A babysitter?

If you need a babysitter you know who to ask...Cody knows how to take care of his baby! Cody cuddled with his baby, listened to his heart, made a phone call while his baby napped, and last but not least, made his cute ,sweet, baby some delicious chicken soup! Way to go Cody!

The Chester Report!

We had a very busy morning on Monday!  With the delayed opening we did not have time to read the Chester Report in the morning program.   Noah was so excited to read Chester's Journal with his friends we decided to read Chester's Journal in Lunch Bunch.
Noah took Chester out and held his hand with Zach and Elias.  They were all ready to listen to Noah and Chester's story. 

 It's always so special for all the children when Chester comes out to play.  Often in Lunch Bunch the children have the opportunity to visit and play with Chester.  Elias noticed Chester had a "boo, boo" on his tail.  Elias asked me if we could put a bandage on Chester's tail.   Noah and Elias carefully put the bandage on Chester's tail.
Josh is the leader of the week and will get to bring Chester home with him for the entire February vacation!  Maybe at some point over vacation Josh and a member of his family can fix Chester's "boo, boo" with a needle and thread.   I don't know who is more excited for Chester's visit, Josh or Jen (Josh's mom)!

Just as we were finishing up with Noah's detailed report of his adventures with Chester  his Aunt and Uncle arrived,  as it was dismissal time!   What a nice surprise...  Noah was so happy to see them!  He showed them around the classroom , they met Noah's friends and checked out Noah's Journal.

 Chester's social life is very, very  BUSY!   That guy really gets around!

Comforting a Friend

One of my favorite parts of spending my days with young children is having the privledge of witnessing the way they form their own community. Last week in the Haifa class I encountered one such moment. Madison was disappointed and Aleeza approached Madison, softly whispered, "What's wrong?", and gently touched Madison's arm.  Aleeza, thank you for helping classmate and friend feel better!

Grown Ups Come Back

We all miss our parents sometimes and when a classmate missed his mom, Sam decided to lend a hand. "It's ok," he said. "I can make a song about it." And so, he did.


-Laura Walsh

How to be a "Bucket Filler"

Carol McCloud is the author of Have You Filled a Bucket Today?  "She first learned about bucketfilling in a parenting workshop at an early childhood conference in the1990's.  The speaker, an expert in infant brain research, said it is helpful to think of every baby as being born with an invisible bucket.  The bucket represents a child's mental and emotional health.  You can't see the bucket, but it's there.  She went on to say that it is primarily the parents' or other caregivers' responsibility to fill a child's bucket.  When you hold, caress, nurture, touch, sing, play and provide loving attention, safely and care, you fill your child's bucket."

Carol goes on to say, "However, in addition to being loved, children must also be taught how to love.  Children who learn how to express kindness and love lead happier lives.  When you love and care about others and show that love with what you say and do, you feel good and you fill your own bucket, too."

Carol says she wrote Have You Filled a Bucket Today? to teach young children how to be bucket fillers. Each time we read the book with the children, we use it as an opportunity to model bucketfilling by filling their buckets.  We help them think about what they might say it do to fill someones else's bucket.  We will continue to work with the children and help them practice daily bucketfilling. 

As you can see in the above photos they are already ready experiencing the pride and joy of filling buckets.  Josh reached out to Noah on the way to down to the Community Room and said,  "Let's hold hands."  Noah smiled, reached out his hand and said, "Yes, let's hold hand."    Zach saw that Lily was having trouble getting her magnatile structure to stay up, so he offered to help.   Daily Micah G thinks of his mom and takes the time to write her special notes.   Last week Josie was having trouble stirring the pumpkin muffins...the dough was thick and hard to mix.   Elias heard Josie ask for help and started stirring the dough for her.  We sure are have fun filling buckets!

This book is a must have for you library at home!  The whole family will love filling buckets!

The "Owie" Station

Savita set up the Owie station today with some paint, cotton swabs, a small paint brush, and some brightly colored band-aids. This activity grew out of a reading about attachment that the faculty has been studying. The kids could have a pretend injury - which Savita would gently clean and carefully bandage. Later, Savita volunteered to be injured: cut, scraped, or bleeding. The kids had a chance to show their skills at caring for someone that was hurt. By the end of the session, Savita's arm was sporting about eight band-aids. If your child came home with one, two, or more band-aids, you can rest assured that no children were really injured today!

We care for Others

Whether children are snuggling, feeding or building a bed for a baby doll, they are practicing real life scenarios of caring for others. The Levana and Unicorn Lunch Bunchers are demonstrating loving, tender care of our baby dolls.

Absent Correspondence

This week in the Haifa class our friend Sadie has been absent. Sadie had her adenoids removed, and she has been home recovering. The kids have definitely missed her, so they decided to write her get well cards. Each student wrote her a card and painted a picture on the front. After they were dry, Sauci delivered the cards to Sadie's house, with our hopes of cheering her up!


