IJP Prepares for Our Grandparents/Special Persons day Thanksgiving Feast!

      Learning about Thanksgiving involves quite a few hands-on activities.  Kitah Gimmel prepared traditional cornbread.  We also used fall items to create Thanksgiving decorations  We listened to a fun book, too,  about the Thanksgiving story, and we learned two new songs. 

    We prepare cornbread.  (Above, Maddy and Annika pour cornmeal into a bowl.)  We learned that American Native people taught the Pilgrims how to grow corn.

 

     Morah Susan begins stirring the batter. We take turns making the cornbread, six children at a time.  This way, everyone gets a close-up view and everyone can participate easily.

 

 

      We listen to a story about Thanksgiving (above.)  It's called Thanksgiving Mice, and it offers us a fun explanation of the holiday.

   We use leaf motif cookie cutters and paint to create our attractive table decoration.  (Below, Yannai dips the cookie cutters in acrylic paint, then stamps them on the cloth.  What an attractive table runner!)

 We paint pine-cones, too, to add to our Thanksgiving table.  (Below,  Evan chooses his  pine-cones and shakes them up.)

KDH enjoyed preparing for the grandparents feast. Painting the pine cones and acorns was both a cooperative activity within our class and the entire school, as every class contributed to making the runners, and centerpieces that adorned the tables.

KDH worked together peeling and cutting up vegetables for the butternut squash soup. We were amazed at how quickly the children prepared the vegetables and surprise ingredient, granny smith apples, with enough to make almost 20 quarts of soup!

KB 5 was hard at work this week preparing for our special guests and the Thanksgiving Feast:

We painted Pine-cones for centerpieces using fall colors

We stamped leaves using cookie cutters for the table runners.

And we carefully stamped our hand prints on a special picture that we presented to our guests

In honor of the Thanksgiving feast, our class was in charge of preparing corn on the cobb. This provided a multi-skill activity featuring fine and gross motor strengthening by peeling off the outer husk and pulling it all the way to the end until it came off completely. It’s also all-natural – allowing the children to handle real produce as well as discover the original form in which it comes.

Kitah Bet - 3 Day prepares for our Grandparent and Special Person Thanksgiving Feast by rolling pine cones in glittery paint and stamping a table runner with leaf stamps.
Our pine cones and table runner were used to decorate the tables.

Our fall nature walk in KB 5

The seasons, and fall in particular, are something that envelope us and surround us constantly, but it is still important and take time to explore and delve in. We spent time in Kitah Bet exploring fall through songs, sensory experiences, manipulatives, literacy, and so on, but we decided to take it a bit farther. What better way to learn about something than to actually go right into it and experience it first hand? So, we decided to go on a fall nature scavenger hunt- experience fall first hand, and see in real life all the things we had been learning about. 

We were split into two groups- one group went to playball, while the other group started the trek out of the IJP gates, and then the next day we switched.

Below is a parallel view of each of the groups:

We started off with examining our checklist, and discussing what we are going to be looking out for 

We made our way out, the sweet children holding hands the whole way

  

The children had such joy in finding different things and were so excited to share their finds with everyone. We found many wonderful things such as:

        Flowers

Leaves and branches

     












                      Clouds




                                                                   










 Teeny tiny ants

Grass and Birds 

Here are the end results of our exciting fall excursion: 

A KDH Election

Over the past few weeks we heard snippets of conversation about Clinton and Trump in our classroom. We discussed the election and decided to hold one of our own. Since we do not have elected officials in our class a different kind of election was in order.

We decided to vote on what snack we would have for Shabbat party. We had just baked rolls and challah for the upcoming Friday night dinner. The challot were quite aromatic. The big question became, "Should be have challah or cookies for Shabbat party?" The democratic process of majority rule was discussed. We would all comply with the outcome of the voting. Only one choice could win. Ballots are cast in secret. No campaigning was allowed inside the classroom as the voting was to held there. 

Tuesday morning we set up voting booths and ballot boxes. Each child was issued KDH government photo ID. The children voted. At lunch time the votes were counted. 

It was a landslide victory for cookies with the count being 15 to 5. 

We wish all our choices would be so easy!

The Power of our Parent Volunteers--Thank You!

     Last week, we headed outside to make a plan for our yard.  We knew that Yard Day was right around the corner.  What improvements could we recommend?
     Evan said, "We can paint this ladder on the big ship!"  Yannai agreed, "We can paint the big ship."  Then Yannai added, "We can paint the wood chips!"
This got us started talking about a major painting project!
  Sammy:  "We can paint he slide!"
  Evan:  "Let's paint the kitchen!"

  We came up with other ideas as well:
  Becker:  "Let's fix the pots and pans on the wall."
  Ezra;  "We can add some baseballs."
  We wanted our trikes track repainted, too.

  Even before the improvements, we always found something fun to do on the playground.  There are swings, a sandbox, the Big Ship and so much more.  (Below, Yinon and Ezra on the "little" boat.)

      As an added plus, we're a family-oriented school.  Siblings have the opportunity to hang out together on the playground.   (Below: siblings Reed and Anslee, Zoey and Lily.)

 

     We fell in love with the new equipment.  Maddy told us that she enjoyed the balance beam.  What did Caleb like?  "There's the bus!" he told us.  Annika told us that her daddy was on the yard yesterday, helping to prepare some of the new structures.     

 

     Becker shared some info about the new slate boards.  "I was doing an experiment with the chalk and water.  Then I wiped the brush and pushed it up, and then it floated!" (Above, Becker and Ezra try out the new slate boards.)

 

     Yinon tried out the beanbags, above.  Ezra explained how to play with this equipment:  "The beanbags--you throw them in!"  Maddy gave it a try, too.

     The bus was very exciting for all of us.  We took a "trip."  

  Becker:  Oh, oh, The bus got a scratch!  (He leaves the bus to check the "fender.")

  Maddy:  We need seat belts!

  Anslee:  I don't have a seat belt!

 ( Becker leaves the bus and checks for scratches again.)

  Lily:  I'll stand right here.

  Becker:  Where do you guys want to go?

  Morah:  Didn't we want to go to Paris?

  Maddy:  Let's go to London!

      Lily called out, "The bus!  The school bus!"

      So, it's a grand adventure . . . whether we investigate the "old" stations on the playground, or we try out all the new equipment that our parents built for us on Yard Day, we are busy, active and having a good time.   We are grateful to everyone who made it possible for us to have this engaging playground . . .thank you, thank you!

Morah Susan, Morah India and the children from Kitah Gimmel

      

    

The 5 senses of the High Holidays in Kitah Bet 5

While the high holidays are behind us, the experiences we had and the many things we learned, are all still fresh in our minds. 

Learning new things at this age is all about being immersed and surrounded by the information and experiencing it using the five senses. Our classroom, circle times, books, toys, sensory table, and manipulatives were all infused with Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot, and the many different things we learned in connection to them. 

Here is one last look at the High Holidays in Kitah Bet, through our five senses.

Zoey and Yaakov Meir intently look at and sort apple colors for Rosh Hashanah

                       

Sylvia and Maddy play with and smell the apple scented playdoh for Rosh Hashanah 

Avraham Chaim and Eli Solish taste sweet honey for Rosh Hashanah

                              Emmett, Levi, and Menny hear the Shofar for Rosh Hashanah

                            Eli Lipsker and Rafi feel and shake the Lulav and Etrog for Sukkot

Gabi and Logan touch and hug the Torah for Simchat Torah