Levana Class Celebrate Abby's Third Birthday

 

It was Abby’s third birthday and the Levana children always enjoy celebrating a classmate’s special day.  Everyone gets to decorate and wear a crown. Abby’s Mom came in to read one of Abby’s favorite books, Little Pea . In this story, Little Pea doesn’t like to eat the candy he’s served for dinner. His parents ask him to eat five pieces before he can have his spinach dessert. Watching children laugh, getting the joke in this silly book makes all of the adults smile, too.

Thanksgiving... A Time to share with family...

We had some very special visitors in the Kohavim class, Auntie Julie and baby Molly. Hannah had some important information to give to the Kohavim class before their arrival: she was 3 months old, you could not touch her hands ( just her feet). We learned that Molly talks and laughs and plays with Hannah. Hannah is a great older cousin. We also learned that Ezra's little brother is 5 months old and share some of the same interests as Molly... he laughs, smiles, and eats too!

After our visit with Molly, Auntie Julie read us a book entitled How Do You Get a Gorilla Out of Your Bathtub? by John Hall. It is a beautifully illustrated and very funny book where children are presented with this problem of how to get this gorilla out of the tub. There are many different ideas and obstacles along the way. In the end however, one discovers a valuable life lesson: even when a situation seems overwhelming  or perhaps you feel intimidated because someone looks a bit different then you do, a little act of kindness and basic manners can make all the difference in the world.

Hannah, thank you for sharing your Auntie Julie and baby Molly with us.

Knock, Knock!

By Laura Walsh

What is your name???

The Kohavim boys and girls enjoy telling one another jokes. Sometimes the teachers are lucky enough to be invited to participate. Here are a couple of jokes told by Ilana... What's your name??? Spell it? Answers here please... ________________________________________ What's your name??? What color is the sky?? Where's the sky??? What is the punchline do you think after you answer?? ______________________________________. These jokes were made outside while swinging. Thanks Ilana for sharing. I must admit she tricked me on these two...

Amelia Bedilia Humor

For the past couple of weeks we have been entertained by Amelia Bedelia book humor. After going to the library and getting every Amelia Bedelia books they had, Alison asked for a specific one and described the cover. She looked at all the books and no it wasn't there. So she was kind enough to bring it in to share today.

Imagine our surprise when we DID in fact have the book all along, but the cover was different. As we explored both books we discovered that the cover of the paperback book was the same as the hard cover first page. Then we proceeded to look at the pages and noticed YES it was in fact the same book. When asked why the thought it was a different cover on the hard cover, one friend responded that maybe it was a different illustrator. Definitely a logical conclusion.

Thank you Alison for sharing your book with us.

Just FYI .. My children loved these books when they were younger. They are a great way to explore language ~ here are a few examples...

Amelia Bedelia is always misunderstanding what she is supposed to do.. Ask your children what Amelia does in the following examples, and what she was really supposed to do??

for example:

1) trim the fat from the steak, and dress the chicken

2) dust the furniture

3) draw the drapes

4) put the lights out

5) measure 2 cups of rice

Enjoy....

Can you make an Echo?

After having listened to Frank Asch's Happy Birthday Moon many times, the Rainbows had a chance to create an echo of their own - just like the one that Bear hears in the story when he tries to talk to the moon. The laughter and delight were highly contagious!

Can you make an Echo?

After having listened to Frank Asch's Happy Birthday Moon many times, the Rainbows had a chance to create an echo of their own - just like the one that Bear hears in the story when he tries to talk to the moon. The laughter and delight were highly contagious!

Purim Fun ~ friendships

In this joyous time of Purim, as we celebrate family and friends and just enjoy one another and all of G-d's blessings, just wanted to share some conversation heard in the playground and in the classroom that is really sweet...

1) Roles are being assigned as Lily F. tells the teacher: "We're playing family~ Avery you be the momma and I will be the sweetie"!!!

2) As we are sitting for snack preparing to thank G-d for our food~ we asked friends: "who" are we thanking?? Response: "G-d" Why do we thank G-d? asked the teachers. "Because He gives us our challah" ~

3) "Me and Avery met a new friend, somebody by the name of Lizzy" ( a Rainbow friend)

Jokes!

In the spirit of Purim here are a few good preschool jokes! The children had a few laughs!

• Why did the cookie go to the doctor? He felt crummy.
• Why did the boy throw his watch out the window? He wanted to see time fly.
• Why did the Turtle cross the road? It was the Chicken's day off.
• What did the sea say to the sand? Nothing, it just waved.
• How do you make a tissue dance? You put a little boogie in it.

Nurturing a sense of humor

We all know that a small dose of humor can improve our moods dramatically. And a little giggle or smile often leads to more. One of the things I've most enjoyed about watching Lauri teach is her expert use of humor in the classroom. From silly songs, to silly ideas, to silly stories, Lauri is always looking for opportunities to bring humor into our mornings. She works to nurture each child's sense of humor by discovering what they each find funny.

Figuring out what young children find humorous can be a challenge. As they grow, and their cognitive skills develop, their ability to understand more complex humor increases. At three and four years old, many children are at the developmental stage where they appreciate the humor of misnaming. Lauri often uses misnaming to bring a smile to a child's face and we often see examples of children playing with this concept, labeling something as the exact opposite of what it is. Even the silly songs Lauri chooses such as the current favorite Down by the Bay add a smile to our faces.