Morah Devora                                                 February 18, 2022

Yellow Room Friends making the face of the emoji on Leah’s Pillow.

The Yellow Room friends spend time playing, exploring and learning with peers (friends).  They spend time working in collaboration and independently, but either way they have an affect on one another.  While we do academic learning activities and  while we participate in free play the children are further working on the Theory of mind   (the understanding that people don't share the same thoughts and feelings as you do, the  perspectives of others). Why this is important? This allows children to communicate and resolve conflict.  It enables children to understand themselves and others and supports self regulation and self organization.  

We do many activities to support the development of perspective taking including silly and academic.  The children in the above photos were creating their version of the emoji face, but they also observed one another’s interpretation when they looked to one another and their own in reflecting upon the photograph.  When the children did their reverse painting art project they were just as excited about their peers' pictures as they were about their own.  Each looked to their peers’ project with excitement and curiosity.

We also experience considering one another during our learning time as all children realize they have different understandings when they do their math or literacy.  The children are not only learning that they have different abilities and perspectives but that they can support their peers’ in learning.

    During literacy the children are creating stories similar to Harold and the Purple Crayon.  They choose picture cards and beginning and continue the story using the cards drawn.  Sometimes they do this independently, listening to hear what their friend did. Other times the children work together on the story.  They learn to accept the other children’s ideas and sometimes make suggestions that complement the ideas of their peers.   When they have differences of opinions they get to discuss them and work it out.  This is a helpful skill as they move into further schooling as they will have their own opinions and also have to listen to their Morah and peers.

                                            Writing  the Yellow Rooms’ versions of Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Naveed and Ronan both have ideas for their transportation.  After discussions they came up with a solution that fit them best.

While we work on our theory of mind and perspective taking we also continue to explore movement and transportation.  This week we took a different perspective looking back to the Jewish people after they left Israel and needed to transport the Torah to Israel.  The people created the Aron, but the people moved it as we did not yet have vehicles.  The children have begun making the Aron so they can move our classroom torah.

Making the Aron, a different    twist on transportation. The children will transport the torah carrying the Aron.

       Additionally we continue to work on our beginning sounds and ending sounds, reading  and story making  in   literacy.

    The children are doing amazing in math as well as they work on identifying the teen numbers and adding to the teens.

    Please keep practicing their sight words they have brought home in their folders, the books they have in their  folders (or a picture book at home if they did not receive an easy reader).

Good Shabbos and enjoy your three day holiday!

Morah Devora

Shyli and Leah make time for taking care of family.