Siblings Help With Drop-Off

Sometimes it isn't easy saying goodbye to Mom, Dad or a sibling during morning drop-off. Today Samantha Levine's sister Hannah, who is a student in Kohavim, helped transition Samantha into a classroom activity after Mom left. It was sweet to see an older sibling spend a little extra time (in Noah's Ark) to make her sister happy.Thank you to Hannah for helping Samantha and spending some time with us in Levana!

Gooey Stuff

What happens when you mix together equal parts liquid starch and glue? Slime, of course!  We made several varieties of slime. At first we used clear glue, then white glue. In some of the batches we added water color paint. No matter what kind we made it was super slippery and gooey.  It can be stretched  it out, if you do it slowly. Sometimes if you pull it quickly, it will snap into two pieces. Children enjoy handling these kinds of sensory materials because there is really no right or wrong way to play with them.  Using small hands to manipulate the slime strengthens finger and hand muscles in preparation for drawing, writing and cutting.

Dance Party

Eliza & Brett

When I saw these two sweeties sitting at the playground together, with Brett's hand wrapped around Eliza's shoulder, I asked them, "Are you good friends?" Here is what they had to say in response. "We are girlfriends and boyfriends. We've known each other all our life, My older sister and her older brother are at the same school. Tonight we have a bingo night. It's a night out for us." And then they started dancing. It was the sweetest time on the playground!

Sweet goodies at the sandbox

Samantha and Charlotte played at the sand box pretending they had a bakery filled with all sorts of sweet goodies they had baked.
Charlotte: "I'm making a chocolate cake"
Samantha: "Me too!"
With much excitement they looked to find all the buckets they could in the sandbox to use for baking at their bakery. Chocolate cakes were the featured item of the day!

The ladybug adventures

Nicolas and Samantha were at the playground playing together with a big toy ladybug. Samantha enjoyed finding it on the ground and Nicolas thought it was a cool ladybug so he came near her to check it out as well. They played with this ladybug until pick up time. It was very sweet for me to watch!

A Day at the Beach with Friends

In spite of the impending storm, this past Sunday in anticipation of the early Childhood Jewish Education Conference Science Through a Jewish Lens scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, a few of my fellow attendees met at Singing Beach in Manchester on the Sea.

Dr. Shai Shafir, the head of  the Nature and Science education department and senior lecturer at Oranim Academic College of Education in Tivon, Israel, a presenter at the conference, accompanied us there. Dr. Shafir is a marine biologist researching agricultural and biological aspects for inland cultivation of corals. He led us along the sea shore as we discovered lichen, lobster eggs, seaweed, barnacles, grasses, rock formations and the squeaky sounding "singing" sand.

Smell, Touch, Eat!

When we carve a pumpkin we use all our senses!  We felt the bumpy and smooth surface of the pumpkin.  We stuck our hands in to feel the cool, smooth seeds.  Our favorite was to smell the pumpkin, with some of us almost falling in!  We graphed how many children liked and disliked the pumpkin seeds we roasted.  It was almost even, until Sophie G. changed her mind and decided she liked them after all!  Delicious.
 

Alphabet Knowledge

Singing the alphabet song is fun, but it doesn't mean a child can identify letters or understands that they represent sounds in spoken langauge. Children in the Haifa and Kohavim classes were recently screened using the PALS-PreK. Upper case alphabet recognition is a core component of PALS-PreK because early literacy research suggests that the single best predictor of early reading achievement, on its own, is accurate, rapid naming of the letters of the alphabet. However, this alphabet knowledge has the most impact when it is done in context of a full spectrum of literacy learning, not simply memorizing each letter one by one.

How to we strengthen children's alphabet knowledge? We begin by pointing out and talking about the letters that are most important to them- the letters in the name, the letters in the names of their classmates, and the letters in simple messages they would like to write. Learning about letters at TBSCC is also a multi-sensory experience and can be found happening in many parts of the school day. Children create letters from pretzels sticks at snack time. They fashion letters from playdough, and they use letters to write birthday messages to each other. 

