This week we wrapped up our Hanukkah celebration with lots of fun games and good food. 

Pin the latke in the pan game

Flip the latke on the plate game

Play dough exploration with Chanukah inspired cookie cutters and a candle from our Menorah

Lighting the candles with the children while listening to a Hanukkah blessing 

Yummy latkes and apple sauce

On our final day of Hanukkah together we lit all the candles on the menorah; it’s was beautiful!

Shabbos party while the Ima does the candle blessing

Glue and shape exploration, great for fine motor skill development which helps children further develop the muscles required to hold a pencil or any type of writing utensil.

Friends that paint together stay together! 

I want to wish you and you families a very peaceful and restful holiday season. 

Shabbat Shalom

Morah Maya

 Happy Chanukah!

This is a very exciting and celebratory time of the year for our community.  Although your kiddos have most likely experienced Chanukah before on some level, it’s highly likely that this will be the first time that they are able to participate and create their own memories of Chanukah. Below are a few images:  some of the many things that we have been working on this past week.

Light table with Menorah and a visual aid how to sequentially light the candles. 

Big brother showing little sister how to climb to the top of the structure. 

Beginning stages of decorating their menorahs . Painting the base was the first step in the process. 

Early literacy with loose parts

More menorah painting

The children celebrating Shabbat dinner.

“Look I can spin a dreidel” 

The children's amazing finished menorahs that were sent home yesterday for the first night of  Chanukah.

Exploration with loose parts used to decorate their menorahs: The items in the tray are sorted by specific categories. This is an early math tool that will help the children later when doing grouping with numbers for concepts like multiplication and fractions.

In addition to preparing for Chanukah we are continuing to work on Kavod in our classroom . We’re focusing on treating one another and our classroom environment with respect and kindness.  One of the activities that we did this week to reinforce kavod was make up a list of safety rules for our classroom. This is what we came up with in our group time:

1. No fighting with shovels - Jonny

2. No throwing shovels - Mila

3. No toys in our mouth - Morah Maya

4. Walking feet - Yehonathan

5. Being kind not mad or fighting or hitting- David

6. No shooting - Jonny

7. No hurting and no pushing- Ella

8. Don’t color or paint pictures on the wall - Shai

9. Give them space to work on their computer - Yehonathan

We will continue to add to our list of how to treat each other with kindness and respect. I wish all of your families a wonderful Chanukah. I am very much looking forward to hearing from the children about their experiences over the weekend. Looking forward, next week we will continue to celebrate Chanukah! Stay tuned to hear about all of our exploration and fun. 

Shabbat shalom

Morah Maya

Green Room 12/4

It was super exciting to come back from our Thanksgiving holiday to find out that our plants had grown. Sure enough with a little love, sun, water and food from Hashem they are thriving. Thanks you Hashem for all you give us!

This week I began to introduce the children to Hanukkah through books and an array of items in the classroom. On our light table we have a menorah, candles, and dreidels. There are Hanukkah themed puzzles and today we made blue play-doh , which were calling our Hanukkah Play-doh.

We’ve also spent the last two days making cards for the children to send to loved ones for the holiday. We will continue to focus on Hanukkah in the weeks to come. I will go more into detail about the actual story of how the holiday began and why we celebrate it.

 

Shabbat Shalom

Morah Maya

Although this week was short we were able to begin a project that was intended to remind the children of some things to be thankful for. Each child was given a cup with a picture of them on it , some soil and some cat grass seeds.

They all filled their cups with the soil and sowed the seeds. Each day since the beginning of the week we’ve been watering our seeds and giving them sun in hopes that they will grow. The thought process behind this was to give the kids a physical tangible item that could help them understand it concept of being thankful.

Hashem provides us with food ,water , sun and love . All of these things are what we need as people to live and thrive. The children are giving all of the same things to the plants in hopes that they too will grow and thrive. I will be sending them all home today and hopefully with a little TLC the grass will begin to sprout. I’ll also sent home a couple extra seeds in case it doesn’t work and you guys wanna try again.

Today at lunch I asked the students that were present to tell me one thing that they were thankful for and this is what they said.

Mila “ mommy daddy and my pets”

Ella “ my dog and Mika”

Carmel “ for eggs”

Yehonathon “ for Booba and Sophie they are cool pets”

I hope all of you have a very safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday with loved ones.

