counting the days down until we receive the Torah on Shavuot! It is Israel’s birthday. Happy number 77! During group time, we learned the colors of the Israeli flag kachol v’ lavan( blue and white) . We looked at different books with pictures showing us communities in Israel. We looked at the map of Israel. We saw that in the desert where the Dead Sea is located, people covered themselves with mud and floated in the sea full of salt. In Eilat, there are beaches full of beautiful fish. In Jerusalem, we saw the Western Wall, the Kotel where people go to pray. They go there to ask Hashem for blessings. They might write their requests on paper and stick it into the wall. We noticed that there are all different kinds of people living in Israel, dressed according to their religion or culture: Orthodox Jews, Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews and Arabs and Christians. We looked at some pictures from my trip to Israel that I took years ago. We saw Israeli soldiers who protected the land. We saw the airplane El Al. We sang an airplane song: We’re flying on an airplane looking out the window watching the clouds go by. We’re flying on an airplane looking out the window up so very high. We pretended that we were taking a trip to Israel. They told me what they were going to bring in their suitcases. Most children said bathing suits, towels, sunscreen and food. Then, we pretended to fasten our seatbelts and away we flew! We enacted a felt story where we filled a suitcase with different items that we might bring with us to Israel like: shekels( Israeli money) , a passport that lets us come into the country, a Teddy Bear to help us sleep, bathing suit and sunscreen and boots in case it rains and lots more. Looking forward to our upcoming Mother's Day Tea Party! Have a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom!
Miss Lisa & Morah Mimi - 3's Class
Welcome back! I have really enjoyed hearing about the children’s Pesach adventures (both actual and embellished) and seeing all the new shoes and haircuts. We got right back into the swing of things but rotated some of our shelf-choice activities to be more “big kid” friendly. I have seen a lot of growth in the student’s puzzle working abilities. Also many friends that had zero interest in the activity all year are suddenly quite excited to sit and complete challenging puzzles. As I have mentioned before, working puzzles helps with predicting outcomes, categorizing, correlating information, problem solving, task persistence, attention span, observation, self esteem…. Seriously you guys, google it, puzzles are PHENOMENAL for young children across the board! I didn’t even go into fine motor or modulation. So as the students get bored with what we have or are no longer challenged I will have the next level out of the cupboard before you can say Shabbat Shalom. Math We have begun to bring our attention to patterns during group time. We are starting (& most likely remaining for this age) on A,B,A,B patterns. I am switching it up in terms of what traits we focus on. Color, shape, upright or inverted, micro-dramatic toys, even sounds can be patterns. As long as it stays consistent and we know what will come next, it’s a pattern. I will set up items and start the pattern and as a group the children are enthusiastically chanting what comes next. Patterning has wonderful cognitive enhancements that Google will share with you as well! The class has been having so much fun with it that you might be seeing them at home as well. A HUGE thank you to Mora Mimi for donating amazing “big kid” transformers to our class. We LOVE them! As a teacher I would be remiss if I didn’t add that they work: Problem solving, fine motor, and divergent thinking as well as cooperative, socio-dramatic play lol. P.S. they’re fun! Have a wonderful weekend!
Miss Lisa & Morah Mimi - 3's Class
We have been engaging in water play daily in the classroom. It started just being red in honor of the plague. We have ocean creatures in it as well as the usual containers for filling and dumping plus droppers for squirting. The students began to squirt into each other’s sensory bin which prompted me to use two different complementary colors and then it became a color blending activity. Math This week we worked more with one to one correspondence. Options included: Connect four Colored peg/memory dice board Unifix cubes with mineral boards The student’s math skills are really getting strong. So too is their imaginative, symbolic, and socio dramatic play. After mastering the math, the pegs became “ice cream” and friends rolled the colored die to determine which flavor they wanted. Then it was “lipstick” for sale. The unifix cubes became bottles of “nail polish” and small brushes were employed and manicures given. It is always so interesting to watch where a child will take an activity and how working with others will expand the play. Group Time On Wednesday during group time we sorted our dramatic play food and removed all of the Chometz to prepare for Pesach. The children did a great job and I could definitely tell which students are doing it at home as well. We bid an exaggerated tearful goodbye to our cookies, cake, challah, spaghetti, and crackers. See you in a few weeks, beloved carbs! Have a wonderful (& HEALTHY) Pesach break!
