Way Up High in the Apple Tree...

 

A couple of weeks ago, the Keshet class started what turned into a multi-day project to make a class tree.  The children worked on the leaves of the tree using green markers and crayons and even glue and tissue paper squares.  We made the leaves more colorful by adding "fall colored" tissue paper as well--yellow, red orange.  Today we worked on the trunk of the tree using markers, crayons and Bingo markers.  We attached the leaves to the trunk, hung it up on the wall and introduced the tree during our circle time.  We all got up and sang the song "Way up High in the Apple Tree"at circle in honor of our class tree.

                                    

Where There's Smoke...

Jillian has been our Number One Leaf Collector this week   She is now joined daily by others seeking beautiful leaves.   Yesterday Jillian was using the magnifying glass to get a closer look at the leaves.  We sat down for an outside picnic for snack, placing the magnifying glass in a bin near the leaves.  Apparently, the sun was shining just right through the glass while we were eating, because suddenly we saw smoke!  This was a fascinating accidental experiment for our Etzim children (and yes, the teachers.)  We explored the power of the sun rays through the glass with a number of different items.  We can now report with confidence that we can ignite a dried leaf and a dandelion. 

Signs of Fall

The hurricane last week sure blew a lot of stuff onto our playground. Last week, our students entered onto the plaground to find leaves and branches of all sizes strewn across their playground. On Friday, a few Haifa and Kohavim students decided to work together to rake and shovel up all of the leaves on the playground. Instead of throwing them over the fence, they have been working very hard on creating a large leaf pile that they hope to eventually jump into! If you have leaves at home, I know where you can find plenty of hardworking kids to help you make big piles!

-Alison

Required Fall Crafting

Everybody should have the experience of ironing leaves between wax paper at least once in their life.  Today the Etzim children sorted through the leaves we collected on the playground yesterday.  Eliana noticed the leaves had curled up because we did not press them overnight.   We sorted, arranged, then pressed them with the iron.  Good, old fashioned leaf pressing fun! 

Creating Habitats for Hibernation!

Yesterday on our walk the Tel Aviv class read the book, “Time to Sleep” and we talked about how different animals stay warm throughout the winter months. We then built a structure in the woods to create a habitat for an animal that might need a place to hibernate in Needham. The children loved finding big sticks and trying to figure out how to make them balance. The class worked on communicating where they were walking while they were holding the sticks so that the sticks wouldn’t hurt their friends. Soon we created a neat dwelling place for an animal or for a Tel Aviv friend! Each child took a turn sitting in our structure. They were all so proud of what they built.

Today we played inside and were still able to create structures for different kinds of animals. Using the wooden blocks and plastic animals children were able to make places so that our animal friends can stay safe and warm in winter. Although this task was done on a smaller scale, children had to figure out how to make blocks of all different sizes balance, which was no easy task. We will continue to talk about how we and different animals stay warm we are prepared for when winter finally comes.

Unicorn Lunch Bunch Adventure!

This past Tuesday, Nathan, Max, Jared and I went on an adventure to the woods behind TBSCC! The boys loved being in a new environment and they enjoyed playing with the leaves, sticks and tree stumps that they found in the forest. The tree stumps were pretty tall and Max helped balance Nathan as he tried to squirm up to sit on top. They also found a big pile of leaves and together they jumped in and had a great time. While being outside I watched the boys take risks, cooperate, and use imaginative play. It was a beautiful and fun lunch bunch for all!

Pumpkin Muffins!

Yesterday the Tel Aviv class had the opportunity to make pumpkin muffins! Max was so excited because he had seen the box of pumpkin bread mix since the day before and while we were outside kept asking to make muffins. Rachel, Lily, Aviva and Max choose to be our chefs for the day but a few others came over to help put the batter in the tin. We took turn putting in ingredients and then all stirred together. After the batter was poured we walked to the community room to stick the muffins in the oven. Thanks Tel Aviv friends for working so hard to make a tasty treat! I’m sure everyone will love eating them for snack today!!

Tel Aviv creates a Fall Collage

This past Friday we went on a leaf hunt around the playground and came inside for a fall collage. We had a cardboard box left over from earlier in the week that we decided to decorate. So many members of the Tel Aviv class came over to decorate the box. Instead of paintbrushes we used leaves and sticks to apply paint to the box. Using a stick to apply paint was a completely different experience. The stick made it harder to make think lines and children would try to apply paint very heavily with the stick which sometimes worked and other times resulted in a lot of paint dripping. Once the paint was all over the table everyone decided that it was time for finger-painting! It was a good project to try different techniques to see what worked best. The box turned out beautiful and we plan on gluing a layer of leaves sometime this week!

Leaf Jumpers

The Levana children are fortunate to spend a full half hour with Nancy when she comes to visit. During our time together, Nancy engages the children in movement and music; today this included stretching and warming up, balancing, falling safely and getting up, rolling like a log, and moving in rhythm to a variety of music.

Nancy loves to get to know each child by name, and to tailor her class to the age and interests of the children. She connects our music and movement to the current seasons and holidays. Today Nancy introduced us to a wonderful book about autumn leaves. Leaf Jumpers, by Carole Gerber, follows a boy, a girl and their dog playing in the leaves as "they flutter through the air, drifting down gracefully." We used colorful scarves to create our own autumn scene, a wonderful, fluttering finale to our visit with Nancy.

