Discovering the world of insects/bugs!

Discovering the world of insects/bugs! Some of the children have developed a sense of responsibility for the little insects they find outside on the playground. They seem to feel a true sense of pride and accomplishment when the relocate one of Gods creatures to a safe location or simply to observe and not disturb an insect/bug. Everytime Noah finds an inchworm he gently picks it up and carries it to the garden. He places the worm gently on one of the plants. He found 5-6 inchworms on the fence, and on his way over to the quiet safe garden, he stopped to show Jesse what he found. They counted them together. Adam and Josh were very excited to show everyone the 50-60 baby spiders in the house on the playground! It was really cool to see so many tiny little spiders all together in one web.

The Story of Spiderman

At our parent teacher conference Jeff and Marisa told Sasha and I that at home Noah enjoys telling stories and making up stories with the entire family. On Tuesday while we were eating lunch I asked Noah if he wanted to make up a story together... He said,"I have to tell you something. After lunch I want to tell you the story of Spiderman." When lunch was over he dictated his story and then drew a picture to go along with it. Spiderman Peter Parker was a kid and then he grew up into a scientist. He was making spiders and then it turned into a huge spider and it bit him. It really hurt him bad. His whole body turned red and his shoulders turned blue. He put on a mask and then he was Spiderman. In the morning he as Peter Parker and at night he was Spiderman. By Noah Sirlin,  Age 4.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...

How do you make mud? Eliza, Eli, Allison and Sadie came up with the Mud Recipe! "First you cut open the bags of dirt with scissors. Then add some water. Last you add more water and start to play."

The children filled the ship and sensory table and started to play the day away!

Celebrating Shabbat on Thursday!

We always enjoy celebrating Shabbat on Thursday ! We make challah, say the blessings and enjoy a special Shabbat snack (challah of course).

Yesterday Sarah asked if we could "decorate bags for the challah we take home?" I looked around the Children's Center for brown bags and could not find them. I gathered paper, markers and staplers put them on the red table and asked, "Do you think we can make our own challah bags with paper, markers and the staplers?" Sarah's response, "Let's cut the paper in half, staple it but leave it open at the top, and then we can decorate it."

In the door and out the window!

That's right, most of the time people go in a house through a door and out the same way. Today Zach and Noah decided to go in the door and out of the house through the window? They went out the window and crawled forward onto their hands until their feet hit the ground. They also figured out how to do a safe forward roll out the window of the house, by tucking their head.

We have the photos to prove it!

Respect all living things!

In honor of Tikkun Olam Day we have had many discussions about how we can take care of our world? The children came up with some great ideas! No matter how big or how small we need to respect all living creatures and things... Put the garbage in the trash where it belongs, plant lots of trees, fruits , vegetables and last but not least recycle at home and at school too!

Exploring with insects and reading a variety of books about living creaters in our world have really made us all aware of how we can take care of our world.!

"Let's make Sasha!"

Rachel announced, "I am going to make Sasha with a coconut on her head and hand!" She proceeded to paint Sasha many times! Then Jacob Shaw painted Sasha, and Eliza too! So guess what the children named the mural? That's right..."SASHA, SASHA and SASHA!"

Guess what we found on our Nature Walk?

Elijah's Cup!

Jacob said, "Look at what I made!". He was so pleased with himself! You can see why!

Jacob's Elijah's cup was sitting on the table ready to go home at the end of the day. Jacob decided to draw it free hand!

What do you like about being free?

At circle time we talked about how the story of Passover teaches us about slavery and freedom and the right of all people to be free! After I read, Moses God's Brave Servant we asked the children "What is one thing you like about being free?"

Rachel- "If you are captured you can change your mind if you want to be free."

Eli- "This morning I had a fight with my brother and I could just walk away."

Ezra- " I can play with my brother whenever I want to, except when he has to do his homework."

Freedom is not an easy a concept for preschoolers to grasp. I was amazed at some of the children's responses. We will continue to talk about the story of Passover and remember how brave Moses lead the Jewish people out of Egypt.

Bucket Filler = Giving Mishloach Manot

Purim is celebrated by giving mutual gifts of food and drinks! Today the Sunshine and Tel Aviv partnered up and made Mishloach Manot Baskets for some very special people!

At circle time we asked the children "Who do you want to make a Mishloach Manot Basket for? Who here at TBS do you appreciate?" The names went on and on Ellen, Daniel, Mom(Rebecca),Rabbi Jay, Rabbi Todd, Maria,Mary Ann, Tina... Tel Aviv made the cards and the Sunshine children decorated the bags. Then the Sunshine and Tel Aviv children worked with a partner and put together individual Mishloach Manot bags that the Tel Aviv children will hand deliver today and tomorrow.

What a wonderful, beautiful tradition!

Take Two...The Story of Purim

Lunch Bunch begins with a short meeting...We talk about our day, sometimes we read a book and we also use that time to plan curriculum with the children. Today I told them that the Tuesday Lunch Bunchers had a great time making costumes and then put on a Purim Play. I asked them if they liked that idea? Well, what do you think their response was? That is right...YES!!!!!

They could not wait to get started! First they decided who they wanted to be, then they made a crown or a triangular hat. The excitement/energy in the room was high! After Leo and Ryan made their costume they asked ,"Where is the castle/palace?" I suggested we build one on the stage. They liked that idea a lot. I then asked the children, "What could we make the castle/palace with?" A few of the children said, "The wooden blocks!" So, that is what they did and what a castle it was!

