Hamantaschen

The Tel Aviv children enjoyed making hamantaschen for their Shalach Manot baskets they are making for family and friends!  The hamantaschen look delicious!

Being Kind to Others

Derech Eretz (the mitzvah of being kind to others) takes place a lot throughout the day in the Levana classroom. Our friends are not always aware of the kind acts they display day to day in the classroom. Realistically, through learning and exploring with their peers, the children of Levana are making friends and connections!

In the picture below, Avi said to Harold "This is messy, can you clean it please?" Harold then used his water spray bottle to clean off the dirt from Avi's spray bottle.

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!

Helping Hands

Nathaniel noticed that there were two names missing from our snack schedule board. Thank you Nathaniel for your helping hands in the morning.

An inter-generational celebration of Purim

Today was a wonderful day for the Kohavim children and parents and the residents of Newbridge on the Charles. For the past couple of weeks we've been collecting items to put in mishloach manot baskets that the children made and bags that they decorated. Today was the day that we celebrated Purim with the older adults residing at Newbridge. The first thing we did upon arrival was to have lunch. The children then changed in to their costumes, many of which were homemade. The staff then led us around the complex, visiting a number of the different "houses." The children were told that some of the residents would be in wheelchairs, others using walkers, and some might even be asleep in their chairs. A couple of the children asked what they should do about giving a mishloach manot bag to a resident who might be asleep. "How would we know if they were asleep?" The children were advised to put one of the gift bags next to a resident who might be resting. The children did a great job distributing the bags and bringing many smiles to the residents. When we arrived at one of the common gathering rooms the children sang two Purim songs and one Chanukah song! One of the highlights was observing the children handing out the bags, and looking at the happiness that the residents were clearly experiencing. What a wonderful mitzvah for all. Thank you to the parents who came with us, especially Rebecca Friedman who helped plan the trip. Thank you also to Linda from Newbridge who was our main contact person and the lead organizer of our visit. Many thanks to the rest of the Newbridge staff for facilitating such a wonderful visit.

Rosie's Place

The children enjoyed making a tuna casserole for Rosie's Place. They cut the cheese, added the tuna and butter to the macaroni then mixed away! We talked about how it is a mitzvah to think and give to others in need.

Tzedakah!

The children enjoyed preparing a tuna casserole for Rosie's Place. We had to use our big strong muscles to stir the bowl filled with macaroni, cheese, tuna fish and butter. It looked yummy!

Shabbat Memories

When Ellen read the story, it took me back to my childhood. Most Israeli children hear this story in preschool and grow up knowing this story. Hanna's Shabbat Dress reminds me of getting ready for Shabbat with my family and the magic of the holiday. I'll bring a copy I saved when I was a little girl(a copy in Hebrew) to share with the kids.

Shabbat Memories

When Ellen read the story, it took me back to my childhood. Most Israeli children hear this story in preschool and grow up knowing this story. Hanna's Shabbat Dress reminds me of getting ready for Shabbat with my family and the magic of the holiday. I'll bring a copy I saved when I was a little girl(a copy in Hebrew) to share with the kids.

Hanna's Sabbath Dress

Ellen treated the Unicorn class to a puppet rendition of the book Hanna's Sabbath Dress. In this story Hanna is looking forward to wearing her beautiful new dress, made of lace, to the Sabbath. On route she comes across and old man who has a very heavy sack of coal. By himself he can not manage to carry it, but together it can be done!!! She puts aside her own desires to help this old man. In this act of kindness her beautiful lace dress gets dirty with coal. Does she regret her act of kindness now that her dress is ruined or is her act of kindness rewarded? Ask your children.

It is such a powerful story on so many levels:

~ exemplifies how even as young children they can make a difference.

~ reinforces the teaching that all Jews are responsible to care for each other and all people

~ we can all effect change in this less than perfect world.

I always sit in amazement of how kind and thoughtful children are naturally when given the opportunity.  Modeling and encouraging acts of kindness is a gift we give to our children.

The Passover Haggadah says:"Let all who are hungry come eat."