Name Writing

As you know, children in the Haifa and Kohavim classes have recently been screened using PALS-PreK to help us better understand the progression of each child's literacy development.

Research shows that a child’s first attempt to convey meaning through written language often occurs the child learns to write the letters in his or her name. In order to measure familiarity with writing, a name writing task was included on PALS-PreK. Children’s writing behaviors can be examined from a developmental perspective as they advance through various stages, from a scribbled representation to a correct and recognizable signature.

Writing requires an understanding of the connection between written and spoken language. Children's name writing skills develop over the early childhood years, correlating to the development of their cognitive processes.  Research also shows a direct connection between literacy acquisition and name-writing abilities. Children who have strong name writing skills also have stronger word recognition, and letter naming skills. Know this, teachers carefully track children's interest in and readiness for name writing and support them as they take this preliminary step into a lifetime of writing.

In the Woods

Click to view the slideshow of our morning in the woods.

A Good Week

Click to view the slideshow of our joyful havdalah dance.

Becoming Bucket Fillers

Today we read the story "Have you Filled a Bucket Today?" written by Carol McCloud.  In short, the story tells us that we all carry around invisible buckets to hold our happy thoughts and feelings about ourselves.  Everyone has one.  Buckets are filled when we say or do something kind or something helpful for another person.  That person's bucket gets filled and so do ours!!  It feels good to be kind!

At the same time, when a person is unkind, mean or not helpful, they dip into the buckets of the people that they have hurt.  It makes us sad, lonely and sometimes frustrated when someone dips into our bucket.

Amazingly, this book echoes our school-wide guiding principals - taking care of ourselves, others and our things.  When we fill buckets, we are able to do all three of these things!!

The Shamayim children held on tight to this idea of filling buckets.  We saw kindness, compassion and friendly behavior.  We heard phrases like "Victoria filled my bucket!"  "I'm going to fill Bennett's bucket when we go outside".  It was exciting to see these displays throughout the day.  We caught Bennett and Ilan filing buckets by playing nicely with each other and helping to clean up when play time was over.

Shabbat Shalom

"..Shabbat is here, I'm go glad that Shabbat is here, candles burning bright, it's Friday night, I'm so glad that Shabbat is here!" We hear the children of Levana singing through the day.

Shabbat is always great in the classroom; each week a different child has a chance to lead their friends in prayers and light the candles. This week, Hayley was our Levana Shabbat helper. Thanks a bunch, Hayley!

Stepping up with Keshet

Take a peek into our classroom today.  The kids gave the stairs a workout over the course of the morning.  This very simple construction helps kids work on balance and the important skills of climbing up and down stairs.  The levels provided also give a new perspective on the classroom.  Some toys were found underneath the steps on the floor.  In a previous post, I noted that there was no railing.  This time, just take a look at what some children are carrying or holding while climbing.

A Super Silly Thursday!

Today in the Etzim class, that was something very contagious, and it was silliness!  Starting in the morning, our unifix cubes became a hit as finger decorations and many of the children wanted to have a turn wearing ten unifix cubes on their fingers! 

This silliness and fun continued into lunch bunch where friends got a chance to share their funnyfaces and go on a parade around the classroom with their unifix cube fingers!

Cooperative Play!

Cooperative play begins with simple back-and-fourth play of two children. They attempt to coordinate their actions so they can roll a ball back and fourth or take turns talking on the telephone. In these early interchanges, children practice the turn-taking pattern of "first me, then you." In their preschool years, children develop their interactional skills further, and some group play begins to form. They learn to play together, deciding what to play and what roles to take. In cooperative play, all the children involved take part in the same activity.

On Wednesday, Samantha, Molly, Lily and Charlotte pretended to play school on the playground. They modeled how cooperative play looks and sounds. Their conversation sounded like this: Charlotte: Who is the stick person this week?
Molly: Let's pick a stick.(Molly used a leaf instead of a stick)
Samantha: Who is it?
Molly: It's Lily..It's your turn to take Chester home!
Then the children sang our morning welcome song, but instead of passing the Torah they passed a truck. Their play sounded and looked just like our morning circle. It is so nice to see new friendships budding as the children engage in cooperative play!

