Parshat Tetzaveh: To Rise Above

Parshat Tetzaveh: To Rise Above

In this weeks Parsha, Hashem tells Moshe how to make olive oil for the Menorah in the Mishkan (Hashem's house in the desert). The olive oil was made from the best olives and from the first drops of oil.

*Ask your child if they remember how the Menorah was made* 

Oil goes into the Menorah to light up the Mishkan and the whole world.
We learned that oil is special because when you put it in with different liquids it always rises to the top.

Menucha takes a closer look at a bag filled with oil and water.

We can also be like oil! If our friends are doing something not right, we can rise above and decide not to follow.

We learned abut the different clothing that the Kohanim (priests) wore. The Kohanim wore 4 special pieces of clothing and the Kohen Gadol wore 8.

Their special clothing reminded them about how they needed to act.

On Shabbos and Yom Tov we wear special clothing to remind us about Shabbos. 

We also wear special clothing during the week. When a we wear a Kippah, or dress, or Tzitzis it reminds us to listen to Hashem and do Mitzvos.

Landforms

We had so much fun this week finishing up our landform unit!

We proudly displayed all of our beautiful land-form models in the classroom for everyone to see. We had a blast creating each one.

We wanted to make this project last forever so we made a land-form book!!
Thank you Morah Davina for putting the land-form book together!!!

Levi Yitzchak is painting his desert model.

Yisroel decided his volcano would be surrounded by water.

Welcome

Gan Camarillo is so excited to welcome a new student! Devorah Leah Muchnik has come to join our class!

Everyone was so excited to see her!!

Girl Bonding Time

Capit

We are still finding innovative ways to practice our Hebrew writing and spelling.

Devorah Leah uses chalk to write down the sound.

We used Purim words and took dance breaks. It sure made reading fun!

Muka and Max proudly display the word Haman!! BOOO

We will be celebrating 100 days in school with a party!

This coming Wednesday will be the 100th school day. You are welcome to bring 100 TINY objects to school!    

Hashem in the King's Palace turns into a life lesson!

A palace center was set up in the classroom to invite the children to play and act out the story of Purim that they learned throughout the week.

After a week of 'living' with Mordechai and Esther in their Jewish home, we definitely 

felt a difference! All the glamor, jewels, mirrors, dresses, scepters it was quite a contrasting atmosphere and now could appreciate why Esther was hesitant to be the new queen of King Achashverosh!

It is so beautiful to watch the children really understand why Esther felt more comfortable in Mordechai's home than the palace! 

Even with all the glamor we still found children wanting to hang out in the Jewish home!- That is where a Jew feels the most comfortable, doing Mitzvahs!

Mina in her Esther queen costume ran to get her baby a Torah!

King Achashverosh was introduced and that he was a selfish King who liked to show off all his treasures. 

In comparison we talked about what Mordechai's job was-  to 

gather the children and teach them Torah!

 Life lesson at circle time

One of the big ideas from the Story of the Megillah is that Hashem is everywhere!

Mordechai comforted worried Esther and foresaw that if she was to be chosen as the queen it was part of Hashem's plan and that she should be brave because Hashem is IN the palace too!

"Do any of you ever feel nervous or worried about something or going somewhere?"

Saige, "I feel nervous when getting to know new people."

Hannah, "I feel worried when I have to go to the doctor."

It was so heartwarming to hear the other friends reassure them how they can be brave and yes Hashem is in the doctors office or when meeting new people!

Hannah helped hide a siddur in the Palace for when Esther wanted to daven to Hashem just like she did in Mordechai's house.

Friends re-enacting the Purim story using puppet theatre. 

 Dress up Self Portraits

Through out the year we invite the children to create their self portraits.This is a great way to document their growth watching the pictures get more and more detailed in their interpretation of themselves.

In the spirit of Purim we placed a mirror on the table as well as some dress up items and make up and watched what would take place.

After Rozie did a little dress up she started to draw herself . We observed her taking off her crown to get a closer look at it to create it on her paper

Dovi had a creative idea! Instead of looking in the mirror to draw his funny lips he made with lipstick. He decided to stamp it on his paper. 

Mendel sitting next to him decided to create a brown beard "Like Mordechai" and try out Dovi's technique by placing his chin on his paper. 

Sensory Gragger table.

During the reading of the Megillah on Purim, each time we hear Haman's name we traditionally make noise and shake graggers to blot out his name.

We placed all sorts of objects some that can create noise in a container and others that cannot for the children to experiment with sound.

Bela Riva shaking one container filled with seashells and another with feathers and pom poms to hear the difference.

Ari using great concentration while balancing a small object on a spoon to get into his jar.

 Menachem decorating his own crown.

Thank you Moshe for helping us keep up with our beautiful garden!

 Dancing in the happiest month of the year!!

Showing our thanks to Vons for donating hundreds of Hamentashen that will be given out over the Holiday of Purim!

Parshat Mishpatim: A House for Hashem

Parshat Teruma: Building a House for Hashem

This weeks parsha speaks about the donations that the Jewish people gave in order to build a house for Hashem in the desert. The house of Hashem in the desert was called the Mishkan. There were so many miracles that happened inside the Mishkan. The Aron Hakodesh  (the holy ark)  held the 10 commandments that the Jewish people received by Har Sinai. On the top of the Aron there were two angels. 

