I Throw My Latkes in the Air Sometimes

As Kohavim was enjoying the Hanukkah festivities last week, some children were singing the song, "Candlelight" over and over again. The lyric, "I throw my latkes in the air sometimes" sparked a discussion on what would happen if we really were to throw our latkes in the air. We decided that if we did throw our latkes in the air they would either stick to the ceiling or make a mess on the floor, but the children still wanted to try tossing latkes. So we developed a Latke Toss Game together.

In the Latke Toss Game, each player takes turns standing on the taped line. They get three chances to toss the latke from their frying pan. The children tossed the latke (in the game we used a bean bag) at cards labeled with numerals representing the amount of points you would receive.  The closest card to tossing line was labeled 1 and increased with distance to 5. Depending on where the Latke lands, that is the amount of points the player earns that round. Because each player gets three tosses each turn, the children had the challenge of tallying the three tosses together. 

After many practice rounds of Toss the Latke, the children signed in on the score sheet. Then they each took turns tossing the latkes. As the player took their place on the taped line, the other children cheered them on. The player then tossed "the latke" three times providing the other children with addition problems. If the player tossed the latke and it landed on a 2, then a 3, and then a 2 we had the challenge of adding all of those numbers together. What a fun way to explore "throwing our latkes in the air" and engaging in math!

The Shape of Things

Yesterday the children enjoyed building with tooth-picks and and rasins. As we were creating and building we talked about basic geometric shapes around us. The door of the classroom is a rectangle, the snack table is round, the magnetile house on the rug is a square shape... The children built houses, a garage, windows, triangles, squares, rectangles, and so much more! Shapes are all around us, in natural objects, architecture, signs, and even in the numerals and letters we use. Shape knowledge underlies algebra, geometry, and other domains of higher mathmatics. This complex knowledge begins with the very simple foundation of recognizing simple shapes-circles, squares, triangles, ovals, rectangles, and diamonds. Children can begin to notice these shapes in the world around them, and you can help them to do so. As you walk or drive along together, point out shapes you see in signs, rooftops, and windows. Involve your child in shape-spotting games: Who can find the first triangle? How many shapes can we find in that building? Can you find two oval letters in that billboard? I spy a shape with my little eye? You'll find that your child enjoys getting "in shape"! HAVE FUN!

Playground Fun!

Lily and Josie took advantage of the weather and sat on the swings chatting away!  What a wonderful way to spend the day!

Micah turned over the plastic block seats, lined them and pretended to be jumping off a diving board.  The diving board soon became a popular place to be!"   Everyone at one point joined in on the jumping fun!

Summer Fun!

It sure was the day to play with water! The staff filled the pool this morning with soapy water and when Hannah arrived she suggested that we add purple water colors. Instantly the pool water turned purple!

The water slide was a big hit as always!

The children attached two long clear plastic tubes to the water wall and experimented with the flow of the water! Fun was had by all!

Mr Sun where are you?

We carried on with our summer fun even without Mr Sun!

We made a delicious tuna noodle casserole for Rosie's Place, made fresh play dough, created framed nature art (this was a big hit last week), play a few games of UNO, at the end of the day we all enjoyed popcorn/pops and stories! What a day!

Who Needs Rules?

This morning Ellen stopped by the Haifa class before school started with a game called Twister Hopscotch. With an attempt to have some novelty before another rainy day, she thought we could use a fun new game that requires both gross motor skills, and memory. To play, one must spin the spinner, and when it lands, it will show an action and a color. The actions are clap, sing, wiggle, and hop, and the colors are like those in the photo. The name of the game is to do the action without stepping in the hoops of the color on the spinner. The students thoroughly enjoyed the game, taking turns with one another and helping one another remember the action and the color.

Later in the morning when the excitement for the game had died down, I saw that Eli was sitting at the table spinning the spinner on his own. I watched Alli come up to him and ask what he was doing, and he had created his own game with the same spinner and colors! He created it using the spinner and the connector pieces.

I love being able to watch minds at work, be them following the rules of a game, or creating the rules themselves!

-Alison and Sauci

Welcome Avital Hain

We have been very fortunate to have Avital Hain, daughter of Sandy Hain, helping us in the Kohavim class until the end of the year. This has been Avital's second week with us, and we all have enjoyed having her in the class. The children love to sing and play games with Avital such as Herman the Worm and Follow the Leader. Ask your children to demonstrate how we play these games in class.  They are big hits and attract the interest of all of the children.  Maria and I also asked if we could have a turn playing.,
Thank you Avital for your enthusiasm, hard work, and dedication to our children. Thank you also for all the tie dying you did. None of us expected that you would have to do double duty on that one!