A Life of Luxury

     A while ago, our laminating machine at IJP was down, so I stopped at the local office supply store to get a few photos laminated.

     The clerk looked at the Kitah Gimmel photos and declared, "These children are living a life of luxury!"

     What could that mean?  I was puzzled.  When I returned home, I looked again at the photos I had given the clerk, and then I turned on my computer.  I looked at more of our photos. 

     What did I see?  I saw a group of three-year-old children busy at work, busy with playing.  In one photo, the children were involved in a cooperative art project.  (above)

      In another, children were actively involved in a Rosh Hashannah-themed guessing game at Circle Time. 

      Or working at the tables on some artwork related to Rosh Hashannah.  (Above, decorating our "birthday cakes" with our wishes for the world.)

      We have photos of our baking activities, too.  Everyone had an opportunity to add ingredients to our honey cake, and stir, stir, stir the batter.

         Fall is officially here.  So one photo showed the leaves that we collected from our playground and added to our Sensory Table in the Painters' Porch.

      And other photos (above, and below) showed the children choosing different activities in different areas of the room.

      And some photos, below, showed the Kitah Gimmelniks roaming the playground.  The children are climbing on the boat, riding bikes, digging in the sand, and simply having a good time.

     So our photos show the children fully engaged inside and outside the classroom.  They're working in small groups, large groups or individually. Could this be the life of luxury?  Certainly it's a good life, an enriched life, a full life.  "Luxury" may not be the most precise word to describe life in Kitah Gimmel, yet it does hint at the richness of childhood play.  If you were three-years-old, wouldn't you want to be here?  I would.  Maybe it is a life of luxury.

Morah Susan