Kohavim Glass Experts

Squeeze it, Squish it, Wet it......

 Our study of trees has evolved into a discussion about forests. Today, the children had the opportunity to use clay and create animals, trees, etc. for our growing forest. They used popsicle sticks to smooth the clay and make lines,  their hands to make ridges,  and their imaginations to tell us about the  caves, rocks, bores, monsters, and porcupines that live in the forest. Tomorrow the clay will return for Act II.

Shamayim Celebrates Joseph's Birthday

The Shamyim  children celebrated Joseph's birthday today with a special story that Joseph chose at circle time along with a very joyful Happy Birthday song.   We also designed a very colorful birthday t-shirt for Joseph to wear. Happy 4th Birthday Joseph!!

Playing with our rock alphabet

With the Rock Alphabet ready to roll, the children were ready to play! Some children began making strings of letters and asking the teachers to read them. As the teacher sounded out the long string of letters, the children giggled. Some children decided to use the rock alphabet to spell their names and the names of the children in the classroom. Some children even decided to spell their parents names! Our Rock Alphabet has inspired so much letter identification, matching of alphabet letters, spelling, and sounding out. And what a wonderful way to connect nature and literacy! 

Rock Alphabet

A few weeks ago, the children in lunch bunch began collecting small stones. We washed and painted the small rocks. This week, we began writing the alphabet letters on our freshly painted stones. As we were writing the letter, the children noticed we did not have enough stones.  They also noticed that some children would need the same alphabet letters for their names. They concluded we would need more stones! Elias, Emme, Jolie, and Ben decided to go outside and collect some more stones.

We set up a station to wash the rocks, dry the stones, and then paint them. Many children in Kohavim helped to paint the stones. We let the stones dry and decided to check back after lunch. When we realized the stones were dry, we continued writing alphabet letters on them.  Adam and Noah put the alphabet stones in order so we would know which letters we still needed. We decided to do a whole set of uppercase letters and a whole set of lower case letters. Our Rock Alphabet was finally ready to be played with! Check out the post called, “ Playing with our Rock Alphabet  “ to see how the kohavim children have been using the rock alphabet! 

Where is God?

On Friday, the kindergartners came in to find a letter from some of the 12th graders here at Temple Beth Shalom who share a classroom with us and the Kohavim children. In their message, the 12th graders explained that they have been thinking about where God is and asked if we had any ideas. The kindergartners used black sharpies and watercolor paints to share their ideas. Below are the children's thoughts that they shared. 

Jacob: In the clouds. 

Dylan: In the ocean. 

Brett Stone: He appears. Like he was always here. 

Evan: In the air. And he comes on the ground on Jewish holidays. I made hearts to love God for all the stuff he gives us. 

James: I think he's in the sky. 

Brett Ellerin: In the sky. 

Julian: He like lives in the like in a rainbow. 

Adam: In the clouds. 

Zack: I think he looks like nothing. Like white. 

Their paintings and quotes will be hanging in the classroom for the 12th graders to see. We can't wait to here where they think God is and to continue sharing our ideas with them and Kohavim. 

Painting a Color Chart

As Adam approached the Easel, he immediately asked, “Are these the primary colors?” He then decided he would use the primary colors to create a color chart. He explained that by making a color chart, the other children would know which colors you could mix to create secondary colors. As he painted he explained that he put red and yellow on top and mixed them together underneath to create orange. He proceeded to mix red and blue, yellow and blue, and red, blue, and yellow. After his color chart dries on the drying rack, we plan to hang it next to the easel for other children to refer to when painting. For the past few weeks, the kindergartners have been exploring color mixing. By developing a color chart, Adam demonstrated his understanding of mixing primary colors to create secondary colors. Thank you, Adam, for making a color chart we can all use!