Pre-K / TK - Miss Kristine & Morah Raizel

FROM MORAH RAIZEL

It has been so exciting to count the omer each day.  We are excitedly anticipating Shavuos. This week, we continued learning about how we celebrate Shavuos.  We learned about Rus, whose megillah we read on Shavuos.  We read the book  Mother of Majesty, written by Genendel Krohn, and Shavuos Guess Who by Ariella Stern.  We learned that Rus was King David’s great-grandmother.  David passed away on Shavuos, and part of the story of Rus happens during the harvest, which is one of the names of Shavuos. 

This week, the TK children practiced spelling their names with Aleph Beis rocks and wooden tiles.  They also painted their final self-portrait. This was their tenth and best self-portrait.  The children made beautiful flowers in honor of Shavuos.

These are the songs we learned in connection with the counting of the omer and Shavuos. 

Counting the Omer Song

We’re counting, we’re counting the days,

Today is the _____ day we’re on our way.

From Pesach until Shavuos time,

7 weeks until 49.

Day after day, the weeks are passing by,

Until the day that we stood at Har Sinai,

The day that we love, Chag Hashavuos,

When Hashem gave us the Torah and Mitzvos.

(Repeat)

Mountain Song

I am a mountain so very high, I can reach way up to the sky,

The Torah should be given on me, Cuz I am as tall as can be,

 you see.

Oh No!

I am much wider than you, And there are so many things I can do.

The Torah should be given on me, Cuz I am as wide as can be, you see.

Oh NO!

Little Har Sinai just stood there and sighed. I know I’m not big, I know I’m not wide.

I’m happy to be Har Sinai, that’s me! And I’m happy just how Hashem made me.

Oh YES!

Wishing you a restful Shabbos and a wonderful Shavuos!

May we merit to receive the Torah joyfully and internally.

FROM MISS KRISTINE 

As we come to the end of our insect unit, we decided to make fun ladybugs that were colored, cut, assembled and given spots. They did a great job folding a circle in half to make two even halves.  I offered the children cut out circles, but they wanted to draw their own.   The children successfully counted the spots they put on each wing and created a math equation to show the sum.  They even read the equation correctly, showing  a 1:1 correspondence with the spots and the numbers. As an added detail, some children asked for brads to make the wings move.  That was an idea from one of the children,so it was extra cool.  

Because next week is a short week, and our days together are coming to an end, we worked on our June writing and June art a little early.  For our writing the children had the prompt:  During the summer, I love to…  Their answers were great and their illustrations were amazing.  Here are their answers..

 During the summer I love to….. 

• Ben:  go to Israel
• Chaim: go to summer camp
• Leah: go to Florida
• Masha: go to the park
• Musia G.: go to Atlanta
• Mussia P: go to SGI camp
• Pinny: go swimming
• Sarah: go to New York
• Savannah: go to Lego Land
• Shira: go to Camp SGI
• Tova:  go to SGI
• Tzion: be with my friends
• Yossi: go to SGI camp

For our June art, we painted an underwater scene.  We first made a handprint, and the children added the detail to make their hand look like a clownfish.  We started the year with a handprint for the first day of TK, so I thought it was fitting that we end with one as well.  However, at the end of TK, we made individual and detailed art out of that handprint.  They also added detail to the underwater scene and finished with a beautiful blue water color.   We had 13 proud artists who were excited to hang their work.

Our literature focus this week was Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister.  This is a great story about a beautiful fish who loves, more than anything, to be the most beautiful fish in the sea.  However, after an unfortunate incident, he learns an important lesson about what can happen when he is unkind to others. In the end, he discovers the power of kindness.  Rainbow Fish finds out that true happiness comes from sharing and being a friend to others. 

 For our story connection, the children colored a fish and  added scales, including the special shimmery scale from the story.  I gave the children a general guildline, but I encouraged creativity and telling their own story through their art.  We ended up with some very original fish and some very proud children.  

We did not swim this week, but almost everyone has their swimming prepared for next week.  It is a good thing because after a 4 day weekend and holiday, remembering swim clothes would be a challenge.  

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and Shavuot,  

This week, we continued  our unit on insects.  We learned that not all "bugs" are insects.  Insects have a head, two body parts (thorax and abdomen), antennae, six legs and wings (some undeveloped).  Our children were able to figure out that spiders, snails  and earthworms are not insects.  We did a color and word match activity with all our new vocabulary.   Our kids are getting so good at this, that nobody asked for help, and everyone got it right.  And, two of the words looked similar.   Bravo TK.

