It's hard to believe we've already reached the end of the year! We've grown so much over the course of these last few months and our skills have developed by leaps and bounds.
We have been growing exponentially in our social-emotional awareness and learning to relate to one another in safe and enjoyable ways. We now know to say, "Move back" if we need space, "turn please" if we'd like to use a toy next, and using our big voices to tell our friends in appropriate ways what we like and don't like. If a friend gets hurt we ask, "Are you ok?" and look for ways to help, like running to get an ice pack or offer a hug. We practice taking calming breaths with Happy Flower. Our multi-aged group encourages empathy and care in relating to each other. These are the building blocks of healthy, emotionally regulated adults later on in life.
Everything we do at IJP is planned with intentionality and purpose. We incorporate academics into our overarching social-emotional goals by creating provocations that encourage group participation. Our fine motor skills are more precisely honed than ever before with activities like stringing Cheerios onto pipe cleaners, hammering pegs into Styrofoam , cutting with scissors and making use of different writing instruments like crayons, chalk, markers and paint (which tap into the creativity and open-ended exploration in the world of art). These activities also strengthen hand-eye coordination, concentration and pencil grip. All of these endeavors are pre-writing skills and benefit the children in KA/KB from oldest to youngest. These are also activities you can replicate at home for simple yet invaluable skill building.
It's never too early to practice math skills! Matching one-to-one correspondence, counting and exposing the children to number symbols are all early math application.
Sensory integration is crucial for children and eventually adults to successfully navigate the world we live in. We encounter daily sights, sounds, smells that our brains filter into useful information. In our class we provided numerous opportunities for the children to experience different textures like playdough, paint and sand, even bringing our feet to the party! The children have become more adventurous in trying new sensations as the year progressed.
In our classroom and on the playground we were constantly in motion, exercising our big muscles in gross motor strengthening. Things like running, jumping, climbing and biking yield us stronger bodies, promote vestibular development (balance) and spatial awareness. Some of us can use the pedals on the bikes and swing from the monkey bars all by ourselves!
Its amazing to see how we grew in all areas of our development over the course of our year in Kitah Alef/Kitah Bet. As morahs of this class, we are so grateful to have gotten to know and learn alongside your children this year. Shabbat Shalom and Chag Shavout Sameach!
