Even the animals were quiet!

This week we continued our Shavous unit by learning about our special Torah.

We looked inside a pretend Torah that had the Alef Beis in them.

Menachem, looking at the cover of the Aron Kodesh where we keep the Torah special and safe just like in a real Shul.

What kind of paper was the Torah written on? Not the type of paper that rips easily!

 Leah demonstrating paper ripping. 

Rather, Hashem wanted the Torah to be written on animal skin made from a Kosher animal.

A Rabbi called a "Sofer" (scribe), writes the Torah. With pictures as inspiration, our friends were invited to paint with feathers and ink on Torah scrolls.

Yakov, really wanted to make a letter 'yud' for his name and found it on the Alef Beis chart.

Alef Beis sensory, Chana finding the Alef on the chart and making one out of play dough.

Utilizing our big white board for Alef Beis magnets. 

Ben, had fun placing the Alef Beis in the square magnet tiles!

What was it like by Har Sinai, when Hashem gave us the Torah?

Leah Qtip painting lightening in the 'sky' just like  Hashem made when the Jewish people received the Torah.

                                                

We were all at Har Sinai ! Even us who were not born yet were there as souls. We were all quiet.

Menachem, showing us his giraffe was quiet by Har Sinai.

Each of us received two spiritual crowns, one that said 'naaseh' (we will do) your Mitzvahs,  and the other  'nishma' (we will understand).

 Yakov, balancing two crowns on his head.

                      

Working hard on our Shavous projects. 

Leah, decorating her vase. Chana using watercolors to make a flower.

Giving extra Tzedaka for our Jewish brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisroel.

Chosen by Hashem

Everyone was surprised to see familiar faces by circle- time.

Pictures of our parent's weddings were a treat to see.

Were our Mommies and Tatty's in the same family before they got married?

No, but they chose to get married and now everything they do

 for each other is more important because they are part of a family!

On Shavuos by Har Sinai, Hashem chose the Jewish people to give the Torah to, and just like at our Parent's wedding, our parents became connected; so too the Jewish people became connected to Hashem and everything we do for Hashem is more important!

Morah Davina gave each friend a sticker. After that, each friend was given the choice to pick which sticker they want. 

Everyone liked the one they chose by themselves better. 

Hashem CHOSE us! From all the nations of the whole world. 

How special is that, Hashem wanted us to get the Torah!

Looking at different mountains and creating our own mountains.

Everyone chose their own materials.

Learning how Hashem decided which mountain would get the Torah on was so fun!

We acted out what each mountain said.

Har Sinai was happy the way Hashem made him and did not argue or put down the other mountains.  

He saw the good they had too, so Hashem chose Har Sinai!

After Hashem chose Har Sinai, beautiful flowers started growing on it.

This was a miracle in the middle of the desert!

We learned how to draw beautiful flowers too.

by following the directions, we learned how to make a tulip

Using clay and working together to make a flower

Pre-k works on their number and letter recognition.

Working on a gift for our mommies for Mother's Day

Popcorn math

TTTO Atah Bichartanu

Atah bichartanu mikol ha'amim

Ahavta oisanu v'ratzisabanu

Hashem looked around

 the whole entire world

and chose to give the Torah 

to the Jewish boys and girls 

Each mitzvah that I do

 is precious like a gem 

cuz I am so connected 

and loved by Hashem

 

Can we learn from a mountain?

Shavous unit

One of the main ideas we focus on at Gan is "The love of our Torah!"

Everyday we sing about the Torah, and talk about what Mitzva's Hashem put in the Torah. But how did we get it? When did we receive such a precious life long eternal gift? 

This week we answered many of these questions by starting our Shavous unit!

Shua, loves to hug the Torah!

Hashem chose to give us the Torah on a mountain to teach us to be proud and strong,

 but with kindness and humility. 

We learn this from a medrash (commentary) about how Hashem chose Har Sinai.

Each mountain 'boasted' they were the best.

We role played different types of mountains using artwork that our friends made.

Mendy's mountain, the pretty one, boasted that he will be chosen.

Ben, was the Har Sinai who used kind words. He loved himself but did not boast.

Menachem, drawing flowers showing Hashem rewarded Har Sinai by covering the mountain with beautiful flowers.

Mountain inspired play.

Menachem, creating a playdough mountain using a big rock to help form it.

"Is my tatty taller than a mountain? He is really tall .."

Without rushing to answer, we headed outdoors so Menachem can look at some tall mountains outside and come to his own conclusion. 

Mountain painting art with different shades of brown.

Creating the mountains for our Har Sinai show. 

We printed out different types of mountains for inspiration.

Chana, working on a volcano. Menachem, using finger strength to spread tiny pieces of hard clay to create a flower scene. 

A wide mountain and a snowy mountain.

Getting our hands in wet sand to create mountains. Learning how molds work and can keep the shape they want.

Re-creating the Har sinai scene with flowers and little people.

 

Lag Baomer

We are in full gear getting ready for Lag Baomer!

 Eating Matzah on Pesach Sheini reminded us that we shouldn't give up and Hashem gives us a second chance. 

Our Kindergarteners wrote and illustrated how they won't give up.

After delving into the story of Rabbi Akiva and it's lessons last week.

We learned the story of someone who was hidden for 13 years. 

We played a hidden code game to get us ready for the story.

Identifying the number that our letter matched to help us solve the code.

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai! 

He hid in a cave for 13 years with his son, so that the Romans wouldn't hurt them.

Some friends in the morning retold the story.

Hashem made special miracles and a carob tree grew and a stream of water came up outside the cave. 

We really wanted to taste carob, Morah Davina couldn't find it though, so we tried a very similar fruit called a tamarind.

Rabbi Shimon and his son learned many secrets of the Torah inside the cave.

When they came out they were so used to learning torah they didn;t understand why people were working. Anything they looked at burned up, A voice from Hashem told them to go back inside for another year.

When Rabbi Shimon came out he knew a lot of secrets of the Torah, he was a great leader and teacher. When he passed away he asked his students to celebrate and he taught them so much Torah that lit up the world. That's why we light bonfires on Lag Baomer.

Creating bonfires with playdough 

We couldn't believe that so many people go to Meron on Lag Baomer!

Working on our fine motor skills to create some watercolor salt paintings.

On Lag Baomer, many people have the custom to play with bows and arrows, We used some sharp tools to practice being safe. 

This was a fun challenge to match the numbers. Some mathematicians decided to make it more challenging and take out the bottom number board

Happy Birthday Mina! We love you keep learning and growing!