Dear Parents,

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of having parent/teacher conferences with all of you. I know they were brief but I’d like to remind you that I am always available to talk with you if you have any questions or concerns. Please contact the school to set up a time to meet via zoom or phone if/when necessary. 

This past week we spent quite a bit of time identifying our feelings and talking about ways to express them that are not hurtful to others or ourselves. We continue to talk about Kavod, how to show respect and be kind to one another as well as the materials in our classroom environment. As I’m sure you all know, 3-4 year olds can have very big emotions that can quickly sway from one end of the spectrum to the other in just moments. Although this may seem that they are irrational or extreme, please know that this is completely developmentally appropriate for this age group. This is why I am focusing a lot of time on trying to work through those emotions and find ways to help them self regulate and communicate. 

I would like to share with you some of the language that I use at school, in hopes that you can use it in your home life if that works for your family. Or, if nothing less, if you hear them say it you’ll know where it’s coming from.

“Put on your listening ears.” 

(I say this to get their attention and encourage them to be good listeners)

“ Don’t yuck my yumm.”

(Often when at the lunch or snack table, children well tell another child that their food is gross or they don’t like it. This can be upsetting for the child on the receiving end.)

“Use your talking voice not your yelling voice.”

(Quite often when someone’s upset they yell or scream at their friends, so I use this term to get them to bring down their volume so that they can communicate in a voice that other people are receptive to hearing.)

“Use your words, not your hands.”

(I say this to prevent children from hitting one another and to choose words to express themselves as an alternative.)

“Look at your friends face, how do you think they feel?”

(When I say this to a child, I want them to be able to recognize the feelings that another child is having and it helps them to be more empathetic in the situation.) 

Soon we will be welcoming some additional children to our class which comes with much excitement and new challenges. Because of this, you will probably hear some repetition in the next few weeks as we will need to continue to create a warm, safe environment for your children to play and express themselves. 

Shabat Shalom,

Morah Maya

Green Room 11/13

Shabbat Shalom Green Room Families!

Finally we’ve come as close as possible, with the exception of the holiday, to having a full week together and it’s been quite nice to have the consistency. We’ve really spent this past week just getting to know one another a little bit better, understanding one another’s temperaments and really observing areas of interest. I've been focusing a lot on helping the children know how to identify their feelings and using kind words and self-regulation. Throughout the remainder of the school year, there will be a strong focus on the concept of Kavod.

For those that may not be familiar with it, “Kavod” is the Hebrew word for honor and respect. It is a word of great strength and importance in the Hebrew language and these are the traits we want to instill in our children's lives and interweave throughout all aspects of the school and home life.

At this point it’s a very broad concept for them and I will spend time further developing their thoughts surrounding it and helping them express it through their actions. We also discussed the concept of “filling your bucket." There are several different children’s books with different titles about this concept. We are currently reading the book “Sara the Bucket Filler”, by Rivka Fishman. The idea is that when your bucket is full, you are happy with kind thoughts, feelings and words. And when your bucket is empty, you have sad or angry feelings. The bucket is representational of one’s heart. This analogy is used so that the children can have a more tangible, feasible reference point. I wanted you to all be aware of some of the language I am using in class with them so if you hear it at home you know what it means.

Moving forward next week, we plan to continue to focus on Kavod and filling the buckets of those around us. In preparation for Thanksgiving, we will begin to focus on gratitude. We will not focus on the traditional secular holiday but  more on the fundamental concepts of appreciation and being thankful. 

Shabbat Shalom, 

Morah Maya

New Beginnings

Shabbat Shalom!

I would like to thank all of the families for such a warm welcome to Chandler Jewish Preschool.

During this week, the Green Room friends and I took some time to get to know each other a little better.

Our first full day together was Thursday. We spent it establishing routines and getting to know our new environment. I look forward to a full week next week.

Morah Maya

Dear Parents,

 This week in the Green Room we wrapped up our 7 days of creation unit and jumped right into Parsha Noah. Along with our Judaic learning, the Green Room friends worked on math skills and created another beautiful self portrait. Here are some highlights of the week:

Day 4

 Hashem created the sun, moon, and stars. Our friends were invited to create a starry night and a sunny day painting. First we used white crayons to design our moon and stars and sun. Then we we took black and orange watercolor paints and painted over the our drawing. Our friends were surprised when the paint touched the paper and the their drawings with the crayon were revealed!  Finally, while the paint was still wet, our friends added salt to the top of their papers creating a reaction and adding dimension to their work.

