This week in Room 8, we introduced the holiday of Rosh Hashanah. We began by asking the children if they knew anything about the pictures that are hanging on the walls in our class. Then, we asked, “Does anyone know what ‘Shana Tova’ means?” The children knew that there was a picture of a challah but did not know where it came from. While the children knew what these items were physically, they did not know why they are related to Rosh Hashanah. Their curiosity about the origin of these items led us to our next conversation about the details of a shofar. Ask your child what animal a shofar comes from and how many shofars can be made from that animal.
We ended this discussion by reading Sammy Spider’s First Rosh Hashanah. While reading about the traditions and themes of Rosh Hashanah, one idea resonated with the children. In the book, the Shapiro family received many cards in the mail from their family and friends in the time surrounding the holiday. After hearing this, Wyatt exclaimed, “Just like the cards we made for Rian’s birthday!” This was correct with the only difference being the phrase that we put on the birthday card versus a Rosh Hashanah card. As a class, we decided to make our own “Happy New Year” cards to send to either a family member or friend. This was great timing since we have spent a large part of this past week learning to draw a complete picture. Through small group and large group activities, the children have learned the components and skills it takes to create a complete picture. Ask your child if they can tell you one item found in a complete picture. Learning to draw a complete picture is an important part of child development. It promotes self-expression and allows children to learn how to communicate in another way than just through talking. In addition, learning to draw a complete picture helps to reinforce their knowledge of shapes and enhances fine motor ability. The act of drawing, whether they are holding a pencil, crayon or marker, helps to strengthen their finger muscles and improve their grip. Once children can draw basic shapes, like rectangles, squares, circles and lines, they can draw essentially anything! We have loved seeing the incredible amount of progress in your child’s art within such a short amount of time. Next time you visit our class, please take a look at the wall to see your child’s beautiful complete picture. Next week, we will begin the Rosh Hashanah project to create a picture to mail to a friend or family member. This activity allows the children to apply the values of Rosh Hashanah to real life. By doing an activity that captures the interest of the children, they will better connect with the concept and values of this holiday and future topics. We want to wish you all a Shabbat Shalom and Shana Tova. We hope your long weekend is filled with family, friends, love and a sweet start to the New Year! We will see everyone on Wednesday! Mari and Aaliyah
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Pre-K Room 8Mari Greifer Archives
March 2020
Categories |