Today we read, "The Little Red Hen and The Passover Matzah". Most of the children remembered when we read "The Little Read Hen", a few weeks ago. I asked the children, "Do you remember what the story was about?" Aaron raised his hand and said,"It was about the Hen doing all the work to make bread and her friends did not help her." Then I asked the children, "What do you think this story was about?" After a brief discussion, I opened up the book and started reading.

"This Yiddish-inflected retelling of "The Little Red Hen" features a balabusta(good homemaker) who Kvetches about her lazy no-goodnik friends who will not help her make the matzah from wheat... A must for Judaica collections."
-School Library Journal (starred review)

"Such a clever idea...Watch a familiar tale become exponentially funnier and yes, more meaningful."
-Publishers Weekly(starred review)

The children really enjoyed the story and the timing of the story could not have been better!

Earlier that morning The Matzah Factory came to school for a visit. We just experienced making our own matzah from scratch(breaking up the wheat,grinding it into flour,adding water to make dough,rolling it out and last but not least we handed the dough to the Rabbi to bake it in the oven)! The children could see first hand how much work goes into preparing matzah.

Like in the original story of the "Little Red Hen" the Hen does all the work and her friends do nothing! But this time when the Hen is about to sit down to eat at the Seder dinner and her friends knock on her door and ask the Hen "What's for dinner?", she gives then a piece of her mind! "You've got to be kidding!" scolded the Little Red Hen. "What chutzpah! You didn't help me plant the grains when I asked you. You didn't help me harvest the wheat, or carry it to the mill, or take it back home again. You didn't even help me bake the matzah. So tell me, why should I share my Seder with the likes of you?" The Horse, Sheep and Dog hung their heads in shame.

The Little Red Hen was quiet too. "Now I should invite them to my Seder?" she thought. Then she remembered the words written in the Passover Haggadah: "Let all who are hungry come and eat." She looked at her friends and the Little Red Hen being the mensch that she is forgave them and invited them to come on in! So together the friends celebrated the holiday! Together they noshed on tasty matzah. And when the Seder was over who do you think had to wash all the dishes? If you don't know the answer to that question, ask your children they will tell you! This book is a must have! I love it!

Have You Filled Your Bucket Today?

"The author of Have You Filled Your Bucket Today? Carol McCloud first learned about bucket filling in a parenting workshop at an early childhood conference. The speaker an expert in infant brain research, said it is helpful to think of every baby as being born with an invisible bucket. The bucket represents a child's mental and emotional health. You can't see the bucket, but it's there. She went on to say that it is primarily the parents' or other caregivers' responsibility to fill a child's bucket. When you hold, caress, nurture, touch, sing, play, and provide loving attention, safety and care, you fill your child's bucket. Giving love fills buckets."

"However, in addition to being loved, children must also be taught how to love others. Children who learn how to express kindness and love lead happier lives. When you love and care about others and show that love with what you say and do, you feel good and you fill your own bucket too."

Today we read, Have You Filled Your Bucket Today? to teach the children how to be bucket fillers. After we read the book we discuss what they might say or do to fill someones bucket. They naturally grasped the concept of filling buckets. The children raised their hand to share how they have already filled buckets of family and friends!

• Isaiah -"I tell my Mom I love her every morning."
• Oliver- "I helped Aaron build today."
• Eric- "I always tell my Dad I love him."
• Aden- "I always tell my Mom I love her."
• Lauri -"Cooking for Rosie's Place is a great way to be a bucket filler!"

Tomorrow we will continue our discussion on how to fill buckets!

Misholach Manot Baskets

Today in Lunch Bunch the children decorated misholach manot baskets for delivery of hamantaschen and other goodies. Tomorrow we will bake hamantaschen and discuss who we will give our misholach manot baskets to.

Four Mitzvot of Purim

The Unicorn friends are always thinking of Mizvot. As we gather together on this joyous Jewish holiday of Purim, we are reminded to rejoice and have lots of fun, as it is a mitzvah to laugh ( -: !!!
Today we concentrated on the first Mizvah of listening to the Megillah. We introduced the characters: King "A", Mordecai, Queen Esther, and Haman. You may want to ask your children, what did Esther do to save the Jewish people? Why was she brave?
Friends will have many opportunities through out our celebration of Purim to retell the story.

