Week of October 22-26, 2018
Room 8 had a busy week focusing on beginning mathematical concepts such as sorting, categorizing, greater than or less than, and more. We introduced these beginning topics in an activity using M&M candy. First, we asked the children, “How many M&M’s do you think are in this large 1-pound bag of candy?” The children looked perplexed and shouted out some random numbers like 1000, 8, 70, and 60. We explained that coming up with their best guess for the amount of M&M’s in the bag is called “estimation”. The concept of estimating is defined as making an approximation from the data given to us. Whether we are looking at a jar full of pennies in a math class, glancing at a room full of people, or quickly adding up the cost of items at the grocery store, estimating is used in our everyday experiences and a critical thinking skill that is essential to the development of problem solving. Since estimation is a very challenging concept for young children, therefore, we wanted to expose the kids to this task at an early age to set them up for success later in their education. While we did not stay on this for long, we will continue the concept of estimation in the next few weeks to slowly reinforce the importance of making a guess within a reasonable range of numbers. Next, we had all of the children work together in a large group to sort the candies by color. We determined that there are 6 colors in the bag including brown, yellow, red, blue, orange, green. After sorting by color, the children were broken up into groups of 2 and were instructed to sort their individual color into groups of 10. We noticed that this was a difficult concept for most groups at first. We demonstrated how to create a group of 10 M&M’s and continue making groups of 10 until you run out of the candy. For example, Blake and Amanda created 13 groups of 10 out of the blue M&M’s and had 6 single candies leftover. Luca and Jordan counted the red candies and made 7 groups of 10 M&M’s each with 4 singles leftover. Then, as a class, we counted by tens to figure out the total number of coated candies by color. As your child which color had the most or which color had the least. In order to explain the concept of mathematical terms like most, least, greater and less than, we used the scale to weigh the colored groups of M&M’s. Before weighing them, Brayden and 9 other friends thought that the green M&M’s were the greatest, while Jordan, Cameron, Sasha and Kate proclaimed that the blue group had the most M&M’s. We placed the green candies on one side of the scale and the blue on the other, and the scale tipped slightly to the blue side! We asked the children since the blue is heavier, what does this mean for the number? Scarlett quickly raised her hand and explained that there is more blue because it is heavier. Since we had already counted, we knew that the blue had 133 M&M’s and the green had 132 M&M’s. Which is greater? Grayson told the class that 133 is bigger by only 1 number. While the difference was very slight, we concluded that the package had the most of the blue M&M’s. The concepts of “more than,” “less than,” and “equal to” are the key basics to learning addition and subtraction. Comparing and contrasting numbers and quantities is a higher level of thinking essential to development of children. We were absolutely blown away by the participation for the homework assignment this week. In light of the sorting and categorizing theme going for our class this week, the children quickly sorted the vegetables into categories by name of the veggie. Thank you so much for helping your children bring in, write down or evoke the idea of these very creative vegetables including mushrooms, onion, bell pepper, kale, pumpkin and more. After sorting by vegetable name, the children counted and realized that they brought in a total of 22 different types of vegetables! Ask your child what other kinds of veggies they saw and ask which they got to try. We hope everyone has a great weekend! Shabbat Shalom, Mari + Aaliyah Reminders:
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Week of October 15-19, 2018
This week in Room 8 we continued our drawing lessons. The next step in learning how to draw a complete picture was adding a person to the illustration. Many of the children have been determined to learn how to draw a person so we decided to give it a shot. At first, we gave the children a blank piece of white paper and said, “Draw your best version of a person.” The kids looked at us with a bit of curiosity and immediately said, “We need help!” We insisted that they try their best to complete the drawing and afterwards we would give them a full lesson in steps to draw a human. After trying their best, we collected those sheets of paper and handed out a new blank sheet of paper to each student. Teacher Aaliyah stood in front of the students and walked them through a step-by-step process of drawing a person. Ask your child what features are essential to drawing a person that resembles a real human. We were so impressed by the final product. In a matter of 30 minutes, the children used patience and focus to learn and apply a new skill. Next time you drop off or pick up, take a look at their incredible progress featured on our wall. Learning to draw emphasizes the importance of creativity and experimentation for child development. Drawing independently, rather than in a coloring book, allows young children to learn how to express their feelings in a different manner from