Sharing Shabbat dinner

Traditionally, Shabbat dinner is the finest meal of the week. Today, the meal may consist of several courses and include traditional Jewish foods such as chicken soup, gefilte fish, and kugel. But even if the meal consists of pizza and cookies for dessert, the important thing is that the family is taking time to sit together and enjoy the meal.

Last Thursday, during free play Jesse,Drew and Rylan spent most of their time preparing a beautiful Shabbat meal for all of their friends to enjoy!  The meal included chicken, home made challah,carrots, oranges and yummy lemonade (delicious).  They sure made the most of the experience by singing and dancing all the way through the Shabbat dinner preparations!  A fun and joyous time was had by all!  It was so nice to be all together for Shabbat, on Thursday!

Who is knocking at the Door???

Shabbat Joy

"Let's sing for Shabbat!" announced Drew as he began to sign with the torah and dance around the room. "Shabbat shalom, hey!" he sang, with infectious enthusiasm. What a treat to see Drew's joy in anticipation of Shabbat. I was struck by the sense of kedushah, holiness, in Drew's actions. "Within Judaism, kedushah is viewed as separate realm; restricted, unique, limited, different, wholly other. Holy times are ones in which various mundane activities are either suspended or imbued with special meaning; holy places are those in which we feel ourselves to be fully present enough to appreciate the unique, the extraordinary, the divine." (Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative) As Drew danced and sang, what could have been a mundane school experience, became a holy one, drawing in others who stopped to notice how joyfully he was welcoming in Shabbat.

Rolling Along

A morning spent rolling along in the Community Room is a morning the children look forward to. What could be more fun than a ride on a padded tube? But did you know this is actually a pre-writing exercise in disguise? Look closer and you'll see how the children are strengthening their arm and hand muscles by reaching out their arms and using them to support their full body weight.

Having strong upper body muscles is critical in being able to sustain the kind of writing required for elementary school. Most children begin working intensively on these muscles when they first learn to push up from their stomachs as infants and then continue as they go through the crawling stage. As they grow older, children need continued opportunities develop this muscle strength to reach the point of proper stamina necessary for writing.

To continue working the same muscles at home, without a padded tube, try the wheelbarrow game. Hold you child’s legs up and straight as they hand walk around the house or yard. You may find that initially it is difficult for your child to keep his body up, so keep the game short, letting your child rest and trying again. Over time, as your child becomes skilled at the game, add another challenge. Leave balls or toys around and challenge her to pick one up and carry it to a new spot.

Photos from Week 4

Click for the photos from this week.

Gross Motor Fun

Gross motor time in the community room was a big hit! With a little encouragement and support the children discovered they could move their bodies in variety of different ways. Whether it was walking out like a crab with their hands,sliding down a ramp on their tummy or rolling around in a tube, the children just couldn't get enough!

The big question at the end of the day was ,"When can we do that again!"

Gak 101

Children make predictions as they explore and experience with materials:"It will float if you put it in water." "Don't bring the snow inside. It will melt." "It's raining and the ground will be wet. We won't be able to go outside." The accuracy of their predictions are determined by their past experiences and how accurately they interpret their environment.

Today several children had the opportunity to mix and measure ingredients together to make gak. We encouraged the children to make predictions by asking thought provoking questions such as:

• Is the glue,water or borax sticky?
• Which ingredients are wet/dry?
• If we mix the glue and water together will the glue still be sticky?
• If we pour the pink food coloring in the white glue... will the glue change color?
• What is borax?

Some of the children did not realize that when we mix water and glue together it is still quite sticky!The children were surprised when we added the borax, the gak mixture was less sticky. The children that are experienced gak makers new what to expect from the start! Whether you are "gak pro" or a "gak beginner" it is a fun and positive experience for all! We encourage you to make gak at home with whole family!

Here's the recipe plus the scientific explanation of how it works.

Swooper Cohen Super Parakeet

There were many questions surrounding Swooper's visit to summer camp. The children were fascinated with Swooper's cage and noticed many details. For example, one friend noticed there were two perches for Swooper to sit on. Alli explained that Swooper really doesn't like the one perch which prompted the following question of course "Why doesn't he go on the back perch?" To which Samuel replied " Because he thinks he might fall", but then he immediately tried to problem solve for Swooper saying " but, but, he can just fly a little and get to the back perch!" Such logical thinking!!! Maybe one day Swooper WILL get to that back perch!