We have almost made it to Pesach. The children are very familiar with the Pesach story, the Seder and the Ma Nishtanah. While we talked this week about the preparation for Pesach, we used sponges and cleaned up our classroom. We mopped the floor, vacuumed the carpet, and washed the kitchen. We made sure there was no chametz. We separated the chametz from the non-chametz foods. They understand now that fruit and some vegetables are ok to eat on Pesach and that bread and cookies are chametz.
We got to use our Pesach figures: Paroah, Moshe, camels , horses and baby Moshe. We used our felt Pesach props while we sang our songs. We played Guess What’s Missing with the ten plague puppets. After playing it for a few minutes, the children got better and better at it . I put all ten plagues flat on the rug and removed one. They needed to guess which one was missing. We pretended to part the waters with a song and instruments. We danced to a song about Miriam and how she danced with the Jewish people out of Egypt, playing her instruments and tambourines. We enjoyed singing the Dayenu song—Enough, enough, enough! The children are really piecing the story together. They’re even finishing my answers to my questions! Seeing how much they know about the story makes me so happy. I hope they share it with you at home. We set up a pretend table with all the essentials: 3 matzahs, 4 kiddush cups, 2 candlesticks, and 1 Seder plate. Plus, we got crafty! Using Pesach stickers, we decorated items for our Seder box. Your little artists can't wait to show off their creations. . Have a wonderful weekend! Shabbat Shalom!
Miss Lisa & Morah Mimi - 3's Class
Our frog searching and graphing has been very popular. We are using the plastic frogs that jump when you push on the back which has given way to frog races. The students are cutting our colored masking tape and making finish lines on the tables and floor to see which colored frog can jump the farthest. They are also trying to get the frogs to jump into the basket which requires serious modulation of how hard you push down and visual/spatial orientation as well as observation and trial and error. Literacy The class has been very enthusiastic about “Spooky Stories” of late, which is very common starting at around age three. At this stage in their cognitive development the imagination is flourishing causing more vivid dreams and more “what if” kind of thinking. This also leads to more concerns about what might be under the bed or lurking in the shadows. There are tons of picture books written for this age for that very reason. We are talking about what our imaginations are and how much fun they can be. We also talk a lot during our reading about what is real or pretend. We have a lot of fun being silly and talking to inanimate objects in our classroom and giving them anthropomorphic traits eg. “Hey, your back pack jumped out of your cubby. Please put it back and tell it to stay in!” Having these conversations and making it silly can help children understand and make light of some of the concerns they are having as their minds are growing. Outside As most of you have seen, we have a glorious new climbing dome on our playground now. The students have impressed me with how quickly they mastered getting to the top and the more challenging: getting back down. I just want you to be aware that climbing on it is very difficult in boots or sandals. As with most of our outdoor activities, tennis shoes are best. A big THANK YOU to Reine and family for the donations to our school. We now have a macro dramatic stroller in our home living center. She also gifted the class with a shape sorting activity that is mounted in our cozy corner. Have a wonderful weekend! We are in full Pesach (Passover) mode!! We have heard the story many times and are singing songs and using puppets and masks to tell the story. At our science table, we have a big picture of the Red Sea split. The children are using kinetic sand to play with special items symbolizing the 10 plagues( makkos). For the makkah of blood, we use a red cup. We also have frogs and people with boils on them and bugs to represent the makkah of lice, and there are small wild animals and cattle and little rocks for hail and tiny grasshoppers for locusts. We have googly eyes to symbolize the makkah of darkness, and a little baby to represent the illness of the first born son. Pharaoh song: Oh listen, oh listen, oh listen King Pharaoh. Oh listen, oh listen, Please let my people go. They work so hard all day, They want to go away, King Pharaoh, King Pharaoh, What do you say? No, No, No I will not let them go. No, No, No, I will not let them go. Ten Makkos song: Ten makkos , makkos ten. The Mitzrim were punished again and again. We have started to decorate our Pesach books with many Pesach items inside. We used glitter glue to decorate our cup of Eliyahu. We added tissue paper to beautify our Seder plates. We added stickers to our Ma Nishtana books. We had a model Seder to practice what our Seder will look like at home but just much shorter. We will continue to tell the story of Pesach and decorate our Pesach items. Have a wonderful weekend and Shabbat Shalom!
