Preparing for the Auction!

Today the children sketched/drew insects with black markers and then painted them with water colors.   Some chose to draw freehand and others looked at pictures from the WORLD OF INSECTS BOOK and sketched an insect or bug.  Their drawings are amazing!  Caterpillars, butterflies, beetles worms and bees!  Tomorrow we will paint the chair, and the last step will be to glue the drawings on the chair with modge podge.

We search for Chametz!

Before Passover, we empty our cupboards of bread, cereal, crackers, cookies, pasta, and pretzels.  Before Passover starts, we search for chametz, and put it away out of our kitchen until the holiday is over.
Last week the Tel Aviv children went on a chametz search in our classroom kitchen (Dramatic Play Center).  We collected all the chametz-foods that need to rise as yeast breads and other baked goods.  Then we put it away in the TBSCC closet to make sure no chametz gets into the food we cook for Passover.

Welcome to Our Menorah Museum

Last Friday, the Kohavim children officially opened a Menorah Museum for the day. All week they had been preparing by bringing in their family menorahs from home. Each morning different children shared the stories behind their menorahs. Some were given to children when they were born, some were purchased on a visit to Israel, some had Hebrew letters, and some had children's names. Each menorah was as unique as the story behind it. The children prepared a sign for the museum and invited all of the classes in the Children's Center to visit. The children explained that the museum would be open for only that day, as the menorahs would need to go home for families to celebrate Chanukah. All of the classes accepted the invitation and it was such a treat to welcome them into our Museum. The Kohavim children stood behind the menorahs providing the visitors with details about each menorah and it's story. The children were particularly excited to give Rabbi Todd a personal tour. Thank you to all our visitors and supporters. And a special thank you to the children and families of the Kohavim class who shared with us their beautiful menorahs and special stories.

Hanukkah Surprise

Today the Etzim children entered the classroom to find a note filled with Hanukkah wishes waiting for them!  "Who is it from?  Who was in our room?  Do they like our room?  Did they go in our cubbies? Did my Mom write that note?" The Etzim children had many questions.  Most of all, we were all delighted to find this Hanukkah surprise!

Happy Birthday Micah!

On Wednesday we all celebrated Micah's birthday! First we sang "Happy Birthday" in Hebrew and English. Then we read Micah's special birthday book that his Tel Aviv friends made for him. We ended by listening to one of Micah's favorite books he brought in from home.

Home-To-School-Connection!

Displaying images from children's home and family life in the early childhood environment creates a continuous reminder of the home-to-school connection. These photos can be displayed in a variety of ways, such as plastic frames, photo stands, notebook binders, bulletin boards. Some of these images should be portable so that children are free to move around and incorporate them into their play or turn to them when they need comfort or reassurance.

As the children transition from home into their new classroom, they will be given the opportunity to visit their family posters, pictures, portable frames and books so they can feel a connection. These images displayed throughout the classroom serve as a springboard for storytelling, language development, and exploration of likeness and difference.

At dismissal Lily, Noah and Samantha enjoyed looking through and saying the names of their friends/classmates in the TBSCC Photo Book! Lily is new to our school and is learning the names of the children in the Tel Aviv classroom for the first time. Samantha and Noah were pleased to help Lily remember her classmates names.

Summer Bike Rodeo #2!

The children had a ball riding their bike or scooter all around the TBSCC parking lot! Because the weather was so hot we took plenty of water breaks and had snack available to the children over in the shaded area. We ended the Rodeo by sitting down all together on the playground, to enjoy a nice ice cold pop!

Snack Bar!

I don't know which booth was more popular the make your own jelly and sun butter sandwich snack booth or face painting? Both booths had a lot of action all day long!

The Carnival!

What a day we all had at our Summer Carnival! The booths included:

Balloon Bowling, Watermelon Spit, Snack Shack, Beanbag Toss, Shoot Hoops (with a basketball), Musical Freeze (with shapes) and last but not least Face Painting with Emily. As the children moved from booth to booth they handed a ticket to the person running the booth. At the end of the carnival the children had the opportunity to collected their prizes. We invited them to pick out a painted rock and bracelet that the children made during the course of the week.

Next year the children requested a Jumpy House and Pony Rides at the Summer Carnival!

Red, White and Blue Pancakes?

That's right the red were strawberries, the blue were (blueberries of course) and the white simply... a plain pancake!