 

Day 5

Birds and fish were created. Our friends were invited to build their own bird nest with sticks, leaves and clay that we gathered outside during our time in the outdoor environment.  

Day 6

Hashem created animals and people.

Our friends were invited to create their own habitats for people and animals while we discussed the sixth day of creation. The class enjoyed getting messy and discussing which animals lived where. 

Day 7

After all those days of work, Hashem need rest so he created Shabbat! On Fridays, we always have Shabbat parties. 

    After finishing the Days of Creation, Morah Felicia also explained the Parsha Noach in our morning Daven circle. With props and puppets, she created an interactive experience that made the story come alive to our friends. We learned long ago when Hashem created the world he wanted everyone to make good choices and do the right thing. Not long after Hashem created the world, most people were making choices that were unsafe and could be hurtful. There was one man that wasn't like everyone else. He chose to do the safe, right choices and he taught his family to make good choices too. This made Hashem happy. He wanted all the people to be like Noach. Hashem told Noach to build a teiva, we learned this means a big boat, to hold 7 mommy and 7 daddy kosher animals, a pair of mommy and daddy non-kosher animals, and Noach's family because Hashem was going to bring a mabul, a flood, to wash away all the not-so-nice things in the world. Noach tried warning all the people of the flood that if anyone wanted to stay safe from the flood, there was room. No one listened to Noach. The day came when rain started to fall and didn't stop for 40 days! What a long time. After the rain, a rainbow appeared. Hashem promised Noach that he would never bring a flood again and the rainbow was a symbol of that promise and how important it is to always try your best to make good choices.

Self Portraits

This week our friends were invited to create a monthly self Portrait of themselves.

 

Math

Our friends work on one to one correspondence 1-10 with these counting works. 

We have had such a great week. We are very excited to welcome Morah Maya to the CJP team! She will be the the new Lead teacher in the Green Room and I will be returning to the Blue Room. I'm going to miss all my friends so much, but I know they will be in great hands with someone who will nurture and help them grow and learn to their best potential. 

As always, have a peaceful and restful Shabbos.  

Love,

 Morah Felicia

Days of Creation

Dear Parents, 

 

This week and next week our unit of interest is Parsha Bereishis, the story of creation.
We took the story and incorporated it into our centers. We focused on the first two days of creation this week and will continue with rest next week. 

Long ago in the very beginning there was NOTHING! Only Hashem, no world, people or animals, no trees or stars, no water or light. Hashem didn't want things to stay like this. He wanted to create a beautiful place where people could do only good and a place where he would be recognized. Since there was no such place, Hashem decided to create it.

On the first day he started by creating light. Hashem made the light shine part of time, called day and made dark for part of the day called night. Then on the second day he created water then he created space in the middle filled with air called sky. Next he made dry spots of sand, clay, and rock called land that divided the waters into oceans, lakes, and rivers. He created trees and plants that live on this land.  Then Hashem created two great lights to tell us when it was day and when it was night, the sun and the moon. Next he created creatures to swim in the seas, fly in the skies, and crawl on land. After this he created animals and finally created the first people. Hashem saw that he created such a beautiful place just like he planned and he gave the people the responsibility to keep it beautiful and good by showing kindness and practicing mitzvos.This would make Hashem recognized and comfortable. Now Hashem's work was complete so he rested and made Shabbos a time to rest. It would be a time to celebrate all of Hashem's beautiful work, his creation of life and world.

Light and Dark

Monday and Tuesday our sensory trays had white beans and black beans to represent light and dark.  We had some sun, moon, and star shapes in various sizes along with spoons and buckets. The Green Room Friends hid the shapes as well as scooped and poured into buckets, developing and strengthening their fine motor skills, self regulation, and vocabulary. Once the beans were mixed after playing, our Friends sorted the beans putting all the white beans in a pile representing "day" and the black beans in a pile representing "night". We took this opportunity to have a conversations about Hashem creating day and night. Then we asked questions like "What do you see in the sky in the dark time?" "What do you see in the sky during the light time?"  Hashem created all of it!

