Developing friendships!

Dyad play...when children begin to play interactively with others and will identify somebody as their friend.  

Lily and Lily spent a long time in the art center decorating tiles together.  They were chatting and sharing the collage materials on the table.  Lily A needed a blue foam shape and Lily O took the time to help Lily A find it.  Lily O seemed to be so happy to help Lily A, as Lily O shouted out to a teacher a few times with a big smile on her face , "Lily is my friend!"

"Lily do you want to build with me?"

Often Ben invites his friends and classmates to play.  When he finishes his lunch Ben puts his trash in the garbage, his lunchbox in his backpack and then he will ask a friend/ classmate to play with him. "Samantha do you want to play with the magnitiles when you are done with lunch?"  Inviting someone to play is not as easy as it looks.  Every time Ben invites someone to play he looks them in the eyes and asks him/her if they want to play.  This is a social skill that takes time and practice to master.  Ben gets a lot of practice as he is so warm and friendly to all the children in the Adamah classroom!

Today Ben walked right up to Lily and said, "Lily do you want to play with the magnitiles?  We can build a house?"  Lily loved the idea ,walked over to the rug with Ben and started to build.

Have You Filled a Bucket Today?

Carol McCloud is the author of Have You Filled a Bucket Today?  "This is a heartwarming book that encourages positive behavior as children see how very easy and rewarding it is to express kindness, appreciation, and love on a daily basis."

This book is written to teach young children to be bucket fillers..."All day long, everyone in the whole wide world walks around carrying an invisible bucket. Carol goes on to say, you can't see it, but it's there.  Your bucket has one purpose only, to hold your good thoughts and good feelings about yourself.  When you feel happy your bucket is full, and you feel sad when your bucket is empty."

The book explains to kids that when you do or say something nice for someone else you, " fill their bucket"  and if you do something that is not friendly or kind you, "dip into their bucket".  We use the bucket filling imagery to create a concrete way for the children to understand friendly behavior.  We encourage you to use this language at home within your families, as well.

During the course of the week we have read Have You Filled a Bucket Today?  in both large and small groups.  Some of the children are already picking up the concept of "filling and dipping" into someone's bucket.  This morning another child said something that was not so friendly and Sally said,

" Hey she went into your bucket Lauri"!   At our morning meeting the teachers pointed out how Sally "filled" Eva's bucket when she helped her move the bike she was riding when the wheel got stuck on another bike.

Hayley said her Grandmother  " fills her bucket"  when she hugs her.  Isabella said her Mom "fills her bucket" when she kisses her and reads her 5 stories before she goes to bed.

Carol McCloud 's book  Have You Filled a Bucket Today?  is a must have for your library at home!

The whole family will simply fall in love with the language in the book!

Lunch Bunch!

In Lunch Bunch the children enjoyed playing in the dramatic play, on and under the loft, Harper and Sally bonded as they painted and chatted at the easel!  We ended the day with some outside play!  What a beautiful day!

Patty-Cake

Patty-Cake a game in which two participants clap their hands together to the rhythmic beat of chanting a nursery rhyme.

Rachel wanted to play with Sally,so she walked up to her and said, "Let's play patty-cake!"
Sally smiled put her hands out, and started chanting "patty-cake" over and over again!
Lily and Rachel joined in on the chanting part, as Sally and Rachel continued to clap their hands together.

Rachel used the game of patty-cake to initiate play with Sally ...What great tool, I am going to try it tomorrow.

How to keep cool in the heat...

The Kahol children know how to keep cool on a hot summer day...

Climbing/balancing on tree stumps in the shade , giving high fives to friends on the swings ,filling and emptying buckets with water, eating snack inside with the Adom children, and clearly juice pops are an absolute must!

Opportunities to draw, scribble and write!

Ellen brought us this great big box! I asked the children if they wanted to decorate or draw on the box... I placed the markers out on the floor and the photos tell the rest of the story!

Tomorrow I will ask the children "How can we use this box?". We will also continue to decorate it with other materials.

