Kitah Alef- New Year

The children have enjoyed spending more time outside, with the weather cooling down and the leaves slowly descending from the trees. We set up a corner with a little tree composed out of branches tied together, and lots of colorful string to wrap around. The children have taken turns wrapping the string around the branches and pulling it this way and that.

Yesterday, we brought a light table into the room and placed magna tiles on it. Today we will explore sliced apples on our light table. The children will be able to investigate the shape and color of the apples more closely with the help of the light coming from underneath.

It is exciting to watch the new friendships that are blossoming in the class. During circle time we have been singing "Yadaym Lemala Al Ha Rosh, Al Ha Ktefayim, Achad, Shteim, Shalosh..." ~ Hands up high on the head, on the shoulders, one two three. We have also been singing our Rosh HaShana songs like: dip the apple in the honey. The children really enjoy circle time. Ezra always has a book picked out for us to read.

 In our sensory table we have been digging for little apples hiding in the dirt.

We wish you a Shan Tova and can't wait to see everyone when we come back!

Kitah Bet is Busy!

                                        

We have learned so much our first few weeks here at school. We have met some new friends, some new teachers, and are learning our daily schedule. It has been a time of adjustment for some of us, which is what is expected from our young age group.

So far, this is what I have learned about our unique class. First, many of our children have a talent for painting. Some even have discovered that using their hands is as fine as a tool to use as a brush. We have decided that with this new discovery we will continue hand painting and take it outside and use our brushes for our inside art. This way we can learn two sets of skills and maybe explore other outside objects, such as sticks and leaves, to use as well.

Secondly, our children love to play with our sensory table. Each week, we put different materials in the table, like, pink colored rice, soil, water (always a hit!), corks (all different sizes), and many other fun and interesting materials. We place all kinds of objects in there as well to make it more interesting. For example, we put scoopers in with the rice, fake mini apples in the soil, and little tweezers in with the corks so the children can practice picking up the corks using their fine motor skills.

Lastly, I have learned that children are our best mimics. It has been fun watching them learn from each other, and of course from us! The old saying, monkeys see monkey do is so true. For this reason, I am in awe how quickly the children have caught on to our daily activities and routines, how to share and take turns with one another, and that being at school is a fun place to experience learning in all different forms. And of course we have to be our best selves as educators, so that we are setting an excellent example for the children.

Thank you for sharing your precious, inspiring, and joyful children with us!

Morah Kim

Working Together

Kitah Gimmel went to the upper playground and noticed a set of very large plastic pieces scattered around the playground, different shapes, sizes and colors.  Many of the children were drawn to it.  These children walked over to them, touched them, moved them, climbed them and even turned them.  “It’s a big puzzle!” was overheard.  Using their cognitive skills, the children then examined each piece closely for its shapes and details, where and what could ‘fit’.  With motor skills, they experimented moving them around, adjusting and readjusting them to fit together.  With their social skills, they were communicating to their friends what they needed, listening to what their friends were saying, and encouraging each other as well. 

“We did it!”  

Teamwork is defined as “the combined action of a group of people, especially when effective and efficient.”  I’d say that is exactly what our children showed here! 

                                                                                                                     -Morah Risa

Gathering the pieces. 

Trying it out, while we add on more.

Getting it built.

Taking turns.

Cheering ourselves for building this! 

Everyone gets a turn. 

Wacky Science For Rosh Hashana in KDH

KDH children and parents welcomed Wacky Scientist AKA Rabbi Sollish into our classroom this past Thursday. "On Rosh Hashana, we go to Tashlich to throw our mistakes away," is one of our favorite Rosh Hashana songs. What did Wacky Scientist want to demonstrate to us about that? The children all drew pictures of actions they wanted to change for the coming year. Wacky Scientist had us put the papers into water and, poof! They dissolved and disappeared.

Similarly, we can resolve to change and improve. Mistakes will be as if they never happened. 

We all enjoyed the science fun and can't wait for Rabbi Sollish's next visit.