On Day 2, Hashem created the waters in the skys and land.

Our friends had fun splashing in the water in the sensory table.

On Day 3, Hashem created plants, trees, and flowers. We used sand and other loose parts to create our own trees and flowers. Loose parts are any materials that can be moved, carried, combined, redesigned, lined up, taken apart and put back together in multiple ways. Loose parts can be used alone or combined with other materials. There is no set of specific directions for materials that are considered loose parts. The friends led the direction.  

Process Art

All of our friends had such a great time creating marbleized paintings with watercolors and oil this week. First, we invited our friends to add water colors and oil to a tray with eye droppers; then they put a piece of paper on top and lifted it to see what happened! We discovered that the oil and water don't mix no matter how hard we tried! Morah Felicia explained that water only likes water and oil is non-polar so it's afraid of water and only likes things that are non-polar like them. This was such a great opportunity to create something beautiful and explore a little science as well - and all friends led! 

Next week we will continue exploring the days of creation followed by Parsha Noah. 

Welcome back! 

It was great to everyone after our break. Wishing you a restful Shabbos!

Morah Felicia

Sukkot

Dear Parents, 

 Here are the weekly Highlights:

Fine Motor/Sensory
Sukkot provocation: We used small wooden sticks, tiles, and slime sand, to create photos of Sukkahs. Our Friends built their own Sukkah and we got some amazing results. The Green Room Friends really enjoyed working with the texture of the slime sand. We talked about how a Sukkah needs 3 walls and a roof made of Schach. We also talked about how the Sukkah is symbolic to hashem's love and he is always around us. We celebrate with friends and family. 

   

"Look, Morah Felicia, I made my Sukkah." - Yehonathan

Art

Our Friends made their own Sukkah decorations that were sent home for your family to enjoy. We used flowers and other loose parts to embellish a styrofoam ball, another great fine motor activity that everyone enjoyed.  

   

Literacy 

David and Shai practice writing their names. We practice always starting at the top when writing letters. As we traced the letters we also went over the phonetic sound of each letter.  

   

We hope you have a wonderful break. See you all soon. 

 Morah Felicia

Yom Kippur

 Dear Parents, 

This week in the Green Room, we explored the next high holiday, Yom Kippur. During Rosh Hashanah, we learned that we want to ask Hashem for help to be the best we can be.Yom Kippur is when we ask all our friend's forgiveness for any wrong we may have done towards them. During Yom Kippur we also hear the story of Yonah and the Big Fish. Morah Felicia told the story of Yonah and his journey to Ninveh.

Social Emotional

This week in circle we discussed mitzvahs vs. mistakes, and on Yom Kippur we take time to realize our mistakes and ask for forgiveness; asking for forgiveness means saying sorry.  Our friends used a scale to demonstrate how we want our mitzvahs to weigh more than our mistakes.That means we need many more mitzvahs than mistakes.Then we talked about how we could be better in the new year, like taking turns and using gentle hands, and helping our mommies and daddies at home.

Fine Motor

This week our friends cleaned pennies for tzedakah. Not only is it a mitzvah to give extra tzedakah on Yom Kippur, our friends have noticed how dirty the coins are and wanted them to be extra shiny. We used baking soda and vinegar to clean our coins and as our friends were cleaning, they discovered when they mixed the baking soda with the vinegar, a chemical reaction was made! They saw bubbles forming and heard sizzling sounds! They were all so proud of their discovery and work when the pennies shined in the light.

Also this week, our friends poked holes in the side of a lemon and carefully inserted cloves into the lemon. The room was so fragrant and smelled like Fall with the cloves. The children enjoyed smelling the cloves and lemon together. They also discovered that the cloves were poky and they had to be extra careful while putting them into the lemon.

For our moms and dads to smell them on Yom Kippur fast.

Smelling Besamim on Yom Kippur has been a long standing custom. As we fast, it is a challenge to complete the "100 Brachot" we strive to make each day; smelling Besamim helps us along to reach that goal.

Thanks for another great week. Wishing you a peaceful Shabbos.