The children are really starting to recognize environmental print.  Basically, this is them making sense out of print in a given environment or context.  They might be able to point to the correct words on food labels, store signs, or clothing brands.  The beginning letter sound helps and previous knowledge does the rest.  They may not actually be reading, but to them, they are.  This is building confidence, and that is a big step in this process.  We are finding opportunities in class to see what we might already know, or can figure out.  It is so fun to see their wheels turn. 

For art, we had fun painting butterflies.  They children were given a picture to fill in with detail.  They remembered that butterflies are symmetrical, so they tried very hard to paint each side the same, using fine point brushes for accuracy in the detail.  The painted butterflies might not have had perfect symmetry, but they used their imagination to bring it all together.  

After getting a feel for creating balance and symmetry with the watercolor butterfly,  we created our own butterfly patterns on a blank butterfly outline.  They had fun making their butterflies original to them.  They were so cute, we had to hang them up.

As we wait with anticipation for our butterflies, we did a sequencing activity showing the four stages of the butterfly's metamorphosis.  They had different options to demonstrate the butterfly story,  as long as it was in the correct order.  They came up with the idea of taping the strip of paper together into a circle, showing  that it keeps going, just like the lifecycle keeps going around and around.  They  loved that they came up with that new idea. 

We have also had a lot of fun in the computer lab.  The children are logging in on their own and opening the assigned learning activities with great success.  They are being challenged but having so much fun in the process.  We look forward to each week as we are given new challenges and experiences.  

BUTTERFLY UPDATE;  We have 10 fat caterpillars.  They all look pretty strong.   They should be forming their chrysalides any day now. 

Have a great weekend,

FROM MORAH RAIZEL 

It’s Shavuos time!  Last week we finished with Lag B’Omer. This week we began talking about Shavuos.  We read the book, The Very Best Gift by Genendel Krohn.  It describes how Hashem asked all the world's nations if they would like to accept the Torah.  There was one nation that said yes, the Jews!  We said, “naaseh vinishma, we will do and we will listen.”  We continued to talk about the mountains that were all vying for the opportunity to host the giving of the Torah.  There was only one mountain that was quiet and did not boast.  It was Har Sinai!  Har Sinai understood that Hashem made him just right and he was content.  Since Torah comes from the word, hora’ah, which means lesson, Hashem wanted to teach us that all of our gifts come from Hashem. 

Next week we will continue learning more about Shavuos with discussions, art, stories, and more.

Wishing you a restful and peaceful Shabbos,

This week we are all about butterflies.  We are learning about and witnessing the lifecycle of the butterfly.  We started with making a spinning wheel that allows the children to see that the cycle is an ongoing circle.  They understand that the eggs come from the butterfly and the cycle starts all over again. 

We also built a diagram where the children displayed different pasta shapes for  each stage of the lifecycle and then they labeled each model with the proper word.  To add to the experience, we learned some fun facts about butterflies.  Our favorite one was that butterflies taste leaves with their feet.  Since butterflies go through a metamorphosis, they have a different diet from their previous form.  While caterpillars eat leaves, butterflies sip nectar.  Therefore, a butterfly tastes leaves with their feet.  This way, they make sure they lay their eggs on a good leaf for their little caterpillars as it will be their first bite of food once hatched.  

For literature, we read Bob and Otto by Robert O. Bruel.  This is a cute book about friendship, but it also teaches a great lesson about how every living thing on Earth is important.  The simple little earthworm (Otto) realizes he is so special because he helps the trees to grow and it is his friend the butterfly (Bob) who shows him why.  The story also teaches us to be proud of who we are. The children loved the book,  so we made a fun story connection activity.  Hopefully your child can retell the story to you.  

In the middle of all this excitement, our butterflies arrived… well our caterpillars….we are keeping it technical.  We will not have butterflies until their metamorphosis.  I am hoping to see butterflies by June 3.  I am sure your children will keep you updated as we witness the process. 

We finished our butterfly week with a sequencing activity of the butterfly life cycle.  The children colored and cut out each stage.  They finished by numbering each stage. 

Our year is winding down, but we still want to stay on top of things and make sure our children have everything they need for a successful day in school.  Here are a few reminders.: 

• Please replace all clothes if something goes home soiled.  
• Please send a clean and filled water bottle to school each day.
• Swimming is every Wednesday.  It is a helpful idea to bring swimming in on Monday to make sure it is not forgotten.  

