3, 2, 1 BLASTOFF!!!

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 BLASTOFF!!!
The floor began to rumble as our feet stamped against the floor and we quickly drum-rolled on our legs to simulate the rocket being blasted off into space. We had built a rocket ship out of our parachute and our regular Tel Aviv chairs and tables. It all started earlier in lunch bunch when Zach and Micah Gladstone were looking at a book of outer space. I asked them if they wanted to visit the places in the book and they nodded at me eagerly, so we decided to do just that, and in order to visit space you need to build a rocket ship! So we built a rocket ship, packed our bags filled with lego-remotes, plastic food, and a few books to keep us entertained. Before we took off we ran out in the hallway to grab our winter hats-it was very important to make sure that we were prepared with the latest space headgear. We climbed in the rocket and blasted off! After the excitement of take-off had worn off, we traveled outside of our cozy ship and saw a plant that was filled with hungry aliens! Oh no! Well, if they were hungry then we should feed them! We all headed over to the sensory table and made cupcakes for the aliens out of dirt. Then we realized we hadn't celebrated Shabbat in space!! We got out our candle sticks and challah cover and lit a candle to make sure that the day of rest was remembered no matter where in the universe we were. As the candle burned, Zach's mom came in to pick  him up and suddenly the group had to return back to the earth. As soon as we had landed, Micah Gladstone turned to me and asked,
"What's the lunch bunch activity?"
Little did he realize that an hour and a half had passed while he had been to the moon and back.

This wonderful, imaginative afternoon reminded me of the power of imagination. So often we as teachers are focused on implementing curriculum and it was wonderful to spend an afternoon with five wide-eyed curious, excited kids and just PLAY, really, truly, play. So often the kids come up with the best, most exciting ideas and I enjoy following their lead and learning with them so much.
It was a wonderful afternoon of adventure, I think the kids had a pretty good time too : )

Haifa Lunch Bunch

 

 

 We are having a wonderful time during our Haifa Lunch Bunch.  Last week we decided what type of stickers we wanted to decorate our lunch placemats.  Today we carefully arranged them, drew some pictures, and dictated stories to create our own lunch bunch placemats!  We'll use fewer paper towels, and we can read our stories during lunch!

Good times!

We had an intimate lunch full of conversation and chatter! Jacob brought his ABC cookies and spread them out on the table (as he does each and everyday). Rachel asked him, "What does that spell?" His silly response was, "Foo, foo, fa, fa!" Eli said," It really spells goop, goop, la, la loop!" After we finished our lunch we had some "peace-out time and then made some gak with the Kochavim children.

Noticing Our Surroundings

Monday at lunch bunch we had a big crew, and Avram was right there to help us do attendance. He carefully looked around the room, identified each person in the room, and then asked either Lauri, myself, or the child he was adding, how to spell his or her name. When he was done, he proudly showed me all of the people on the list. We read all of the names, and then I told him someone was missing. We studied the list for a minute or two, and then he realized he had forgotten himself!!

-Alison