Unexpected Coloring!

Today on the playground we had paper set up on (and under!!) the climbing structure! We had paper under the landings, on the bottom part of the tunnel and on some of the poles. These unexpected coloring areas were a huge hit as children from all different classes came together to reach up high and color!  Some colored with one hand, others both! Many of the younger children were fascinated that the older one's could color under the tunnel.

Both Ben G. and Zach S.  tried to jump in order to make a dot. Having a dot on the paper helped them feel accomplished as they added to the tunnel's decorations. It was neat to see how coloring was not only a creative activity but a physical one too. Kids needed height or strength to reach up high. Also many of the kids were squatting under the climber. This activity forced them to be aware of how their body fit in space, which can be a very tricky skill.

Keshet and Levana kids loved painting the poles. Noa and Alex L. Spent a lot of time making sure that all the white was filled in. it was so nice to see how proud Noa was to show off her communal drawing at pick-up. It was a beautiful day filled with wonderful community created art.

 Hopefully we can do it again soon!

Do squirrels like pumpkins?

Well, what do you think...
  We could not believe our eyes today when we saw a squirrel feasting on a pumpkin right outside our door!  The children watched from the window as the squirrel opened the pumpkin with his teeth, carried the pumpkin a few feet away, spit it on the ground and then ate it!  The squirrel repeated the process over and over again until something scared him and he ran away.

When we went outside to play we decided to take a closer look at what was left of the pumpkin. 
That squirrel hit the "jackpot" when he found a plump ripe pumpkin in the middle of the winter on a spring like day!   Only in New England! 

Cooperative Play!

Cooperative play begins with simple back-and-fourth play of two children. They attempt to coordinate their actions so they can roll a ball back and fourth or take turns talking on the telephone. In these early interchanges, children practice the turn-taking pattern of "first me, then you." In their preschool years, children develop their interactional skills further, and some group play begins to form. They learn to play together, deciding what to play and what roles to take. In cooperative play, all the children involved take part in the same activity.

On Wednesday, Samantha, Molly, Lily and Charlotte pretended to play school on the playground. They modeled how cooperative play looks and sounds. Their conversation sounded like this: Charlotte: Who is the stick person this week?
Molly: Let's pick a stick.(Molly used a leaf instead of a stick)
Samantha: Who is it?
Molly: It's Lily..It's your turn to take Chester home!
Then the children sang our morning welcome song, but instead of passing the Torah they passed a truck. Their play sounded and looked just like our morning circle. It is so nice to see new friendships budding as the children engage in cooperative play!

Red, White and Blue Pancakes?

That's right the red were strawberries, the blue were (blueberries of course) and the white simply... a plain pancake!

We made pancakes for the entire Children's Center! They were delicious!

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!

The Epic Balloon Hunt!

Yesterday Max, Ben, Nathan and Jared were playing with a balloon on the playground when all of the sudden...it floated over the fence! We then decided to go on a hunt to the woods on the other side of the fence to bring the balloon back! We quickly got a hold of it and then we were very careful to avoid touching sticks to make sure the balloon didn’t pop. However, once we got to the other side of the playground we saw so many toys that had been thrown over the fence. Nathan and Jared scooted on their bottoms to help them descend the steep hill to rescue the toys. Then they decided to climb back up with a toy in hand. Nathan was concentrating so hard on good climbing that he squeezed his hand around the balloon a bit too tight and POP! Yet even though the balloon popped none of the boys were upset with Nathan and they were all pleased to return to the playground, sand toys in hand having gone on a fun adventure in the woods. 

So Much Fun Outside Time!!

The Tel Aviv class spent almost the first two hours of school today outside! Kids were loving the beautiful weather and thought it was so neat that all they needed were their sweatshirts! The teachers thought that the weather was so good that we should have a special outside havdalah. Rachel is our stick person this week and did a great job of holding the candle high for everyone to see. After a bit more playtime our friend Josh came to sing with us outside. It was so fun to have both structured and unstructured time outside. I noticed that the group was more focused and sang louder sitting in the fresh air. We are so excited to have such beautiful weather all week long! Yay springtime!

Another Lunch Bunch Outdoor Adventure!