Rock Art!

After some discussion at our second circle this morning Adam raised his hand and asked, "Can I paint a rock for my sister Mia?" I said, "Of course, in Lunch Bunch we can gather some rocks and paint them outside." Adam lit right up with the thought of "filling Mia's bucket", by painting her a rock! Adam inspired us all to paint and design rocks. The children painted big and small rocks. There were pink and orange rocks, green and blue, spotted and rainbow rocks too. If you get a chance come onto the playground tomorrow morning and check out the ROCK ART!

Required Fall Crafting

Everybody should have the experience of ironing leaves between wax paper at least once in their life.  Today the Etzim children sorted through the leaves we collected on the playground yesterday.  Eliana noticed the leaves had curled up because we did not press them overnight.   We sorted, arranged, then pressed them with the iron.  Good, old fashioned leaf pressing fun! 

Appreciating a Beautiful Day

Towards the end of ourside play today, while everyone was running and playing around the yard, Julia took a moment to enjoy the beautiful fall weather.  When another friend invited her to play she very contentedly replied "I just want to stand in the sun."   

 

Conquering a fear

Abby wanted to hang from the monkey bars and then fall to the ground. She said she was scared but she really wanted to do it. After all, Aleeza and Lizzie could do it. Abby said "I am going to get hurt when I fall." Naturally I told her not to do it until she was ready. Her conflict continued. She wanted to do it very badly but the ground looked like it was a far way down. What to do? Aleeza and Lizzie knew the solution. They started shouting "you can do it, Abby, you can do it. With the encouragement of her friends Abby did it. In fact she did it 23 times yesterday and at least that many today. Abby is very proud of herself and her friends are proud of her too!
Way to go girls.
Sauci

Sorting It Out

Something was amiss here, and Ben knew it. Seems that the metal cars were all mixed in with the wooden trains this morning. This would certainly slow the process of finding an engine, caboose and freight cars to get things rolling. We notice in our young children the ability to distinguish between play items based on color, size, material and purpose. They know that the kitchen things are (usually) for use in the kitchen, and that the Legos and the shells go in two different baskets. Sorting activities progress from the simple to the sophisticated. With a teacher, Ben had a fun game of "What Belongs," as he separated the wooden trains from the metal cars, and soon had things back on track!

Noah's Ark!

This week in Levana we are focusing on the biblical story of Noah's Ark! in Hebrew it is called "Tayvah shel Noach".
The children participated in painting a cardboard ark that they can go inside of. They also brought some plastic animals inside (2 of each, just like Noah) We read stories about Noah and showed our friends beautiful illustrations of the story of Noah by Eric Carle. We also had a giant floor puzzle for the children to complete, depicting the story as well.
At our water table, we had several arks, people and animals inside for fun water play associated with the story!
At snack, we gave animal crackers just for fun! We plan to continue this unit into next week. We will make and glue raindrops to the ark and read more about the story. We will also include our animal puppets so the children can do puppet shows through the windows of their ark!

A new take on digging.

Many of the Etzim children love to dig.  With their hands, shovels and anything else that will scoop up dirt and leaves!  Jack and Audrey took a new approach to collecting and digging leaves, with what they called Clam Shovels!  They were very excited to share their new invention with the other children on the playground and were so proud of their new idea on how to transport leaves.

Who is the 'Boss'???

The children were sitting announcing to one another "I am the oldest" , "no I am the oldest!!!" We wondered why they were trying to determine who was the oldest and what the concept of being the oldest meant to them. As the discussion evolved their comments were interesting. It soon became clear the 'oldest' meant that they would be the 'BOSS'. We asked Why did they think that the oldest would be the boss to which they responded: "because they know the most stuff, the oldest knows the most stuff because they are bigger." Then as their thinking progressed one child responded " but my dad doesn't remember everything and I remember everything." So the question became so when you are younger your remember more?? As the conversation continued, another person responded " Well that's because when it gets further from that time ( meaning young) you kind of don't remember." So who is the boss?? We all have much to learn from one another....

shamayim nature walk oct 2012

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In and out of the house

Olivia and Sydney were playing inside the house at the playground. They enjoyed looking at each other from opposite parts of the house.The girls took turns being in and out of the house; first Olivia went into the house and Sydney went out. Then Sydney went into the house and Olivia went out. The girls seemed to enjoy their play, especially looking at each other through the house's window.To me it was very sweet to watch the two finding so much enjoyment in such simple social play. The little joys of life!