Morah Felicia

Honey Tasting

This week we wrapped up our Rosh Hashanah unit.  Here are some highlights:

We tasted 4 different types of honey and documented our experience.  First, the honey was labeled with numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4.  Some things the Green Room Friends discovered were the honeys all looked a little different. Honey number 1 was in a tray and also had real honeycomb! The color was very light and transparent. Honey numbers 2 and 3 were both the same yellowish color but the textures were different. And honey number 4 was very brown was compared to looking like syrup. After we compared and contrasted the look and textures, it was time to taste!

Of course all of our friends enjoyed all 4 honeys but they all had their favorite:

Shai said,”Honey number 1 is my favorite, it tastes like ice cream.”

David said honey number 2 “Tastes like the honey at my house. My favorite one is the black one. (4)”

Lia pointed to her favorite honey which was also the dark honey. (4)

Ella said,”Honey number 3 is my favorite.”

Yehonathan said, “Honey number 3 is the best one. It’s really honey!”

We discussed how we dip apples in honey on Rosh Hashana to ask Hashem for a sweet New Year!

 

 

Rosh Hashana continues

This week in the Green Room we continued our Rosh Hashana unit. Here are some of our highlights this week.

Group Projects

This week our friends worked on creating their own keepsake honey jar! First our friends covered their jar in glue and then used tissue paper to cover the outside of their jar. This created a stained glass collage look. Our friends really enjoyed the getting sticky with glue and working with a new medium.  Each child will be sent home with one next week. 

On Friday our group project was a still life shofar painting. Still life drawings are valuable because our friends use something that is real and meaningful as a guide for their own creative expression. This activity challenges our friend's ability to look at the finer details in the everyday objects that are familiar to them.

Another group project this week was apple stamping. Our friends created apple prints while following a two step direction and using eye/hand coordination. Moving their hand from the paint plate onto their paper requires our friends to focus and coordinate their hand movement with their eye movement.  Lastly, this activity teaches cause and effect - demonstrating to our friends the plain apple and what happens after dipping it into paint to create a print on their paper.  

This week we conducted our first science experiment. We made apple eruptions! First, Morah Felicia cut out the core of 3 apples leaving them whole. We mixed some watercolor in vinegar and took out some baking soda. Each friend poured about 2 teaspoons of baking soda into their apple and before they added the vinegar, Morah Felicia asked the group, "I wonder what will happen when we add the vinegar?" As each child added the vinegar to their apple they discovered the mixture made fizzy sounds and overflowed their apple with bubbles! They were truly amazed saying, "whoa!" and giggling with excitement as they repeated this at least 6 more times. Science should be viewed as thinking and trying to understand how things works and how the world works. It's not the time to memorize facts. Our friends need multi-sensory approaches to learning. Therefore, science experiments involve asking questions, probing for answers, conducting investigations and collecting data. Our job as Morahs is to give children the opportunity to construct their own ideas.

During circle time, Morah Felicia introduced a special prayer book used on Rosh Hashanah called the Machzor. Our friends took some time to explore, flipping through the pages, discovering most of it was in Hebrew and also how the book opened wasn't like what they were used to.  

Looking forward to another great week. Wishing you a restful Shabbos,

Morah Felicia

Dear Parents, 

    We've had great week of exploring and discovering.  Here are some highlights: 

 Rosh Hashana

With Rosh Hashana around the corner, this week we introduced some concepts about the Holiday through our centers and morning circle times.   In morning circles we discussed how Rosh Hashana is the new year, a new beginning.  Just like we had a first day of school we have a first day of a new year. We ask Hashem for help to become our best self and for a sweet new year. We do this by blowing the shofar, eating sweet foods like apples dipped in honey, or sending cards to our family and friends, saying Shana Tova to wish them a sweet a new year too.  The Morahs explained the shofar comes from a Ram and when we blow the shofar we can think of a mitzvah that we can do to be a better friend and more helpful.  Rabbi T has made visits to our classroom to blow the shofar.  All of our friends giggled at the sound it makes.  They all agreed it sounds funny.   Our friends investigated the shofar in our classroom.  Some friends take turns trying so hard to blow and others feel the rough bumpy texture. 

Discovery table

We set up a discovery table with all things Rosh Hashana related such as apples, honey, shofars, and a variety of pictures.  Our friends were invited to explore the materials. The discovery table is one of the first things the children see when they come in in the morning.  Through exploring and investigating these authentic objects, our friends begin to build their own experiences with them.  Our friends also explored through sensory play this week pouring, scooping, and smelling oats and apples.

