FROM MS. KRISTINE
This week we welcomed the new month by making our March calendars. They wrote their numbers and made beautiful rainbows for the art. They were given a simple rainbow outline with the beginning letter for each color word in the given spot. They felt so proud when they were able to guess the color based on the beginning sound. This is our introduction to color words. They painted their rainbows and added their own detail (sun, raindrops, clouds). For our March art sample, the children made beautiful rainbow mosaics. This takes some patience because they take a strip for colored paper, and they need to cut it into small enough pieces to follow the arch of the rainbow. Because rainbows make most children so happy, they enjoyed the process because they could see their colorful rainbows come to life. They followed with adding fluffy clouds out of cotton and a blue background for the sky. As always, they were so proud of their work and so happy to hang them up. We did a fun little experiment where the children used markers to color thick lines of each color of the rainbow on the top and on the bottom of a thick paper towel. Then, they placed each end of the paper towel into two bowls of water. Soon, they were able to see the water absorbed up through the towel, transferring the color from the ink with it, making a beautiful rainbow. The children got so excited when they saw the rainbow appear. We also decided to make fresh play dough. This time we did blue and green. We made play dough very early in the school year, so we were due for an update. They were able to participate in the process much more and they kneaded the dough very well. They are trying to talk me into making all the colors of the rainbow, so we might end up with our own little play dough factory. I will keep you posted. In celebration of Purim, the children drew pictures of how they dressed for our school celebration. They did an amazing job with the details and they were able to write the word to finish their sentence. They are so proud and they feel so motivated when they see what they can accomplish. Thank you and have a wonderful weekend, Wow! What a week! We had such a fun and meaningful Purim here at the Hebrew Academy Preschool. The children were so excited to celebrate. On Wednesday, we had the chance to reflect upon our Purim experiences and share details about the various Purim celebrations we attended. And then it was time to begin Pesach! Just like that. I asked the children what they remember about Pesach. Netanel: Matzah and marror Avigail Ninnette: Uh…matzah. David: That Moshe led the Jewish people out of Mitzrayim. Chaim: Miriam looking at Moshe. Jackson: Mitzrayim. Ruby: The animals are hurting King Paroh. Nuna: We hide the little pieces of bread, and we find it. Tzivia: Eating the meal. Elias: I accidentally drank the saltwater. Sam: Eating the matzah. Goldie: We eat the seder plate on the table. Shneur: That we tell the Pesach story from long, long, ago. Hannah: We hide the matzah. I remember that the frogs were jumping everywhere. Shiloh: I remember that we eat the matzah after we hide it. Zalman: We eat matzah, maror, and the seder plate. We burn the chametz. When the water split, we were walking on dry land. Shiloh: So I remember long ago, the Jewish people were running from King Paroh. Ari: Making matzah. When the water turns to walls, Hashem created the water turns to blood. Goldie: When my Bubby hides the matzah, whoever finds it gets a prize. That’s Bubby’s rule. This week we learned the parsha, Ki Sisa, where Hashem commanded Moshe to count the Jewish people because Hashem loves us so much. This parsha includes the story of the golden calf. The children learned about Moshe breaking the luchos, the tablets, and how Hashem wanted to create a new Jewish nation starting from Moshe. Moshe responded that if the Jewish people were destroyed, he wanted his name erased from the Torah (his name appears 614 times). Moshe begged Hashem to forgive the Jewish people and Hashem agreed. Moshe went back up on Har Sina and received the second luchos. Next week we will be having our practice seder and will begin working on our haggadas! Best wishes for a peaceful and restful Shabbos!
