FROM MS. KRISTINE
I can't believe we are approaching the end of the school year. It really does feel like this year flew by. We only have 11 more days together. I still have so much I want to do with the children, but above all, I want to enjoy our time together. I will plan carefully so we can continue to learn and grow, but make great memories as our time comes to an end.
This week we concluded our work studying insects. We couldn't finish this unit without learning about bees. We learned some fun facts about bees. Some of this we already knew from our growing and planting unit.
- - Bees collect and spread nectar, allowing flowers, trees and plants to grow.
- - Bees (honeybees) give us honey. They make the honey from the nectar they collect and their body helps turn it into honey. This all happens in the bee hive where all the bees work so hard as everyone has one important job.
- - Worker bees are female and they are the ones with stingers. Our girls loved this fact.
- - Male bees in the hive are called drones and they do not have stingers.
- - Bees are so good at flying with their tiny little wings, they can hover and even fly backwards. And the buzz sound we hear is their tiny little wings moving so fast.
- - Bees do NOT want to sting us. The most important fact we learned is that bees are very important to earth and to us as humans, so we need to be careful to not hurt them. And in return, they will not hurt us.
We made cute bees for a class activity because the children wanted bees in the classroom. Since we already had butterflies and ladybugs hanging, it was fitting that we added bees to our display. The children did a great job adding black detail to the yellow bee and attached wings and antennae to show they are insects. As always, everyone added their own personal touch to their bee. The boys gave their bees a yarmulke, while some of the girls added long hair to theirs. Everyone was focused and proud of the finished product.
BUTTERFLY UPDATE; We have 10 chrysalides. It was a close call when I arrived Tuesday morning to see only 5 of the 10 chrysalides had properly attached. One was even buried in all the waste. With the children watching with anticipation, I hot glued the struggling chrysalides to the top where they need to be to properly finish their third stage of their metamorphosis. This sounds terrible, but it doesn't hurt them and it works. We have 9 that look strong, and one that I'm not sure about (the one that was buried in the waste). My guess is that we will have butterflies between Monday and Wednesday. I will leave sugar water and a flower for them over the weekend just in case they emerge early. They entered this third stage over the 3 day weekend, so I don't know what day it began. We will, however, have butterflies next week.
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. This week the children traced their Hebrew names and carefully decorated them. They also began to create their own Har Sinai art. The children were very intentional in their work. On Thursday, the children made necklaces with their Hebrew names. Next week we will continue learning more about Shavuos with discussions, art, stories, and more. Wishing you a restful and peaceful Shabbos,