Thinking Swooper is not different than us friends asked "Can Swooper play outside?" We asked friends why they thought Swooper could not play outside. The following responses are very logical: Teddy said: "Because he doesn't have any toys." Mia said: "Because the rain would swoop him away." Such caring loving friends want to make sure that Swooper has toys to play with and protected from the weather.

Oh he got Away!!!

We made bug homes for our outdoor critters. As we read various books such as Little Miss Spider, On Beyond Bugs, and All About Insects by Tish Rabe. The children came to realize that these outdoor critters are special and have families just like us. They have homes, eat, sleep, and are loved. When creating her bug home, Mia said " I put these bugs [stickers] so they could see other bugs".

Drew, Mia, and Zack, and friends tried very hard to catch an ant, but it got away. Drew and Zack decided to look on the brick wall, and there was a little hole where the ant crawled through. Drew said: " The bug was going to bed in the morning, and plays at night." This certainly made sense since this particular bug was NOT cooperating and playing with these human friends who wanted to play with him. Surely that meant that they can only play at night when we are not around.

I've Got that Shabbat Feeling!!!

"Shabbat Shalom to Mia, " Shabbat Shalom to Drew, Shabbat Shalom to all of our friends".

We celebrated Shabbat outdoors greeting each other and extending blessings and joy.

There were many songs on our CD but this was one of our favorites:

"I've got that Shabbat feeling down in my toes, down in my toes, down in my toes, I've got that Shabbat feeling down in my toes, and it feels soooo good!!!

"I've got that Shabbat feeling up in my fingers, up in my fingers, up in my fingers, and it feels soooo good!!!:

"I've got that Shabbat feeling down in my belly, down in my belly, down in my belly, and it feels soooo good!!!"

"I've got that Shabbat feeling up in my head, up in my head, up in my head, and it feels soooo good!!!"

"I've got that Shabbat feeling deep in my heart, deep in my heart, deep in my heart, and it feels soooo good!!!"

"Shabbat Shalom!!!"

Our visit with Swooper the parakeet

Ally brought the famous Swooper Cohen in for a visit! Once again he was a big hit! Swooper came to Summer Fun last summer and stopped by for a visit this past Spring. He has such a busy schedule!

The children really enjoyed observing and listening to Swooper chirp and sing. Ally talked a bit about life with Swooper at her home. Swooper's favorite foods are bagels, spaghetti (with the sauce on the side please), corn on the cob, lettuce, and rice krispies. He likes to listen to stories and loves to dance and sing to music. Swooper really looks forward to his nightly bath or shower with his brother Jake. He enjoys hanging out with his stuffed animals, but his all time favorite is the green and speckled webkinz frog!

The following is a list of the amazing questions the children asked Ally about Swooper the parakeet:

• Why does he have different colors?
• Do you let him eat at night?
• Where does he sleep?
• Is he cleaning himself?
• Why does he go to the top of the cage?
• Can he play outside?
• When he gets scared does he fall over?
• Where is his poop?

I am willing to bet the next time Swooper comes to camp we will have more exciting and interesting questions for Ally about Swooper!

Meet Mikah Atkind

From active playground games to endless construction projects, Mikah brings much energy to our summer days. Between her work as a counselor and volunteering in the afternoons, Mikah is keeping very busy this summer. In a few weeks she will be traveling to Israel where she will be studying for the fall semester.

Shalom Chaverim

Every day at Summer Fun ends with a group goodbye song. Ask your child to sing it for you.

Shalom Chaverim

Every day at Summer Fun ends with a group goodbye song. Ask your child to sing it for you.

An insider's look at art

When a piece of art comes home, you only get to see the finished product. We are lucky enough to be able to watch the process from start to finish. In observing the children create bug catchers this week, it was striking to note how many different techniques they chose to use. Rylan rolled his glue stick out all the way, for maximum gluing power. Sandy worked bug by bug, carefully sticking each one in a straight row around her catcher. Rachel piled all the bugs on the top of her's declaring, "I'm making a bug cake!"And Sadie used a two handed technique, diligently making sure her glue was precisely applied.