Lunch Bunch Sure is Fun!

Lunch Bunch sure was fun! The children built interesting stuctures with the colorful connect-a -straw manipulative, Sam P organized a game of "Candy Land", we experimented with some cool magnets the Scientists let us borrow, and we baked for the Hart Family. Then we went into Simon Hall with the Unicorn and Sunshine group to play with balloons. After that we went outside! What a day!

Tzedakah

With the generous support of the children and their parents, the Unicorn class was able to use the $20 collected for Tzedakah to purchase hats, mittens, a vest, and scarf for those people who are "cold".
Thank you to Unicorn friends for the Mitzvot of charity to others (: And thank you to Dylan and Eli for going to shop for those winter items !!!

Feeding the Hungry

It is never too early to start teaching children their own role in working to repair the world. Being hungry is a concept even a young child can understand. And feeding others who are hungry is a real mitzvah they can do. When the ingredients for tuna casserole came out, the children gravitated to the table, excited for a turn to contribute. Everyone wanted a turn to stir the ingredients together. Today the casseroles were sent to Rosie's Place and our children have done their part in contributing to the world.

Bikur Cholim: Visiting the Sick

The Talmud mentions bikur cholim, visiting the sick, as a mitzvah that not only yields immediate fruit, but also continues to yield fruit in times to come.  The Scientist children had a chance to complete the mitzvah of bikur cholim this week.  They worked to create cards complete with personal get well messages to Barbara, who is out with a back injury. We hope our good wishes will help Barbara heal fully and quickly.

Revisiting Sukkot

Sukkot is over, but I couldn't resist sharing one more Sukkot story. After lunch, the Scientist class headed outside to check out the sukkah. "What are these?" they asked, noticing the boxes of fragrant branches stacked inside. We opened one and found fresh greenery. We noticed that there was no tape, no glue, no string. How would we get the branches to stay on the walls of the sukkah. Jonathan quickly discovered an efficient sukkah decorating technique: find a hole, push the end of a branch through one hole, and then weave it through another. We had soon completed the mitzvah of beautifying the sukkah and at the same time created a sweet smelling sukkah for others to enjoy.

Our Mitzvah Ring is growing.....

The Unicorns are always keeping their eyes and ears open to see a Mitzvah and hear a Mitzvah. Performing a Mitzvah literally means doing a commandment, but is often used to mean doing a good deed or carrying out an act of kindness towards others, whether done at school or at home. As Jews we don't do these acts because we are nice, but because it is our responsibility to help others.  Whenever Unicorns see or hear a Mitzvah, they remember them and share them in Unicorn Circle Time. We write the Mitzvah on a paper and the new Mitzvah Ring becomes another link in a growing chain.

In this Hebrew month of Tishrei, the bible commands us to build a Sukkah as a Mitzvah. The Unicorns also consider it a Mitzvah to work cooperatively to accomplish the task of building the Sukkah. The Mitzvah of building a Sukkah together as a community leads to the Mitzvot of learning to be a friend, of waiting our turn to share important ideas, and of listening while friends and teachers speak. One Mitzvah leads to more Mitzvot to add to our chain.

Here are some of the new Mitzvot that Unicorns shared at Circle Time:

• A Unicorn brought her sister in to read to us in class
• A Unicorn helped zip another friend’s jacket
• A Unicorn helped her mommy change her sister’s diaper
• A Unicorn passed a cup of mayyim (waterמיים) to a friend
• Unicorns helped looking for a friend’s family photo.
• A Unicorn shared a toy car with a friend
• Unicorns invited each other to our kitchen to play
• Together Unicorns picked up the play dough from the floor
• Unicorns are helping to clean up at home as well.

Your children have really embraced the Mitzvah Ring. We are using our math skills to count how many Mitzvot we hear or see in one day( in Hebrew too) and then count all the Mitzvot together. So far we counted 16 Mitzvot. Unicorns enjoy hearing about the Mitzvot of others and see that friends are doing Mitzvot at home as well as in the class. Our goal is to cover our room with kindness. We want the Unicorns to realize that every simple Mitzvah counts, and together our Mitzvot make a beautiful and strong chain that we can all be proud of.