Kitah Alef- New Year

This week the children have been exploring some themes centered around Rosh Hashana. 

We brought apples, pomegranates and shofars for the children to touch, feel and explore. 

We painted with red and green paint using our hands and some foam brushes. The children also made prints with half of a pomegranate and  red paint. Morah Mushkie was able to blow the shofar for us, and the sound surprised and delighted the children.

 We have been singing our good morning song, as well as some new Hebrew songs during our circle time. We are excited to welcome Tehila to our class who just moved here recently from Kansas. It has been wonderful getting to know the children and I can't wait to watch them grow and learn more each day.

I will be speaking primarily in Hebrew to the children, and plan to sing many Hebrew songs with them during our circle time. We will have the opportunity to paint with natural objects such as flowers, sticks and other natural found objects.  We hope to explore different mediums like sand, water and dirt in our sensory table. I can't wait to get  started on this exciting journey of discovery with your children!  -Morah Myriam

Connections

The way we acquire and retain knowledge is by connecting  the new information to what we already know. The teachers' job is to figure out how to connect the new idea to the information that the children already have mastered. This is the natural process of learning. The more connections that teachers help the children make the more it becomes a habit. Children begin looking for connections themselves. We also connect literacy, science, art, holidays, and music with each other.
Sometimes we work to make the connections and sometimes we just get lucky.  Morah Gail brought in two Rosh Hashana books this morning that she took out of the library over the weekend. I brought in soil and seeds for planting. At circle time Morah Gail read the book, Talia and the Rude Vegetables , by Linda Elovitz Marshall. The story is about a girl Talia who goes to gather from the garden what she thinks her grandmother has asked for, that is rude vegetables. Her grandmother wants to make a stew for Rosh Hashana. Talia gathers ornery onions, crooked carrots, garish garlic and more. She also puts aside vegetables and gives them to the rabbi for families in need. The book gave us some good laughs and provided thought about helping others. But what are root vegetables? Out to the garden we went. We dug up the leftover parsley root and potatoes and prepared the soil for planting beets, carrots and radishes.

Connections: Literacy, Rosh Hashana, doing mitzvot, root vegetables and gardening. And of course, enjoying it all!

Morah Ruth

Back at School IJP

Back to School at IJP 5774-2014

It is wonderful to be back in session, to see the bright excited faces; some cautiously excited and others getting right into back to their routine at IJP. Some highlights of this week. 

Kitah Alef is beginning to move from solitary play in all corners, and nooks in the room, to a more cohesive everyone together;  dumping, placing, climbing, touching and pretend playing.

 In Kitah Bet, we are getting used to the routine and where things go and playing together. During morning work time, one of the children was helping another put some sticks into small holes in a container, and said, "Lemme show you, it's tricky".  We have so much to learn and teach each other and our environment supports this in a wonderful way. Cleaning up after ourselves is not a break in the day but a learning experience in it of itself, to that end we keep paper towels handy, have very definitive places for things and have child sized brooms.  One child was helping to sweep and exclaimed, " I always like helping".  This is a spirit we intend to foster and cultivate.

Our Children in Kitah Gimmel are quickly showing an empathetic and nurturing side.  We have on child who has a mommy that is expecting a baby and some with babies already at home.  The dramatic play's overriding theme right now has been preparing meals and taking care of the babies.  The natural manner with which the children display care for their babies, is heart warming.  They are modeling off of beautiful behaviors that they are exposed to, presumably at home. 

Friendships are deepening in Kitah Daled/Hey, all of our Yeladim (children) know each other from before this season, and the excitement to be together after some time apart is palpable.  This week we talked about the Commandment of the Torah, that is relevant to this weeks Parsha (Torah Portion) called "Hashavat A-veida" meaning, returning a lost item.  Immediately the children were able to perform this on the yard.  A lone hair clip which had been sitting there for  a few days, all of a sudden had a purpose! To be returned to its rightful owner.  And a few of our discerning children noticed it and made sure to find its rightful owner and are now the proud owners of a mitzvah (good deed) done.