Happy Lag Ba'omer

Lag Baomer being this week, we had a fun time preparing them for what they would see like a bonfire! 

Mordy and Axel, having fun marble fire painting.

We also prepared for our own celebration that took place in a park!

Before leaving we reviewed each step so they felt prepared and know the expectations.

On our way!

On a special day like Lag Baomer we made sure to give Tzedakah and have a rally with Torah verses.

Enjoying a delicious treat together.

On Lag Baomer we also celebrated our friend Axel. He turned three and had his Upshernisht which is a special hair cutting ceremony and a foundation of his Jewish education.

Axel, got to lick the holy Alef Beis with honey signifying that Hashem's Torah and Mitzvahs are sweet.

Three generations came to celebrate.

It has been so beautiful to watch our friends practice their sharing and communication with each other. 

Yossi and Mordy, worked out how to do the puzzle together.

Expressing ourself through paint.

A delicious meal that took some coordination.

Fine motor skills at play.

We want to also wish our new Morah Paola a happy birthday!

 

Carob, Caving, and Caring

As Lag Ba'omer is coming closer we are continuing to learn in depth about Rabbi Akiva and what he was known for. This week we continued the theme of Ahavas Yisroel. One of the reasons we are happy on Lag Ba'omer is because Rabbi Akiva's students stopped passing away. They had a challenging time with Ahavas Yisroel which resulted of them to die.

As a class we painted our very own friendship flower!

 The colors blended so beautifully altogether.

We had 4 different class photos made into puzzles. 

This was a fun way to find the matches of our friends.

Friendship beading!

We also focused on two of Rabbi Akiva's students; Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and his son Rabbi Elazar.

They had to hide in a cave to learn Torah to hide from the Romans. In the cave they learned all day and night! Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai wrote the Zohar (Kabbalah) which is the secrets of the Torah.

We did an experiment where we wrote on a paper with a mixture of lemon and water. This gave it an illusion where we couldn't see the writing only when we lifted it to the light.

This is exactly what the purpose of the Zohar is. It gives light, warmth, and dimension in the Torah.

It was fun guessing what each friend drew.

We made our own unique glasses in the theme of seeing the Torah through a different lens with the Zohar. 

We had a kinetic sand center with some lego people pretending it was Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and his son in the cave. Morah Chani recently went to their Kever in Meron (in Israel) so the kids had pictures to look at it in real life! Hashem made a miracle and had a carob tree grow next to the cave, this was their source of food for a year.

Menachem wasn't to fond of the Carob taste

Aleph Beis

Finding the letter Kaf and Chaf in the caves.

Friendships and gardening

With Lag Baomer around the corner, Rabbi Akiva has been a frequent visitor in our classroom. 

During our Davening circle we love singing 'Amar Rabbi Akiva v'havta l'racha k'mocha' - Rabbi Akiva says to love our fellow like ourselves. 

This came to life as each day we documented all the sweet friendship moments that happened in our classroom. Our friend's faces while telling us about themselves or a friend was so heartwarming to see. 

When we finish our friendship chart we will be going on our Lag Baomer trip together!

Friends singing together!

Team building activities are a vital at all stages in life, but for children, the benefits can carry them through childhood and adulthood. 

By working as a team, children develop important life skills like problem solving, listening, leadership and creative thinking. Nurturing teamwork skills also develops higher levels of self confidence, self esteem empathy and compassion. 

Nechama and Mordy, wanted to be the pointers together! This takes a lot of communication!

Heart explosion experiment!

Baking soda and vinegar made our hearts explode it was so fun to see the cause and effect . 

Sharing the water droppers!

Busy friends on a sunny drive. 

Thank you to the Isaac family for replanting our entire garden with delicious fruit vegetables and herbs!

Morgan, came in to do a show about how to care for our garden.

 

 A lot of our senses are part of our garden care. 

Our nose figuring out what each herb is. The most popular is the chocolate mint plant! We learned how to rub it on our fingers and smell it! 

Using our eyes to see when our soil and plants needs to be watered!

To help us remember how we are important helpers we documented the process of garden care.

Thinking and talking about our mommies while making our mother's day craft!