We made pancakes for the entire Children's Center! They were delicious!

Rain or shine we look forward to our pops!

We unrolled Torah...What an experience!

Today was quite a day! We all gathered in the Sanctuary with Rabbi and Torah. Rabbi Todd talked about what we do on this very special holiday, called Simchat Torah (pick up Torah, unroll Torah, read Torah, dance with Torah etc). The entire children's center had the opportunity to hold the Torah in their hands. It was a sight to behold, to see each and every child cradle Torah like a baby.

Each and every year I find this experience so truly heart warming. To see each child cradling the Torah in their two little hands, is just the most wonderful feeling! Thank you Rabbi Todd for this wonderful experience!

Clean-Up Job Board

Community members all pitch in to support the community. There are many jobs to do and each member is needed to make sure everything gets done to support the group. We feel it is important for the children to take ownership of the classroom with class jobs for everyone.

I am sure all preschool teachers would agree that cleaning up after center time can be one of the most challenging transitions of the day. "I didn't take that out," "I already put some blocks away. Alex needs to do the other blocks," "I never played there."

Today we introduced the children to our "Clean-up Job Board." We showed the children pictures and explained each job to them. During free play Dylan offered to help me distribute/hang the jobs on a clothespin located below each child's picture, at eye level under the big chalk board in the Tel Aviv classroom. Before it was time to clean up we called the children over to take a good look at their job for the week. We asked the children to place the photo of their specific job around their neck (like a necklace) and to please go clean up their assigned area. On Monday mornings we will assign everyone a new classroom job for the whole week.

The children embraced the whole concept and really liked wearing their job "necklace" all around the classroom. Learning where things belong and how to clean is an on going process that takes time. When you get a chance come into our classroom and check out our Clean-Up Board.

How do you eat a popsicle?

White grape juice pops really hit the spot today. The children that stay for the extended day program made popsicles for everyone. We all gathered at the picnic table to chat, eat and enjoy the popsicles. As I sat with the children I noticed everyone has their own way of eating a popsicle. The children chewed, slurped, licked and/or sucked their popsicle. I shared my thoughts with the group and they
started to giggle! Tina even got in on the act...But she was enjoying/slurping some juicy watermelon.

So Much Love!

Wow! What a loving, caring community at TBSCC! Moments like these surround us throughout the day. Playground time that provides time for all the children to play and explore together, the end of day sing-alongs that includes parents as they pick up, the amazing staff who are continually engaged and present with the children - it is truly a pleasure spending time with the TBSCC community. The picture above of Josh on his first day really says it all!

Passover play

Passover play

Using our New Aron Kodesh for the First Time

We had a ceremony in the classroom to celebrate the first use of our new Aron Kodesh and having a community gathering with our families.
The "Shehecheyanu" blessing (Hebrew: שהחינו‎, "Who has given us life") is a common Jewish prayer said to celebrate special occasions. It is said to be thankful for new and unusual experiences.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ
אֶלוֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הַעוֹלָם
שֵהֵחְיָנוּ וְקִיְמָנוּ
וְהִגִיעָנוּ לַזְמַן הַזֶה" Praised are you, Lord, our G-d, King
of the Universe, who has kept us,
watched over us, and helped us to
reach this special time."

"Ba-ruh a-tha, A-do-nai, E-lo-hey-nu,
Me-leh-ha-o-lam, sheh-heh-he-yanu
v'kee-ma-nu v'hee-gee-a-nu lazman
ha-zeh."

We said the shema blessing: Sh-ma
Sh’-ma yis-ra-eil a-do-nai e-lo-heinu,
a-do-nai e-chad.
Ba-ruch shem k’-vod mal-chu-to l’-
o-lam va-ed.

We sang Shabbat songs, learned a new dance and ate our Challah together. It was great to have you all with us. Thank you everyone for making our new Aron Kodesh possible!
~More Photos~

Meet Fire Fighter "Shawn"

Firefighter "Shawn" will be coming on October 14, from the Needham Chestnut street Fire station. The scheduled time is 10:00 a.m. to show us the real "gear" that the firefighters use during a fire, and answer any questions your children will have.

We have incorporated most of the items the children indicated they needed to complete our fire station, we have goggles, "hoses". We are still in the process of completing our Unicorn Firestation. We need:

1) fire hydrant

2) boots

3) pole

There is more work to be done and adventures to go on. Stay tuned....