Shana Tova Cards

 We started off by painting with honey on apple shaped cardstock.  We encouraged our friends to dip their paintbrushes into honey and then use it to paint the paper. The Morahs pointed out how the paintbrush and honey stuck to the paper.  We discovered the honey was so thick and not so easy to work with but very yummy to lick! Another group project this week was apple stamping.  Our friends created apple prints while following a two step direction and using eye/hand coordination.  Moving their hand from the paint plate onto their paper requires focus and coordinating their hand movement with their eye movement.  Lastly, this activity teaches cause and effect.  Demonstrating to our friends the plain apple and what happens after dipping it into paint to create a print on their paper.  The end product will be Shana Tova cards for our family and friends.  We are learning to say Shana Tova which is wishing someone a sweet new year in Hebrew.

Outdoor Environment 

Our friends did a sink and float experience in the puddles they found with natural materials found outside we discovered that rocks sink to the bottom of the water and wood chips,stick, and leaves float on top of the water. We've enjoyed spending the morning exploring the outdoors and hope to continue to spend more time outside as the weather gets cooler.

Along with introducing Rosh Hashana our friends worked on recognizing and writing some letters of the alphabet and alef bet, as well as some math with number recognition and one to one correspondence. Next week we will continue to explore more concepts of Rosh Hashana. Thank you all for being so responsive and getting any extra materials we have requested for activities we do in the classroom.

We are looking forward to another great week of learning and growing. Wishing you a peaceful Shabbos.

Morah Felicia

 Dear Parents, 

        This week the Green room took time to explore the subject All About Me.  Our friends enjoyed doing many activities that were about them, as we get more comfortable into our new routine and classroom.  This week we also celebrated David's Birthday. Here are some highlights of the week:

Social Emotional

Our friends made a cake for David's birthday. They gathered the ingredients and followed the recipe as they measured, poured, and mixed everything together. It was the talk of the morning everyone was so excited to celebrate and eat cake. We invited our Blue room friends to join in the festivities. We also gave extra Tzedaka for the occasion. Then David painted his birthday letter that we hung up on our Birthday/Classroom tree.

Family share. Our friends took turns sharing some things about their families. Morah Felicia asked questions like Do you have a brother or sister? Can you name your siblings and parents? Do you have any pets at home? and what is your favorite thing to do with your family? David and answered he liked to play ball with this family and Lia told us the name of one of their dogs, Guess. Shai shared that her family photo was taken at her Nana's house and she liked to play there. Ella said she enjoys playing with her mom and dad, and Yehonathan said he really loved to pet his Eti (brother) and Avigail (sister.) Our friends were so proud to share a little piece of themselves to each other and were also excited to hear each other's shares.

Inspired by the book, 'My Many Colored Days', by Dr Seuss, our friends created themselves with color based on how they were feeling. We talked about how we can feel many different feelings at many different times and they are all okay to have because they are a part of us.

Math and Science

Today we gathered data for a graph we will make comparing the different heights of our friends in the green room. We took our data and arranged them from the tallest friend in the class to the shortest friend in class. We discovered that Yehonathan was the tallest friend 3'4", David 3'3", Shai 3'2", Ella 3', Lia 2'9".

Art

This week our friends also made a self portrait of themselves. We first read a book, Face Me, and made faces in the mirror expressing different emotions. They showed great concentration as they worked.

We also explored the sense of touch and made a different textured hand going over what textures we felt and described them. Some vocabulary words used were squishy, bumpy, rough smooth, soft, and scratchy, this was a great sensory and vocabulary activity. Our friends did puzzles of their faces and friends faces, and practiced self care with a variety of dressing frames such as buttoning, diapering, and latching this not only helps build confidence and independence but strengthens fine motor skills that are needed later on down the road for writing.

We had a busy fun week and can't wait to start our Rosh Hashana unit.

Wishing you a restful Shabbos. Morah Felicia

First week of School!

 Dear Parents, 

First off we would like to welcome back all returning and new families!  We are excited to start a brand new year and we thank you for trusting us to be with your precious children through out the day. It's a privilege to nurture, guide, and have a positive influence on their growth and development as a whole human being.  Our goal is to make each child feel safe and loved, nurture independence, and to spark  that natural curiosity within.  Here are some highlights:

This week we have had some trial and error at morning drop off, thank you for being so patient as we create our new normal schedule.   The first month or two of school we start our day with water play outside, but this week was so hot already by 9 am we decided to do our gross motor inside in the bounce house!  Our friends were so excited and enjoyed bouncing and sliding down the side.  We hope to return to our regular schedule next week.