Thank you and have a great weekend,

FROM MORAH RAIZEL

Thank you to all our moms who were able to come to our annual Mother's Day Tea.  This is a special event because you get to spend quality time with your children at the place where they spend an average of 37 hours a week away from you.  You get a little glimpse into their other world and they absolutely love to share it with you. We also love to see you relaxed and happy.  It was a nice and enjoyable event because of your participation .  

This week we had so much fun doing all things Mother's Day!  Since you will read this after the Mother's Day Tea, and I'm not spoiling the surprise, I guess I can give you a play by play of what went on the last few weeks.  

As a group, we all decided to stay with tradition and do flowers.  So then we had to decide -  real for fake.  Well, we went with both, sort of. We started with making a beautiful handmade card.  Everyone wrote their own words to mom on the inside,  really personalizing their message.  We then decorated the card with gorgeous flower paintings. Their finished cards were amazing.

For the planting activity, we first painted cute little pots, then we planted.  (I decided to do basil over flowers because the flowers didn’t look great, and I know everyone loves the smell of basil.)   They learned how to loosen the roots, place the plant in the rich soil and secure the plant with their hands.  They loved getting their hands dirty for their moms.  The children had so much fun during every step of the process.  They loved it because it was fun stuff to do, but I know the main reason is because all their hard work was for their MOM. 

It wouldn’t be Mother’s Day without a picture of your adorable children. They really took great photos.  We built frames out of craft sticks, painted them, and then we added fake flowers.  The children really wanted you to have pretty flowers somewhere.  The frames were finished off with magnets, so hopefully they can find a spot on the fridge.  

It also wouldn't be Mother's Day without a child interview about  Mom.  This is one of my favorite things to do with our children .  The questions show how much they know and notice about you, and sometimes how little they might know.  Most kids do not know how old you are or even your first name (you're Mommy), but they can quote your favorite lines and they can answer questions like, "what does your mom love to do " without hesitation.  This shows us that  our brilliant children notice the little things and they are paying close attention with loving eyes.  I hope you all enjoyed reading and sharing these sweet and funny interviews as much as I did.  

We also  did a soft introduction into our insects unit.  Butterflies are our main focus, so we started with painting beautiful butterflies.  We learned the word symmetry and made symmetrical butterflies by painting one side with a thick application of paint and then folded and pressed down the paper to make a perfect mirror image. This was magical for the children and they all came out so pretty. 

For our May writing, the children were asked to write about their favorite insects.  We got a lot of butterflies, some bumble bees, and even a dragonfly. Our children are writing everything on their own now, and the illustrations are so bright and beautiful. 

For  their May writing, they were encouraged to write color words, so we did a little activity to build up to that.  They were given the six color words of the rainbow, written in that color  for a clue.  Then,  they drew something of that  color and wrote their color word.  They had fun coming up with items to draw and writing the words was a breeze for them .  

Staying with the theme of “growing and planting”, we did a fun experiment in order to demonstrate how plants “ drink”. I brought in a bouquet of white flowers and we set them in col

ored water, in order to demonstrate how water flows through the plant.  It was exciting to come in and see the changes.  The children observed with such intensity, noticing the stems were the darkest. They made the conclusion that the base of the stem was more concentrated with color, making it darker. I thought that was pretty cool because they came up with that on their own. 

We also reviewed “part of a plant”, remembering that:

           - the  roots pull nutrients from the soil that the water releases 

- the stems carry water all the way to the top of the plant

- the leaves help pull energy from the sun 

- the seeds carry everything needed for the next cycle to grow again

- the plant (flower) is the final stage.  

We followed with a word match.

It really was a busy week.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a Happy Mother’s Day. 

FROM MORAH RAIZEL

The children counted the days until our special Mother’s Day Tea.  They were excited to participate in all of the preparations.

This week, the children were introduced to clay.  Modeling clay is a great tool used in TK to help the children with sensory play, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and much more.  The clay is much harder than Play-Doh and requires more strength to manipulate it.  The children were curious and eager to try it out.

Lag B’Omer, the 33rd day in the omer, is coming up in a week.  We began reading the story of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, whose passing we celebrate on that day.  Rabbi Shimon was a very righteous and G-dly man. He spent thirteen years with his son studying the Torah in a cave while he hid from the Romans.  We will be continuing to talk about Lag B’Omer next week. Our celebration will take place on Friday.

