We have been so busy these past two weeks preparing for our school Shabbat party. We are very excited about sharing with you all the items we have been working so hard on. Friday each child brought home a Shabbat bag that was filled with very unique and individualized items that can be used at home going forward for Shabbat. Each child created their very own, candle holder, challah cover, picture frame, and a kiddush cup. Every single item in the bag as well as the bag was a multi step process.

The children decorating their picture frames after the paint has dried.


   

Decorating kiddush cup.

  

With the help of Morah Tori each child selected the colors in which they wanted to use to tie dye their challa covers and Shabbat bags.

   

Each child was given a block of clay and a cup of water with the instructions that they can make a candle holder for one or two candles however they like. They were all so very unique!



Once they finalize the shape that they desired they were able to adorn their candleholders with glass and gems.

  

The next day once the clay had dried all of the children painted their candleholders.

  

Each child had the opportunity to decorate a small box which would later be used to hold their kiddush cups. They were each given letter shaped stickers an allowed to use whatever they like. We talked about the different letters that they chose in words that started with those letters. They were also given.markers to add color to their box if they so desired.

 

Once the tie-dye fabric had tried each child used a stencil and custom mixed paint colors to add to their challa cover and Shabbat  bag.

 

Once all the items were completed I laid them out on the table for them to see and admire their work. And last but not least each child filled their own individual bag.

Hope these bags will bring your child and your family much joy this Shabbat and many more to come!

When I said busy, I really mean busy! In addition to preparing our Shabbat bags the children also prepared individual salads for each family that will be attended our school Shabbat celebration.

  

It all began with harvesting and washing greens and broccoli from our garden.

  

We had to supplement with a little bit of store-bought product. The kids cut lettuce and began to stuff each individual container with lettuce, arugula, tomatoes, and broccoli.

  

Bon appétit! We hope you enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Shabbat Shalom,
Morah Maya

 Good Afternoon, 

This week in the Green Room we focused on two particular areas: Problem Solving and our school wide Shabbos and Shavuos unit. 

Problem solving is an integral part of our daily lives. Every day your children are honing these skills in a variety of ways ranging from simplistic to very complex.

An example of a simple problem might look like a child trying to figure out which foot each shoe goes on and how to adjust the straps on their shoes.

A more complex example could look like a child trying to enter play with other friends who have already begun playing together or two friends who want to play with one another but have different ideas about what they want to do. This could end in a screaming  match or perhaps tears and hurt feelings. But ideally these two children would be able to negotiate something that they are both comfortable agreeing upon.

On this hot day group of friends decided to move all of the chairs from a different part of the yard, and place them under the tree so they could sit in the shade together.

Mila was having a difficult time squeezing paint out of the small bottle so instead she decided to squeeze it on the paper and roll the glass jar over the paper

These two friends found it challenging to lift these big, heavy blocks and put them on the top shelf so they decided to work together.

“Shai, why don’t we work together?" -Ella

“Team work makes the team work”-Shai

“No team work makes the dream work” -Ella

This day was particularly windy so Shai decided to find rocks and put them on the corners of her paper to prevent it from blowing away.

“Now nothing can stop us.

Maybe you need a bigger one” -Shai

Carmel is building a structure and trying to figure out how to get this last block in his hand to balance on the top.

One friend took out a puzzle, had a difficult time, and was unable to complete it so two other friends offered to help and worked together to complete the puzzle. This is an example of problem-solving , team work and a mitzvah all rolled up in one.

There’s two friends worked together to gather rocks from the yard and creating a circle starting with the smallest rock and ending with the larger size rock.

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The second area of focus this week was hearing the story of Shavuos and beginning to make our Shabbat boxes. 

Next week we will complete our Shabbat boxes and celebrate as one Kehillah.  The "Shabboxes" will go home next Friday at our Family Shabbos Party!.

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Maya

 Shabbat Shalom 

This week I’d like to just share some of the moments we shared together. 

Yehonathan being a mensch and helping me set up our outdoor classroom.

Every morning Ella likes to snack on some fresh kale from our garden.

“Do you remember when I told you yesterday we have to stick together?”

Shai hard at work in the kitchen.

Sensory table set up for a tactile experience as well as pattern recognition.

“Ella look! I’m sticky like glue. I sticked it.”

Jonny and Mila working together to create a collage.

Bean bag toss set up for hand eye coordination. Although you may not be able to see it, there are two shapes on the ground. A rectangle for the person who will throw the bean bags and the circle for the person awaiting their turn. In addition to the gross motor skills this activity fosters an opportunity for the children to practice taking turns as well as following particular steps in a sequential process. 

Two friends cooking together

A blue room friend showing kindness to Mila after she fell and got an ouchie on the yard. 

We’re working on a project....to be continued. You will see the final product in next week's newsletter.

Picasso in the making

“Shai isn’t this funny? I making my side pink."

These 4 friends were given 4 markers, each a different color and were able to independently negotiate sharing them meanwhile practicing patience as they had to wait for a particular color to become available.

“ It’s matzo Play-Doh”

“Do you want to lick this off my finger? It’s yummy. You could put it on your finger since you think it’s so hilarious. You’re gonna miss out on this."

Hope you all have a wonderful Shabbos!

Morah Maya