Newsletter Week of January 14-18, 2019
Room 8 started off the week with a Pre-K and all school celebration for Tu B’Shevat. We began celebrating the birthday of the trees by coming together as a grade level for a service lead by Rabbi Sari. We gathered in the Shalom Garden as Rabbi Sari led us in song and prayer to honor the important pieces of the Tu B’Shevat seder items. Then, the children had the opportunity to taste these components including oranges, raisins, green olives, black olives, grapes, and pomegranate seeds. Christopher loved the oranges, while Jordan enjoyed the pomegranate seeds. Kate shared that she liked the grapes, and Scarlett loved it all! This celebration was followed by an all ECC celebration in Plotkin Chapel. We were excited to sing and dance with Jen Shankman, Teacher Hannah and Teacher Lashelle, as they all helped lead the children in Tu B’Shevat themed songs. Ask your child if they can sing one of these songs for you! Then, we were able to partake in a unique experience in Geldin Chapel, the area outside of Plotkin. For the first time, the entire Early Childhood Center, every child, helped plant a new Myrtle tree on our campus. This was an extremely special experience for the children in that they were able to see, feel, and do what others do in Israel on this holiday. This hands-on experience provided the children with a deeper connection to the importance of trees and the meaning of this holiday. We were overjoyed to see how excited each child was to shovel two scoops of dirt to fill the hole where the tree was placed. Next time you have time to peruse the campus have your child show you the new tree. As we culminated our discussion on Tu B’Shevat, we wanted to link pieces of this topic to our next critical thinking concept of Ethics. In order to transition into this more complicated subject, we began by asking the children, “What can you do that would hurt the trees?” This conversation allowed us to introduce the concept of right versus wrong. In discussing Tu B’Shevat, we understood all of the “right” things to do to the trees and environment such as planting more trees, watering the trees, and being thankful for all that the trees give us. Our friends came up with great examples of actions that would be “wrong” towards trees. Jordan shared, “You can’t take something sharp and cut down the trees.” Then, Brayden said, “We can’t cut them down because you will break the trees life.” Julian followed with, “If we cut down trees, we won’t have paper or oxygen.” This demonstrated that the children had a thorough grasp on what is considered “wrong.” We followed our first discussion on right vs. wrong by reading our first book on the subject of Martin Luther King, Jr. While these two topics, trees and Martin Luther King, Jr., are very different, they share a similarity in that they both provide evidence of how we can act right and wrong. We will continue to highlight and dive further into the importance of ethics and how it is a value that presents itself in our everyday lives. We wish everyone a Shabbat Shalom and have a wonderful weekend! Mari and Aaliyah Reminders:
Shabbat Family Schedule:
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Newsletter Week of January 14-18, 2019
We continue to celebrate and learn about the Birthday of the Trees, otherwise known as Tu B’Shevat. This week we read three more books related to the holiday. First, we read Netta and Her Plant, which highlighted the life of a little girl who plants a tree. The children understood that trees, like people, grow with age. The tree starts as a seed and slowly grows taller, just like humans. The children compared a tree to a human and found that there are more similarities than we thought. This might sound like a funny comparison, but ask your child to tell you the similarities because there are lot more than you think! We also read the books A Tree is Nice and Dear Tree to emphasize how important trees are in our lives. The children learned that there are many different kinds of trees. There are similarities in what each tree gives to us, but there are also many differences between the trees. For instance, Brayden explained how one tree gives us apples, while Jordan shared that other trees can provide us with olives. Sasha understood that all trees give us paper and oxygen, and Julian said, “All trees give us wood to make these tables!” The children showed an in depth understanding of the importance of trees and how we cannot live without them for many reasons. Due to the rain all week, we were not able to go outside and explore the large variety of trees on campus. Next week, we are excited to go on a nature walk and conduct a new art activity outside. The children were introduced to the Tu B’Shevat seder items, each of which symbolizes the beginning of the agricultural year in Israel. Ask your child if they can name one of these and where it comes from. This holiday helps us connect with Israel to celebrate the time in which fruit begins to form after surviving the hardest part of winter. Next week, we will get to experience a true Tu B’Shevat celebration by trying the first 12 fruits that begin to blossom in Israel. These include figs, grapes, olives, dates, and pomegranates. We are excited for the children to have the opportunity to try an abundance of fruits next week at our Pre-K Tu B’Shevat celebration. In light of the heavy rain, Room 8 got creative this week with our in-room activities! Whether we were playing the new numbers Zingo or dominoes, or passing the ball during a game of Categories, or partaking in a new mixed media art project with tape and pastels, the children were quite busy all week. While we kept ourselves occupied, we are looking forward to better weather next week so that we can spend some more time in nature in honor of Tu B’Shevat. We wish everyone a Shabbat Shalom and have a wonderful long weekend! Mari and Aaliyah Reminders:
Shabbat Family Schedule:
Newsletter Week of January 7-11, 2019
We enjoyed welcoming all of our Room 8 friends back to school this week after Winter Break. It was wonderful to hear all of the fun activities and vacations that the children experienced over the past two weeks. From Cabo to Cancun to Mammoth to Miami, the kids were all over the map! After mastering writing our first names in the first four months of school, we began the new year by learning to recognize and write our last names. Instead of signing our first name each morning, the children began signing in for the day with their last names. We were so impressed by their ability to write their last names’ independently, even on the first try. This is another step towards becoming kindergarten ready, and we will continue to work on mastering this skill over the next couple months. The holiday of Tu B’Shevat is known as the New Year of the Trees. We celebrate this holiday during the rainy season in Israel to mark the new year of growth of produce. Beginning in January and over the next four months, rains will saturate and nourish soil and trees creating a new year of crops. We introduced this holiday to the children this week by reading the book called, Happy Birthday, Tree! A Tu B’Shevat Story. This story emphasized the importance of treating the trees and the earth with respect and kindness. What can we do for the trees to help protect them? The story highlights the answers to what we can do for our environment. Sasha understood this concept when he shared, “We can put water on the trees to help them grow.” Avital explained how to take care of trees by picking the fruit and giving it new soil. This concept of what we can do for trees lead us to our next question, “Why are trees important to us and why do we need them to survive?” To answer this question, we read the book titled, The Giving Tree. This classic story helps explain the importance of what trees bring to the environment and to us as humans. Cameron grasped this concept when he said, “They give us oxygen.” Blake replied, “Otherwise, we won’t be able to breath.” Evie shared that trees are important because they give us paper, and we need paper to write. Over the course of the next two weeks, we will work to deepen the children’s understanding of the upcoming holiday and the importance of trees as we get ready for our Tu B’Shevat celebration. In addition, we can’t wait to link these essential life values and concepts to another upcoming holiday. We enjoyed celebrating Shabbat with our Shabbat girl and birthday girl, Amanda, and her family. Thank you for joining us to sing, recite prayers, and eat challah this week. We wish everyone a restful weekend and Shabbat Shalom! Mari and Aaliyah Reminders:
Shabbat Family Schedule:
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Pre-K Room 8Mari Greifer Archives
March 2020
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