fall

This week we focused on Fall, the new season and all the beautiful colors it brings! Using Art, Imagination, math and science...we explored leaves , branches and most importantly the wonder of how Hashem makes this all happen!

Equally important to general curriculum is our students social emotional skills. With this in mind, several of our circle times this week were focused on learning the skills of how we focus/pay attention/show respect when Morah's, or other friends are speaking.

We used our hands and bodies to  show what our eyes, ears and faces should be doing!

Yedidya shows us how he listens with his ears

Ben shows us how he pays attention with his eyes.

Menachem shows how we zip our mouths to keep quiet while the Morah is speaking.

As part of our circle time, we invite the children to make a commitment to listen with their ears and look with their eyes! 

Fall playdough

As a team, we actually made a batch of playdough, and then chose 3 fall colors to color it! The next day we used our creations to make leaves on branches! 

  

Fall Colored Leaves for our Family Tree

Using our fine motor skills, we practiced cutting tissue paper, and turning it into leaves to add to our Gan Camarillo Family Tree bulletin board.

 

Leaf Necklaces

Another fine motor skill to work on was using hole punchers. The children were invited to punch holes in real leaves that we gathered, and weave them onto string!

  

Fine motor skills are such an important pre-writing skill, that we try to find as many opportunities as we can to strengthen them at this age. Using pipe cleaner trees and button leaves, the children made beautiful colorful pretend Fall trees!

    

We read a book called "The Little Leaf." It described every stage in the life of a leaf, and helped us realize the "Hashgacha Pratis" "Divine providence" in every single step of the leafs movements and life. Even to the point of the leaf falling off the tree, and resting on the floor!

Pumpkin Painting, Seed Counting and more!

First we had fun painting pumpkins! Then we opened them up, used tweezers to pick out all the seeds. There were SO many we couldn\"t keep count!  Then we had an idea to roast them, so we roasted them, added some salt, and enjoyed them as an afternoon snack! Some even ate the entire seed, they loved them!

  

Alef Beis Enrichment

We learned the letter Hay this week! we had lots of fun outdoors using leaves to build a big letter Hay!

Mendy was so kind to share his umbrella, giving all of his friends turns!

Thank you Rabbi Lang for leading a special rally in honor of Chof Cheshvan!

 

Sara and a Siyum!

This weeks Parsha is Chaya Sara. 

Sara had a full beautiful life we experienced in our dramatic play area the miracles Hashem preformed in her honor.

 Her Shabbos candles lasted all week. Mina checking to see if her challah was still fresh since we learned it also lasted all week. 

We enjoyed some rain this week! We checked out the clouds in the sky and learned how Sara had a cloud over her tent not for rain but to show Hashem was there!

When she passed away at age 127 all these miracles were gone until Rivka came into the family!

When Sara passed away, Avraham purchased Maaras Hamachpeila. This was a special place that Adam and Chava were buried in as well as the forefathers and mothers.

It has been so sweet watching Parsha come to life during free play. 

Our friends created a plane to go to Israel to see Maaras Hamachpeila.

We overheard beautiful conversations about how we will recognize everyone when Moshiach comes!

Creating our own tent scene showing the three miracles. Shmuel cutting out the doors and Mina making shabbos candles peeking through a door.

While talking about shabbos candles, it was fun to do some fire painting on tin foil.

After Sara passed away Avraham was on a mission to find Yitzchak a special wife.

Avraham sent a shliach- a messenger, named Eliezer to Charan with camels, jewelry and money.

The children wanted to create a building for the camels.

His trip was miraculously shortened and when he saw girls by the well he made a sign with Hashem, whoever offers his camels water will be someone special for Yitzchak.

Our friends wanted to be a camel with a lot of humps!

Rivka, was at the well and her water miraculously went into her bucket. Not only did she offer to feed them water but continued until all the camels were done, that was a lot of work!

All the talk of wells inspired the boys to dig a big one in the sandbox.

Eliezer gave Rivka Jewelry that Avraham gave him.

We had fun making our own with wikisticks.

Experimenting with water and filling up suction cups.

Finishing our Chassidic Alef Beis book! We have been working so hard and can't wait to start the process of reading! We will be celebrating with a Siyum- end celebration!

Finishing up our letters. Batya learning a trick to remember our right and left since we needed that tool for the Shin and Sin with dots on different sides. The right shape of the letter L is our left hand!

The children have been part of the whole process of our celebration happening at the end of the week.

The boys decorating the Alef Beis tablecloth.

Decorating our special hats.

Thank you Rabbi Lang for coming to do a rally for Chof Cheshvan the Birthday of the Rebbe Reshab. 

Friends and team work.

Animals

After last weeks story of Noach and the Teiva, we chose to delve a little deeper, exploring Hashem’s amazing animals!

Math & Movement

Children learn most when they use their entire body, so this animal jumping center was a great way for the children to develop an understanding of distance, along with discovering something new about different animals.

Each Animal picture was labelled with the distance it can jump! We took turns inviting the children to try jumping the distance of each Animal. It was fascinating for them to see the difference between 10 inches and 10 feet!

Animal Inspired Art

Using picture prints of different animals, we invited the children to experiment making artwork patterns similar to that of cheetas/giraffes/zebras! Hashem is the most amazing artist!

Real Animals Visit our Classroom

Thank you to Adam's Mom Morgan, and to Morah Rachel, for sharing your chickens and your cat! It was a highlight of our week to see and touch these amazing creations of Hashem.

                                                     We learned how the Cat is cared for!

Chickies Floofy and fluffy join our circle😄🐔🐓

What makes an animal Kosher?

We spoke about the signs on an animal that make it Kosher. Split Hooves and Chew its cud are the signs animals need.

Fish need fins and scales to be Kosher!

While talking about kosher, we made placements to help us remember not to mix milk and meat!

Alef Beis Enrichment

We introduced the letter Daled! We made our bodies into the shape of a Daled.

Placemats!

                                                                  Animal Playdough

Animal imagination!

                                                                  Animal Footprints!

Happy 3rd Birthday Mendy Conboy! We are excited to celebrate your haircutting this Sunday! Keep bringing light and smiles to all who know you!