vocally. The short lesson helps the children to strengthen their ability to focus and lengthen their attention span. Lastly, similar to many of the activities we have been working on, drawing enhances fine motor skills. We have seen such great improvement in all of the kids’ fine motor abilities in the short amount of time that we have been in school. In light of strengthening our fine motor skills, we also worked on enhancing the ability to cut with scissors. We gave every child one or two sheets of coupon papers from a booklet or a newspaper. We instructed them to cut out each of the coupons that they would be interested in purchasing at the grocery store. For instance, if they saw a coupon for popsicles, they had to cut on the dotted lines to ensure they would not chop up the entire coupon. This activity took an enormous amount of patience and concentration! The children did a phenomenal job and took their time to cut out many coupons. We are excited to show them the next step of this project next week, which will be the concept of creating a “collage.” We want to mention that we had 100% participation in the homework this week! This was the first time that every single child completed and brought in their assignment on time. This week’s assignment was to bring in an object that starts with each letter in your name. We loved the creativity that the children used to bring in unique objects for each letter. For instance, Christopher made an entire book of drawings representing each letter in his name. Kate came up with the word “Earth” for the letter ‘e.’ Luca brought an umbrella for the letter ‘u.’ Cameron brought a red crayon for the C and the R. This is only a couple of the incredible items the children brought in. We can’t wait to see what they will bring in for next week’s homework challenge. We hope everyone has a great weekend! Shabbat Shalom, Mari + Aaliyah Reminders:
October 8-12, 2018
Wow, have we had a busy first full week in Room 8! We started the week off without first Havdalah service. We joined the other Pre-K classes and the Explorer classes in Plotkin Chapel as Jen lead us in song and prayers to welcome the new week. The children learned that we say goodbye to Shabbat and embrace the beginning of a new week. They learned the prayers over the Kiddush cup, spices, and braided candle. Amanda especially loved smelling the spices and said they smelled liked cinnamon! Julian liked how the candle was both blue and white. After a lovely way to start off our week, we did not waste a second and jumped into our next piece of the Wise Learning Process. Rather than sitting the children down for a discussion to introduce the new topic, we set out a patterning tabletop activity during morning free time. The children had the opportunity to explore the activity, which included colored blocks and guided cards. Most followed the design on the card and put together the pattern or structure that was displayed in front of them. After observing the children work independently at this center, the teachers went over and asked, “Does anyone know what a pattern is?” The children looked puzzled, so we explained that a pattern is something that ‘repeats’ itself. We showed the children an example of a simple pattern such as red/blue or green/orange. Avital and Christopher were excited to grasp the concept of patterns and quickly made their own. Then, we challenged the children at this center and brought over a few other objects including colored buttons and colored counting bears. How do we incorporate these into a pattern? The children quickly understood that one can make a pattern with not just colors, but also with shapes, objects and by alternating the amount of each. For instance, Christopher created a pattern of two red blocks alternating with 3 counting bears. He was so passionate about his pattern he extended it into two rows using almost the entire bowl of bears! Next, we took the idea of patterns a step further to ensure that the children fully grasped the concept. During a large group activity, we, first, had the children categorize the pattern tiles into sections by color. Then, we divided the children up into smaller groups of 2 to 3 kids. Each group received two colors of pattern tiles and were instructed to create a pattern that was more complex than just red, blue, red, blue. At first, we noticed that most groups were creating single color alternating patterns (blue/red/blue/red). We spent more time with each individual group and explained that patterns can be more intricate than alternating two colors. Watching the children cooperate and collaborate to construct unique patterns with their two colors was fascinating! We were so proud of each group for dedicating so much time to making their pattern different from every other group. For instance, Evie, Scarlett and Grayson used maroon and black to make a very complicated pattern that was characterized by the repetition of 1 black, two maroon tiles, two black tiles. Jordan, Christopher and Blake chose to alternate between 4 blue tiles and 4 orange tiles, while Sasha and Amanda repeated the pattern of 2 white and 3 orange tiles. Luca, Kate and Julian made a pattern of two green and four yellow, and lastly, Cameron, Brayden and Avital created a very complex pattern of 4 blue, 4 brown and 12 single alternations between brown and blue. Due to their hard work and dedication, we saved a piece of each group’s original pattern and put them on display in our class. Take a look next time you visit