Snack Time is Social Time

The Shamayim children have lots of fun during snack time.  The children get to refuel their bodies with delicious healthy food at the same time as enjoy the company of their friends with very lively conversation.

A Throwback To Summer Fun

The Etzim class has truly been enjoying this unseasonable warmth. Digging in the soil, riding together on horses, making "mulch angels," and getting buried in the sand are just a few of the ways we have been embracing these wonderful days.

Just in Time for a Popsicle

Just as the teachers stared passing out popsicles on Friday, Olive cam strutting into the playground with her walking boot. She sat right down next to her sister Audrey and they enjoyed a grape juice popsicle with the other children. What a treat to see Olive and have some time to catch up with her over a nice, cold popsicle!

A Busy First Day for Adom Bet

Our first day of summer camp in the Adom Bet (red B) classroom was filled with activity. The children met new friends and greeted familiar friends.

Rose and Sophie had fun washing the rubber duckies in the sensory table.

The classroom was rearranged a bit and everything seemed new and exciting. Olivia, Sophie, Sophie and Lilah played in the kitchen area preparing picnics. 

 

This week we are talking about tzedakah and what it means to do good things for others. We decorated our tzedakah box, shared our ideas about what people need and what we should do with our tzedakah pennies. There were suggestions of food, shoes, blankets, beds, rings and watches.

Happy Family

 Boys and girls in our class love taking care of babies. These three children posed for a picture of a happy family. What wonderful future parents they will be.

 

Planting with our Seed Expert!!

Today the Tel Aviv class had a very special guest: Elizabeth the seed expert!   Elizabeth  and Sasha are friends from URJ Camp Kalsman where Elizabeth was in charge of the camp garden. Elizabeth read a book about how seeds grow during circle time and then everyone got a chance to plant! Using their excellent fine motor and balancing skills, the Tel Aviv kids filled up personal seed cups by using spoons to transfer dirt. Then, they planted some seeds that they found on the playground! Micah G. even brought in a whole bag of seeds from his house for our special seed planting day! Lastly, the group planted special flower bulbs in a Tel Aviv garden box that we will have on our window sill. Over the next few weeks we will be carefully watching our seeds, hoping that they will grow. Thanks for visiting us Elizabeth! It was a fun dirt-filled day and we loved playing and learning with you!

A sense of Togetherness

every Friday, all the classes at the preschool enjoy Shabbat songs and prayers in the sanctuary to give the children a strong sense of togetherness. On the way back to the classrooms after this routine, Olivia and Lily walked back to class together in such a sweet way before heading home for the weekend.

It's Twins!!

The Haifa class already has a set of twin, Sam and Abby. But earlier this week, we had another set, Aleeza and Harper!! The girls discovered that they had the same dress earlier in the year, and had been working on a day to coordinate outfits. Lucky for us, it was this week!

-Alison and Sauci

Budding Friendship

 

As our school year progresses, there are more times that we see children connecting with one another in their play. Lily and Abby took turns putting the large Noah’s Ark puzzle acknowledging each otherss contribution to the larger task at hand. It is just as important to support developing friendships and belonging to the group as it is to teach counting or letters. What a pleasure it is for the adults to see children play interactively.

 

Age Shmage

Today during snack, I noticed that Jake, Zack, and Jacob were having a ball. I decided to join them at the snack table to see what it was that was so entertaining. They were talking about the age of their parents! I blew their minds when I told them that not all teachers were parents, and that I, at the wise old age of 23, am still a kid as opposed to a parent. According to these three boys, their parents range in age from 10 months, age 44, and age 3 million going on 9 months. It sounds like we have quite the age range for our parents in the Haifa class!

-Alison and Sauci

Friends delight in a dance together

What started as several children dancing independently to some spirited music turned into three friends dancing and laughing in delight as they whirled around and around!

Watch this.....

Friends delight in a dance together

What started as several children dancing independently to some spirited music turned into three friends dancing and laughing in delight as they whirled around and around!

Watch this.....

TBSCC has that special Shabbat feeling!

Story Telling!

Everyday the children who stay until 2:00 look forward to a 100% fruit juice popsicle. Sometimes we read a story or tell a story to the children as they enjoy their pop. On Friday Ally told the children the story of the "Three Little Pigs"; but Ally's version of the story had a very different but beautiful ending. Even though the wolf was a big bully and was not very nice to the three little pigs, at the end of Ally's story when the wolf can't blow down the third little pigs house he begins to cry. The pigs feel bad for him, come out of their house and ask him, "What's wrong, why are you crying?" "I am not good at anything but blowing down houses and I can't even do that!" The pigs came up with a great idea! "Wolf you can work at our cousins carnival blowing up balloons!" The wolf said, "Really you would do that for me, even though I was not nice to you?" "Yes of course we would like to help you and maybe we could become friends". So the wolf lived out his days working at the carnival blowing up balloons and became very good friends with the three little pigs.

THE END!

Rabbi Jay happen to be walking by as Ally was telling the story and sat down with us and listened for a little while. When Ally finished the story we talk to the children about how nice and kind the pigs were to the wolf even though he was not so nice to them. The lesson of the story is be yourself and even if someone is not treating right you can still do the right thing...And in this case the pigs helped the wolf find his "dream job" at the carnival, and as time went on they became friends.

Popsicles

Josh, Jacob, Ryan and Lizzie share a few moments together eating grape juice popsicles. Could there be anything better than this on a warm summer day? I doubt it.

At the Easel

When you are painting or drawing at the easel sometimes it's fine to be alone and sometimes, it feels just right having a friend working along with you.

Havdalah

Havdalah was extra special for Sam R this week as he was the Havdalah helper(he is the stick person for the whole week)! Sam was so happy/proud to take part in the Havdalah ceremony. Every week as Havdalah comes to an end, we all stand up, hold hands, and dance and sing. Today for some reason the singing and hand holding kept right on going all the way back to the classroom.

Scientists Share with Each Other

Today Matthew shared a souvenir from Cape Cod. It was a moving water toy and sculpture. When he held it up one way blue water flowed along three wheels. Cool!

Jayden showed us a pink framed photo of herself when she was a baby. She looked very cute!

Jonathan shared a trick skateboard that fit in the palm of his hand. He made the skateboard twirl!

We also shared two more wonderful Frog and Toad stories and a delightful book about who friends are and what they do for each other.

A Picture for a Friend

On Tuesday during free choice time, Ilana decided to draw a picture of her classroom friend, Sandy. She spent a great deal of time on creating the details in her portrait making sure that she got it just the way she wanted it to be. After she was done, she added a heart to the picture and both her and Sandy's name. She decided to hang it up in the room and even rolled the tape on the back of the picture to hang it up. She then selected the spot in the classroom, on a cabinet door, where she wanted to put it for everyone to see. She took great pride in her work and wanted everything about it to be her decision.

Spa at School???

The Scientist lunch bunch class was introduced to our friend clay. The children enthusiastically explored the clay, first with their hands, then feet, and their fingers!
When asked how the clay felt, their responses were:
"Feels like a clay spa."
"It's relaxing."
"It feels like a nice foot bath."