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:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Pre-K Room 8Mari Greifer Archives
March 2020
Categories |