We received an email from Sadie's mom thanking us for the cards and that Sadie was very touched.  This morning the class received a letter from Sadie thanking everyone for their letters! We can't wait to see her tomorrow for the shindig!

-Alison and Sauci

Look what I found!!

Sasha enthusiastically embraced this small green creature and allowed it to crawl on her harm and her back. She drew the line on the neck however and then 'it' I took it off her jacket onto mine. Luckily, for me, she picked it right up again and held it ever so carefully in her hands. She asked Sam where he thought we could put this creature. Sam thought we could put it in a container with air holes. Though this was an excellent idea, Sasha explained that she thought he would be happier in a more home environment, which is outdoors. She provided a couple of choices for his habitat. It was agreed that a tree would be a nice resting place. Thank you Sasha for involving the children in the decision making process while still honoring their ideas!!!
Does anyone have an idea of what this is called? Doesn't quite look like a grass hopper to me?

Tomato Update...

Everyday Leo checks on our tomato plants and gives them water if they need it. According to Leo, "There are about eight green tomatoes growing, and the yellow flowers will grow tomatoes real soon!"

Issac

Last week Issac really connected with some of the younger children. From the moment Issac arrived in the morning they were so delighted to see him. Lily and Rachel often sought Issac out to play. On Friday Nathan said good bye to his Dad, sat down on the rug and asked, "Where is Issac?" He then proceeded to line up the cars (as he did with Issac, on Thursday afternoon) and said, "Wait until Issac sees all these cars!" When Issac arrived Nathan showed him the cars and Issac responded like a proud parent, "Great job Nathan ,that is a lot of cars!"


Bennett (Avery's brother) dropped in to play for a while and Issac greeted him with open arms! He was so delighted to see Bennett and clearly Bennett was happy to see his friend Issac. Issac was surprised and happy to hear that Bennett could say new words. Each time Bennett said a new word (hi, bye) Issac acknowledged, "That's a new word!" He seemed so happy for Bennett and his accomplishments! Issac walked around the playground with Bennett and played cars with him. When it was time for Bennett to go, Isacc walked him to the gate and made sure to ask Mindy (his Mom) when he could get together with Bennett's big brother, Avery.

Isacc's positive energy is absolutely infectious! Isacc is going to kindergarten this year, but he said he would come back to visit us real soon. Issac we can't wait!

Swooper Came Back!

Due to overwhelming demand Swooper Chad Cohen made another special appearance at TBSCC this week! Everyone enjoyed listening to Swooper sing and accompany the children as they made beautiful music with the instruments. The children stood around Swooper and observed him for quite a long time. Jacob and Olive offered Swooper, bird finger puppets as they thought he might like to play with them. How thoughtful was that! Mia took some great photos of Swooper, decorated his cage, and made him a card. Swooper showed his appreciation and joined us for lunch...His lunch included angel hair pasta with cantaloupe as a side dish.

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!!!!!!!

Taking Care Of Our Babies!

It was a sight to behold, getting the opportunity to observe the children taking such good care of their babies in the dramatic area(the nursery).

Oliver explained to me that, "My baby (Ty Grayden)just came home from the hospital and he is doing good." Oliver went on to say, "These babies are going to be in real trouble if they do not go to sleep!" He said, "Yesterday was the first time I saw Ty Grayden, and when I grow up to be a Mom, I will still take care of him. My guy is my first baby and I love him." Avery tried to help and took charge, he put Ty in a "crib" (otherwise known as the oven) to take a nap. Oliver briskly walked over to Avery and said, "Avery, Ty Grayden does not like to be put in any doors, and he might bang himself!" Oliver and Avery found a nice soft basket for Ty Grayden to rest his little "keppie." One thing is for sure Ty Gryden is in good hands!


Shabbat Shalom!

Friendly Words!

"There can never be too many books about the importance of friendship and forgiveness-especially when they are of this caliber." PubishersWeekly


Matthew and Tilly is a story of friendship. It tells about two best pals who share everything together-even making up after a quarrel. This book is a must have!

Today after we finished the story we invited the children to come over to the writing center and write "Friendly Words" down on strips of paper. Then we showed them how to attach their word strip to the Tel Aviv "Friendly Word Chain." I explained that we were looking for words that demonstrate community, illustrate peacemaking, offer compliments and unite the group. They came up with some great words..."Love, sorry, I love you, nice, and you can play."

We encourage you and your children to "brainstorm " friendly words at home, and bring in each word strip to add to our chain.

Food Offered with Loving Care

Today, Sam C. introduced me to his baby. Sam carefully sat the baby up in the high chair in the class kitchen. He examined the array of foods on the table and thought about which foods the baby would like. He chose plates for each offering, and supported the baby's head as he offered a tasty ear of corn. Next, he offered grapes. Sam then took a call from his grandpa. It was a busy day for a proud papa in the Rainbow classroom today.