Tu Bshvat, the Birthday of the Trees in KB

Birthdays and trees are two things the children in Kitah Bet can really relate to. All year we have been celebrating children turning 3. 

Trees have birthdays too, and trees, just like us, grow!

Torah compares man to a tree in the field and it was clear from watching the children explore Tu Bshvat that there is a deep connection between the children and trees and nature.

Tu Bshvat Art

Tu Bshvat Art

Tu Bshvat Art

Tasting figs, dates and pomegranates, some of the 7 Fruits of Israel in
honor of Tu Bshvat

Planting flowers

Planting flowers

Soil and seeds in the sensory table

Working together to sweep up the soil from the floor

Morah Leah

A tree grows in Kitah Bet

In honor of Tu Bshvat we "planted" our Mitvah Tree on the wall.

  The trunk

The leaves

The birds

Our tree

Now we are going to fill it up with Mitzvahs. Please help us by sending in Mitzvah Notes.

Morah Leah

Tu B'shvat in Kitah Gimmel

Tu Bshevat is blooming in our room.

So many things we did for Tu Bshevat but we think one of the yeladims favorites was decorating our ‘figgie’ tree outback – we decorated a crown for him “Everyone in Kitah gimel gets a crown for their birthday!” and added lots and lots of streamers too.  Ripping, tying, draping, and problem solving were skills demonstrated.  The yeladim felt the other trees near by were sad without decorations on their birthday too so we decorated them too!

Another favorite was our tree tastings – we tasted over 12 different fruits and nuts – all found from trees.  We “handled” each one first and made observations – do we eat the skin or just flesh?  What does the skin feel like? What kind of seed does it have? Where does it grow?  From kiwi to pineapple, from coconut to grapefruit, and from pomegranate to walnuts we tasted to name a few.  Almost everyone tried each item and some even discovered new items to like.  Trees are so important to us!

                                                               Tasting our fruits!

                                                      Fruit Still Life Drawings

                                                         Tasting the Coconut

Tu Bshvat in KDH

Tu Bshvat, the New Year of the Trees is alway a welcome respite from the cold winter. It reminds us that better weather and better things will follow. We also think about all the goodness that trees provide and the seven special species of Israel. What are some of the things KDH did for
Tu Bshvat?

KDH brought in Show and Tell items relating to trees. 

The children were surprised to hear that paper is made from trees. We talked about the process and then recycled some paper and made a new piece of paper from it.

Still life drawings of fruit done with water color pencils are beautiful. No surprise to us.  We love the children's art.

Today, Tu Bshvat we created trees from the pretzels, fruits and nuts and snacked on them.

Yum!  Trees are so important!

Morah Ruth