Parshat Shemini: Our Class Pet is Kosher (but we won't eat him)

Parshat Shemini: Our Class Pet is Kosher (but we won't eat him!)

In this week's Torah portion we learn that kosher animals have special signs to tell us if they are Kosher. We only eat Kosher animals, not non-kosher animals.  

The way to know if a "land" animal is Kosher is to check that it has split hooves and that it chews cud. Having only one sign is not enough. For example, a pig has split hooves but still is not Kosher, because it doesn’t chew cud.

Yisroel is showing us the split hooves and Mendel is showing us hooves that is not split. 

The way to know if a fish is Kosher is to check for fins and scales. A fish that has both fins and scales is Kosher.

Overheard: "Yay Peppo's kosher!"

Morah: Don't worry, we aren't going to eat him.

"Can we eat Peppo at the end of the year?" :)

The Torah gives us a specific list of non-kosher birds. The rest are Kosher. 

Getting Ready for Pesach!

Rozie adds glitter to the ocean for our bulletin board

Trying to build the pyramids of Egypt

Domino games and logistical thinking go hand and hand.

Getting familiar with the items on the seder plate

Yisroel is working on his Hagada, he is writing the Simani Haseder, the steps of Seder.

Reading And Sequence

This week we had a lot of fun reading. Every day we read a different story. First, the Morah read it. Then, we read it all together. Next, we read it with a friend. Last, we read it by ourselves.

Saige is pasting the pictures to show the order of  the events.

We can compare numbers. >=< Greater, Equal and Less Than. 

Malka is showing us that number 4 and four tally marks are equal.

Aleph Beis Adventures: ק

We explored the letter kuf using things that are קר (kar-cold)

Faiga drew a kuf in the freezing cold instant snow!

We painted the letter Kuf using frozen paint, it was a weird texture,

and we were a little hesitant to touch it.

   DiscoVery Week: V

We played a fun twist on the game "cut the chocolate" and switched in some Veggies. Learning how to find the page numbers in a book, looking for a specific number and then dressing up in a costume                                                                  to "cut the veggies."

Evan cut out the vegetables and glued them to the correct pattern.

Creating mini volcanoes and marveling at the chemical reaction.

Menachem discovered that he could even create the bubbles on his hand.

 

In honor of filling up our marble jar the children enjoyed a special experiment, connected to Volcano's! We performed a science experiment using baking soda & Vinegar, we took it outside and placed it in a sand built volcano!

Happy Birthday Bela Riva!

"I care!"

Two Leaders

The Pesach story came to life by the children helping us create an Egypt/Mitzrayim center in our classroom. It was time to learn about two very different leaders:

King Paroh - he did not like the fact that the Jewish people were getting larger in number. He was an un-caring King and made the Jewish people work hard as slaves. 

Moshe- He was a caring, kind person ; Hashem saw that he had the qualities  to lead the Jewish people out of Egypt!

Our Big idea for our foundation lesson on the Holiday of Pesach, is that we all can be like Moshe and care for one another. Moshe became our role model and leader in our classroom this week.

Emma dressed as a slave in our Egypt center with two different voices talking to her.

Paroh kept on screaming "work harder" . Moshe said "Great job!" 

You can tell from Emma's expressions which one she preferred ;)

Yanky wanted the King Paroh puppet to be tall so he made a tower for him.

How tall can we make it? This was also a great lesson on spacial awareness and balancing.

Taking a break IN the box.

 Mina picked up the Moshe puppet and said "I love you"

We Care

After learning about the different kinds of leaderships. It came apparent to our friends who we want to be like and show that we care for one another.

While Chana Rochel was busy building, Eli came over with a cup of water for her.

Batya and Mina noticed Shalom was sad because he didn't have space by the easel. They came over to him and gave him a hug to make him feel better. It was definitely catchy and Mendel came running over to do the same.

 We wanted to document all these special "I care moments". We placed a pyramid chart in our center and every time a child thought about another person and "cared" we wrote it down and placed it on our chart.

Moshe helped his friend with some water.

We found chanie caring about our classroom as she was wiping the wall that had shaving cream on it.

Building using blocks and shaving cream.

After circle time one day we wanted the children to get a little taste of what a Jewish slave must have felt like back in Egypt, so we did a little experiment.

We took all the lunchboxes away and replaced it with two cheerios. 

 We saw many concerned faces. Where was all their yummy snacks? 

This is what the slaves felt like- they weren't able to eat such yummy food rather a small amount of food that they all got the same. 

They got the point and we quickly returned their lunchboxes ;)

Not only did King Pharaoh treat them bad but he was quite cruel as he made them build on top of quicksand. Moshe and Shalom experimenting with our 'quick sand' using cornstarch and water they watched their sticks sink.

Happy 4th Birthday to our dear friend Mendel.

Thank you to the Petersens for donating beautiful flowers and plants for our garden!

The four Mitzvahs of Purim!

 After spending weeks on our role models Mordechai and sweet Esther we were prepared to talk a little about evil Haman. 

Haman's rule

Haman told everyone to bow down to him. He felt so great about himself and wanted to display that for all to see. 

We got some curious looks about bowing to a person. 

Well, before davening circle we used an ipad to show the children what davening looks like in a Shul. The people were swaying back and forth and it was in a bowing motion! Who are we bowing down to while we are davening? They all knew the answer, Hashem!

That is exactly what Mordechai taught the Jews we do not bow down to any human rather Hashem who is the creator of the universe. 

During our davening songs the children started swaying back and forth while they sang sweet songs to Hashem.

 Learning about the Mitzvahs of Purim

 Listening to the Megillah

On the holiday of Purim it is such a special mitzvah to hear the story of the Megillah.

During the reading when we hear Haman's name we use noise makers (graggers) to show we are blotting out his name. Even till today we are proud to be a Jew and will not let anyone do that to us again.

Experimenting with sound

On our center one morning we put out different size containers, popcorn kernels and funnels.

We observed the children filling up their containers and trying to see what sound it would make.

Eli realized his was too full to make noise. He also creatively decided to push the kernels through the spice holes instead of taking off the cover each time.

Eating a delicious feast

 We made delicious Hamentashen this week. 

Esther following the instructions to turn her circle into  a triangle.

 Sholom using a lid to create his circle.

 Being responsible and cleaning up after our stick mess.

Practicing our cutting and shape skills.

  Giving Tzedaka

We practice this in school everyday. The children when seeing a coin lying around say "I want to give Tzedakah" It's amazing to watch these children understanding the importance of giving.

Giving food baskets
On the day of Purim we give each other food baskets.

'Shushan Purim' Dress up day!

Adelle our Shabbos Ima and Shmuel the shabbos Abba!