Wishing you a peaceful and restful Shabbos,

 This week was a little different because we didn’t have a specific theme. We concluded one topic, we started another, we introduced a new month, and we are working hard on Mother’s Day projects.   We still managed to stay busy and make great connections.

We concluded our water cycle study by adding our big words to our diagram. We learned that the big word for rain is precipitation.  We made the connection that when you are sweaty hot, you perspire, and water is also being released.  We also revisited condensation.  They learned that when water builds up in the clouds and gets heavy, condensation is formed.  They were amazing at analyzing these big words to match on their colorful diagram.  

We began our ‘growing and planting’ study this week by talking about what plants need to grow.  This was a nice transition from talking about the water cycle, because every child knows how important water is for every living thing.  They were able to diagram on their very cute flowers, that plants need water, soil, sunlight and air.  The art was creative and everyone was so proud, they wanted to hang them on the wall and maybe add to their portfolios.  

Next, we talked about ‘parts of a plant’. I gave the children a picture of four flowers, each missing one part.  They got to add the missing part and make them colorful.  Next week we will learn about what each part does and how everything works together.

To introduce a new month, we made our May calendar.  The children wrote their numbers and created original art.  I asked them to outline their “Spring” picture with a black pen.  Then they got to choose at least two mediums to color it in.  They had water color, markers, and crayons to choose from.   I asked them to really think of what they wanted to use.  If they drew a tiny butterfly, should they use a fine point marker, or a big paint brush?  They were very good at figuring out what they needed to make their pictures beautiful.  

Finally, we worked on our Mother’s Day projects.  Unfortunately, this is top secret information for now.  All will be revealed next week at the Mother’s Day Tea.  I hope to see all of you there.  That’s next Friday, May 9th at 8:30 in the TK classroom.  

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend,

FROM MORAH RAIZEL

This week, we focused on Israel.  We looked at pictures and talked about why Israel is special to every Jewish person.  On Thursday, we had our Israel celebration.  We ‘flew’ to Israel and sang songs, ending with ‘Happy Birthday’ to Israel, and eating delicious cupcakes.  Of course, we had falafel for lunch.  It was delicious.

On Wednesday, I asked the children what they love about Israel.  Here are their responses:

Chaim: Because there’s kosher food.

Tova: Because there’s Jewish people there.

Masha: We kiss the Torah, and we go to the shuk.

Ben: Because I go in Israel.

Pinny: The Bais Hamikdash and the kohanim and the kohen gadol.

Yossi: The Beis Hamikdash.

Tzion: I like to pray to Hashem like I pray at shul.

Shira: Cuz it's a holy place.

Leah: I like the salty water, you can float!

Sarah: Um…its a special place for Jewish people.

Mussia: The Bais Hamikdash.

Musia: The shuk because there’s chocolate.

Savannah: Bissli.

As you can see, Israel has a very special place in the minds and hearts of our TK friends.

Wishing you a restful and peaceful Shabbos!

 FROM MISS KRISTINE

Welcome back from our long and appreciated break.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Pesach.  We only  have about 8 weeks left together, so I plan to pack in as much fun and love of learning as possible.  Here is a quick outline of what we have done since  my last newsletter.

Week of April 7-9 

This week, we worked on the sound for /K/.  We talked about how K seems to be doing someone else's job... /C/.  We do not get into the rules about when K should be used because that is not a TK conversation, and those rules still have contradictions.  We just learned that K makes the sound in words like king, koala, kangaroo, key and kite.  It is a fun letter to write and it gave us an excuse to play with keys in kinetic sand.  

We made koalas hanging on a tree with beautiful backgrounds for our big books.  The children painted their environment and cut and designed the tree for their koala.  They came out very cute.  We also made kangaroos with a pouch and the children filled their pouch with things that start with K.  I made the activity a little more challenging by placing things that do and do not start with K.  Everyone was able to choose the correct items on their own.  Because we have such a creative group, some children decided to use the items that do not start with K in their picture. You might notice a moon in their sky or see that their kangaroo is eating grapes or using an umbrella.  This was all them and I loved watching it happen organically.  Everyone, however, knew which items to put in their pouch.   They are really becoming independent and confident with their work.  We finished the week with our word match.

