Guys' Day!

Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! Three cheers for Guys' Day! Naturally, our Kitah Gimmel kiddos are happy, bouncy, caring and creative, so I'm sure you can imagine the excitement bubbling as we talked about and prepared for our special guests. 

"What does your dad do?" Morah Michelle asked the children. Here's what we got:

My daddy goes to work! He sits in a work house. - Emilia


He goes to work. He helps people. Daddy brings work pens from his house. He lets us draw with them - Liana


My daddy climbs trees and he gives shots at work. - Yael


He goes in physical perapies (therapy). He helps people walk! -Maya


My daddy plays with me and sometimes we play with the construction workers. - Hudson


My daddy works for Delta. - Leo


My daddy plays music -Hendrix
No, he MAKES music - Oliver
Actually, he fixes music - Hendrix


My daddy takes me to the new house. My daddy works! He wooorrks ... I don’t know. - Alex


My daddy works. - Gaia


Hey! I remember when me, mommy, and grandma went to visit daddy at his work building. He works on the top floor! - Sloane


He goes to the Chabad house! He works on the computer. -Riva


My daddy gives me lollipops - Raleigh


My daddy goes to a house and shoots (films). He sees the helicopter go up in the sky. - Oliver


He works on a 'puter. He brings his 'puter to his office so he can work. -Noam


My daddy has to do what he’s supposed to do at work. He gets messages from work. - Eric


He stays at work! He works on the computer with his friends - Basha

It's not every day our real life super heroes get to come for a visit, whether it be Dad, Mom, Grandparents or friends, KG yeledim are always thrilled to welcome new guests. Food is always a hit, and we chose to make opposite cupcakes: Vanilla with chocolate chips and chocolate chip with rainbow

Crack the eggs and check to see if they're kosher

Mix and mix and mix some more. 

Stir and wait, stir and wait.
The dragonflies made chocolate cupcakes

Patience and carefulness is my specialty!

We can take turns squeezing the batter into the tiny tins!

Yay for chocolate sprinkles!

Are they done yet?!

Check out our blog about building that highlights our Grandparent's Day Activity. Such complex structures arose, we just had to keep it going! For days, weeks and months we revisited the project, adding more to it, gluing them onto bigger boards and forming what we now call, The Busy City!!!
Here are some snapshots of the building that continued on from that day:

Basha glues and stacks!

Emilia adds more glue!

Maya likes to mix the glue
with the glitter!

Now it's time to show the guys to our classroom, we are ready to build and share snacks and time together! Show me the way!

Noam proudly leads his dad to the classroom.

We come together for circle time to talk about what makes
our children so special!

Hudson has the best convos with dad!

Hendrix adores his daddy, as you can see.

Riva's Bubby came from South Africa!

Riva's Tati also delighted her in a book!

Sloane and her daddy are adding green space!

 Noam describes the detail of his structure.

Alex named this place the Busy City?!

Leo and his dad, masterminds at work.

Liana, always focusing on the finer details while dad supports. 

Maya's deep thoughts. 

Eric and his mom cheerfully create together!

Gaia insists they make a little car!

Yaya's got her favorite color and guy by her side.

Oliver may or may not look just like his dad!

One of the best things we can give each other, our children especially, is connection. When we feel connected, we feel more willing and safe. Because we have this time together, our children are set up to know and feel that they are supported, heard, valued and loved.  Thank you, IJP Family, we are better together!

Coming Up: Trees for Tu B'shvat! (link coming soon)

"This is me and Micah, we play in the trees
and we live in this building.
I am on this side and he is on that side."

Helping Hands

It's the beginning of the year which has us pondering, what do we want our class to be thinking about as they embark on a journey into a new classroom? How do we ensure a safe, happy, creative environment so everyone's language of expression is honored in a more soulful, natural way? By asking these questions, we are sure to set an intentional, mindful tone for our early learners.  Our goal is to provide a classroom environment that aids in learning, just as much as a Morah would. In other words, our classroom is also a teacher. So, our students should above all learn how to properly use materials, respect spaces and others in it, and be able to freely and openly express themselves through many ways of play and creation. How do we do this? Read on for heartwarming stories of how we blend rules/agreements and empathy.

During our meet the teacher sessions we had parents trace their child's hands, this was our segue into talking about what our hands can do to be helpful. Here, parents have a hand in our project, strengthening our school family as a whole.

 

We cut the hands out and allowed the children to paste and paint at free will. Once we were finished and the artwork was dry, we invited the children to help us hang them up. Exercising free will, some chose to help while others allowed their friends to hang theirs because they were buys on another activity. Choices are always good to offer when appropriate. 

We've got our classroom routines down pretty well by now! Upon entering the building back packs get hung, lunch boxes and water bottles removed then placed into individual cubbies, then the children follow visual prompts to see what room they start in and what is open vs. what is closed.

Circle time is the optimum time to introduce classroom routines and rituals, along with any rules/agreements. We demonstrated how to carefully put our things away because we noticed clean up time became more of a demolition frenzy rather than mindful cleaning to be helpful.  We also made a mini classroom on a tray so children could reinforce what they are learning to do themselves.

See how helpful our friends are becoming? Holding doors, sweeping up messes so friends to slip, carrying something for another, working together, teaching each other new skills, and the list goes on.  By displaying our mitzvot (good deeds) in class through panels of documentation, books, and social games, we reinforce good behavior and provide references to refer back to from time to time.

 How fortunate we are to have multiple sets of siblings attending our school. We see each other in the yard, celebrate reunions daily, and foster support through connection and role modeling.

By now we all have a good idea of how we best respect our friends and space. With a lot of patience, forgiveness and the assumption of positive intent, we are learning and growing together. According to conscious discipline, the creation of healthy connections with other people wires the brain for improved impulse control and a willingness to cooperate. We hope you enjoy our journey and can carry out these same methods at home or in your classroom.