Room 8! Patterns are the framework for beginning mathematics and establishing order in life. Sorting and categorizing enhances a child’s ability to notice details such as color, shape and size. Creating patterns is the next step after sorting and allows children to begin to fully comprehend sequencing, which is apparent in every day life. For example, once a child understands, they can grasp concepts such as the days of the week, even and odd numbers, and the much more complicated task of algebraic equations. The concept of patterns is a basic skill that is essential to understanding order in nature, art, music, literature and math. It helps us develop problem solving skills, as well as, critical thinking skills. The knowledge and understanding of patterns can be transferred into all curriculum areas and open many doors where this knowledge can be applied. This week we also enjoyed our first library visit. We want to thank Makize for joining us and reading two books to the children. We can’t wait to go back again. In addition, the children had a week full of playing on both yards, the Pre-K yard and the 7,8,9 Patio, as well as, learning new gross motor skills such as doing a relay race on an incline (ramp outside our classroom). The children continued to enhance their hand-eye coordination during P.E. with Coach Danny. This week they learned to kick a ball and have someone catch it. We are excited to see what next week will bring and where our learning will take us! We hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend, and we will see you all on Tuesday! Shabbat Shalom, Aaliyah and Mari Reminders:
Week of October 1-5, 2018
The children of Room 8 came back on Tuesday ready to take on the week. We are so excited to be back in school and ready to take on the school year. We began the week by celebrating Simchat Torah in an assembly with Rabbi Josh, Rabbi Sari, Cantor Emma, Rabbi Yoshi and more! The children learned new prayers and songs to celebrate the end of the cycle of Torah reading, as well as the start of the new cycle of reading. A special piece of his holiday is dancing around the synagogue with the Torah. Since the Torah is a little too heavy for children, the Jewish tradition says that children parade around with a flag of Israel. Room 8 enjoyed getting the opportunity to see inside a real Torah. Rabbi Yoshi and Rabbi Josh held open the Torah and the children took a good look inside. After getting a glimpse, the children dancing around the temple waving their incredible handmade flags! Last week, in light of learning to draw, the children drew a complete picture of a Torah as the centerpiece of their flags. Ask your child what shape makes a Torah. We are very impressed by the children’s drawing abilities and how far they have come in only a couple weeks. Drawing allows the children to enhance creativity while strengthening their fine motor skills. We began the drawing lesson using pencils. The children had to outline a large rectangle in the middle of the paper. Then, they were instructed to draw two skinny rectangles as the handles of the Torah on each side. In drawing the body of the Torah, Kate asked, “What is the difference between a rectangle and a square?” The children tried to decipher what the difference could be! Some said the rectangle is longer, and some said a square was smaller. To begin this tough concept, we explained how all the sides of a square are the same length or size. We will dive deeper into this topic through hands on experiments throughout the next couple weeks. After outlining their Torahs, the children colored them in using patience and strong grips to stay within the lines. Room 8 began our first lesson in letter and sound recognition. After passing out letter cards to each child, there were 3 parts to the instructions. The child had to say the letter, say the sound that it makes, and think of a word that began with that letter. This exercise proves to be beneficial in numerous areas including letter recognition, early literacy, following directions, listening, attention span, concentration, and memory. First, this activity allows the children to practice and perfect their ability to recognize all 26 letters of the alphabet. They begin to see how letters and sounds are related. Understanding the connection between sounds and the letter associated with that sound is the fundamental principle in learning to read. In addition, this specific activity concentrated on developing the ability to listen, concentrate, memorize and follow directions. Being able to listen, understand and comprehend a list of directions is essential to future academic and social success. In light of this in-class activity, we chose three letters at random, P, S, and K, as the theme of this week’s Share Day. The children brought in a variety of drawings, objects and words. We were so impressed by their creativity and dedication to this assignment. Some examples of what we saw include Julian’s bag of popcorn for P, Scarlett’s toy kitty for K, Cameron’s piece of paper that he wrote with the word “kick” for K, and Jordan’s soap he brought in for S. Grayson brought in a double whammy, when he shared an item for both the letter P and S. He brought in a soccer ball plate! We are excited to continue emphasizing all of these skills through a variety of activities in Room 8. Watch out for an email regarding the Share Day theme for next week! Shabbat Shalom, Mari and Aaliyah Reminders:
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