Making Challah Is So Much Fun!

Today everyone in the TBSCC had the opportunity to make challah! We listened to some beautiful Shabbat music as we kneaded, rolled, braided the challah, then placed it on a cookie sheet. Tova was kind enough to put it in the oven and wrapped it up for us to take home. Thanks Tova! Making challah is always so much fun!

Shabbat Shalom!

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Swooper Cohen!!

It's a bird , it's a plane, it's Swooper Cohen! Finally SWOOPER came back to visit us! It's been a long time coming! Those of us who know Swooper welcomed him with open arms and the children/staff who meet Swooper for the fist time yesterday, were just delighted to meet him! Ally Cohen (his sister) took him around to each classroom and talked to the children about how you take care of parakeets and keep them safe and healthy. Ally also talked about how like people, all parakeets are different and have their own likes, dislikes and special ways of doing things. Then she shared with each group some of the thing Swooper likes to do at home...He spends most of his day out of his cage, his favorite foods are spaghetti, cantaloupe, bagels, and corn on the cob, he enjoys taking baths with his (brother) Jake, likes to listen to books before he goes to bed, and last but not least loves to give Ally and Jake kisses. Life with Swooper has been truly a gift for the whole family. We all love that guy very much! The only issue we have with Swooper is, he is still not potty trained! We have tried everything, if anyone out there has any advice please feel free to share it!!!!!!!

Let's make beautiful music together!

Ryan said, "Let's make some music!" Ryan loves listening to music, singing music and making music with the musical instruments! Tina was kind enough to bring in the whole box of instruments before she left for the day. Right after we put Mr. Parachute away the instruments came out. All throughout the building you could hear the sound of the drums, tambourine, bells, maracas and the xylophone too. Then all of a sudden Sam, Lucas, Teddy and Alana started yelling "Cut!" I asked the children "Why are you saying cut?" Lucas explained we have music but we need a singer to sing...So let's play the music softer because we need to hear the singer sing!" Josh offered to sing "Old McDonald had a Farm." Then Sam yelled cut and tapped a little tune on his drums "Tap, tap rap". Then Sam asked, "Does that sound like a familiar sound to you?"

I asked the group if they had a name for their band and Sam replied, I am still thinking about it, I will tell you later." I suggested they come up with a name for their band together. Tomorrow we will discuss it further..Stay tuned!

Parachute Fun!

We didn't let the rain put a damper on our day! We proved once again that with or without the sun we always have fun! Mr Parachute came out to play. The children played "Cat and mouse", "Switch", "Pop the popcorn" and "Where, oh where is that little mouse?" If I had to guess I would say the "Cat and mouse game" was their favorite. When you get a chance you might want to ask you child what their favorite parachute game is...

Sand, Mulch and Water = Fun

Sand and water play ...It does not get better than that! Everywhere you looked today the children were engaged in sand and water play! Near the sand box there was a group of children making a "mud trap" in a large blue bucket. Over in the swing area just beyond the pools, the children created a stream in the mulch with shovels and water. At the end of the day when parents came to pick up their children, they looked a little like a group of adorable dalmatians.

I am sure everyone was asked to take a nice long bath tonight!

Happy Father's Day!

The children enjoyed decorating cards for Father's Day! They used a variety of collage materials, markers and glue to create their own special card for their own special Daddy.

From all of us to all of you HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! Enjoy this beautiful day!

Climbing, climbing, and more climbing!

The children are really feeling successful climbing the jungle gym on the playground. The photos say it all!

Let's Welcome Molly Tobin!

Molly Tobin is joining us this week! Molly thanks for a great day, we are glad to have you on our TBSCC Team!

Playground Fun!!!

The chill in the air didn't slow down the fun activities at TBSCC! We did some swinging on the monkey bars, threw beanbags at hoops, practiced our pumping skills on the swings, decorated baskets for a scavenger hunt later in the week, and last but not least played a bit of basketball! At the end of the day the children sang, "Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun Please Shine Down On Us", in the hopes that Mr. Sun will come out tomorrow! Keep your fingers crossed!

Puddles here, puddles there, puddles everywhere!

On Friday at the end of the day both the staff and children emptied the wading pools. The water collected and formed a huge puddle. The children splashed, stamped, ran and believe it or not used the big red shovels to push the water from one end of the puddle, to the other. The children had a great time running back and forth while pushing the water with the shovels.

It was a first for me...I have never had the opportunity to see children play in puddles with big shovels before. What a fun/great idea!

Homemade popsicles on a hot summer day!

Homemade 100% juice popsicles on a hot summer day, was welcomed by all! When Ellen brought them outside for us, she asked the children to please bring back their plastic stick when they were done... So we can make more popsicles next week. Each and every child brought back their plastic stick. Thank for remembering, next week I think grape pops are on the menu.

A Delicious Shabbat Snack!

We all had the most delicious Shabbat snack...Juicy watermelon and fresh challah! It doesn't get better than that! YUMMY!

Did Someone Say Water Slide?

Sam ,Ruby, Josh, Dylan, Jesse and Teddy had a grand old time running back and forth, from the pool to the slide filling a bucket with water, then poured the water down the slide, and finally enjoyed sliding down the slide really fast! They were all so pleased with their new invention, "The Super Fast Slide!"

What's Jewish about Butterflies?

"There are more than 160,000 species of butterflies, found all over the world. Each species varies in color, size and survival techniques. According to the Creation story in the Torah, butterflies were created by God on the sixth day, the same day that humans were created. Observing butterflies in nature is they flutter, dip, land, and take off once more, one cannot help but be amazed by the beauty and delicateness of butterflies, as well as be awed by the skill of the butterfly's creator.

Ideally, a unit about butterflies will include actually growing caterpillars into butterflies. As children engage in the transformation of caterpillars into butterflies, the partnership between the children and God becomes concrete and apparent. Becoming a butterfly (in the classroom) requires help from God and help from the children in the class-a partnership the children can engage in on a daily basis. Studying and caring for butterflies, be it in nature or in the classroom, leads us to think about Creation and the brit, the partnership between God and people".

"What's Jewish about Butterflies?"

The Tel Aviv children had the opportunity to raise caterpillars to butterflies this past Spring. As we all know the last day of school was June 1st and the butterflies came out of their chrysalis June 3rd. They must of liked in there! Today the entire TBSCC took part in the joy and beauty of letting the butterflies go free into the world.

I copied a blessing from the "What's Jewish about Butterflies?" book, but the children decided to create/say their own blessing before we let the butterflies go.

TBSCC Blessing for the Butterflies...

"We wished them well and that God would watch over them and keep them healthy and safe, wished them good luck finding food all by themselves, and thanked them for being so beautiful. Amen to that!"

Then we counted each butterfly as they flew out into this wonderful world!

Thank you Gila and Tova

Today in the Kahol team room we had two counselors that came to help and play with us. Gila thank you for spotting Daniel on those monkey bars. Tova and Ruby had a great time dining together. It was quite the meal- ketchup and coffee mate.
Enjoy...