  For literature, we read Koala Lou by Mem Fox.  This is a beautifully illustrated story about a young koala who competes for her mother's heart when a new sibling is on the way.  She learns that families come in all sizes and that there is no second place in a mother's eyes.  This is a touching story for young siblings and growing families.  The children really connected with this classic story . We also learned that koalas are not bears as they are commonly called.  They are actually marsupials. 

Week of  April 22-25

We have finally finished our exploration through the alphabet.  This week we worked on the sounds for /Q/ and /U/.  We started with the sound for /U/.  We learned that /U/ is a vowel that makes two sounds but we focused mainly on the short vowel sound.   We made colorful umbrellas and painted a rainy day background.  For the umbrella handle, of course,  we used a U.  

 For /Q/, we made fancy quails with feathers and a beautiful watercolor background.  /Q/ is a hard letter to say and hear because it sounds a lot like /C/ or /K/. This is why I  saved /Q/ for last.   The children also learned that Q and U are partners.  Q can't do anything without U,  but U can go places without Q.  They thought U must be a pretty good friend.  That's pretty cute.  For an added layer of fun, we made "quilts".  We used scrap pieces of paper from various activities and the children made 'quilt like' designs.  These quilts aren't very cozy,, but they were fun.  We concluded with our word match and writing.  

Now that we finally completed all our letters for our alphabet book, we got to make the covers and add all the finishing touches.  For the covers, I asked the children to decide what they would like to go on the front of their book.  They got to decide what they wanted to represent for  A, B, C  (or A to Z) and what materials to use.  I offered them everything we used throughout the book that included, but not limited to: paint, markers, yarn, feathers, foil, google eyes, streamers, glitter, pipe cleaners, ribbon, stickers, buttons, bolts, popsicle sticks.... etc.  You get the idea.  They had options and they got creative.  Everyone was so proud of their end result. It was a nice finale to conclude the project.   It was so special to see all the children look at their books with such pride. You should be seeing them in your child’s backpack very soon.  

I just wanted to let you know, we still have our end of the year portfolio that we will continue to work on until June.   I send the ABC portion of the book separately in order to make room for all their other work.   I don't want there to be any confusion.  We have lots more ahead and some treasures we are still holding

onto.  

Have a wonderful weekend,

FROM MORAH RAIZEL

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to school!  I hope you had a wonderful Pesach.  The children were very proud of their hard work and all the knowledge they gained about the holiday.  When we returned on Tuesday, each child had a chance to share something they did on Pesach.  The children drew pictures of their experiences.

From the second night of Pesach, we begin to count the omer, seven weeks until the holiday of Shavuos, commemorating the receiving of the Torah.  We have been counting each day and singing a song.

During this time, we mourn the loss of Rabbi Akiva’s students, who passed away from a plague.  The children learned the fascinating story of Rabbi Akiva, who only began to study Torah at forty.  He studied for twenty-four years, and when he returned, he credited his wife for his Torah learning and all of his students’.

During choice time this week, the children painted pictures with watercolor paint sets.  It is impressive to see how their skills have improved and how they have become very self-sufficient in problem solving.

Next week we will learn about Israel in honor of Israel’s birthday!

Wishing you a restful and peaceful Shabbos!

For creative writing, we wrote about what we would like to plant if we had a garden.  It was nice to hear some of the kids have gardens at home and are beginning to plant.  Everyone had very clear ideas of what they would like to grow and they all did great illustrations to go with their writing.  We had a lot of flowers, but we also had some carrots, and strawberries.  We have some ambitious and brave gardeners in our group.

This week we added another vowel by working on the sound for /O/.  We focused mainly on the short vowel sound as in otter and opposite.  For our books, we made awesome octopuses.  The children used watercolor to create a beautiful underwater look.  They also got to color match the center of the O to match the ocean background rather than cut it out.  This was more fun and challenging.  Everyone felt successful with the end product. They were bright, beautiful and original.  For fun, and a chance for everyone to show off a bit, we practiced our knowledge with opposites.  We played games, listened to songs and did puzzles.  We concluded with our word match. 

With the addition of /O/, we added the _og, _op, and _ot word families to our word building practice.  This has been so much fun because the children feel successful and so proud when they build words.  Their progress is impressive.  

Have a wonderful weekend,

Dear Families,

This week we worked on the sound for /Z/.  We made fun zebras.  The children painted the background and drew distinct zebra patterns to make each one look unique.  They came out very cute, and unique.  We also did our word match and practiced writing words with Z.  Remember, we are exploring the letters phonetically, so we are not quite done yet.  /Z/ is close to the end because it is very hard for some children to say and isolate.  

