Kitah Alef and their Ladybugs

Springtime announces the arrival of green leaves, blooming flowers and crawling insects. Our class received a shipment of ladybugs! Keeping live insects provides an up-close and hands-on learning experience with nature and science. 

The ladybugs are teaching us about their unique life cycle. When they arrived, we noticed that they did not look like the rounded, red and black ladybugs we know and love. They were longer and black and yellow striped. This is the first stage.

Every day at circle time we brought out the ladybug house to observe changes. We also gave them a few drop of water with a pipette. The children are learning about the needs of living things as well as a timeline for their growth.

Soon after arrival, our ladybugs began their metamorphosis by sleeping in little balls, similar to the way butterflies make a chrysalis. When they emerged, they had grown to be red with black spots!

Finally, the ladybugs were ready to be set free! We brought them to the playground and looked for a safe place for them - somewhere they could crawl around with plants to eat and where they would be in danger of getting stepped on. We settled on Morah Ruth's garden, where plenty there is plenty of green growth and protective sides. 

Bye, bye, ladybugs!

Kitah Alef Explores the Megillah

"The megillah tell us the Purim story,

the Purim story, the Purim story.

The megillah tells us the Purim story,

that happened long ago."

(Tune of: The Wheels on the Bus)

One central theme of Purim is the reading of the megillah. The megillah is written on parchment in Aleph Bet letters and tells the Purim story. In our introduction of the holiday we've begun familiarizing the children with the concept of the megillah and the Purim main characters. 

First we looked at the megillah's physical properties and compared it to a Torah scroll. We noted that although both are written on parchment, have Aleph Bet letters and handles, a megillah has only one side with two handles while a Torah has two sides with four. The stories told inside also differ.

 

We each took a turn to look carefully at the Aleph Bet letters of the megillah.

We've been using little people puppets to tell the Purim story. After the story, we pass around the characters for the children to see and feel.

During morning free play we make the characters available in activity trays for the children to use to tell the story themselves. This helps them learn the skills of storytelling, pretend play, and social-emotional awareness.

Purim Songs:

(Tune of: London Bridge)

Chag Purim is coming soon,

coming soon, coming soon, 

Chag Purim is coming soon,

the next holiday.

We will hear the megillah...

We will give tzeddakah,

We will eat a big seudah (meal)...

We will send mishloach manot...

on Purim!

(Tune of: I have a Little Dreidel)

My gragger likes Queen Esther,

it likes good Mordechai,

it listens to the megillah,

as quietly as I.

But if you mention Haman,

it makes a great big sound,

so don't you mention Haman when my gragger is around!

(Tune of: Di, Dayeinu)

Boo, boo, Haman,

boo, boo, Haman,

boo, boo, Haman,

on Purim day!

Keeping Healthy in Kitah Alef

When it's cold outside

do you curl up? Do you hide?

Do you sleep all winter long,

'til the birds burst out in song?

Do you gain a lot of weight,

and sleep very, very late?

Do you hibernate?!

(Tune of "Do your Ears Hang Low")

With the recent blast of cold weather, some of us might feel like hibernating - under our covers! We are grateful for the heat in our school building and our warm jackets and coats. The winter and all it brings with it provides opportunities to talk about important life skills. Even our little Kitah Alef-ers can learn healthy habits that prevent the spread of germs and illness! At circle time we've been practicing sneezing and coughing into our elbows as well as wiping our own noses with a tissue and putting it in the garbage.

We've also taken out our doctor set, complete with toddler-sized scrubs and doctor tools. This dramatic play area introduces new items and vocabulary and helps the children learn empathy as they care for their baby dolls. They feel empowered as they get to be the doctor instead of the patient this time!

Even the babies joined in!

Menorah Making in Kitah Alef

The children in Kitah Alef were proud to have a part in the making of their very own Chanukah menorahs. They were made out of salt dough, an easy recipe made from the basic household ingredients flour, salt and water.

When the dough was shaped into logs the children each had a turn to shake on some glitter.

 Then we used a sharpie to carefully poke holes in a straight line.    

                 The next step was to bake the menorah in the oven until it was firm.

Once they were cool we painted our menorahs with sparkly blue and silver paint!

          We hope you will enjoy lighting the menorah with your child. 

Happy Chanukah from KA!