Shaping Up- with a purpose!

 It was great seeing everyone after our winter break! The smiles and laughter of being re-united with their friends was so heartwarming to watch!
For the next couple of weeks we will be focusing on shapes and connecting them to Mitzvah's.

This week : Circle and Square!

Even though most of the children know what a circle is, it is a whole different skill to recognize the shape with different unsuspecting items, and in various contexts. As the week went on they kept on noticing more and more circles that were around them and the difference between an oval and a circle.

Circle time discussions

Using a basket filled with different shaped objects, the children were asked to find only the circle shaped items.

Manipulating our hands into a circle. Learning about sides and edges that shapes have and comparing it to a circle.
We also learned the Hebrew word for circle- "egul." (pronounced eeee-gool)

Team effort making a circle with our friends and not breaking it!

Getting bigger...

Tiny circle ..

 Chanie : " I have a lot of cirlces on my dress!"

Elizabeth showing all her friends her circles on her dress!

We were all getting VERY circle aware..

 

Circle sensory bin

A circle hanging from the ceiling helped the children see a circle in all the different items that were placed inside. 

(buttons, cotton balls, Tupperware with a circle opening, tubes, marbles....)

 

 Learning how to draw a circle.

To facilitate accurate drawings of the circle shape, we placed on the table a big round circle paper but with a hole cut out in the middle! Tt really encouraged and helped guide the children to draw AROUND the hole to create a circle of their own.

 

We placed different art mediums to create a circle. One of the children pointed out that the bingo markers make a circle ! We didn't even intentionally put it out for that purpose, but it was amazing to see how they made that connection on their own. 

 

 

Circle motor skills

Children had to work really hard to make their elastic band into a circle around the containers.

 

Muka worked for a while with out giving up to get her band to reach all the way around. It required a lot of concentration, along with hand-eye coordination!

Levi enjoyed listening to the snapping sound it created.

 

Cutting out circles.

We placed scissors attached to the basket to let the children be able to catch their papers into it while cutting.

max found a circle ball now he was looking for a friend to play with!

 

He found it! Aron and Max playing a good game of bounce.

Circle art

 

Levi discovered covers make a circle too!

Shapes we find in Mitzvah's:

We used shapes to guide our morning davening routine! 

Each shape had a different song from our routine. The child had to name the shape and tell us the picture on the other side.

 

This was a great oppottunity to connect the shapes to a mitzvah. 

Tzedaka (charity) coins- circle and some Tzedaka boxes have a square on them!

The craft activities we did this week highlighted the shapes we find in a mitzvah! (Round shaped coins to put in the tzedaka box, Square shape of some tzedaka boxes, square prayer books...)

 

We placed paper towel rolls on the end of the table and the children had fun getting different small objects into the container below.

 

Square play dough.

 

Jewish Holidays are happy days!

This week we enjoyed spending time together on Chanuka! Our goal: for the children to know that our Jewish Holidays are "Special" and "happy" days!

Singing chanuka songs, baking and having good quality time together.

 Menorah Math:

Using math skills while talking about how many candles we use each night.

Menorah Art:

Covered butcher paper with many different kind of Menorahs.
The Q'tips and paint were an invitation for the children to add flames or decorate the menorah of their choice.

It was great having discussions with the children about their own menorah at home. Bridging home and school is such a powerful experience for them!

Chani using a lot of concentration on her Menorah.

Happy Levi

Menorah Motor Skills & Raceway!

On our gymnastics ramp we taped on a Menorah image.   By the Shamash (the helper candle) we placed a flame bucket. The children had to try to roll marbles down the ramp and aim towards the shamash. It was a great hand and eye coordination activity and required a lot of patience and  persistence.

Sometimes its more fun getting closer ;)

Or taking a walk down hill on the Menorah..

Chanukah baking: for our parent n me Chanuka celebration!

 

Friends

We want to wish a Happy birthday to Elizabeth on her 3rd birthday!!