For literature we read King of the Zoo by Erica Perl.  I started by asking the children who they think the king of the zoo might be.  Everyone had brilliant responses because they followed with their reason for their choice. 

This is a fun book about a chameleon named Carlos who thinks he's King of the zoo.  Once he finds out he's not the only 'king', he goes to challenge each animal and does what chameleons do, blend in.  He returns to his home defeated until  a little girl notices him, which is hard to do, and thinks he's the greatest.  Once he gets love from just one girl, his heart is full.  It's a sweet story.  They loved it so much, they have asked me to read it every day this week. For our story connection, the children drew a picture and wrote about their favorite zoo animal, or who they would pick to be king.  Here are their answers, word for word:

Chaim:  A lion, because they are stronger than all the other animals.

Leah:  A cheetah, because they laugh funny.

Masha:  Kangaroos, because they hop fast and high.

Musia G.: A giraffe because of his long neck.

Mussia P.:  Panda,  because they are so cute.

Pinny:  A giraffe, because of Avi.

Sarah:  A zebra, because I like the colors that they are.

Savannah:  Elephants, because they are strong and their long nose.

Shira:  Tigers, because of their colored stripes and they zoom.

Tova:  Monkeys, because they can swing.

Tzion:  Jaguar, because they are the fastest.

Yossi:  Lions, because they are strong.

We also learned about the water cycle.  The children were amazed at some of the facts we read.  We learned that water is recycled, meaning we don't get new water.   Water is a "one time" gift from HaShem.  All the water on Earth has been here for a very long time and it just keeps going around and around in the water cycle.  The water cycle filters the water so we always have 'fresh' water available.  The coolest thing we read in one of our books is that dinosaurs might have drunk the same water  (water molecules) we have around us.    

We made a fun craft were the children built the water cycle with colored paper, cotton balls and markers to create and label a water cycle diagram  They were amazing at remembering such big words like condensation (clouds), precipitation (rain), evaporation (process to give us water vapor), and water collection.... the water we  see all over our beautiful earth.  They were so cute when we had water play outside as they made brilliant connections with what we learned.  We will also try to do an experiment where we place cups of water in direct sun, shade, and darkness to see the evaporation differences.  They have already predicted the cup in direct sunlight will evaporate the fastest, but they aren't sure what will happen to the cup that will be hidden from the sun.  They know that the sun is what makes it all happen.  We will report our findings soon. 

REMINDERS: 

• Swimming is every Wednesday.  Please bring your child’s swim items no later than Wednesday morning.  This is a great opportunity for us and we hope everyone can participate.
• Please send a clean and full water bottle to school every day.   
• Make sure your child has a change of clothes that include underwear and socks.  When the weather is warmer, we do more water play outdoors, and clothing changes are often necessary.  

Thank you and have a wonderful weekend,

Dear Families, 

This week we worked on the sound for /W/.  We made wonderful walruses.  The children painted their background and walrus, and they assembled everything to get pretty cute walruses with the W for their tusks (elongated canine teeth). The children were very proud of the end results.   We also did our /W/ word match.  As a challenge, some children chose to write some W words.  

We also made fun wallets.  First, the children colored and cut out items that start with /W/.  Then, they got to make unique wallets, picking their favorite colors for the paper and the tape.  They did a great job folding and taping their wallets together.  We even used a little velcro dot to make it feel more fun and authentic.  The children put their /W/ pictures in their wallets when they were all done.  For an added challenge, they wrote their name and Wallet on the outside. 

For sensory/art, we wrote W's on white paper with white pencils and crayons.  They were invisible until we painted watercolor over the page.  It was exciting to see the writing appear. 

We also had a wild time with water beads.  They are so cool.  The children got to see  them arrive as little specs basically, and after soaking in water, they swelled up to become large beads. They feel wet, but your hands come out dry.  You can't help but say, "Wow", when you put your hands in the bowl. We all had fun with them.

For literature, we read Where the Wild Things Are,  by Maurice Sendak (1963).  This is a classic and a favorite book for many people, young and not so young.  Sendak encouraged imagination and expression.  Our favorite part of the story is that Max's dinner is waiting for him when he "wakes up".  We did a story connection activity where the children got to color an environment from the story and add their favorite "wild thing" to their picture.  