The Unicorn and Sunshine children joined us and helped set up the chairs around the stage. After a few announcements the show started. I was the narrator and Mordechai, Lilly K was Queen Vashti, Ryan was Haman, Eli S and Sarah were Queen Esther, Avram, Jake, Max and Leo were King Ahashverus. The show was really something to see and at the end of the performance, everyone took a bow! Purim is such a fun holiday!

How Can We "Fill the Earth's Bucket?"

The earth "fills our bucket is so many ways! The earth gives us things we need to live and be safe and healthy! The earth gives people, plants, animals, oceans, lakes, food, air to breath and the list goes on and on! So... the question of the day was "How can we fill the earth's bucket?" The children's response, "Put your trash in the garbage, recycle, plant trees and plants, turn off the lights when you leave your house, turn off the water and just use a little."

After our discussion we enjoyed using some of the food the earth gives us and we made a delicious pizza! We used whole wheat dough, tomato sauce, broccoli and cheese. It was delicious! We want to thank the earth for "filling our bucket each and everyday!

What does it mean to be a friend?

What does it mean to be a friend?

Eliza- "To be nice."
Dylan-"Saying I love you."
Eli-"Taking turns!"
Molly-"Playing with each other."
Jacob-"Making drawings."
Hannah-Inviting people to my house."
Ezra-"Inviting people to my Birthday Party!"

Then we read The Sandwich Swap again. One of our favorites! It's about two girls that are best friends, hurt each others feelings, spend a short time time being mad at each other, and at the end of the story they apologize/take responsibility for their actions, forgive and make things right!

When we finished the story we talked about how even best friends don't get a long all the time, can say hurtful things and make mistakes. The important thing is to apologize and make things right if you can. But it takes two people to make thing right, being able to forgive is not an easy thing to do no matter how old you are. It takes lots of practice too! It was a great discussion if you get a chance ask your children about it.

Challah on Shabbat!

Making challah on Shabbat is always a popular choice in the Tel Aviv classroom! The children gather around the table roll, chat, knead and create their own special challah that they take home to share with their family. Some children like to braid their challah and others like to make letter shaped challah. Regardless of the shape of their challah, some how they all taste the same...delicious! When the challah cools off from the hot oven, the children love to find their challah and wrap it up to take home all by themselves.

Shabbat Shalom!

Story Dramas 101

Drawing on the work of Vivian Paley, teachers can use story drama to give children multiple experiences with re-representing their ideas in different ways. Story dramas invite children to go through a process of dictating a story, drawing it, and acting it out as a drama. This creates a habit of mind for thinking in multiple ways, which can be carried over into other activities. It's an especially useful tool for children less inclined to draw or dictate their ideas.

Today in Lunch Bunch we introduced story dramas to the children. They had the opportunity to illustrate their story and a teacher wrote the story for them. Next week we will make props, costumes and act out the drama stories that the children wrote today.

A Summer Day

This is a rainbow, the sun and the moon on a hot summer day.

The End

By Sara

Age 4

A Letter To My Mom...

During peace-out time the children have the opportunity to write/draw in their journals and or use our fancy stationary to write notes or letters.

Eli walked over to me today and asked, "Lauri would you please help me write my mom a special letter?" I told Eli, "It would be my pleasure!" He said, "Great!"

Eli's Letter To His Mom...

Dear Mom,
Thanks for being my best friend.
Love,Eli
xo
Eli said, "Lauri do you know what the xo means?" I said, "No what does it mean?"

"Kisses and lots of hugs!"

Mixing Gak!

The Wednesday Lunch Bunchers enjoyed making gak. After we made fuchsia gak the children wanted to make orange too! Today we took out both colors of gak and I asked the children,"Do you want to mix the two colors together or should we play with the fuchsia at the rectangular table and the orange at the circular table?" Everyone said, "Let's mix them!" I asked the children if they thought the two colors were going to make a new color. They all were not sure what to expect. The children took a handful of each color and started to play.

I ask the children the same question after they mixed the two colors together and this is what they said:

Leo- "It looks like pink and orange swirl!"
Alana- " It is two colors in one."
Rachel- "It looks like yummy ice cream."
Molly- "It looks like pink and orange."

Thinking of others = Bucket fillers!

It was so nice to witness the all the "bucket filling" in the Tel Aviv classroom on Wednesday morning! As Rachel was drawing she asked me, "Lauri can you come see the picture I made for my sister Hannah, she will be so happy, I am going to fill her bucket!" Jacob was delighted to share his big news, "I made two train pictures for Eli!" Hannah could not wait to show her Mom the picture she made for her sister Samantha. Hannah also mentioned, I don't even mind if Samantha ruins it, sometimes she does that to pictures."

Putty or Gak?

Putty was such a hit earlier in the week the children wanted to make it again! First we poured 1 cup of biocolor solution into a large bowl and added 1/2 cup of pink biocolor as well as 1/2 of light gray biocolor. Then the children all took turns mixing. We all took a small piece of the putty and started to play. As the children were playing with the putty I asked them, "How is the putty and gak the same?" Jacob F said, "It's drippy like gak." Rachel said, "It stretches like gak." Jacob S said, "You can roll it like gak." Eli said, "It is sparkly and sometimes gak is sparkly too." Molly said, "It makes my hands have sparkles!" Then I asked the children, "How is the putty different than the gak?" Alana said, "Gak is dryer and it does not stick to your hand like putty." At the end of the day we put the putty away for another day!