Yesterday Max, Jared, Nathan, Micah and I went on another adventure to the woods behind TBSCC. We explored, played with leaves, and even had a special circle time where we read the book, Time to Sleep about a bear who is getting ready for winter to come. All the boys loved it and were able to interact with nature in different ways. Nathan collected concrete he found because he didn’t like the litter. Jared sat on a log and “fished:” for leaves with a stick he found. Max and Micah practiced their balancing by walking on a log and jumping into a pile of leaves. Many other games were played but it was neat to see just how much variety there was amongst the four boys. By the end of the day all of them were a bit tired and thought that the log was a nice place for a little “peace out time.” Lilah Tov Unicorn boys! Hope you had a fun day in the woods!!

Havdalah Outside

The weather was mild enough this morning for us to celebrate Havdalah outside. Micah and Elias hand out the spicy cinnamon sticks for us to smell. Our Levana children are feeling more and more confident as the weeks go by.

When all the classes gather on Monday, it's an chance for brothers and sisters to be together. Julia and Ryan take advantage of this special opportunity.

Tel Aviv Picnic Party!!

The Tel Aviv class had such a great time playing outside today that they all asked if we could stay outside for longer, and Lauri and I decided that more outside play was a great idea! The class had an opportunity to play a bit more on their own, which was a nice opportunity for the children to bond. I noticed many kids less inhibited to play, laugh and run around, which I suspected was because there were fewer children on the playground. We had an outside picnic sack followed by songs and a story. We even sang our morning circle song, as a morning square song! Fun times were had all around and it was amazing how focused and engaged every child was in our outside circle. I am sure looking forward to our field trip to the field this Friday for even more outside play!!

Playground Play!

Lily, Hannah, Eliza had a busy morning right from the start. Eliza brought in stickers from home to share with the other children on the playground. Then the girls played "house" (Hannah was the mom, Lily was the baby and Eliza was the big sister). They played for a while in the sand box and then they went on the swings. Then it was time to go inside for a short circle! Tomorrow will be another day for outdoor play!

Precious Conversation!

At Lunch Bunch today Ali spent some time beading jewelry at the small round table outside. Ali announced, "I'm going to make a necklace for my Mom." She sat for a bit and carefully selected her beads. All of a sudden she perked up and asked, "Lauri what time is it?" I said "It's almost time to go home." She replied in her most serious voice, "Good because I have to go home for the wedding!" Clearly she was excited about this big event! I asked, "Who's wedding?" She looked at me as if to say, "What a silly question Lauri! Well Girl Bear is getting married to Teddy Bear, they are my stuffed animals!"

I can't wait until tomorrow so I can get all the details about the wedding!

Outdoor Classroom!

Today in Lunch Bunch the children decided to take our planned indoor activities outside. At one table the children enjoyed playing with play dough and sticks. Jacob Shaw and Avram rolled out a few worms and snakes. Eli walked over to me to show me how he carefully rolled out three long snakes. Eli asked me to help him braid the snakes as he wanted to make green challah. So, I coached him and he did it all by himself. Once the challah was braided Eli said, "There is one more thing I have to do, cut it!"

2:00 Pick Up!

Hannah and Eliza were very excited to be staying until 2:00! As soon as they walked through the gate this morning they announced proudly, "I'm staying until 2:00!"

When the morning children left for the day, we all continued to play, play, play! Ryan made drums out of the plastic seats, Hannah, Micah, Rachel and Eliza decorated visors with fabric paint, Jacob created his own zoo with the animals and Lizzie played with the magnitiles. Let's not forget to mention that we took a walk down to the Community Room kitchen, and helped ourselves to a cool refreshing popsicle...YUMMY!

Cooking up a mud storm!

Today we made mud pancakes, mud pudding, mud cookies and mud pie! If anyone would like to know our secret mud recipes, feel free to ask! Our cooks had everything they needed...A long table, sand, mud, water, pots, cups, some of our finest silverware, a sink and a stove of course. We all enjoyed cooking up a storm, and everything was simply delicious! A little bit of sand, mud and water goes a long way!

I found a potato

Sam was using his imagination in the playground pulling on a big weed telling me he had found a BIG potato. As luck would have it, the Unicorn classroom friends had planted a potato that was growing. I asked Sam if he would like to plant it outside. He said yes, then decided we needed a sign to identify it. So off we went to get the materials needed. We hope Spuds start to grow more and get just as big as Sam's illustration. Thanks Sam

Afternoon fun

Ms Smadar came back to help us in the afternoon water fun. She couldn't come empty handed knowing it was more water play fun as an option. Oh no!!! She brought her very own sprinkler system. As one can see, the children had a BLAST. Just plain old fashioned fun... Thanks Smadar!!!