Patty-Cake

Patty-Cake a game in which two participants clap their hands together to the rhythmic beat of chanting a nursery rhyme.

Rachel wanted to play with Sally,so she walked up to her and said, "Let's play patty-cake!"
Sally smiled put her hands out, and started chanting "patty-cake" over and over again!
Lily and Rachel joined in on the chanting part, as Sally and Rachel continued to clap their hands together.

Rachel used the game of patty-cake to initiate play with Sally ...What great tool, I am going to try it tomorrow.

Joyful Playdough Play

Children love playing with playdough  together with friends. There was so much joyful conversation and sharing to witness this morning in the Levana class.
" I'm making pasta and meatballs."
 "I'm making this cake for you."
 "Are you finished with that?" "Yes you can have it now.
"Here's some ice cream for you."
"Look what I'm making."
Teachers are always pleased to see the connections the children are making with one another as their social and language skills continue to develop.

Go Bruins!

Dylan and Zack are the biggest fans! Good luck to the Bruins tonight.

Seeking Some Shade

Today, Ellen from the Levana class was hanging out in the tunnel on our climbing structure, seeking some shade with her friend Lila, from the Etzim class. They were laughing, talking and strengthening a friendship that has stemmed from having lunch bunch together! very sweet to see these connections.

road work ahead

Lily and Victoria worked so nicely to build this beautiful road.  They organized their tiles, worked cooperatively and created a road wide enough to enjoy at the end!!

Josh and Chester 's Visit...Fantastic!

Chester and Josh had a great February vacation together!  They spent so much quality time together with Josh and his family.  Chester and Josh spent time visiting with Bubbe and Grampa, went on a group play date with his Tel Aviv friends, played with Zach W and his new remote Morphibian, enjoyed sledding, went bowling ,and went kitchen appliance shopping!

At our morning meeting, Josh really enjoyed reading Chester's journal and sharing Chester stories with all his friends! 

Josie can't wait to take Chester home for the weekend tomorrow!

Friends!

Friends...Walk hand in hand, dance, make observations, discover ,sing, build, and smile together!

Small Group And Dyad Play Galore

As you can see, lots of small group and dyad play was abundant in the Rainbow room. From drawing Rapunzel at the easel, to making juice cake with the rice, to dropping off packages with the trusty mail truck, to recognizing classmates in the faces book, to putting together potato heads, a great time was had by all!

Fun In A Box

As you can see from their joyful smiles, the Rainbows had a lot of fun playing with an empty box today. They easily took turns getting in and out of the box and sharing a special moment in the box with their classmate. It is not easy to share such a tiny space. Despite the space constraint, smiles and laughter definitely prevailed.

Entering Play!

Entering Play

I don't know how many times this has happened in my teaching career...A child sees other children building a tall structure in the block area. If she doesn't yet have the skills and language to join in the play, she will knock down the tower, push it in, or maybe grab blocks. It's not enough to tell her, "Go over there and use your words." Many children haven't yet learned the words to use. If she knew she probably would have used them.

As we teachers play with children, we must model scripts and skills they need to join in ongoing play with others. Here is an example of how scripting and modeling can work in the classroom.

Today I saw a child walk over to the rug and take some blocks from two children playing on the rug together. The two children said, "Hey we were using those blocks!" I reminded the child that took the blocks, the other children were playing and building a structure together. If she wants to join/enter the play at the rug...This is what you can say , " How can I play?" I then asked her to watch me as I enter the play on the rug first. I used the scripts, "How can we play? What are you playing?" I then sat down on the rug and coached the children so everyone had an acceptable and appropriate role as we continued to build and play together.

Successful players join into ongoing play themes. Whenever we model joining ongoing play, we help the child figure out how to join rather than changing the play theme. This all takes lots of time and practice!

The Sandwich Swap

Today we read The Sandwich Swap, by her Majesty Queen Rania and best selling author Kelly DiPucchio. Queen Rania tells a story inspired by her own childhood. " The main characters Salma and Lily reach the true spirit of tolerance and acceptance. The smallest things can pull us apart-until we learn that friendship is far more powerful than difference." A must have for your home library!

When we were done reading the book we invited the children to make a hummus and/or sun butter sandwich for snack...Yummy!

It's Cold Outside!!!

Hannah Lily and Eliza cuddle to keep warm while waiting for the swings! The picture was too cute not to share!!

One….Two…Three…GO!

Dylan, Eli and Jacob created a fantastic game while playing with colored scarves this morning. The three of them would split the scarves and yell, “One, two, three GO!” and then all throw the scarves in the air at the same time and then try to catch the scarves as they fell down. This game engaged all three boys and they shared the scarves and cooperated beautifully. After a while, Molly joined in, and the boys welcomed her into their colorful game. I am so pleased to see everyone playing well together and I am excited to watch friendships develop throughout our year together!

Beautiful Sights!

Last Friday I was standing on the TBSCC playground appreciating these beautiful sights and I thought I would share them with you. Enjoy!!!!

Take Two... Indoor Campfire!

Well, the indoor campfire was so much fun we did it again! We told spooky stories, funny stories, enjoyed delicious s'mores and had a lot of laughs!

Lunch Bunch Fun!

Movement of Water!

Sensory table activities encourage the construction of physical knowledge with regard to both liquid and dry materials. The sensory table provides an ideal area for active experimentation since it is designed to contain a substantial volume of either liquid or dry substances. Children can experiment with how these materials react when used with simple machines, which can also be incorporated into the sensory table. For example, a funnel is a type of inclined plane, while an eggbeater employs a wheel and axle. Children can also explore the movement and containment of liquid and dry materials, buoyancy, absorption, and measurement through carefully planned sensory table activities.

Last week the Tel Aviv All Stars had a great time playing/experimenting in the sensory table, with clear plastic tubing, funnels and colored soapy water. Sam called me over to the sensory table to inform me that, "There are blue chemicals in the water that we need to get out! The chemicals have germs so we need to pour the water down the drain to get them out!" He discovered when he pours the water into a funnel attached to a tube it flows down and out of the tubes(the pretend drain). But if he adds another funnel to the other end of the tube, and lifts up both ends of the tubes, the water gets stuck in the tube. Teddy Post, Mia, Aden and Lexi came over to see what was going on at the sensory table. Sam asked his friends to help him remove the "bad blue chemicals" from the water. They all were more than willing to help! Now that's what I call good friends!