Shabbat Shalom, Room 7 Parents!
We opened our weekly discussion by asking the children about the upcoming holidays. “I wonder which holiday is coming up?” Several children answered enthusiastically, “Rosh Hashanah!” This sparked a lively conversation about how our families celebrate this special holiday. “I’m going to New York to be with my nana!” One child commented. “We bake challah at home,” another remarked. Another child confidently said, “We have honey and apples to bring in a sweet New Year because without honey our year would be plain.” Every day this week, we’ve shared family traditions about Rosh Hashanah to foster their interest in planning for the holiday. We enjoyed apples, yogurt and honey at snack time, explored still life drawings of apples, had a basket full of apples on the rug for the children to freely explore, and learned that the round challah served at this holiday symbolizes the circle of life. During a morning meeting we posed a question to the children, “I wonder what goals you have for the sweet New Year?” The class shared thoughtful ideas of how they would make this New Year memorable for themselves and others. One child kindly shared, “To be kind to God and the New Year.” Another child added, “Making something for friends, like hearts.” “I want to share honey cake with my class and teachers for the New Year,” added another child. The class as a whole agreed that working on writing their letters, being kind to others, and learning more about Shabbat and Judaism were important goals for them this coming year. We also began Jolly Phonics this week. This is a child centered approach to literacy utilizing a multi-sensory program. Research has shown that phonemic awareness is the key to developing a strong foundation for beginning readers. By providing them with auditory practice early on, children have something to attach it to. It’s noticeable just from this week that the children have already formed connections with the letter “S” throughout our day. The children’s curiosity about words, the letters that combine to make words, and the sounds that are represented by the letters, have been ignited just through the children’s exposure to Jolly Phonics. Each jingle has a motion associated with it and is acted out as the children sing the songs. Ask your child to sing the jingle we learned this week for the letter “S.” Once we sang the song and did the motions the children eagerly shared with us words that begin with “S.” “Smile!” answered one child. “Sandwich,” offered another. “Strawberries,” added another child. The children collaborated and created a list of 38 “S” words, which we wrote on a large white board for all to see and read. Vertical Learning This week, at the Art center the children worked on still life drawings. Beautifully placed in front of the children were 3 apples of different shapes and shades of colors. The children worked on their fine motor skills and pincer grasp as they used pencils and colored pencils. First, the children observed what was in front of them, counting the apples, and then drawing what they saw with just a pencil and paper. Once the children drew their still life drawing in pencil, they utilized the colored pencils that correlated to the apples in front of them. It was beautiful to see how each child made their drawing so unique and personalized depending on how they interpreted what was in front of them. The class also worked on sorting and patterning using small thin colored tubes. Through this exercise, the children are working on their beginning math skills by categorizing in a sequential manner. At the Literacy center the children worked with small pebbles to create the letters, lines, and shapes in their names. At the Math center the children explored with geometric shapes that are three dimensional colored shapes. At this center the children worked independently and collectively to count, sort, assemble patterns, and build. The children's cutting skills are being further developed through daily practice by exploring magazine pictures and cutting out images that interest them. When the children are cutting, they are strengthening their hand muscles, working on their bilateral coordination by holding scissors in one hand and a piece of paper in another, visual motor skills and fine motor skills. We also shared with the class that a special “Mystery Visitor” will come next week to read a story about Rosh Hashanah. The children are excited to learn more about who our mystery visitor will be and are already asking wonder questions to figure out who it will be! We hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
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