We spent some time in Jesse's classroom and the children played ,"Ice Cream Store" in the dramatic play area. Cody picked up a clipboard and started to take everyone's order! Alex prepared the ice cream! It was a team effort!

Nico Rachel's nephew joined us for the day! Nico it was so nice to meet you! Come back to play real soon!

Is there a doctor in the house?

Grace, Hannah, and Alex played "doctor" today! Alex went around and listened to everyone's heart...He put the stethoscope in his ears and ta-da, there was a doctor in our house!

Waiting for my turn!

At any age waiting is a hard thing to do! Whether you are waiting in the doctors office, stuck in traffic, or waiting in line at the grocery store... Waiting patiently is challenging!

The children have lots of opportunities to practice and learn how to wait for their turn on the TBSCC playground! In the first photo Alex R is being very patient while Bailey has a turn in the toddler swing. Alex R likes swigging on the swing , so he sat down on a bench and waited for the swing with his sister Ellen. He waited patiently for a long time,ten minutes, but it was so worth it!!!!

In the second photo Alex is waiting patiently for Bailey to go down the slide. When Bailey finally sat down and went down the slide ,it was Alex's turn and down he went!

Getting to know you!

Today the Kahol children spent time playing in the Yarok classroom! We had a ball! Alex and Bailey played in the water table. It was a bit of a reach to grab hold of the toys and water,so I spotted the children as the stood on a big wooden block.

Bailey spent a lot of time in the Dramatic Play Center exploring the materials,taking care of the babies, and sorting fruit. Baiely also liked pounding the purple play dough with a wooden hammer.

Alex joined Bailey, Ellen and Avi for a late morning snack in the Dramatic Play Center. They served fruit, fed the babies and talked on the phone! They also checked out the guy across the street mowing the lawn outside the classroom window! What a treat!

Alex was very interested in what was going on in the Art Center...Out on the table were big coffee filters, cups with a variety of water colors and eye droppers. My first thought was that the eyedroppers would be challenging for Alex so I gave him a paint brush. He dipped the brush in the water colors and then placed the brush on the filter. Alex repeatedly dipped the brush in the pink water colors and then moved the brush onto the filter. Then Alex put down the brush and picked up the eyedropper. I asked him if I could show him how to use it? He nodded up and down. At first I sang a short version of "Thumpkin". Highlighting that Pointer and Thumpkin squeeze the black part of the eyedropper. I demonstrated how Pointer and Thumpkin need to come together so the colored water goes up into the tube. Both Alex and I were surprised it worked he did it! He was so pleased with himself!

At the Sensory Table

Measuring, pouring, washing, sorting, scrubbing. There is a great  variety of materials you'll find in our sensory table. There may be colored macaroni, slime, play dough, beans, or bubbly water to wash animals, people or fruit.  With each new tactile experience, the children learn something about themselves and the world around them.. Working at the sensory table involves body awareness, social skill development using language and sharing the materials and the space. 

What kind of matzah do you like?

The Tel Aviv children had the opportunity to try matzah with honey, butter, jelly, cream cheese or just plain old matzah.  Everyone had a great time tasting, chatting, and spreading the toppings on to the matzah.

When the children were finished eating they signed their name on the  "What kind of matzah do you like?"  graph.  The two most favorite toppings are jelly and cream cheese!

The Sawing Begins

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The children in the Kohavim/Hafia lunchbox began their woodworking projects. They looked at their plans and calculated where to draw their cutting line on the wood. Students had the  opportunity to practice turn taking with the saw and Drew  lined up chairs so that there was a safe place for students to watch  the activity.  Next week, we will continue to saw the wood and begin to sand the rough edges.

Lunch Bunch Rocks!!

The children and I had a rocking time in Lunch Bunch today!   We played music from Pandora...Kids Bop Kids and Radio for Kids really hit the spot!  We all gathered around and listened, danced and had a jam session with "home made" drums...Wooden sticks and the classroom garbage can.  At the very end of the day we took out Mr. Parachute and played a few games "Cat and Mouse", "Switch", and "Popcorn".

