We started our week with a school-wide Havdalah. When the children walked in Monday morning, we had our classroom Havdalah set out, and the children remembered from last week when we did it in our classroom, that we have special prayers and that Havdalah means separation. We separate Shabbat from the rest of the week. The children were excited to go to Plotkin chapel to say the prayers and sing the songs with the rest of the school. When we walked in the chapel, the children noticed the Havdalah set. They began to share how they see some similarities and differences between that one and the one in our classroom. We went to grab the candle for them to look at since we were there a few minutes early. The children saw the candle up close and said that it was similar because the candle was braided in a holder. They said the difference was that the candle was a different color from the one in our classroom.
We continued our Monday with learning the next letter. The children were so excited to see another letter on the board and some of them knew what it was already! They started forming the letter with the big and little lines on the board. We then played the guessing game for words that begin with the letter F. We gave them details and clues of what the picture was, and they took turns guessing. We heard them again reminding each other that the word needed to begin with the letter F. We then read a book called Fifi Ferret’s Flute. The children really enjoy listening to stories in our classroom. We loved hearing them use the words after the book is read aloud that start with the letter F. We started a conversation about the upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving. We wrote the word on the board and showed the children that it is two words put together to make the word for the holiday. We asked them what the word thanks means. Here is what some of them said. “You say thank you when people give you things.” “It means to be kind.” “Using manners and saying please and thank you.” We asked the children to close their eyes and think about things that they would be thankful for and what they have or feel that they are proud of. “I am thankful for being nice.” “I am thankful I can breathe.” “I am thankful for family because my brother gives me toys.” We talked about the word giving in the word Thanksgiving. We know it feels just as good to give as it is to receive. “I like giving presents.” “I can respect my family.” After we discussed with them and assigned for homework to discuss with their family what they were thankful for, this is what we heard. “I am thankful that my brother is sharing his room with me.” “I am thankful for abba, mom and my brother. I am also thankful for ice cream.” “I am thankful for my family.” “I love my cousins and family.” “I am thankful to be healthy.” “I am thankful for my family and my house.” “I am thankful that my brother lets me sleep with him.” “I am thankful to play with my brother and my sister.” “I am thankful for this whole world because G-d created it so nice.” “I am thankful for my mommy and she is there when she needs me.” “I am thankful for my bed because I can sleep in it and my mom because she helps me.” “I am thankful for my classroom because I like playing in it.” We then talked about the word giving. We had a conversation about what we can give to others. Some of them said: “I have a lot of toys that I can give to others, so they have some.” “I am going to give pizza to homeless people.” ”If someone has a baby, I can give my baby toys away.” The children have been having a lot of fun on the yard. A group of them have been pretending that one of the yard structures is an ice cream shop. A lot of them have also been playing police officer. Last week a big group of them decided that the structure could be both an ice cream shop as well as a police station. They sat and came up with an ice cream police station. We discussed making signs so that people knew what it was. Starting Monday a few of the children sat down to start the planning process of their ice cream police station. It was interesting to see that they wanted to rush to the end product, that would be to sell ice cream. They wanted to go to the store, buy some and sell it at their shop. We had a nice discussion about how a store doesn’t just get planned and opened in a few hours. We started a discussion and made a list of the steps we need to make. They were very interested and wanted to draw out what they wanted the shop to look like. We discussed what a blueprint was and how buildings, stores, schools and other shops are not planned and built in one day. Some of them sat down and drew out their own blueprint. We are well under way making our Literacy book. The children decorated their cover with a picture of themselves. They looked into a mirror so they could add detail to their face or body. After that, they remembered words that started with the letter Ff and copied the word and drew the picture to match. The children that went to the studio last week and learned how to quill. They learned to roll strips of paper and glue them as a spiral to a canvas. They were extremely interested in this skill and were eager to teach their friends about it as well. The children that were at the studio felt proud to be able to teach their peers a skill instead of the teacher explaining it to them. It is really nice when we see the children making meaningful connections to previous lessons. We walked out onto the yard one day this week and a bunch of children came running up to the teachers to let us know that they saw a group of birds. They then followed up by saying, “Remember last week we learned about things in a group and things being alone? We know birds fly alone, but we saw them in a big group!” We then continued this conversation on our walk back to the classroom. While learning the letter Ff this week, they worked on their cutting skills and fine motor control at the art center cutting out segments of their own frog. They then pieced it together and each child made it their own way while knowing the parts of the body and where they belonged. They used the technique they learned at the studio to quill the tongue of the frog and draw the rest of the face. We had a great week and look forward to next week learning the letter Tt and diving deeper into the holiday of Thanksgiving. Shabbat Shalom, Rachel and Linda Reminders: -Shabbat family next week Friday, November 22nd Eitan. Please bring a hallah and a plant. We start at 10:30 in the classroom and continue in the sanctuary at 11. -Especially on days we have PE (Wednesday and Thursday), please have your child wear close toe shoes. -NO SCHOOL Monday, November 18thfor Teacher Professional Development Day! -December 19that 9:15 am in Room 3 class Hanukkah Party! -Please NO nut products in our lunches. We are a NUT SAFE school. Thank you. Shabbat Shalom, Rachel and Linda
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