Learning through Play 

    This week in the Yellow Room applied a lot of Parsha lessons to their learning and play again.  The children worked together to create many things in their play in our classroom just as the all the stones in the story of Yaakov.  When Yaakov fell asleep, all of the stones wanted to be under his head and decided to work together to support his head.  With the same heart the children wanted to do many different things, but decided to work together and build a structure.  They, then, decided it would be a train, knowing trains are important to their friend Jacob (who is important to the class). 

When building the structure the children had many considerations. They had to consider space, size and dimension as they determined that they wanted to be able to go into it.  They had to consider angles as they placed the rods into the balls so that the structure would be built up rather than angled.  They had to use language and listening to communicate to one another their ideas and how to move forward.  They also had to decide and communicate when it was finished and time to play.  Math, language, creativity, cooperation, patience and Torah lessons: who could ask for more?

   

The children have become more familiar with letter formation through the use of big sticks, small sticks, little curves and big curves.  As the children work to clearly write their letters and get closer to writing in the lines, these terms help guide them. The children spent time this week creating letters with their sticks.  They even created numbers.  

They decided to take our play with sticks and letter creation back to a familiar place.  The children in the Yellow Room have been enjoying the matman song and creating matman since school began and they brought matman into their play.  They all decided to work together, sharing their sticks to create matman.  Together they sang the song with enthusiasm and put together matman.  The power created by working together is bonding in the Yellow Room.

As our work on the Teva is winding down, the children have found a new interest.  Last week they became very excited over a book about animals who were working together to make a Strawberry Shortcake!  They asked “Can we make a Strawberry Shortcake?”  Well this week their interest hasn’t waned so we discussed what we would needed to make a Strawberry Shortcake.  Of course the children said we needed ingredients.  They added that we get ingredients from the store, and they decided that I could go to the store to get ingredients for them. Upon further discussion they decided that they wanted to go to the store as well.  Of course they wanted to leave right then. After much discussion, though, the children determined we needed to ask (Director) Morah Tara if we could go to the store for ingredients.  They decided upon the questions we needed to ask Morah Tara and they wrote her a letter, each participating in writing some of the words.   

As the children’s exploration of cooking strawberry shortcake continues the children will discuss fractions (⅓ cup…), the various cooking terms like sifting (ask your child how Iguana sifts the flour then remind them that is not the way we sift flour at home), they will work on sequences, they will discuss money and buying things, and they will work together to cook and clean up.  

Leah and Leanna make a flower strawberry shortcake.

While exploring the idea of making a strawberry shortcake the children have been building kitchens, creating strawberry shortcakes from play materials, and enjoying strawberry shortcake parties with friends.  Exploring the many processes in making a cake, cooking and sharing space with friends, planning and following the process/steps involved in making a cake, and buying and measuring ingredients helps children with the skills of multi-step directions, working with and cooperating with coworkers, planning/scheduling time, planning finances, and measuring ingredients (fractions) they will use throughout school and life.

Mae and Jacob initiate writing the steps in making the strawberry shortcake.

Good Shabbos! Morah Devora

d

Dear Parents,

 

The Yellow Room Friends are gearing up for Thanksgiving. They already know how to say ‘Thank You’ to Hashem every day when they say Modeh Ani, thanking Hashem for giving them a new day. They daven every day thanking Hashem for all that they have. They make brochos (blessings) on their food before eating and bench after the meal to say thank You to Hashem for the food they ate. The Yellow Room Whizzes know that we learned from our Avos (lit: fathers, patriarchs) how to daven to Hashem three times a day: from Avrohom we learn to daven the morning prayers, Shacharis; from Yitzchok we learn to daven the afternoon prayers, Mincha and from Yaakov we learn to daven Ma’ariv, the evening prayers.

 

Song

(TTTO: Three Blind Mice)

 

Three times a day, three times a day

To Hashem we pray, to Hashem we pray

Shacharis is the morning tune

Mincha in the afternoon

Ma’ariv by the light of the moon

Three times a day, three times a day

 

Yaakov worked for a very long time for Lavan, his tricky deceitful uncle. His uncle tricked him into marryng Leah, his elder daughter, even though Yaakov was supposed to marry Rochel. Later Lavan finally allowed him to marry Rochel. Lavan kept on tricking Yaakov and changing his mind about payment until finally Hashem told Yaakov to just leave. They discussed how sometimes people don’t listen like Lavan didn’t and we could just walk away like Yaakov did.

The Yellow Room Friends talked about being tricked and how that feels:

Ronan: I was tricked and it made me feel angry. I don’t remember what happened but they tricked me.

Jacob: Someone took my train and turned it into Thomas and it made me sad.

Angie: One time when I was little someone said there was a spider on my face. My dad just came in and said “I don’t like when you trick my Angie (growl)”. I felt sad.

Kriyah

Mazal Tov to some of the Yellow Room Children who recognize ALL their Alef Bais letters and have begun combining the letters with the nekuda (vowel) ‘komatz’!

I Love You Rituals (Conscious Discipline)

This week’s I Love You Ritual is ‘See Nice Kids’:

See nice kids, See nice kids

See how they care, see how they care

They hold both hands and give a shake

Smiling together, good friends they make

Then turning around for goodness’ sake

See nice kids, See nice kids

 

Shabbat Shalom!

Morah Perline