Stages of Water Play

Just as with all types of play, children go through a series of predictable stages of water play. The first stage of water play is functional play in which children explore water with their senses; studying the way it splashes, pours, spills, and changes when colors, soap, or glitter is added. As they play there are learning the scientific properties of water and finding all the ways it can be used.

After functional play comes constructive play. In this stage, children move from exploring water to using it for play--for example, pouring water over a toy person and pretending he is taking a shower. This stage quickly develop from simple play into more complex dramatic play, such as the preparation of a birthday cake or a fishing adventure as Josh and Issac are doing here.

As teachers, we support children at all levels of play, often through a technique called sports casting. Just like a sportscaster on tv, we describe what we see the children doing. "Josh is pouring. Now the cup is overflowing." By putting the action into words, we are helping children to develop new vocabulary and expand on each other's play ideas. One child's idea of creating a shower might lead someone else to create a waterfall.

Learning to cut

Playdough. What a versatile childhood classic. But did you know it is also the perfect first cutting experience? Playdough offers the perfect amount of resistance, stays put on the table, and cuts with a satisfying snip. And the more children cut, the strong their finger and hand muscles become, developing the strength they will need to sustain writing and typing as they grow. Watch Teddy go! You can see his hands flying. So get out a pair of scissors and a lump of playdough and encourage your child to get cutting!

Nurturing a sense of humor

We all know that a small dose of humor can improve our moods dramatically. And a little giggle or smile often leads to more. One of the things I've most enjoyed about watching Lauri teach is her expert use of humor in the classroom. From silly songs, to silly ideas, to silly stories, Lauri is always looking for opportunities to bring humor into our mornings. She works to nurture each child's sense of humor by discovering what they each find funny.

Figuring out what young children find humorous can be a challenge. As they grow, and their cognitive skills develop, their ability to understand more complex humor increases. At three and four years old, many children are at the developmental stage where they appreciate the humor of misnaming. Lauri often uses misnaming to bring a smile to a child's face and we often see examples of children playing with this concept, labeling something as the exact opposite of what it is. Even the silly songs Lauri chooses such as the current favorite Down by the Bay add a smile to our faces.

Is this Recyclable?

In week one of summer fun we discussed the many ways we can take care of our world. One way we can take care of our world is to use things again and not be wasteful consumers.

We can identify items that can be used again by looking for a "triangle" symbol. Avram had finished his snack and asked "Is this recyclable?", referring to his drinking cup. Instead of answering his question, Mikah provided him the "opportunity" to answer that question himself. Eli wanted to look for himself as well. Both children decided our cups were indeed recyclable!! We now have our recyclable box to save those cups for the recycling center.

Water Engineering

Samuel and Drew noticed that water was coming out of two ends of the pipe and they wanted to "catch" it. What could they do? Samuel needed to find "something" to catch it, and so he did.

Their excitement was contagious and soon more children joined in, Jesse, Isaac, Rylan, and Joshua, to participate. They worked cooperatively, taking turns to pour the water into the tubes, carefully watching the path of the water coming down. Some friends tried "different" items to pour. Yes, summer water play is fun with many learning opportunities!

Is it water PLAY or is it water LEARNING?

Have you noticed the way the children are drawn to the water tables every morning when they enter the playground? Imagine putting your hands into cool water on these hot summer days, feeling it drip from your fingers, the heavy feel of the water as it sloshes around the table. Water play delights the senses, but it is far more than simply a pleasurable activity for young children. This type of open ended sensory play is important for the children's development, supporting their physical, cognitive, and social growth. In sensory play there is no right or wrong way to play, leaving plenty of opportunities for decision making and problem solving.

As Drew demonstrates here, when children pour water, they are developing their physical dexterity and hand eye coordination. You can see the look of true concentration on his face! This ability to focus will be an important skill throughout his life. And by negotiating with others as they build a pipe structure or race sail boats, children have the opportunity to develop social skills. The water table provides a different structure from a play scenario in a classroom area such as a block corner because it offers defined, yet flexible places for children to work, one or two on each side of the table. Some children play side by side at the table, and others hold complex negotiations, and the water table supports each child's growth at his own level. At the same time, they use their minds as they explore why certain objects sink in water and others float or how to pour water in an upward spout. So next time you see us playing with water, take a moment to listen and watch. It has been fascinating to see the learning that goes on.