Are we "good" or "bad" characters?

Happy (almost) Purim everyone!!!

In the story of Purim there are many different types of characters.  We have Mordechai who we describe as "good."  In contrast, we have Haman who we describe as "bad."  There are others that we don't know how to describe.  King Achashverosh, for example, makes some terrible choices, such as he way he treated Queen Vashti.  In the end however we give King Achashverosh a lot of credit for how everything turns out.  So is he "good" or bad?"  And what about Queen Vashti?  We learn so little about her character before we see her being treated badly.

In the world of a preschooler, we tend to see things in extremely black and white terms.  People are either "good" or "bad."  At this age, we may not have the words to describe a character that is in between.

I've been teaching the Green Room friends that there is actually no such thing as a person who is only bad.  There are only good people, but sometimes good people make bad choices, and if a good person makes a lot of bad choices, then those choices in turn reflect their actual character.  Haman, for example, had all of the tools and opportunities to be "good."  It was his choices that made him "bad."

This has become an important lesson for us.  I want the Green Room friends to understand that they have the free will to build their own character.  Sometimes good people make bad choices.  Is that ok?  OF COURSE!  A good person who makes a bad choice is not automatically bad.  It makes them human.  When I have to redirect behavior I remind the students that they are good, but they made a sad or unsafe choice.

I hope you have been enjoying the "outtakes of the Green Room friends acting out the Purim story!  Morah Gitty is finishing putting it together.  Everyone will have their own Megillah to take home next Wednesday.

Our piece for the Purim Art Auction looks AWESOME!  The Green Room friends had a ball spray painting the squares.  The Aleph-Bais on top brings the piece together so nicely.

We played a fun new game in our Palace Loft.  Students had the opportunity to toss bean bags into a basket below.  This worked some serious hand-eye coordination!  We also worked on our math skills and one-to-one correspondence when counting how many we got into the basket.  Ava was pretending to take pictures!

Please take a moment to look over the info for Purim Spirit week.  It's going to be so much fun!

Morah Gitty and I wish you a Shabbat Shalom and a wonderful weekend!
-Morah Deena and Morah Gitty