This week our friends were introduced to the classroom centers and the materials in each center.  Our friends are learning how to treat materials with care and they are learning that everything has a place.  The 2 favorite areas this week were definitely the dramatic play and loft as well as the art center. To help manage the class,  in the mornings our friends get to choose a classroom job that they are responsible for that day.  Our classroom jobs are:

• Door Holder - The door holder is responsible for holding the doors open for the class when we have any transitions out of class.
• Light Switcher - Light switcher is responsible for turning on/off the lights when we need to so we save electricity.
• Cart Pusher - Cart pusher pushes the classroom water cart when we leave the class so our friends all have their water. 
• Water Server - Serves water to everyone in class during snack and lunch time. 
• Line Leader - Leads the line so no one gets lost and everyone stays together and safe.

Next week we will start an All About Me unit.  Please bring a Family photo if you haven't already, also a picture of any pets you have, and a picture of your child's room. This will be for a project we will do in class.

Wishing you a peaceful Shabbos.  

Morah Felicia  

    

 

Happy Friday Green Room Families

For daily updates please make sure you are checking the Brightwheel app. 

This week we wrapped up our story and lessons on Purim. Morah Sarah and I sent everything home on Monday. If you did not receive your littles cool bag of projects. Check out their cubby! The children loved learning about the book of Esther, and are so knowledgeable on the subject. Many of the littles even acted out the story while playing in the kitchen area. 

Academically, we did not add any new lessons this week. I wanted to give all the children the opportunity to really engage and master the works already placed on the shelves. They enjoyed the extra exploration time. I encourage you to stop in, in the morning or at pick up and ask your little what they have been working on. I am sure they would love to show you their space. Morah Sarah and I don’t need to be in there, you can explore without us if you want. 

I am posting pictures of our super cool week on Facebook. 

Quick Housekeeping reminder that if your child sleeps during nap time we will be sending their belongings home everyday to be washed. Please read the email Masha sent out about the ways we are keeping your littles safe! 

Lastly, the Green Room is in need of a few items… If you can help us out that would be magical. We are needing…..

-Clorox Wipes

-Wash Rags

-Paper Plates

-Plastic Forks and Spoons 

Morah Sarah and I hope you have a very special Shabbat and a wonderful week ahead.

Warmly,

Brook and Sarah

Happy Friday Green Room Families. Can you believe March is already here? We have so many wonderful lessons, activities, and gross motor experiences planned out for the month. For daily updates please make sure you are checking the Brightwheel app.

The last two weeks we have had a main focus on all things Purim. We have been exploring the giant Purim book, making colorful masks, painting picture frame castles, giving more tzedakah during Torah time, and lastly enjoying more dress up play. The children loved learning about the book of Esther, and are so knowledgeable on the subject. Chabad is having a special Purim Event on March 10th called Purim in China. I really hope you and your families can make the event, as the children have worked so hard learning the story that it would be very special for them to see the celebration in person.

Academically we added four new lessons this week. I have posted pictures of these lessons on Brightwheel so you could identify them in our classroom and ask your child about them. The lessons included; a penny timeline, language matching cards, sound cylinders, and mask creations. As always we are working on our sound books, and math materials. I encourage you to stop in, in the morning or at pick up and ask your little what they have been working on. I am sure they would love to show you their space. Morah Sarah and I don’t need to be in there, you can explore without us if you want!

I have posted many times on Brightwheel over the last couple weeks about bringing Toys to school. However, they are still being brought in. I understand that our friends love to share their super cool toys with their friends, and that is why we started Show and Tell. I have seen many tears over lost toys, broken toys, friends taking others toys, toys being left on the playground. This causes a huge distraction for the rest of the day. It takes away from our Torah and Lesson Time. On Show and Tell days please bring your child’s Show and Tell in a bag and place it on the counter. The bag helps the child understand that their Show and Tell is special and has a place to keep safe. If your child brings their show and tell to the playground for playtime or without a bag they will not be sharing during circle time. If you need a bag we have several paper bags in our drawer, and a special show and tell bags that are in our basket. Feel free to snag it on the day of or the night before! Thank you so much for understanding.

