Newsletter Week of 2/10-14
We had a very busy week in Room 8! We began the week with a small and meaningful Tu B’Shevat celebration in our class. Our past Tu B’Shevat discussions focused on the items found on the seder plate, fruits around the world, and various things we find in nature. In light of these topics of interest, the children had the opportunity to taste many of the actual items found on Tu B’Shevat seder plate and other fruits popular in Israel. The foods that the children enjoyed during snack time included fresh apples, dried apple rings, green olives, green grapes, and banana chips. The class’s interest in tasting food prompted us to take the topic a step further. We came up with the idea making our own trail mix. During this activity, three bowls were set out at each table. Each bowl contained a different dried fruit that is found on the Tu B’Shevat seder plate. Some of these snacks included dates, figs, raisins, golden raisins, cranberries, dried mango, banana chips and more. Each child was given a bag with a few crackers to represent the wheat on the seder plate. Then, they walked around to each table and filled their baggy with the dried fruits. We encouraged the children to add a good amount to their baggy so that they could share with their family at home. This activity allowed them to understand basic mathematical skills such as quantity, greater than or less than, and heavy vs. light. It also gave them the opportunity to expand their palettes in the area of taste and texture and try new things. We encourage each child to take one bite of everything and if they do not like it, they do not have to eat anymore. It creates a positive and exciting attitude towards food, while also promoting openness to trying and experiencing new things. If a child gains this confidence to try new things at a young age, they will be more open and have more courage to gain new experiences in the future. This was a 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 why we need trees and the meaning of this holiday. We were overjoyed to see how excited each child was to try all the new foods set out at each table and loved hearing how much they loved it and ate it all the next day. We continued on the theme of Tu B’Shevat by taking another nature walk. This time the children were encouraged to gather various items they found all over the campus. From the back of the temple to behind the parking lot, we scoured the campus looking for leaves of all different colors, a variety of seed pods, pinecones, and anything else we could find! After the walk, we sat in a large group on the carpet and put our sorting skills to work as we grouped the items that were similar to one another in looks. All of the Eucalyptus leaves formed one pile, then, the pinecones another, the reddish-brown leaves in another, and so on. Ask your child which items they contributed to this activity and which pile it fell into! After sorting, each child was able to choose one item. They took this item to the table, and we asked them to look closely at the item, otherwise known was the “details.” We encouraged them to feel it and look at each color and rough edge of their chosen item. Then, they were given a pencil and piece of paper so that they could draw a detailed picture. For example, Chloe chose a dried olive that she had found behind the temple. She had to look closely to see that it resembled an oval shape. It also had a circle and dot from where the stem was on one side of the olive. Another example is that of Nixon and Lilah. They both chose a small flowering plant that had three little shoots of stringy magenta flower. You will have to look at their incredibly detailed drawings next time you visit our class to get a real visual of each item. We were so impressed by how much detail and concentration they put into their work of art. They used crayons to color it in and many of the children mixed multiple colors of crayons to get the exact color of the leaf, flower or spikey-ball. Isabella added white crayon on top of her brown because her item was a lighter brown than the color of the brown crayon. For the reddish-brown leaf, Lennon used brown, red, white, yellow and orange to create the perfect mix. This activity helped strengthen our fine motor skills, while also tapping into creativity and the ability to actually see things we don’t normally look at. When we look at something with the intent of drawing it, we tend to look more carefully than usual. We see, truly see, the shapes, the patterns, the perspective, the colors, the shadows, the contours, and how all of the details interact. Through noticing the details of a certain object, the children deepen their understanding and even more questions and thoughts are provoked. We will continue observational drawing and art next week and try another activity with a new spin on it. We want to remind everyone that there is no school Monday and Tuesday next week. We hope you all have a wonderful extra-long weekend! Shabbat Shalom, Mari and Aaliyah REMINDERS:
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Pre-K Room 8Mari Greifer Archives
March 2020
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