Miss Lisa & Morah Mimi - 3's Class
From Miss Lisa
Hamantaschen We were playing “find the 14 Hamantaschen” throughout the last two weeks. The students have been so excited when they find one during their play. They have become really good at the game, so good in fact I’m having to be quite mischievous in my hiding spots (which I am LOVING!) I put a graph on the shelf where the basket of cookies is. When the children find one they put it on a square with a number, this way they can count the empty spots to determine how many cookies are still hiding. On Wednesday they got to take them home & now we are searching for frogs. Sink/Float Extension We experimented with sink and float some more this week. So far we have done: micro dramatic people, cars, and bugs (which all sank btw.) Then I went for “random things” and this sparked all kinds of new questions to be asked. We did marble maze pieces, a hole punch, metal marbles and plastic boxes. Then we added (wait for it…) a magnet. We discovered that magnets still work under water! The following day I had sensory boxes with water open during choice time. The students could come up with their own ideas for sink/float and underwater magnet play. They also noticed that while the metal marbles all sank, when you put them in a plastic box together, they floated! They were also observing that some of the floaters became sinkers when submerged. Tons of experimentation, observation, and conclusions being drawn. Yay science! Have a wonderful Weekend! Guess what holiday is coming next? Yup, I can’t believe it’s almost Pesach! 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 started decorating our room for Pesach and filling our sensory table with kinetic sand—a reminder of the hot and sandy climate of Mitzrayim. The children will get to build pyramids out of wooden blocks. They will also pretend to work just like the Jews did in Egypt, using hammers, pegs, and clay. 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 also started learning the first question of the Ma Nishtana. Looking ahead, the children will decorate special Pesach items to share with everyone at the Seder, including a matzah cover, Seder plate, Ma Nishtana book, and Eliyahu HaNavi’s cup. Have a wonderful weekend and Shabbat Shalom!
Miss Lisa & Morah Mimi - 3's Class
From Miss Lisa
Hamantaschen We were playing “find the 14 Hamantaschen” throughout the last two weeks. The students have been so excited when they find one during their play. They have become really good at the game, so good in fact I’m having to be quite mischievous in my hiding spots (which I am LOVING!) I put a graph on the shelf where the basket of cookies is. When the children find one they put it on a square with a number, this way they can count the empty spots to determine how many cookies are still hiding. On Wednesday they got to take them home & now we are searching for frogs. Sink/Float Extension We experimented with sink and float some more this week. So far we have done: micro dramatic people, cars, and bugs (which all sank btw.) Then I went for “random things” and this sparked all kinds of new questions to be asked. We did marble maze pieces, a hole punch, metal marbles and plastic boxes. Then we added (wait for it…) a magnet. We discovered that magnets still work under water! The following day I had sensory boxes with water open during choice time. The students could come up with their own ideas for sink/float and underwater magnet play. They also noticed that while the metal marbles all sank, when you put them in a plastic box together, they floated! They were also observing that some of the floaters became sinkers when submerged. Tons of experimentation, observation, and conclusions being drawn. Yay science! Have a wonderful Weekend! Guess what holiday is coming next? Yup, I can’t believe it’s almost Pesach! 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 started decorating our room for Pesach and filling our sensory table with kinetic sand—a reminder of the hot and sandy climate of Mitzrayim. The children will get to build pyramids out of wooden blocks. They will also pretend to work just like the Jews did in Egypt, using hammers, pegs, and clay. 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 also started learning the first question of the Ma Nishtana. Looking ahead, the children will decorate special Pesach items to share with everyone at the Seder, including a matzah cover, Seder plate, Ma Nishtana book, and Eliyahu HaNavi’s cup. Have a wonderful weekend and Shabbat Shalom!