Chester our friend!

Chester has made his way into our hearts!   We all have become quite fond of Chester!  The children that have had the opportunity to take Chester home and spend time with him actually miss him, when they bring him back to school.   Everyday Lily says, "I want Chester to come to my house again."   Last week Joise took Chester home for the weekend.  On Tuesday she was so delighted to share Chester's journal with her classmates and teachers. 

The children who have not had a turn with Chester can't wait to take Chester home to visit with their family.   Everyday this week Zack has asked if Chester can come out to visit.  When Chester comes out to play he has a really nice way of bringing the children together.  Chester is what we call a very" friendly" guy, as he always invites everyone into his circle of play.  Chester is a wonderful addition to our class and we are glad to have him.

Tel Aviv's Creating Self-Portraits!

Over the past two days the Tel Aviv class has been working on creating self-portraits. We have been drawing using colored pencils and mirrors to pay extra attention to what our faces look like. It’s neat to see how concentrated children are when examining themselves in a mirror. I have seen a great deal of detail in this batch of drawing  (lot’s of ears!) which makes me know that these kids are really paying attention to what they see!

We are using these self-portraits as the cover to our portfolios that we will be continuing throughout the year. We intend to do another self-portrait toward the end of the year and use at as a back cover to our portfolios. We are so excited to see all the growth that will happen throughout this year together and we are excited that the group is excited about their new portfolios! 

Etzim Returns the Levana Cars

The Etzim class borrowed the cars from the Levana class today. With a flurry of energy, they returned them. It's wonderful for children to take part in sharing of materials at our school. Returning the toys demonstrates a sense of appreciation and respect for one another and for our things.

Movement with Dancing Nancy

 The children had so much fun waving the colored scarves in our Movement with Nancy class. She shows us how to warm-up our bodies with stretches and bends. We make a circle holding hands and take steps into the circle and out again. We move to music and with their imaginations the children become the leaves. Just like falling leaves, the scarves blew around and fell to the ground. Gross motor excercises under adult supervision allow children the opportunity to use their bodies in a controlled purposeful way.

 

A full house

On the playground many of the children engage in imaginative play in the house. In this photo the children are inviting more people into their home to expand their family. They are showing open play where there can be more than one Mom and even more Dads.

Boston drivers

We have all heard of the reputation of Boston drivers. Sam C. represents a new generation of drivers. He is courteous, uses his signals, stops at stop signs, red lights and pedestrians in the roadway. In addition he doesn't bump into other cars. Sam is one of the best drivers in the Haifa class as he is teaching his friends the rules of the road.

Mmmm....Pumpkin Bread!

How do you bake pumpkin bread?  The Levana children know.

They looked at their recipe poster taped to the closet, as they came into the classroom on Tuesday morning.

Then they checked to make sure we had all the ingredients we needed, including the boxed mix, eggs, oil, and water.  We also needed to make sure we had our tools -- the bowl, a spoon and whisk, and measuring cups and spoons.

Then we took turns pouring in the different ingredients, and mixing them in the big, red bowl. (I hold the bowl still so that it doesn't tip.)  

 Lindsey notices that the batter smells good, even before we put it in the oven.

 After we take it out of the oven and bring it back to the classroom, everyone wants to take turns smelling the warm, baked pumpkin bread. Haley thinks it smells delicious!

But before we can eat it at snack time, we have to cut it into slices.   Lily takes a turn cutting, first.

Then Ellen takes a turn slicing, followed by Harold, Samantha S., and Haley.

 Unfortunately, we didn't get any photos of the children eating the pumpkin bread at snack time, but it was a hit!  Many of the children thought it was delicious and asked for seconds.