This week in the Green Room we began learning about Chanukah. Morah D and Morah Shoshana built a cave in the classroom and as our friends entered in the morning they ran immediately over to start exploring. The cave fell down a few times and this prompted everyone to problem solve. Nosson said "let's put two blocks by the door" and Shira suggested, "two tapes" on the boxes. The teamwork they displayed was in line with the parsha and we discussed how the rocks around Yaakov's head joined together to protect him. Our theme throughout the week became teamwork and everyone pointed out different examples as they arose.
In the cave, the friends played dreidel and explored candles and Chanukah shapes. Morah D told the story of Chanukah inside the cave which helped the story come to life!
Nosson, Shira, and Nechama exploring Chanukah materials in the cave.
Morah D reading the Chanukah story inside the cave.
Shira and Nosson using teamwork to rebuild our cave after it fell.
Art
The art projects this week included creating the letters Aleph and Beis and A and B out of glue and glitter. This project promoted literacy, creativity, and fine motor skills. We also painted plates and used dreidels and Chanukah-shaped sponges to create beautiful designs.
Shira: "when you mix this and this and this it makes brown!"
Parsha
1. What's the name of the parsha? (Vayeitze)
2. How many years was Yaakov in yeshiva? (Fourteen)
3. What did Yaakov daven in Har HaMoriah? (Mincha)
4. What did Yaakov dream about? (ladder and angels)
5. What did Hashem put under Yaakov's head while he was sleeping to protect him? (Israel)
*We colored maps of Israel and folded them up and put them under our heads during nap time! We also practiced the names of the 12 Shvatim
6. Who did Yaakov get married to? (Leah)
*Nechama pointed out that it was supposed to be Rochel! But we know that Lavan covered Leah's face to trick Yaakov into marrying her.
*To bring the parsha into practical play we went outside and put our feet in the sandbox. We talked about how it was impossible to count all of the grains of sand. Hashem promised Yaakov that his children would be impossible to count just like all of the grains of sand on the shore!
During dramatic play, the friends acted out the parsha. Shira and Vella covered their faces with cloth and Shira said, "I'm a malka". Nechama noticed that Vella's face was covered and she asked Shira, "is she getting married?" Shira replied, "yes she is getting married". It is so awesome to see them take the information they learn during parsha discussion and apply it to their play! This is the exact type of learning we encourage here at CJP!
On Friday we cooked a wedding feast and acted out Yaakov and Leah's wedding. Stay tuned to Facebook for pictures of our classroom simcha.
Shabbos Talk
After nap time on Wednesday, Morah D read the book "I Love Shabbos" and then our friends went around talking about what they love best during Shabbos. Nosson loves Shabbos because he gets to eat. Shira loves Shabbos because she eats challah. Nechama loves to drink grape juice. When Ben was asked why he loves Shabbos he said, "because I need to" and Shimmy answered, "because Papa does Shabbos".
Morah D drew a picture of balloons next and asked everyone what it was. All our friends agreed it was balloons and Ben said, "balloony". Nosson was very clever and said "it's a Chanukah menora!" He noticed that the balloons were all in a row just like a menorah. This facilitated a conversation of Chanukah and the different materials and shapes we see!
Next week is Parent-Teacher Conferences on December 15. Please don't forget to sign up early so you can get the time slot that works best for you. Masha sent out an e-mail that makes it very easy to sign-up electronically.
Shabbat Shalom,
Morah Deanna and Morah Shoshana
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