Dear Room 13 Families, We began our week with a beautiful, school wide, Havdalah service. The children sang along as we sang each blessing, together ushering in the new week. And what a wonderful week it has been! On Tuesday, we, once again, had the joy of visiting the school Library. Kaitlyn and her mom read us stories, as we enjoyed our time in this new space. Throughout our week, we explored a number of new light reflective materials; small tiles, small tile mirrors, marbles and flat glass gems. After having a few days to work with these new materials, the children began creating a plan. We spoke about the Hanukkiyah and the important role it plays within the holiday of Hanukkah. The children noticed that it can hold 9 candles, learning that 8 of them remind us of the 8 nights of Hanukkah and the 8 days that the oil lasted for, and that the 9th candle is called the Shamash, the helper candle. Using these new materials, the children began creating their very own Hanukkiyah. Each child used their own design and material choice, and they worked very hard to create individual masterpieces. After making all of their decorative choices, the children then counted out enough candle holders (hex nuts) for their candles and needed to figure out how to make their shamash stand out. Some children chose to build up their tiles or used double the hex nuts to make their shamash taller than their other candles. Other children chose to place their shamash in a separate space from the other candles. The children are very proud of their work and cannot wait to take it home with them next week! While working with these new materials, Olivia, very excited, noticed that she could see the light within the marble! Samuel then noticed that he could see himself, even his eyes, within the small mirror tiles. With this new discovery, we thought to place some of these materials within our light room. The children quickly gravitated to them, placing them in cups and shining the flashlights on them, noticing how the light brings out the sparkles. We then introduced the idea of an “AB pattern”, first looking at the candles on the Hanukkiyah and then using our new materials. The children quickly realized that after a tile we placed a flat gem, then a tile and so on. A few children took this back to the Light Room and worked on creating their own patterns on the light table! Throughout our week, we continued learning new Hanukkah songs and reading silly Hanukkah stories. On Thursday, we had the joy of singing with Andrew, our music teacher, and making our challah dough in preparation for Shabbat. We ended our week by celebrating a beautiful Shabbat with Kate and her family and by attending the wonderful Beit Issie Shapiro Farmer’s Market. Shabbat Shalom, Your Room 13 Teachers Reminders: *Please remember to sign your child in and out, with a legible signature, EVERY day. If you have a high-lighted section, it means we need your signature or time in that space, as well as your normal spot for the day. *We continue to begin our circle at 9:20 AM. Please do your best to arrive before then. *Thursday, December 15th – Class Hanukkah Party, Parents invited, 11:45 sharp *Friday, December 16th – School Closure at noon *December 19th – January 2nd – School Closed, Winter Break *January 3rd – School Resumes
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