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!!

Squash, Pumpkins and Gourds, Oh My!

Wednesday, we decided it would be neat to explore what the inside of our squash and gourds look like. Dylan loved this idea and eagerly watched me cut the guard in half and together we made predictions about what it would look like. He thought it would be yellow in the inside and not hollow. When we opened it up we found that it was orange at had lots of seeds. Eliza, Hannah, and Max joined us to examine, count and then remove the seed from the squash with forks. This project was harder than it sounded because there were so many seeds! It was neat to see each student’s reaction. Max said the area around the seed, “looked like spaghetti.” Dylan was surprised that the inside of the pumpkin felt wet. We opened up a squash as well and saw the seeds were the same shape but slightly smaller. It was a neat comparison. We can’t want to look at more vegetables next week!

Pumpkins and Gourds- Measuring Fun!

Today in the unicorn classroom, students walked in to students measuring.... and measuring... and measuring... with pumpkins and gourds!

First we started with the big pumpkins (they are craft pumpkins-- not real! So very light to move!) then added the medium gourds (We learned what medium meant) and then small gourds! Everyone needed two big pumpkins but some children had more medium gourds than others. Some people (like Rachel-- our adult volunteer) used just about all our pumpkins and gourds! It was interesting to see how different heights people were!

After awhile, the children saw how we measured using the pumpkins and gourds and I was able to take a step back to observe the children. They really took on the jobs of marking where the child's feet were and head and carefully laid out the measuring device. Someone brought over the baby dolls and we measured them too! The children explored with the materials a little more and began outlining students in pumpkins! It required a lot of patience, waiting turns, and careful placement so not to bump our person being measured!

Special thanks to Rachel for allowing the children to measure her!!

Enjoy!

Pumpkins and Gourds- Measuring Fun!

Today in the unicorn classroom, students walked in to students measuring.... and measuring... and measuring... with pumpkins and gourds!

First we started with the big pumpkins (they are craft pumpkins-- not real! So very light to move!) then added the medium gourds (We learned what medium meant) and then small gourds! Everyone needed two big pumpkins but some children had more medium gourds than others. Some people (like Rachel-- our adult volunteer) used just about all our pumpkins and gourds! It was interesting to see how different heights people were!

After awhile, the children saw how we measured using the pumpkins and gourds and I was able to take a step back to observe the children. They really took on the jobs of marking where the child's feet were and head and carefully laid out the measuring device. Someone brought over the baby dolls and we measured them too! The children explored with the materials a little more and began outlining students in pumpkins! It required a lot of patience, waiting turns, and careful placement so not to bump our person being measured!

Special thanks to Rachel for allowing the children to measure her!!

Enjoy!

It's That Time of Year Again...

The students in the Haifa classroom have had a lot of fun enjoying the early stages of fall outside, as well as beginning to learn about what fall brings in the Jewish calendar. Today we were lucky enough to have Rabbi Todd come in and talk to us about Rosh Hashanah and blow his shofar for us. We also discovered the star that is found in the middle of an apple if you cut it correctly, and started a project that included painting with apples! Stay tuned to see the final product...

-Alison and Sauci

Fine Motor Development with a Festive Flair

The Rainbows explored small, medium, and large bowls in the sensory table which was filled with water and sprinkled with cranberries. They practiced spooning, scooping, pouring, stirring, and draining with the berries that are regularly shared at the traditional Thanksgiving table. Perhaps some of the children will get a chance to help out at home with some food preparation projects over the coming days!













Today's play dough creations were adorned with Hanukkah candles. Forming the base for a menorah was a challenge, and little fingers worked hard at inserting, arranging, and balancing the colorful candles as well.

Warm and Sunny

Alana was all smiles as she viewed the playground from her perch. After several wet and gloomy days, the Sunshines took advantage of Friday's bright sun and played with vigor in all areas. We notice that many of the children are trying new things during outdoor time; some who earlier preferred to dig in the relative quiet of the sandbox are now swinging on the swings and riding cars. Many Sunshines love to climb, with a teacher as a "spotter." Digging and raking are popular since the trees have dropped a thick layer of leaves, and the horses and slides have a steady stream of riders. There is much conversation among the children outside. They develop scenarios for play, negotiate taking turns, and comment on the changing weather. They have also become acquainted with the Unicorns and the Scientists with whom we sometimes share this outdoor classroom. Here's hoping for many more days just like today!

What's inside a pumpkin?

Pumpkin Season

The Sunshine class has enjoyed reading about, singing about, and examining pumpkins. Today the class got the inside view, as we removed the top and scooped out pulp and seeds. Leo counted seeds and looks forward to planting some. Eli, an experienced home gardener, explained to the class what a vine is; "Green like a stem and the gourds (and pumpkins) grow on it." In a discussion of planting the seeds, several children speculated about what might grow from a pumpkin seed, and there were a wide range of answers, including a rose bush, and oranges. The growing cycle is an interesting concept to the children and we look forward to planting and following the progress of our seeds. We will also use our pumpkin top as a stamp to make prints, and will bake with pumpkin.