Where is baby Moses? In the river Nile!

We have been spending lots of time this week learning all about the story of Passover, and creating special activities in our classroom to remind us of the story and to celebrate the holiday.

We painted a blue river and waited for it to dry.   Then we transferred our dry painted river to the rug, and we have been sending baskets of baby Moseses down the river,  singing, "Where is baby Moses, Moses, Moses?  Where is baby Moses?  In the river Nile!  He's floating in a basket, basket, basket.  He's floating in a basket...in the River Nile!"

How do You Build a River for Baby Moses to Float Down?

In Kohavim, the children had been growing grass in the sensory table. After listening to the story of Passover, they realized the grass was similar to the reeds from which Miriam watched Baby Moses float down the river. On Monday, The children decided to dig their own river for Baby Moses to float down. First the planned where they would dig the river by placing skewers into the soil. They used trowels to carefully dig the soil. Once the the ground was dug, the children had to figure out how they could make a river.

 At first, the children wanted to pour the water right into the channel they had dug, but Molly and Noah had another idea.

Molly: What about if the water dries up right away?
Noah: We need to put some rocks in the bottom.
Molly: If you use little rocks, what about if it (water) goes through the cracks?

Unsure if the water would seep through the cracks between the stones, the children decided to test the theory. The lined the channel with small stones and poured the water.

Molly: It didn't work! It just dried up.
Sabrina: it's going into the dirt.

Discovering the water seeped through the stones and absorbed into the soil the children needed a new idea.




At that moment Eli suggested, "Maybe if we put lots of water in at once it won't dry up." The children filled as many watering cans as they could find and poured the water into the channel. At first it seemed to work, but suddenly the water level began to drop. It became evident that the children needed to figure out how to prevent the water from absorbing into the soil. They decided they would create a barrier. 

Molly: Maybe we need to put something on the sides. 

Sabrina: Like rocks. 

Molly: Something that reaches all the way up to here. Something that is waterproof, that can go in water. 

As the morning came to an end, the children decided that the next time they played at the sensory table, they would test wood, plastic and rubber materials. 

After gathering the different materials today, the children first tested pieces of wood. They immediately discovered they could not secure the wood to create a barrier.

Next, they tried blue plastic cellophane. They cut two large pieces of cellophane that they fit into the channel. They used painters tape to adhere the two pieces of plastic together.  

When the children poured the water into the cellophane covered river, excitement filled the air when they realized the water did not absorb into the soil. All of the children came to observe the river.

During second meeting, when we checked on our river we discovered a major problem! The tape the children had used to secure the two pieces of cellophane had become soggy and caused the river to leak! Despite the minor set back, the Kohavim children are determined to repair the river tomorrow morning!

Stay tuned to find out how the Kohavim children build a river to float Baby moses down!

Creating our own Nile!

The Tel Aviv class has been busy busy turning the sensory area into their very own Nile River. yesterday we spent time practicing out cutting and making reeds. Some had straight sides others had waves! Each child wanted to challenge themselves as they strove to cut out a whole page of green reeds! after they were cut they went and grabbed some tape to tape them on the walls!
 The whole area was transformed!
Today the crew was delighted to see that we had added water and babies to the sensory table so we can pretend to float Moses down the river in the basket. So many fun ways to play and explore with the Passover story!

There’s a Baby in the Basket!

To get ready for Passover, the Tel Aviv class has been enjoying learning about the story of baby Moses being saved by being sent down the river.  Miriam his sister followed him, and then the Pharaoh’s daughter found him and wanted to raise him as her own child!  I have been amazed at how well the class knows this story and it has been so fun to watch the group re-discover the babies in dramatic play!  They LOVE them!  They have found baskets and boxes and wrapped the babies up with material to keep them warm as they, “send them down the river.” It is beautiful to see how nurturing they are to the baby Moses. They hold them close and are protective of their dolls. As the holiday prep continues we will be practicing this story for a Tel Aviv play. They are off to a great start!

Visiting Moses

The Keshet children love to visit the bronze bust of Moses that we pass in the hallway on our way to the Community Room. They talk about it excitedly ("We're going to see Moses"), and always wave and call out "Hello, Moses." As we are learning and singing songs about Baby Moses, we have discovered that this baby became the adult Moses that we love, and that he was a great leader of the Jewish people. The children have made the connection between baby and the adult Moses, and are very interested in learning more of his story.

Where is Baby Moses?

Baby Moses is floating in a basket down the Nile. We sing our Passover song as the children place him in a basket and he leaves the sandy shores and floats along. Soon the princess will come along, find and rescue him.