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