IJPeek 👀 Tu B'Shvat!

Tu B'Shvat higiya, chag la'ilanot... It's cold outside, the trees are bare, but deep inside the soil something is happening. Tu B'Shvat reminds us that growth works at its own pace, in it's own process, in it's own time. Luckily for us, the growth we see in the children at IJP is as clear as day. Here's a peek into the Tu B'Shvat learning and growing happening in each class.

                                                                                                                                        ~ Rena

KA/KB 9-1
The children in this class brought the trees from outside to inside by engaging in a multi-skill, multi-material art activity. To make their own version of a tree for their bulletin board, the older ones of the group practiced their scissor skills by cutting pieces of brown construction paper. Then they and the younger group glued the pieces in mosaic fashion to the trunk of the tree. With coffee filter flowers they had previously decorated, their tree was complete and blooming just in time for Tu B'Shvat.

The class also brought the concepts of plant life and growth to tangible reality by planting carrot seeds in our resident garden. After reading the book The Carrot Seed, they carefully dug small holes with shovels and dropped the seeds inside. The children were a bit disappointed at the lack of growth the next day, but soon will learn the value of patience and perseverance in taking care of their plants.

Tu B'Shvat food tasting!

KA/KB 9-3

KA/KB 9-3 bridged their MLK Day theme of "Helpful Hands" with the upcoming holiday of Tu B'Shvat by crafting a mitzvah tree in their classroom. They look for opportunities to "catch" each other helping out and attach mitzvah notes from home to their growing tree.

They extended the topic of trees into their art by creating a tree out of recycled materials. Cartons painted in brown would serve as the tree's trunk, while the leaves would be comprised of a variety of green collage items: applesauce tops, tissue paper, pompoms, and paper shreds.

KG/KD 9-1
KG/KD 9-1 prepared for Tu B'Shvat by learning about each of the seven species of Israel. They then looked to their senses to explore the foods in as many ways as they could - those who wanted to could have a taste; others opted just to feel or smell them.

Together they worked to bake a sweet treat for the holiday - Tu B'Shvat cookies! The children chose the fruits they wanted to include (along with some chocolate chips) and measured, poured and mixed the batter together.

They also participated in a Tu B'Shvat seder! You might have heard of the Pesach seder; this one is similar but a bit shorter. The bracha of mezonot and haeitz is made and then each food is tasted in the order it's listed in the Torah. It's a special time for tefillot and wishing each other well.

KG/KD 9-3

This class embarked - get it? - on a nature walk around the neighborhood to focus their lenses on the many trees that grow around our school. They noticed that some are tall, short, bare, leafy, red, brown, and white-barked. When they returned to their classroom, they furthered their experience by drawing their interpretations of the pictures from their walk, telling the story in their own words and style. They also created sculptures from twigs and bark they collected outside. 

KH

The children in kindergarten used Tu B'Shvat at a springboard for critical thinking and expanded awareness. After discussing the key points of this unique holiday with Morah Mussy, they applied their learning on a practical level by determining the many benefits we receive from trees. Paper and fruits were the easy ones; how about chocolate? Furniture? There are so many things made from trees, and the KH children decided how important it is to show our respect and appreciation for them. Try not to waste; recycle when you can.

A Judaic aspect they focused on are the brachot we make on food. There are different categories of brachot depending where the food comes from. When we make brachot, we acknowledge that food and everything we have comes from Hashem, and it heightens our appreciation. Talk about building our social-emotional skills!

Stay tuned for more insights into the fun and learning happening every day at IJP!

Tu B’Shevat

 “The New Year of Trees”

One holiday we are looking toward is Tu B’Shevat. We have been talking about how important they are. The children have learned trees and plants help us breathe and that they should be treated respectfully. We have been admiring the plants around us and celebrating their differences. We have also been learning about some of the critters that help plants grow (Worm blog coming soon!)

Tree Jewelry

A few weeks ago we were playing outside and a friend remarked that our fig tree looked a little sad, as she had recently lost all her leaves. We decided that we should make jewelry and decorations for her.

Friends threaded beads, keys, metal loose parts, and ribbons on wire.

With a Morah’s help, friends hung the creations on the tree’s branches.

We even had a discussion that we should hang our decorations higher up to keep our younger friends safe.

Neighborhood Walk

Later that same week, we went on a walk around the neighborhood. It was a rainy day and friends were itching to stretch their legs.

We walked in pairs of two and asked friends to point out trees and plants that excited them.

Morahs took photos of all the plants that friends liked.

A giant mushroom!

A palm tree!

We even saw a worm on the sidewalk!

We saw a tree decorated with many colorful glass balls,

some trees that were starting to get tiny pink flowers,

and we also saw some stumps of trees that had been cut down, and some very tall trees.

Tree/Plant Drawings

In class, Morah Jessica worked one on one, or with groups of two, drawing and labeling the pictures from our walk.

They used colored pencils and pens to sketch out their representations of the photo.

Some fun guests made a surprise appearance (a vampire and Hudson’s dad).

We hung up the drawings side-by-side on our Tu B’Shevat documentation board for all to see.

Nature Sculptures

Our next effort was individual sculptures made from natural materials.

We used pine cones, palm fronds, sticks, leaves, dried flowers, and wire.

Friends used wire to attach different objects together.

Each sculpture was different, and they seemed to feel so proud of themselves for accomplishing their visions, turning a bunch of small objects into one larger piece of art.

In honor of Tu B'Shevat, Morah Lindsey has started making paper mache' plant sculptures with the children.

Paper Mache' Plant Blog coming soon!