Those Daffodils!

     We enjoy going outside to investigate our playground.  There's so much to notice!  For more than two weeks, we've watched the daffodils bloom and grow.  At first, there were only one or two.  Then we waited . . .
     We went out again, and again, in small groups.  It was a fun, learning adventure!
     Annika calls out, "I got a seed!"  Annabelle told us, "They hibernate!"  Yannai excitedly calls out, "Look Morah Susan, look!  One is coming out!"  Ezra took a good peek at the greenery and then said, "Some are not in there!"  We waited a few days and then returned.

At first, there was only one or two flowers.  We had to be patient!

     We looked at other greenery, as well.  Becker took a good look at the figs.  "The buds are here!" he told us.
     Yannai went back to get another look at the daffodils:  "Yeah, it's coming out, and another one!"                    Annabelle told us, "I noticed that!  I actually noticed that!"
     Anslee also took a second look at the daffodils, and then she proudly told us, "I touched one!"
    Yinon said, "Daffodils!  I like them!"

     Evan told us, "There's some next to this one."
     Natalie noticed that, "A daffodil is opening up!"  Lily found a small daffodil, "There's a little one growing!"
     Later, Maddy reminded us, "Don't squeeze it!"  Caleb saw that the daffodils were growing not only on the playground, but also behind the gate.  Sammy told us, "The ones that didn't start to grow are still green!"

      We took the daffodils inside our room, so we could enjoy them both inside and outside.  Then we created our observational drawings by sketching with black-ink pens.

(Checking out the figs . . .)

We notice that the rosemary is always there, warm weather or cold.  Why is that?  We have something to think about . . .

We made simple bird feeders with pipe cleaners and Cheerios.  Morah Susan hangs her up.  Caleb also hung one up.  Some of us took the bird feeders home, ready for the birds near our houses to enjoy.

We cut a few more daffodils to enjoy at our Shabbat table.  Some of us thought the daffodils smelled like watermelon, or strawberries.  What do you think?  Stop by, and smell for yourself!

We don't like to waste anything.  The Morahs took home the beautiful cut daffodils that we had enjoyed at our Kitah Gimmel table.  (Pictured:  the daffodils on Morah Susan's Shabbat table.)

Loving the Daffodils,
Morah Susan, Morah India and Kitah Gimmel

Beautiful Daffoldils . . . Beautiful Weather . . . and What a Beautiful School!

Beautiful!

      On a perfect day, we took a perfect mini-trip.  We went outside bright and early, before our scheduled recess time.  We had noticed the beautiful daffodils the day before.  Now it was the time to go outside in small groups of only four at a time, to enjoy the weather and our newly-blossomed flowers.  Some of us went to the area opposite the bridge, some of us went curbside.  Daffodils are everywhere!

We are ready with our clip boards.  Sam says, "I made a bunch!"

Ari and Noa relax outside before getting to work.  Ari tells us that the flowers smell good.

We like this pic of Sam hard at work because it's such a perfect snapshot:  the background is oh-so-urban, the foreground is all about the beauty of nature.  We love our school's location! 

Leiba stops for a minute to think and plan.

Pearl, Ari and Noa (below) change their positions to try different views.  Ari is curious about the tissue-like base of each flower. Pearl exclaims, "I can't do it!  I need more paper!"  She's disappointed in her first attempt. We turn the paper over, and there's a new space to try once again.

Henia, Ari, Levi and Leiba get settled and begin their illustrations.  Levi points to the daffodil stem:  Look, he tells us, they're sticks!

We scooted in and out of the flower bed carefully.  We wanted to experience the flowers up close.

     

 Shlomit concentrates on her artwork (above), while Yoni, Shaya and Rami (below) work diligently.  Rami tells us about his own daffodils:  "I have so many outside my house!"  Yoni says the flowers look like giants.  Shlomit is impressed with our sketching pens--they are so black!

      Shaya inspects the daffodils.  He wanted to get a closer look-see, so he handled the petals carefully.   We're three and four years-old, so touching is a very important way for us to learn and experience life.

      (below) Reed, Hannah and Ruthie work on their illustrations.

      Look carefully--the moon is out, even though it's morning!  Izzy brought it to our attention.  Reed lets us know that he needs a few more minutes to work.

     Izzy tells us to look at the moon.  Hannah wants to know where is it.  Everyone looks up. Ruthie looks at the moon and tells us a mini-joke:  It's almost time for nappy time!

     Later in the day, we selected colored pencils in shades of green and yellow.  It was time to add color to our illustrations.  When finished with our pencils, we used our color palettes and our brushes to include an additional pop of color.

    

     While we were working, we noticed Kitah Dalet-Hey peeking out their windows and tapping on the glass.  They were looking at us!  We had such a good time enjoying the sunshine, the flowers, and waving a hello at our older friends. Such a grand way to spend the morning!

Enjoying the warm weather,

Morah Susan, Morah Yael and the Kitah Gimmel Yeledim