Morah Mimi - 3's
Dear parents, We are so excited to celebrate Purim. We can’t wait to come to school all dressed up in our costumes. We made our own hamantaschen. The children put jelly and chocolate chips in the center, then folded and pinched the corners to form a triangle. Their mouths were salivating when they saw them come out of the oven. They are excited to put them in their Purim baskets. Two hamantashen will go home and they will give two to their friends. On Purim, we will exchange Purim baskets. We had such a fun-filled day on Purim! It was so nice to see parents enjoying the day alongside their children. Dressing up, hearing the Megillah and booing Haman were some of our highlights. We especially loved seeing everyone’s awesome costumes. It was funny to see whether any children had tricked us by showing up in a different costume than what they said they would wear. We made crowns for our Purim fun day and added sparkly gems to them. Song: TTTO “Mishenichnas Adar” Purim day, Purim day, what a lovely holiday! Wear your masks, wear your crowns, dancing all around. Hava Narisha Rash Rash Rash! We can’t wait to get dressed up in our costumes to greet you on Purim this Friday and say a hearty “Chag Sameach!” (Happy Holiday!) to you all. Have a wonderful Shabbos and a Happy Purim! Morah Mimi
We learned at group time what a lottery is because Haman made a lottery. He picked a number out of a basket to decide what date he was going to hurt the Jewish people. We made our own lottery to decide which friend will receive our Purim baskets. We added different food items and decorated our baskets with stickers and markers. The children are going to bring home their own gragger that they painted.
Morah Mimi - 3's
Dear parents, We are so excited to celebrate Purim. We can’t wait to come to school all dressed up in our costumes. We made our own hamantaschen. The children put jelly and chocolate chips in the center, then folded and pinched the corners to form a triangle. Their mouths were salivating when they saw them come out of the oven. They are excited to put them in their Purim baskets. Two hamantashen will go home and they will give two to their friends. On Purim, we will exchange Purim baskets. We had such a fun-filled day on Purim! It was so nice to see parents enjoying the day alongside their children. Dressing up, hearing the Megillah and booing Haman were some of our highlights. We especially loved seeing everyone’s awesome costumes. It was funny to see whether any children had tricked us by showing up in a different costume than what they said they would wear. We made crowns for our Purim fun day and added sparkly gems to them. Song: TTTO “Mishenichnas Adar” Purim day, Purim day, what a lovely holiday! Wear your masks, wear your crowns, dancing all around. Hava Narisha Rash Rash Rash! We can’t wait to get dressed up in our costumes to greet you on Purim this Friday and say a hearty “Chag Sameach!” (Happy Holiday!) to you all. Have a wonderful Shabbos and a Happy Purim! Morah Mimi
We learned at group time what a lottery is because Haman made a lottery. He picked a number out of a basket to decide what date he was going to hurt the Jewish people. We made our own lottery to decide which friend will receive our Purim baskets. We added different food items and decorated our baskets with stickers and markers. The children are going to bring home their own gragger that they painted.
Miss Lisa & Morah Mimi - 3's Class
Hamantaschen The children have been super excited about Purim. Next week they will be making real Hamantaschen with Mora Mimi to give to a friend and for them to eat. We decided to practice the process with salt dough and treasure rocks. They used a cup to cut a circle, put a rock in the middle and pinched it into a triangle. I baked a batch for them to paint and take home to play with. Science We did a sink and float experiment with our micro dramatic animals one day and cars and people the next. We talked about how we didn’t know what was going to happen until we tried it and that was why it was called an “experiment.” We also worked on the concept of making “predictions”. Each child chose what they were going to put in the water and we would put a thumb up high for float and thumbs down for a sinker. Many of the items surprised us. We did a tally of how many items in each column and determined which was more, which by the way the children are getting very good at! Math The students have been using the group time voting materials as a math activity during choice time. They have numeral cards with the corresponding amount of stickers, unifix cubes, dice, and recently added clothespins. They are inventing all different ways to practice their math skills: counting the dots on the dice, putting a cube or a clothespin on each of the stickers, stacking up the cubes and measuring them to determine less and more to name a few. You get to see what concepts have really resonated when watching the kids choose how they are going to engage with materials in play. Dear Parents, I’m excited to share that our Purim celebrations are in full swing here in our classroom.We've been exploring the songs, enjoying lots of music and laughter together. In our group time, we've been joyfully singing Mishenichnas Adar and