Please remember to bring swimming every Monday.  Make it a part of your “start of the week” routine, and you and your child can relax.  Swimming will still be every Wednesday, unless we hear otherwise.  

As a special request, please try to avoid footed tights on swimming day.  They are a challenge to get back on, and we are trying to make our children 100% independent with getting dressed.  

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

From Morah Raizel

Dear Families,

This week we worked on the sound for /G/.  We talked about how /G/ can be tricky because it makes two sounds, soft G (giraffe) and hard G (goose).  We focus mostly on the hard G for TK, but we acknowledge the two sounds.  We made gorgeous geese for our books. The children got to paint an environment for their goose and cut and assemble their pieces to make a pretty great goose.  We also played fun word games to practice hearing the /G/ sound.  The children also cut and colored /G/ pictures to p;ace on a giant G. We followed with our word match and writing /G/ words.  Everyone was excited to take on the challenge.

We focused a lot on creative writing this week.  The children talked about what they would like to be when they "grow up".  We talked about future careers as well as positive attributes.  The children did a great job focusing on how they can help their community someday by picking a job they love to do and can help others along the way.  I was impressed with how they presented these great ideas because they had great reasons for their choices.  Here are their, word for word, responses:

When I grow up, I want to be a:

Ben- a policeman

Chaim- a doctor for babies

Leah- a mommy, also, having a husband

Masha- a firefighter.  I want to save people when they are choking.

Musia G.- a mommy with one baby

Mussia P.- I want to look after pandas at the zoo and give them lots  of bamboo.

Pinny-  I want to work as a spy to make sure soldiers stay safe.

Sarah-  I want to be an artist painter and an expert at coloring.

Savannah-  a plane driver

Shira-  I want to be a teacher for big kids and little kids.  I want to be in charge of the whole school.

Tova-  I want to be an artist to make rainbows for big walls.

Tzion-  doctor to take care of animals.

Yossi- a Tati…plus hand out colored papers to make money.

With all this wonderful rain, we read some fun books like Move Over Rover by Karen Beaumont.    We wrote about what we love to do when it rains outside.  Most of the children love to be home and play with family.  However, we had a few rainbow catchers and puddle jumpers.  It was cute to see them drawing their beautiful pictures of rainy days while the rain fell outside.  

As a reminder, please do your best to dress your children for this cold weather that seems to want to stick around.  Layering is always best.  

Thank you,

Ms Kristine

Dear Families,

I can't believe we are already in March.  I am really seeing amazing growth and progress as the weeks pass with our amazing and hard working children.  When I think back to the beginning of the year, we have come a long way.  I am excited to see what our group will be able to do when we get to the finish line.   

For our new month, we made our March calendar.  The children wrote their numbers 1-31 and made fun art.  I gave them a simple outline for a rainbow with the beginning letter for each color word.  They all painted beautiful  bright rainbows and they got to add interesting detail, like cutting paper to add a sun and  raindrops. I purposely did not show a sample because I wanted creativity.  Everyone did something unique and beautiful.  

To welcome the new month, we did our March art.  The children made beautiful mosaic rainbows.  They first painted their background blue and then they began applying colored paper into small pieces, having to cut and size the paper to form their rainbows.  They finished by fluffing up cotton balls to make clouds.  I was really impressed with how our children took their time and worked so neatly. They showed great control with the paint and the spacing.  They were all so proud to see how beautiful they all looked together.   

For phonics, we learned the sound for /X/.  This is a challenging sound to isolate and hear in words because it mostly appears in the middle or end of words.  Words that begin with the sound for X are few and far between so we made rainbow xylophones with sticks to form the X.  They were fun to make and very cute.  We also made X-ray fish because they are cool.   

We had fun practicing word building with X as the ending sound.  We came up with words like: fix, mix, six, box, and fox.  Some friends brought up words like socks and rocks.  I was so impressed with their ability to isolate and hear the /X/ sound, and they accepted the fact that the spelling is different because sometimes English is hard.   

For creative writing, we talked about what we will dress as for Purim.  They worked hard and showed great detail with their illustrations;  and everyone  did their own writing.  The children had so much fun talking about their costumes and they are so excited to see everyone all dressed up next week.  Here are their answers:  

Ben: a basketball player

Chaim: all of my family will be matchy- I’m Mordechai

Leah:  a big, giant, butterfly with big wings and it’s sparkly

Masha: a mom… I’m wearing a pink dress, pink make-up and a dark brown sheitel (maybe red)

Musia: a ballerina… the part that looks like the skirt is pink and sparkly

Mussia: a panda

Pinny: a soldier

Sarah: a ballerina .. All Pink

Savannah:  Queen Vashti

Shira: Queen Esther, and my dress is purple and silver and gold and sparkle

Tova: Queen Esther in a purple dress

Tzion: Batman

Yossi: a cow… because my family will be the farm and I like cows.  