Quick Housekeeping reminder that if your child sleeps during nap time to please bring a twin or crib size sheet and blanket as we do not have extras.

Lastly, the Green Room is in need of a few items… If you can help us out that would be magical. We are needing…..

-Clorox Wipes
-Wash Rags
-Paper Plates
-Plastic Forks and Spoons

Morah Sarah and I hope you have a very special Shabbat and a wonderful week ahead.

Warmly,
Brook and Sarah

Happy Friday Wonderful Families,

I hope you all have had a great week! This week in the Green Room we had three new lessons added to the shelf’s, and talked/crafted about Tu B’Shavt.

The three new lessons are....
-Baby Washing. This work takes a lot of concentration, as there are many different steps your child has to follow in order to successfully give the baby a bath.
-Triangle Puzzle. This work is very challenging! The children have to match the sides of the select pieces in the box to create a triangle.
-Dress Up Area. I have finally decided that our friends are ready for the next step in the kitchen area! That includes trays of dress up work. Each tray has a reality based job with pictures of someone working in the field, along with the clothing to go along with the career.

On the topic of Tu’ B Shevat....
The Green Room Friends have been diligently learning about this special Holiday by reading stories, working on a performance for grandparents day, and engaging in crafts.
Crafts you’ll find in your child’s cubby this week include;
-A tree coloring
-Mini Book about Tu’ B Shavet
-Painted flower pots, with seeds and soil
We also made a special craft for Grandparents day that we will send home next Friday!

Wishing you and your families a wonderful Shabbat!

Warmly,
Brook & Sarah

Green Room Update 

The Green Room friends had a fantastic week. They explored new sensory objects, engaged in new math materials, worked diligently on their language folders, and enjoyed this week's Parsha “BO”, Lastly we started to understand the holiday of Tu’B Shavt. 

Our large sensory bin is full of fun Orbeez. The children have included jungle animals, and cooking wear into the bin to make it even more exciting for exploration. We have a new Math counting working that has been added to the shelf. This work is perfect for our friends, and they’ve enjoyed it greatly. Feel free to stay longer at drop off or at pickup and ask your child to show you their cool works! 

Language Folders have been such a success in our room. Each friend is thrilled to have their own folder with a new material each week special to them. To meet them developmentally right where they are.  I will be sending home some of the finished folder works next Wednesday. Keep a lookout! 

During this week’s Parsha we explored the story of “BO”. Morah Sarah talked with the children about honoring your elders, different types of wild animals, and three golden rules. 

Morah Sarah and I adore spending time with our friends, and look forward to a new week full of fun! 

Shabbat Shalom! 

Happy Friday Green Room Families

We are two weeks into the new semester, and all the children have adjusted well and are officially back into the groove. 

This week the Lessons included; Shape Sorting, Monster Numbers, Fruit and Vegetable Naming/Matching. I also added some fun works to the shelf such as Play-dough, Shaving Cream Fun, Rice sensory bin, and Cutting works! 

Morah Sara began the Topic of Shabbat with our friends this week. She has read two amazing books called “Ship Shape Shabbat” and “Hanna’s Sabbath Dress”.  She also had the children do some crafts, which were sent home day of. The crafts were Shabbat Candles, Flower Drawings, and Kiddish Cups (Pinterest fail, but the kids had fun making them). Next week Morah Sara is going to continue the topic of Shabbat with new crafts, and new stories. 

Show and Tell was a HUGE success! Each child presented their special object to their friends with such pride. They also were able to answer questions, and walk around the circle letting their friends explore the object for a minute. The following is your child’s day for the rest of the semester until Spring Break. 

Thursday- 
Mia 
Davis 
Leanna 
Ronan 

Friday- 
Mae 
Gavin 
Naveed
Angie 

Please place your child’s show and tell into a brown bag, and make sure their name is visible. You can leave the bag on the counter in our classroom on their day. Remember no breakables! 

Lastly, make sure to check out our documentation board in the hallway we are working on loose parts in a special way. 

Have a wonderful Shabbat, and I look forward to seeing you all Monday Morning! 

Warmly, 
Morah Brook & Morah Sara