If the shoe fits....wear it!!!

So a funny thing happened on the swings today. I walked over to the swings and saw that Micah G., Elias and Josie were all swinging without shoes! I was quite confused how this happened. Rumor has it that crocs sometimes fly off if you swing too high. Anyhow, the three shoeless friends were begging me to give them underdogs and push them on the swings. I was happy to help them; however, I felt as though that everyone should have shoes on before anyone gets a push. So Elias and Micah put on their easy slip on shoes which left Josie in the "bucket swing" far from her shoes which were by the fence. Micah G., eager to help a friend and get a push, ran and got her shoes then he and Elias then proceeded to each put on one of Josie's shoes. It was such a sweet moment and I felt the need to capture it, and share it with you. We often say, "At school we take care of our friends." I felt as though Elias and Micah were really take care of Josie and taking their time to make sure the right shoes were on the right foot and that it was buckled right.
They defiantly deserved the underdog that they got once everyone had on their shoes. 

Riding in Style

Outside on the playground we have many fun options for the children to enjoy while getting some fresh air. Today, three of the children from Levana, Abby, Sydney and Lindsey were riding around on the mini bikes. They were laughing, taking turns with the bikes and enjoying the sun. It is not always easy keeping track of who is who out of these pals in purple, but we got the hang of it!

Playground is always fun! snowy (muddy) and all!

Today the children of Levana had a blast playing outside. Although putting on snow pants, gloves, hats, jackets and boots can be time consuming, the kids are always excited to play outdoors regardless of the weather! The snow has began to melt a bit, but temperatures and the muddiness caused by melting snow call for layers and boots!

All bundled up, the children enjoy the fresh air while building their friendships with one another.

Budding Friendships

In a moment, a hand is extended and is grasped by another classmate's hand.  Joyful smiles wash over the faces of kids as they connect in friendly play.  Sliding alone is great, but it's a special feeling to hold hands with your friend as you slide down FAST as a team.   This is another way in which the Keshet children are moving from parallel play to dyad play - in pairs.  

                  

Keshet's first day

Here is a quick look at our snack time and a peek at the outdoor fun we shared at the end of our first morning together.  The children settled in, explored the classroom, and sat together to enjoy a quick circle.  After washing our hands, we shared some apples, animal crackers, and water.  Mary Ann, Savita and I are all looking forward to seeing the Keshet children again on Thursday for another morning's adventure.

Creating a Water Wall!

Today we started to build a water wall on the playground! So far our water wall is a sructure created with a variety of plastic containers connected to the fence with pipe cleaners. The plastic containers have holes so that water can be directed in various streams, drips and flows when poured over-top.

Over the next several weeks we will continue to add onto and build our water wall! Stay tuned for water wall updates!

Between Showers

The Levana children enjoyed the outdoor play area today. We notice them going from one activity to another these days, wanting to try everything and testing newfound skills, strength and speed. Samantha and Adam were one dynamic duo; they played hard on the climbing equipment and on the horses, and took some break time to picnic at the tables. There was a lot of discussion about food (perhaps because we delayed snack a bit to get outside) and they decided to share a large bowl of a generic dessert. Appetites were hearty when we went back to the classroom for snack.

Into the Woods...

The Rainbow class took a hike in the woods with their focusers today.  The kids noticed that things had changed with the beginning of spring.  They discovered some white flowers, a purple flower, some moss, a fallen tree, and a number of great big stumps.  They saw fresh, new leaves on the branches that were bare just a few weeks ago.  Everyone seemed to enjoy exploring. Take a look below...

Into the Woods...

The Rainbow class took a hike in the woods with their focusers today.  The kids noticed that things had changed with the beginning of spring.  They discovered some white flowers, a purple flower, some moss, a fallen tree, and a number of great big stumps.  They saw fresh, new leaves on the branches that were bare just a few weeks ago.  Everyone seemed to enjoy exploring. Take a look below...

Into the Woods...

The Rainbow class took a hike in the woods with their focusers today.  The kids noticed that things had changed with the beginning of spring.  They discovered some white flowers, a purple flower, some moss, a fallen tree, and a number of great big stumps.  They saw fresh, new leaves on the branches that were bare just a few weeks ago.  Everyone seemed to enjoy exploring. Take a look below...

Success!

Today we saw daring, strength, and some great big smiles as Molly experimented at the monkey bars.  One of the Unicorn children was demonstrating her technique for grasping the first rung, swinging her legs up and into the air, and bringing her feet back down on the platform.  Molly watched a few times and agreed to try it with a teacher as her "spotter".  Molly tried a number of times with just the tiniest bit of support from her teacher until...voila: Molly did it herself.  What a delight it was for Molly to see what she could do!  She surprised her Unicorn friend who was quite impressed to see what a determined three year old can do.

