Shabbat Shalom, Room 7 Families!
This week the children interacted with a variety of materials that would spark their interest in designing their own hanukkiot for Chanukah. At the art table the children were provided loose tiles, small square mirrors, plain wooden beads, colored glass stones, paper, and colored pencils. When the children visited this center they utilized their time by creating a pattern with the loose parts that were then photographed or used colored pencils to design a pattern on paper that would then be duplicated onto the wooden beads. Our intention was for the children to create a plan, design their plan on paper, and then replicate their design onto their own personalized hanukkiah this coming week. Also in preparation for Chanukah, we invited a “mystery” reader to visit our class. When Teacher Hannah entered the room, the classroom erupted in cheers and laughter, as several children ran into Hannah’s open arms. After all were settled into the circle, Hannah began. “How many of you remember the story of Chanukah?” The children raised their hands and nodded. Armed with props, including a small wooden temple and miniature Torah, people and animal figurines, candlesticks and a menorah, Hannah arranged these items carefully to create a picture of what the temple might have looked like at the time that this famous story unfolded. Using the props and an animated voice, Hannah shared the story of Chanukah in detail. The children were delighted with their visual storyteller and the lively conversation that followed. The children continued to explore the Chanukah story this week through listening to books and retelling the story to others from their own perspective. One book shared the story from a small mouse’s perspective, in “The Littlest Maccabee,” and another explored the story featuring a bear being confused for a visiting rabbi in the “Hanukkah Bear.” Through these stories, the children were learning about the concept of working together to rebuild something that has been damaged or destroyed. We discussed that, like the Maccabees collaborated to rebuild the temple, we too have to work as a class community to clean and organize our classroom space throughout the day in order to preserve all of the wonderful materials that we use. We look forward to further exploration of the Chanukah story through making our hanukkiot, sharing books, songs and projects that will expand our ideas and imagination. Vertical Learning In the math center, the children were challenged to use their memories in order to find matching pairs of numbers in the card game, “Slap Jack.” They had the option to play this number game independently or with a partner. Also in the math center was a board game, “Sum Swamp,” where children took turns rolling a die and moving their pieces across a swamp, face challenges, and race ahead through short cuts. In the literacy center, the children were presented with trays filled with sand and glass gems to trace letters in the sand or create the letter using the gems. They also were presented with a letter “hunt” game using sensory bins and foam letters. In the art center, the children were provided with wooden beads, small mirror pieces, tiles and glass gems, along with pictures of hand made hannukiot to inspire them to work on a plan to design their own hannukiah.
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