We had a beautiful moment on Thursday during outside play.  The air was crisp, the sky was blue and the wind was blowing strong but smooth.  It all started with some paper towels blowing away.  A few of the children started chasing after the towels as they moved round in circles.  It looked so fun, the rest of the children joined in.  They were laughing and moving back and forth, trying to catch the pieces of paper.  The children had so much fun and they were so amazed, watching the paper towels fly up past the building's roof line.  It was such a perfect moment, it looked like a scene in a movie.  And these are the moments we can never get on camera, but hopefully a special memory was created for the kids.   

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

FROM MORAH RAIZEL 

Dear Families,

We had an interesting week with this summer-like weather.  The children loved revisiting water play outside, so that was nice.  I personally, am not ready to say goodbye to winter, so let's see what next week has in store for us.

This week we worked on the sound for /R/.  This is a challenging sound for many children to say.  When it is a hard sound to say, it can also be hard to hear and isolate.  Our children, however,  did a great job.  We made ‘recycled’ robots with metal heads (we wrapped cardboard in aluminum foil) and used lots of fun materials like nuts and bolts, buttons, straws and cut paper.  The children made each one look unique and they were so proud to hang them up.  We followed with our word match.

For literature, we read Rescue Bunnies by Doreen Cronin.  This is a cute and funny story about a rescue trainee that, when given a challenge, chooses to do the right thing, even when it isn't popular.  This book quickly became a favorite in the classroom.  We made our own helicopter and rescue bunny connected to a safety rope.  And the giraffe in the story was quickly named Avi.  Maybe the children can retell the story at home. 

As we begin to work with word families (3 letter words), we are focusing a lot on rhyming.  We did a picture match where the children identified and matched items that rhyme.  They did a great job and felt proud of their success.  

We revisited our geology lesson by breaking into our own geodes.  Every child got to pick their own geode and help find the line, or weak spot, to tap in order for a successful break.  Well, we got a big box of rocks, but only about half had a formed geode inside.  It was a little disappointing at first to tap and tap and bang, only to find out some were just rocks.  However, our children were so flexible and so into the activity, they were fine with choosing a smaller rock, with hopes of a geode.  During the process, the children showed their understanding that in order for a geode to form, there needs to be air and water; the water introducing the minerals.  In the end, everyone got to take home a piece of a sparkly geode and they were so happy.  

As the weather changes, and we are doing more water play, please make sure your child has a change of clothes that coordinates with the weather.  Our children are happier and feel more successful when they are prepared and comfortable.  

Thank you,

Ms Kristine

This week we worked on the sound for /L/.  As we move throughout the alphabet, some sounds become more challenging.  L is easy enough to hear, but for some, it is hard to say.  We practiced isolating the sound, along with listening for it in words. 

We made lovely llamas for our books.  They painted them along with beautiful and unique backgrounds.  They did a great job assembling them, making an L look very much like cute llamas.   And, of course, we had to read Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino.  This series is always fun to read to the children.  We also made a cute  L book with pictures to place on the pages.  Some of the pictures did not start with L, making it more challenging.  However, our kids didn’t stop there.  They still wanted to add the pictures that don’t start with /L/, so they did two sides.  On the L side, they wrote ‘yes’, and for  the incorrect pictures, they wrote “no”.  I loved their willingness to take the challenge.  We concluded with our word match.  Everyone did their best work and felt successful during the process.  

For art, I gave the children a simple outline of a lion.  I wanted them to add creative detail.  I also asked them to take on another challenge, and write the word lion, but they needed to find the word in the room.  They did a great job either finding it on a book cover, or from their word match.  A few kids even remembered how to spell it on their own.  This is an exciting time, because the children are starting to make real connections and have those “light bulb” moments.  

The children are also doing a great job counting past 100 as we track our ‘days in school’, and they are understanding place value more clearly.  We continue to use our Montessori materials for added practice.  Legos were a popular item this week during free choice.  They always have fun building and creating together.  

Thank you and have a great weekend!

FROM MORAH RAIZEL