dancing together with colorful pom poms. The children have been participating in fun activities like "Put Your Pom Pom on Your Head" and "Put Your Pom Pom on Your Toe," Our classroom is decorated with Purim characters, inspiring the children to act out the story of Purim during playtime. We've had a blast playing Purim bingo, helping the children learn about the different aspects of this special holiday. Plus, we've been decorating our graggers with glue, tissue paper, and adding sounds and rocks to make them truly real. Purim Song:: Chag Purim , chag Purim chag gadol layelodim Masechot Raashonim , shirim virikudim Hava Narisha raash raash raash BaRaashonim. The children enjoyed a Hamantash hunt. We used different flavors we sorted them and discussed our favorite flavors. - Our gragger-making activity was a hit! The children used their fine motor skills to squeeze out glue and decorate with tissue paper and sparkles. - During circle time, we discussed the exciting traditions of Purim, including reading the Megillah, giving Shaloch Manos, and dressing up in costumes. - In our free time, the children enjoyed a fun matching game, learning about Purim symbols and colors. We asked the children what they will dress up in and here’s what they said: Dovi- sheep Shlomo- silly robot Tzivia - queen Shneur- robot Zachary- firetruck Tamar- princess Chaim- Mickey Reine- rapunzel Tatiana- monkey Jackson-the peddler that sells the caps James- monkey Maternal- minion Have a wonderful weekend and Shabbat shalom,
Miss Lisa & Morah Mimi - 3's Class
FROM MORAH MIMI Everyday, we are learning more and more about the story of Purim. The children are finishing my sentences. They're answering the questions that I ask. When I got to the part in the Purim story where Haman wanted to hurt all the Jews, the children yelled out, “That’s not nice! That's a red zone!” This week, we talked about clowns and how some people feel very happy when they see clowns. We sang the song Leitzan Katan Nechmad (Cute Little Clown): Cute clown won’t you come and dance with me. While using graggers (raashan) we sang the song, Misha nichnas Adar marbin b’simcha (when the month of Adar comes, we increase in joy). When we hear the name of Haman we say, “ Boo!” The children are really starting to feel the happiness that Purim brings. We played a little game at group time with our felt masks. It’s a copycat game and we sang it TTTO, If YOUR HAPPY and You Know It: Put your mask on your head, toe, tummy, ears, nose and we were getting silly with it and had so much fun! We sang a song for Achashverosh: A silly, silly king, a silly dilly king. Oh, tell me what was his name oh! Achashverosh, Achashverosh, Achashverosh. We sang a song for Esther: Oh, Esther, won’t you marry me? Oh, Esther won’t you marry me? Oh, Esther won’t you marry me? Oh, Esther, won’t you marry me? We sang a song for Mordechai: Oy yoy Uncle Mordechai Oy yoy Uncle Mordechai! We sang a song for Haman: Oh, once there was a wicked, wicked man and Haman was his name, o. He wanted to hurt all the Jews and they were not to blame o. Oh, today we'll merry, merry be! Oh, today we'll merry, merry be. Oh, today we'll merry, merry be and nosh some hamantaschen! Have a wonderful Shabbat and weekend, FROM MISS LISA So Much Sensory! We outdid ourselves this week with sensory activities. In the classroom we explored clean mud (grated Ivory soap & tissue paper with warm water.) The consistency feels just like mud but it actually cleans our hands. We mixed it all around with different kitchen gadgets and added our micro dramatic insects to create bug stew. Interestingly most friends were not fans of having the concoction on their hands. When we went outside we took advantage of the false summer and filled up our water table and turned on the water in our sandbox. The same kids who didn’t want the clean mud on their hands were fine with completely marinating in filth, I’ve long since given up trying to figure out these little people! Along with the great workout of scooping, filling, dumping and pouring there was an enormous amount of cooperation, creativity, conversation and problem solving. Sensory experiences are not only great for motor skills, observation, and cause and effect; but they also build nerve connections in the brain. Children’s play is their work and the more they are engaged, the more they are learning and developing. Here is a little developmental blurb for your reading pleasure: Benefits of developmental play-based learning: Enhanced cognitive development: Improved social skills: Stronger emotional regulation: Fine and gross motor skill development: Reminder: Please make sure that your child has a complete change of clothes in their cubby daily. I have no loaner pants left so if they do not have extra clothes I can’t let them engage in water/mud play. Have a great weekend
Promotes problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, and imagination through open-ended play.
Encourages cooperation, sharing, turn-taking, and communication through collaborative play.
Children learn to manage their emotions through play experiences that allow them to express themselves freely.
Physical play activities help children refine their motor skills like hand-eye coordination, balance, and dexterity.