When the Jews had Ahavas Yisroel and were nice to each other. The angels faced each other.

And when the Jews were doing the opposite, the angels turned around and faced away!

There was also a big miracle with the Menorah! Hashem formed it himself from one block of gold. 

We experimented to try to do this ourselves and it seemed impossible!

Trying to mold a menorah out of one block of clay.

The Mishkan was a very holy and special place for Hashem and the Jews. The lesson we learned from this weeks parsha is that we can make any place holy like the Mishkan. For example; our home, our bedroom or our classroom. 

Morah Avigayil asked the kids how do we make a place holy?

Max: "By doing Mitzvos" 

When we do Mitzvos or learn Torah we bring down the Shechina that was in the Mishkan into the room.

We wanted the Shechina in our classroom so we decided to have ahvas yisroel and to help each other with the class material.

The Science of Growth

Menucha carefully transplants her beans from a Ziploc bag to a pot. 

We also learned about how different vegetables grow

and each kindergartener chose a vegetable to plant.

Radishes are one of Yisroel's favorite veggies!

Fish Fright

When we walked into the classroom after vacation, the fish tank looked brown and dirty. Yisroel helped Morah Davina scrub it out and fill it with fresh, clean water.

Practicing hand writing  

Even though we know our letters well, we still practice hand writing every day. The more we practice the better we get!

Max is doing an excellent job.    

Learning how to tell time

The children were so excited to learn how to tell time.
We started with the round hours, like 01:00, 07:00, 11:00, 12:00.    

We played a game matching the time to the clock. 

Mordechai & Esther come to life!

Purim is around the corner! 

On Purim it is a Mitzvah to read from the Megillah and remember the miracle how the Jewish people's lives were saved from the evil Haman!

We always ask ourselves as educators, "How will our children really relate to this story? As well as, "What practical lesson can be learned right now?"

Our goal was to set the foundation of the Purim miracle by first helping the children to connect with the Jewish Heroes; Mordechai & Esther! They do Mitzvahs just like them! They too can be Jewish super heroes and make a big difference! 

ESTHER AND MORDECHAI'S JEWISH HOME.                                                  

Our dramatic play center turned into "Mordechai & Esther's Jewish home." We filled their home with items that might have been found if we went back in time and were invited by Mordechai and Esther themselves. A lot of Judaica, Tzedakah, Shabbat supplies: candles, challah, Kiddush.

Documented pictures posted of them doing Mitzvahs was a great way to show how they too do so many good deeds!

It was truly inspiring to watch the children on their own gravitate to all the different types of Mitzvahs we left in the center. Mendel and Dovi decided to do a prayer session while placing Tefillin and a Talis on.

We heard sweet sounds coming from Rozie singing the Alef Beis in the Jewish home.

Challah center

Within the home we created mini centers of different Mitzvahs. 

The children were invited to use pretend challah dough and a unplugged oven to create a real experience of getting Challah ready.

Motty following the steps that was placed on the table to help create a braid. He experimented trying to do it upside down.

Moshe noticed himself in the picture making challah dough. 

Mendel practicing the three braided technique using stuffed stockings tied together.

Shabbos Candles and Tzedakah 

Mina giving Tzedakah before lighting the Shabbos candles. 

As we spent more time in the Jewish Home center we started hearing "Who wants to be Esther and make the food?", "I'll be Mordechai making Kiddush". The children were now connecting and relating to Mordechai and Esther and it was beautiful to watch generations in-between melt away.

Tzedaka sensory bin. It was fun finding all the coins in the rice and placing it in the Tzedaka box!

Friends being responsible and cleaning up after themselves!

Tzedaka and math

We took this opportunity to review the different types of coins and counting them while placing them in the Tzedaka box.

An Esther moment

Faiga's little sister, Chanie really wanted to join the fun at the Tzedaka table. Faiga quickly helped her by making her own pile of coins and a Tzedaka box to reach. When asking Faiga who else would do beautiful Mitzvahs like that? She knew right away that Esther did!

Batya spent a lot of time trying to fill up her Tzedaka box. This was quite tricky relying on sound instead of opening it.

Mordechai and the Torah

Mordechai would spend his days gathering children and teaching them the Torah. Mendel helped us reenact by being the 'Morah' for davening circle one day! He did a great job, it was pin drop silent ;)

While talking about Torahs, we had fun one morning painting alef beis letters with a feather and black ink just like a real Torah is made.

We enjoyed davening circle time IN the Jewish home some mornings and it was a great practice making sure all our friends were comfortable and had enough space.

We ended off the week with the children documenting the Mitzvahs they love doing.

Hannah; "I like giving hugs to my friends, I'm just like Mordechai and Esther."

Motty and Rozie shared with their friends what mitzvah they drew. 

Rozie " I like to give Tzedaka just like Esther". Motty "I love saying a bracha on my Tzisis".

Each day we sing the Mitzvah notes that the parents write for their child. It was fun including Esther and Mordechai as each child placed their Mitzvah note on them.