For the birds...

Aleeza's mommy and daddy, Becky and Jon, came in on Wednesday to do a very fun project with us!  We read two books, Llama Llama Red Pajama (which we could all relate to...so hard to wait for mommy to come when we call her!) and Birds.

 Then, we got to make two different types of bird feeders.  For the first one, we made a little loop at the end of a pipe cleaner.  Then we used cheerios to make a long string for the birds.  Hanging this one on a thin branch of a small bush or tree seemed like a good idea.

The second bird feeder was a bit messier...and probably delicious for the birds.  We smeared sunbutter on a rice cake then covered the sunbutter with birdseed.  The birdseed stuck to the sunbutter and the birds could eat the whole thing!  Becky had made holes in the rice cake so we used black gimp to tie a big loop as a hanger.  They were both so cool!

Thank you Becky, Jon and Aleeza for spending the morning with us and doing such a fun project!!

Afikoman Bags

The Rainbows worked hard today to decorate Afikoman (the piece of Matzah that is hidden at the beginning of the Seder) bags to use during the Seder on Passover. The materials consisted of felt, glue, and very tiny colored sequins and jewels. There were some challenges with this activity: 1) Figuring out that a lot of glue, much more than normal, was needed to make the pieces stick, and 2) Determining how to pick up the pieces, especially when they fell on the floor or the table. Since this activity was not an easy task, several of the children started their project when they first arrived, took a break, and then came back to finish later on in the morning. Part two of this activity will involve sewing a second piece of felt onto the decorated piece to make the bag. Will it be sewn on by hand or machine? Stay tuned to find out!

Celebrating Sukkot and decorating the sukkah.

This week in the Unicorn class we have been working together to decide how we wanted to help decorate the Temple sukkah.  During a morning talk we talked about ideas such as adding plants we found on a scavenger hunt, pipe cleaners with blocks, or making paper chains with our own mural paintings.  It was a unanimous decision to bring in pieces of our OWN art into the sukkah decoration to make it special for our Unicorns!  Using scissors, tape and figuring out how to make circles from stripes of paper.  What started as a bit of a challenge has become a success and fun project that everyone has participated in!

Max has a Birthday!

Today we celebrated Max's third birthday with the Rainbows! We made birthday crowns in honor of Max's special day. Max brought his Mom and Dad to join the class this morning. They shared two stories with us, and made us some tasty cornbread for a treat.

Happy Birthday to you, Max!

What Is That Stuff?

The Sunshines made Gak today. We began with a recipe; Ali told us, "That's a list that tells us what to do when we make stuff."
Glue, water, borax, and food coloring, all mixed together. Lots of stirring and stretching. Around and around the table went the bowl, with each child adding a special something to the process. Finally, a smooth and shiny mound for us to divide and form into our own creations. A very satisfying group endeavor!