The Drum Roll Please!

 

The children really like to play and act out the way in which we pick the leader of the week. Each and everyday this week Zach has asked me if he can play with the popsicle sticks that we use to pick the stick person(leader). Zach, Micah, Josie, Lily , Elias, and Noah took turns picking the sticks and then announced to the group who the stick person was, over and over again! Zach led the group..."THE DRUM ROLL PLEASE!" Everyone proceeded to slap their lap, then Zach picked a stick and we all helped read the name on the stick. I said, "Who's name begins with the letter S ?" Zach looked at whole name and said, "It's Samantha because she has a really long name!" Micah R. shouted, "Sasha begins with the letter S too!"

The children continued to pick the sticks, play their drums and call out their classmates names. Then Micah R brought over the wooden block with his picture and name on it. Micah said, "Let's match the names on the sticks with the blocks!" The entire group liked that idea and said, "YES!" Then we moved over to the rug and decided to play "circle time". Josie was Lauri and Zach was Sasha. Zach said, "Circle time is starting!" Lily took out the Torah and we sang our welcome song! Lauri/Josie read Chester's Journal and Elias held Chester on his lap.

The play went so smoothly and everyone had so much fun! The children had the opportunity to make their own decisions, run their own circle, set the rules, provided directions for the group, and they picked their own props and roles! As I reflect on my afternoons with the children this week in Lunch Bunch...I think how the children responded to the play and on how the children responded to their roles and participation in the play. Giving the children the space and time to experiment with play helps them develop important cognitive, socio-dramatic, and social skills. I for one can't wait to play tomorrow!

The Sandwich Swap

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The Sandwich Swap is a delightful story that teaches children invaluable lessons on the importance of tolerance, understanding, and friendship."


"Lily and Salma are best friends.  They like doing all the same things-jumping rope, drawing, and playing on swings.  And they always eat lunch together.  Sure, they don't eat  the same lunch, Lily eats peanut butter and Salma eats hummus-but what's that between friends?  It turns out, a lot. And before they know it, it's a food fight.  Can Lily and Salma put aside their differences and save their friendship?  Or will a sandwich come between them?"

Her Majesty Queen Rania and bestselling author Kelly DiPucchio tell a story inspired by Her Majesty's own childhood.

The children enjoyed making their own yummy hummus ,soy butter and/or  jelly sandwiches.  Every ones taste buds are different.  Zach and Charlotte made a hummus, soy butter and jelly sandwich...what a combination!  Adam decided a jelly sandwich was the best choice for him.  Micah R likes hummus but not he kind we were serving today.  Samantha and Josh went for the hummus.

Go Fish! The Benefits of Playing Cards

The children in Kohavim have been using playing cards! Children have counted the shapes on individual cards, placed the cards in number order, and matched cards with the same numeral. They have also been playing games such as "Go Fish" or a game some people refer to as "War," where they determine which player has the card with the highest or lowest numeral.  Some of the wonderful math opportunities playing cards provide for young children are to count, compare, and think about sequence. When engaging in card games, the children are also following a set of rules and developing good sportsmanship. When Brett noticed Zack had a large pile of cards he had won during a game he exclaimed that Zack was really good at these games. Zack then explained to Brett, that in the game of "war" you aren't good or bad, it just depends on the cards that you are dealt. You might want to get out the playing cards at home and explore them with your children!

Lunch in our Sukkah!

Today the Tel Aviv children enjoyed a quiet lunch in our very own TBS sukkah!
Tomorrow we plan on making some decorations for the sukkah and we will hang the decorations after lunch.

Eating lunch together...

The lunch part of Lunch Bunch was full of smiles and great conversation! After lunch the children are responsible to put their garbage where it belongs, their lunch box back into their backpacks and then they have the opportunity to brush their teeth. Today we all sat around and brushed our teeth together, as we sang... The Brushing Your Teeth Song (Raffi).

POPS!!!!!!!!