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

Once Upon a Time There Was a Tree.. (KB-5)

In honor of Tu B'Shvat- the birthday of the trees, we decided to start the children off with a sentence starting a story about a tree, and see where it would go and what they would come up with. We did it in two separate groups so there are two stories. Here are our stories: can you tell we've been learning about trees, weather, and animals recently? 

Once upon a time there was a tree…

Zoey: “It got broken”

Logan: “They cut it”

Rafi: “Then it fell down”

Maddy: “Then the leaves fell down”

Menny: “The grey clouds went up and it rained on the tree”

Rafi: “And the rain fell on the tree”

Zoey: “And it made a puddle”

Maddy: “We need rainboots and umbrellas”

Rafi: “The rain made the tree grow and it was fixed”

Zoey: “And then it was sunny”

Maddy: “We need sunglasses”

Zoey: “And a hat”

Zoey: “Fruit started growing on the tree”

Sylvia: “Apples, and pears grow on the tree

Maddy: “And oranges”

Menny: “And blueberries”

Rafi: “And nuts”

Logan: “And red apples”

The end

Once upon a time there was a tree…

Emmett: “The leaves were falling down and then the trees had a birthday”

Avraham Chaim: “They had a cake”

Emmett: “It was made out of tree”

Eli Lipskier: “The children were in the tree and they played with the animals”

Eli S: “I have a penguin at my house”

Avraham Chaim: “I have a giant panda”

Avraham Chaim: “The squirrels ate all of the cake, and then they ate squirrel food and went back to the tree.

The end

Kitah Alef and Their Alef Bet Letters

We have started something new in Kitah Alef! During circle time, we sing a song to acknowledge who is here in school each day and who's at home. When saying hello to each child, Morah Rena hands out a wooden disk with a picture of the child. On the other side of the disk is the first letter of that child's Hebrew name. After singing the Alef Bet, everyone waits in anticipation for it to be their turn to match their Hebrew letter to its equivalent on our newly posted Alef Bet chart. The children in Kitah Alef are quite proud and excited about their Hebrew letters. We're really getting to know our letters and those of our friends!

Singing Alef Bet

  "Yud" for Yonah Baruch

 "Alef" for Asher Yonah

  "Lamed" for Leora Shai

  "Alef" for Adom Yosef

 "Alef" for Orli Raquel

  "Yud" for Yaakov/Jacob (Mason)

  "Reish" for Rami (Parker)

  "Samach" for Sela Chaia

 "Alef" for Elie Micha (Elliot)

 "Mem" for Mina

It's Not Trash, It's Treasure

     After our Winter Break, we were pleasantly surprised by the arrival of our outdoor blocks.  With these blocks, we can create an infinite amount of building designs.  We work in groups, and sometimes individually.  It's our choice.  The best thing?  The knobs and holes fit together perfectly, so our structures are sturdy.  (Above, Yinon and Becker work on their construction.)

     The wooden blocks had been packed with white Styrofoam cubes.  The blocks arrived in perfect condition, protected by the Styrofoam cubes.  We could have thrown the packing cubes in the garbage, but no way--they are perfect to use in our room!  (Above, Evan and Becker stack the cubes.)

    Becker and Annika practice stacking and balancing the cubes.   We take turns.  (Below, Evan joins in.)

     Below: Our play-people showed up on the blocks, too.  Is that a Frank Lloyd Wright house we've made? Anslee, Sammy, Lily and Yannai join Becker as they place the play-people on different levels of the "house."

     Natalie, Annika, Sammy and Becker spread out the blocks. Later, our blocks became chairs! We sat on them very, very carefully!

     We switch out the designs.  Everyone had an opinion.  We enjoyed using our blocks.  Perhaps they were destined for the trashcan, but they weren't trash--we had found so many ways to use them!

     We had had earlier experiences with "trash."  There was some outdated printer paper in our kitchen.  It was the perfect paper for our group painting activities.  (Below, Annabelle and Anslee watercolor during Morning Arrival.)

Sammy stands by watching as her friends paint.

Caleb, Evan and Yannai work together on their printer-paper mural.

     Looks like more trash?  Toilet paper rolls are very popular art supplies.  We always find another way to use them.  (Did you know that you could actually buy these? Empty toilet paper rolls, without toilet paper?  Amazing!)

     Costco has the best boxes.  They're piled up in the store, but they're not trash! Our Morahs brought one in to use with our toy cars.  Instead, it became a piece of art as we painted together on its surface. We like to reuse materials.

     Sometimes we re-purpose our supplies.  One thing becomes another thing.  Sammy works on a counting game with a muffin tin that a Morah brought it from her kitchen.

     And sometimes nothing becomes something.  This empty space, behind the open doors, has turned into an elevator, a store and a bakery.  There's a lot of dramatic play here!

     (Above, Morah India joins the fun as this space becomes an "elevator.")

     And, one child's "trash" can become our treasure!  Over the Winter Break, this Melissa and Doug wooden house showed up at a thrift store.  Our Morah snapped it up!  It's one of our new favorite go-to Morning Activities.

     (Pictured:  Natalie, Yannai and Maddy enjoying the "new" wooden house.)

     With Tu B'Shvat, the Birthday of the Trees,  right around the corner, it makes perfect sense to consider our environment.  HaShem creates a beautiful world for us.  When we reuse and re-purpose our belongings, we show respect for the world around us.

Kitah Gimmel