Bringing Fall indoors!

This week we learned all about the wondrous changes that Hashem  makes to our world during Fall. 

We focused on how leaves get nourished and why the leaves change colors.

Muka took this information and created her own picture outside. 

She used a blue marker to trace over all the leaves to show they were drinking the water.

Levi the next day came in so excited to show us the leaf he got from his next door neighbors tree!

He showed us the different colors on the leaf. It was so exciting to see him transfer his classroom learning to another setting at home! Being able to generalize the learning in different contexts shows a deeper understanding of knowledge .

Our fun Fall bulletin board! 

We recycled paper towel rolls as the branches and had fun decorating the trunk with all different types of materials.

Every child is working hard 'raking' up the leaves !

Science meets Art 

The children were given a leaf cut out of coffee filter paper were invited to trace a circle using marker in the middle. After folding it they dipped it into the water and watched the colors get absorbed and move upward it was quite fascinating!

Dovi "Look my water is changing colors!"

It created a beautiful fall decoration outside our classroom!

Crunched up tin foil offered the children an entirely new art experience on their fall trees.

Mirror Art

We placed one side of different shaped leaves and watched the children try to mirror the image on the other side! This took a lot of focus.

No better way to experience fall than to crunch them and slide into a pool of leaves!

Bringing fall indoors!

Play dough with leaves and sticks was a hands on way to talk about all the changed that are going on outside.

Leaf weaving.
Some of the children enjoyed punching holes in the different color leaves and some started stringing these leaves to create a beautiful decoration.

Bela Riva enjoying the Fall literacy books.

Torah portion of the week becomes practical!

In this weeks Torah Portion, the  story is told of the twins Yakov and Esav. Yakov was a very special holy man and Esav made bad choices however, even Esav respected his parents!

The children worked hard making a delicious healthy soup to give to their parents by pick up.

Using our fine motor skills to cut up many types of vegetables.

Thanksgiving has Jewish roots!

This week we started our Thanksgiving Unit!

We learned about the Pilgrims and how they wanted to pray to their G-d freely, so they left their home and went on the Mayflower ship- to travel to a place where they could pray to G-d .

What were they feeling when they came to a new place? (this was a great time to discuss how we all feel sometimes shy and uncertain)

The Native Americans were so welcoming and they ate a big delicious meal together and thanked their G-d.

Through out the week we brought out different lessons from the Thanksgiving story.

(how to treat new friends, being thankful etc)

 The children made a model of the  Mayflower out of Legos!

 Thanksgiving as a Jew every day!

Each and everyday we get to be thankful to G-d, Hashem as we proudly sing 'Modeh Ani".

This prayer is thanking Hashem for waking us up and returning  a special soul inside each of us!

During our Prayer/ Davening circle time we have a large Siddur (prayer book) with different songs.

On the Modeh Ani page , the children were invited to  draw why they want to thank Hashem!

Feather turkey fun!

Ever wonder what else a colander can be used for?!

Placing feathers inside different size holes was a great fine motor skill activity!

We noticed this basket had holes in it too! Levi was being quite creative trying to stick the feathers through the holes while it was on his head!

Cinnamon scent inspired art

Hanging from the ceiling above our art table was a cinnamon whisk.

This caught the children's attention and all had their own ideas what it smelled like.

Hannah " It smells like cake!"

Dovi "It smells like margarine!"

We placed cinnamon inside the paint as well. It was fun using a different sense while creating art.

 Thank you to the Nemtzov family for giving us a new table for our block area!

Imagination and fun outdoors!

After a fun game of musical chairs, Elizabeth came up with her own twist to the game by having everyone crawl under the chairs! It is so amazing to watch the children grow in their creativity and leadership skills!

Animal discovery and a trip to the farm!

After a week of Noach and the Teiva/Ark, we decided to extend the Animal topic for deeper discovery.

We explored many types of animals and learned what makes an animal kosher. 

Motty and Bela Riva placing the correct animal pictures on our Kosher animal chart.

The animals on the Kosher side are those that chew their cud 7 times and have split hooves. Some animals were tricky since it only had one of the two symbols!

Ava having fun categorizing the animals one morning.

Learning about animals through art

By dipping the animals in paint the children learned the different types of foot prints and how many legs each animal has.

Animal inspired art:

We placed various pictures of animals on the table along with a variety of mediums. It was an invitation for each child to create their animal of choice.

Animal Show and Tell!

Show and Tell is a great way to practice public speaking and turn taking! Each child was invited to bring in a stuffed animal from home. They took turns listening and sharing all  about their special friend!

After 'showing and telling' us their animal, the children knew to raise their hand if they had any questions to ask them. 

Animal Literature

Dovi and Yehudis created structures for their animals out of play dough!

Dovi; "My animal is stuck"

Washing our animals clean!

Little animals frozen in ice trays!

Trip to Underwood Farms!

It was such a treat to take the children to see live animals.  It was a great hands on experience to learn about Hashem's special animals. 

 Feeding the animals!

snacking on Clementines they picked!

Enjoying a pumpkin ride!

Challah baking with 'Uncle Baruch!'