Back to school and back to our routine. The children were very excited to come in on Monday and share their vacation stories. We added places to scratch off on our, “Where in the World” map. It is very exciting to see the different flags of the countries reveal themselves.
Even though we were disappointed that Havdalah was cancelled due to the rain, we were so excited to end up instead with free PE time in the gym. The children practiced throwing and catching a ball. Their eye hand coordination has improved greatly over the weeks. They all feel it and are very proud of themselves. We introduced the children to another game, “Yeti in my Spaghetti”. It is a wonderful way to teach patience and work on fine motor skills. The children all laughed, and no one got upset or walked away when they didn’t win. What good sports we are all becoming. Tu’shevat and Martin Luther King Day are on Monday, January 21st. We have been reading books about both celebrations. “A Tree Named Steve”, by Alan Zweibel and David Catrow talks about the importance of a special tree, Steve, and how the tree quickly works his way into this family’s lives. We all designed a community Almond tree. We worked together and designed the tree as we talked about the importance of taking care of our environment and respecting everyone’s ideas for the tree design. Room 2 also planted 2 Magic Trees using pre-bought kits. The trees are made of cardboard and planted in a tray of a salt, water, ammonia, food coloring and bluing. The tree blossomed into 2 beautiful pink and green trees. Next week we will make our own trees mixing, measuring and picking the tree colors ourselves. On Wednesday, Chloe’s mom visited our class to read. She chose 2 books to read from the school library. “Martin’s Big Words”, by Doreen Rappaport. It is the story of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We spoke about fairness and hurtful actions. Jasmine also read, “Where the Wild Things Are’, by Maurice Sendak. It was interesting to see how many of the children had never heard the book. It is a wonderful bedtime story for your children. We are sure it will quickly become a favorite. Thursday, Room 9 joined us for a Tu B’shevat learning circle. We talked about trees, almond trees in Israel, how trees grow, rain and oxygen. The children also talked about their birthdays and how they too have birthdays just like the trees. We included our magic trees in the discussion and the chemical reaction that made the trees bloom. We watched as the water was drawn up from the bottom of the tree, through the trunk into the branches. Maybe next week Room 9 can join us when we make our own trees. Friday, Shabbat and we are filled with the smell and warmth of challah and spirit. We love this time of the week. It makes the final day of school special for all of us. Shabbat Shalom, Fern and Ren Reminder: Tot Shabbat, Saturday January 12th No School, Monday January 21st in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Observance School Gala, Saturday February 2nd
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TK
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