Donuts with Dad!

Parents as Partners in education.

Donuts with Dad was definitely a highlight of this week! Pat on the back to EVERY one of you devoted Fathers for re-scheduling your day to come in for a special moment with your little one!
The message to your child of love, dedication and commitment to family (and your child specifically) from your presence is more than you will ever know.

Enjoy some pictures from our special morning!

The children gifted their Dad's with their footprints alongside this Poem:

“Walk a little slower Daddy” said a child so small,
“I’m following in your footsteps and I don’t want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they’re hard to see;
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For you are leading me.

Someday when I’m all grown up,
You’re what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child
Who’ll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true,
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For I must follow you.”

Riding cars down our rain gutter tunnels are much more fun WITH Dad!

Trip to FoodShare- Hands on Lesson on Tzedaka!

One of the values we strive to teach our students is the understanding and appreciation of “Tzedakah.” 

Tzedakah – צדקה – is the Hebrew for a concept that is often translated as charity and involves giving money and help to the poor. “Charity” comes from the Latin root “to care.”  It is something a person does voluntarily. However, the Jewish concept of tzedakah is very different.  The word “tzedakah” comes from a root that means justice. Giving tzedakah is an act of righteousness and a mitzvah, an obligation.

Money is an abstract concept for children, and it will take years for them to completely understand what it means.  We sow the seeds for understanding by explaining what money is for and how we get it.  In the classroom, when we show children what we use money to buy, we can sow the seed and tell them that there are people who don’t have enough money to buy these same things. 

This week our Pre-k Class went on a trip to the FoodShare of Ventura County- as a way to make this Torah teaching a real and relevant part of our childrens lives.

Upon arrival at the Foodshare, the children gave all the coins from our classroom Tzedaka Box!

We learned about the people who founded this wonderful organization, and the reason for it
starting.

We also learned about what types of foods are nutritious, and which types of foods might not be that good for our bodies!

In the warehouse, we saw all the foods that get distributed to people who are not lucky enough to have food in their homes!

In the week leading up to our trip, each of the students brought in canned foods, pasta and other non perishables for our class food-drive! We contributed a total of 53lb of food for the foodshare to distribute !

 After weighing the food that we donated, our whole class had a chance to stand on the grand scale!! All together we weighed a total of 464lb!!

'

Lesson on planting!

We planted corn, lettuce and other fresh vegetable!

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THE PEOPLE AT VC FOODSHARE for making the time to show us all the good work they do, and for being such a wonderful partner in educating our students!

Tuning in to our senses!

Children learn best when they are engaged through ALL of their senses! 

While all of our units of study include sensory opportunities, this week we focused on the actual "sense" and the tools/parts of body needed, to benefit from that sense!

Eyes- Sense of Sight!

Using magnifying glasses, the children were able to use their eyes to see objects larger than they could without it!  

The children enjoyed exploring bugs and other tiny objects with the magnifying glasses!

The children enjoyed placing googly eyes on magna tiles! It was an opportunity to spark discussion about our eyes!

Using our hands for our Sense of Touch

 Textured painting- adding little rocks, glitter and sand to the paint created a whole new experience!

Goop-- made with Cornstarch and water!
The children enjoyed the constantly changing properties of the goop- which hardened when left alone, and softened upon the touch of their hands!

Tongue to Taste-

We tasted lemons and honey and contrasted the different tastes that they experienced!

Potato Stamping

Enjoying Sand & Outdoors~