Our traditional birthday chair lifting :)

Bravery

The Beis Hamikdash center has created a blissful atmosphere in our classroom. Watching the  'kohanim'  and their jobs come to life: making olive oil , bringing and receiving gifts of fruit, using the special vessels etc

Now that the foundation was laid, of what life was like for the Jews in Jerusalem back then,  it was time learn the story and miracle of Chanukah!!

 

King Antiyochus was not a nice king. We introduced him as someone who was like a bully, unkind and didn't care about others feelings or beliefs.

He made some rules  to make it hard for the Jewish people. 

We brought it down to our children's level of understanding.

 

No Shabbos:

 "no more Shabbos ima's at the party?.."

No loving our Torah:

"we cant hug or hold our Torah's at circle time!"

No kosher.

 

The class picked up on how unfair this sounded.

 

 

To make it real at our Davening circle time, King Antiyochus came out by our Torah song and tried to get them to stop hugging their precious Torah's.

 

Here is when we started with our big idea we wanted them to walk away with:

We need to be BRAVE, Hashem is with us and we need to stick to whats right.

 

   

  

Each time King Antiyochus tried to take one of the children's Torah's, the child responded "I am brave, I love my Torah" we all cheered "yay, a brave Macabee!!"

 

 

 

Child's creativity

In the chanuka story we see the power of children and how they make a big difference.

When they would hide in their caves learning Torah, the Jewish children came up with a creative plan. If a Greek soldier would come knocking they will quickly take out their DREIDEL'S and play a game, dodging the danger.

 

 

Role playing the story with our King puppet making a visit to their cave.

 

 

 

Levi Lubin's turn to pretend to be knocking on the cave to check if rules are being followed.

 

 

 

Evi picking out his favorite dreidel

 

 

 

Our goal this whole week was Bravery!!

Shua decorating his Macabee shield.

 

 

During outside play we over heard a conversation about being brave. Shua, Levi and Aron were discussing if they were brave enough to climb the tires while stacked.

It was amazing to see how the message in the Chanuka story was helping them in their own situations to conquer fear and feel confident.

 

 

"Look i'm brave!"

 

 

At first Levi asked for help to climb the twisted structure. Then he motioned to be left alone. We saw the confidence in his eyes as he made it up to the top by himself!

 

 

How to overcome a big obstacle?

 

One morning by circle time we asked the children to hide in the library without any peeking ;)

 

 

 

When they opened their eyes-- they saw one of the Greeks soldiers laughing at what they just did to our beautiful Beis hamikdash. (Even before they saw there was some courses of 'uh ohs!')

 

 

 

As they turned the corner, the devastation set in.
It took a moment or two for it to seep in.

 

Their Beis hamikdash that they have learned to love and cherish as Hashem's home was a MESS.

What a cruel thing they did.

What should we do?.

 

 

 

Evi screamed out, "Let's clean it!"

 

 

 

Without any hesitation, each child came to the conclusion we got to clean this place up. They felt so much ownership and got to really experience what it might have felt like after the Jews returned to their Beis Hamikdash in shambles.

 

 

 

Carefully lifting the Menorah.

 

 

Using words like "team work" and "Bravery" as we fixed the center.

 

 

 

sweeping all the dirt

 

 

Washing the floor from the kiyur (kohanim's wash basin)

 

 

 

 After we put a lot of effort into cleaning it we said lets light the Menorah.

Some children ran to where the oil was usually kept but it was empty!

 Those Greeks...  ;(

 

Finally Aron found ONE JUG!  It wasn't broken and had the seal. 

WOW ! Again all the children feeling so part of the story like it was happening right then.

 

Chanukah in our dramatic play area.

Lots of Menorahs, candles, books and dreidles to experiment with!

 

 

 

Creating our own Menorahs!

(Thank you to Elizabeth Grandfather "Ezra" for carving the wood and tiles for our Menorah's!)

 

 

 

 

Experimenting with mixing colors of paint.

 

 

Menorah Playdough mats!

 

Dreidel art.

Placed a Cd around a marker and the children were able to spin the marker and create a funky twirl design with the marker.  

 

 

 

Team work:

 

 

Singing a Latka song practicing our numbers.