Monkey motion

Eric decided to explore new areas of the playground. It took a lot of effort, but he did it, over and over again. It wasn't a challenge against a competitor, but fun and challenging. Kudos to Eric....

Heave Ho!

Rohan alerted the teachers to three tree stumps just waiting to be moved into our currently being renovated part of our playground. Maria gathered a number of the Kohavim children to help her move the stump to the playground. With a lot of hard work and many audible "heave hos", the first stump made it in. Sasha then followed suit, and with her Tel Aviv students, moved another stump. As we talk to the children about hardwork and the slavery of the Jewish people in the time of Moses, they are actually experiencing what it's like to work hard under the hot sun. Obviously the conditions are very different and sno-cones are readily available but there's nothing like an actual experience to help convey a story.

There's No Bad Weather

                

At our recent teacher learning session, the presenter referred to an old Scandinavian saying, "There's no bad weather, just bad clothing." With the right gear, we can play and learn outdoors despite cold, wind and moisture. As we prepare to pack away our winter things to greet the spring, we are grateful for the warm and washable jackets, the boots, mittens, and especially the far-out hats that kept us comfortable all winter.

Cleaning our Woods!

While we were outside today a few of the Tel Aviv we noticed that there were TONS of toys from our playground on the other side of the fence. They were everywhere! We decided that something had to be done. So...we went on an adventure! We left the playground and walked along the outside of the fens and went on a hunt to find all the toys that were scattered around the woods. The toys were on a huge hill and we talked about ways to go down the hill safely. Eli suggested bedding down while walking. Jacob tried scooting on his bottom which quickly became the preferred method of transportation. I love seeing how careful the kids are when they approach new or different risks in the outdoors. It is important that they are able to asses their own ability to travel through a space in a safe way and this Tel Aviv group has had enough experience outside in the woods that I can see that they have grown tremendously in their ability to asses the risk in outdoor activities. They were excited and enthusiastic about collecting the toys and throwing them over the fence. In no time the area was clean and I had ten out of breath Tel Avivers who were exhausted from climbing a very big hill. Thanks Tel Avivers for helping clean our woods and returning all the toys to the playground!

2, 4, 6, 8...who do we appreciate??

SNOW!! SNOW!! It was so fun to go outside and play in the snow today! We had a blast shoveling, jumping and stomping in the fluffy white snow!

Lunch Bunch!

It was great to be back at school! The Lunch Bunchers enjoyed a quiet lunch chatting about the events that took place over the long winter break! Then we spent some time writing in journals, stringing beads and playing with puzzles at the rug. We read a few books and then went outside to play!

Creating Habitats for Hibernation!

Yesterday on our walk the Tel Aviv class read the book, “Time to Sleep” and we talked about how different animals stay warm throughout the winter months. We then built a structure in the woods to create a habitat for an animal that might need a place to hibernate in Needham. The children loved finding big sticks and trying to figure out how to make them balance. The class worked on communicating where they were walking while they were holding the sticks so that the sticks wouldn’t hurt their friends. Soon we created a neat dwelling place for an animal or for a Tel Aviv friend! Each child took a turn sitting in our structure. They were all so proud of what they built.

Today we played inside and were still able to create structures for different kinds of animals. Using the wooden blocks and plastic animals children were able to make places so that our animal friends can stay safe and warm in winter. Although this task was done on a smaller scale, children had to figure out how to make blocks of all different sizes balance, which was no easy task. We will continue to talk about how we and different animals stay warm we are prepared for when winter finally comes.

You can't catch me...

Outdoor Adventure and Havdalah!

The Tel Aviv class has been going on some fun outdoor adventures thought the past week and the first word's out of Max's mouth today were, "Can we go on a fall walk today?" Lauri and I decided to put the question to a vote. Seven students wanted to go and four were too cold and wanted to stay in. So Lauri brought in the four and the rest of us went on an exploration to the woods next to TBSCC. We took a quick stop to pick up the havdalah candle that I keep in my car and we were off! We explored and played. I love to see how pretend games such as, "baby sister" are adapted to fit the new environment. After a bit, we came together and sat in a circle and did our own Havdalah service where we shared something fun that we did this past weekend and something that we are looking forward to in the upcoming week. It was a lovely and meaningful time and hopefully we can do havdalah outside again in the springtime!