Preschool News
Amy's Director Notes
As I write this at 5pm it is completely dark outside because today is the winter solstice, or the shortest day of the year. Many react to this day with depression, as the darkness bearing down on us is coupled with the many responsibilities we bear. I, however, have always celebrated the winter solstice because of the promise that lays ahead – the fact that since this is the shortest day, the days to come will be longer. I can manage each day a little better because I know tomorrow will be longer, brighter and will lead to the next day. I guess this philosophy is the same as “Is your cup half full or half empty?” Basically, the end result is the same, so why not look at it with a smile and a wish on your lips? When your child makes a mess and has chocolate pudding all over his face, take a step back and laugh. If she breaks something, be thankful she isn’t hurt and use it as a learning experience. If she draws all over your book, think of the keepsake it will be in 20 years. Obviously it is difficult to turn every upsetting event into something positive, but if you can do that 50% of the time, then your cup will be half full .
This has been a fun month learning about and celebrating Hanukkah. Many times I help out at lunch and love when the children burst out singing the songs they’ve learned! Making latkes with the children was an enjoyable and savory experience for us all. First the children scrubbed the potatoes, and then watched as I demonstrated how “long ago” we had to grate them on a grater, but now we have food processors that can do it incredibly fast. The onions were peeled and examined and then grated as well. We added a little flour, salt, pepper and eggs and then mixed and mixed. Miss Jen did an amazing job in the kitchen frying up the 10 pounds of potatoes and many of the children loved the results. All the children had Hanukkah Celebrations and we danced, parachuted and played games during our parties. Then everyone either got a special snack or pizza, and of course, the latkes. I hope your Holiday Celebration is joyous, and your New Year brings the promise of good things ahead!
*Reminders*
There is no school next week. Classes resume on Monday, Jan 2nd.
Family Bingo – Sat, Dec 24th at 6:45. Admission is $2 per person.
Tot Shabbat – Sat, Jan 7th at 11am.
Art Auction – Sat, Jan 14th at 7:30pm.
Save your CORKS! Preschool recycles them and gets paid too! Drop them in the container in the hallway next to my office, along with your soda can tabs. As you know, we also collect plastic caps and all juice pouches.
Over break, clean out your children’s tote bags and check their change of clothes fit and are warm enough.
Please follow our parking lot rules (no parking along the grass) for the safety of all of our children.
If your child is under the weather, please err on the side of caution and leave them home, this will help keep all of our students healthier.
KinderPrep - Miss Stephanie & Miss Jennie
December is always an exciting month in Preschool. The children are able to observe the changes in weather and compare/contrast fall and winter. We have noticed on our daily weather graph that there are more cold/windy/cloudy days now then there were in September or October. We are also predicting what kind of weather we will see and feel in the next few months. Inside our classroom our decorations have changed from fall apple trees to winter mittens which were cut and decorated by each child. The concept of “Pairs” was introduced with the mittens. The children listed other things that come in pairs as well.
Chanukah was our main focus this month. In addition to learning about the current holiday traditions (gifts, latkes, donuts, gelt…), the children were also taught about why we celebrate Chanukah. We retold the story of Chanukah in a “Circle Story” in which each child shared something about the holiday then tapped the child next to him/her who then continued the story, and so on… It is always so interesting to hear the facts that each child chooses to share.
By now we are sure that each child has given his/her gift to his/her family. We hope that you enjoy the Family Game Box that each child designed. Although the outside of each box is unique (decorated with pictures of games/toys), the inside of each box contains 3 games to use during and after Chanukah: a dreidel with gelt, a Flip-The-Latke-In-The-Frying-Pan game and a Chanukah Tic-Tac-Toe game and board. The children were so excited to share these games with their families!
This month we introduced letters “Mm”, “Ww” and “Dd” which were incorporated into the Chanukah and winter themes. The children made usable menorahs by painting a tile and gluing metal nuts on top. Each child chose where to put the Shamash (helper candle) and made it higher then the others by gluing an extra small tile underneath. They also made counting menorahs to decorate the bulletin board by cutting the base and each candle themselves. They assembled the menorah and traced numbers 1-8. Full day students also created their own Mouse Paint book based on the original by Ellen Stohl Walsh. This book combined mixing colors with science and math skills. The end result was a great book that each child is able to “read” on their own.
We observed that “W” looks like “M” upside down and demonstrated that by painting an “M’ at the easel in yellow, then flipping the paper and painting a “W’ over it in red. Not only were we able to see how the letters are similar, but also that yellow + red = orange! We read a book about wind as we discussed the changes in the weather now that winter is here.
We learned how to play the dreidel game during “Dd” week. Each letter on the dreidel was introduced along with what to do when you land on each of them. The children loved spinning the dreidels and calling out “Gimmel” when they landed on it. Full day students made a 3D dreidel by coloring, folding and gluing paper together. A straw was inserted in the top so that it is easier to spin.
We hope that the children have been singing some of the Chanukah songs at home with you. Some of our favorites this year are: “I Flip My Latkes In The Air”, “Listen And Do”, and “Chanukah Fever”. We have also been practicing the prayers over the candles as we light our pretend menorah in class. We hope that you have a very Happy Chanukah and a wonderful and safe winter break. See you next year!
Thriving Three's - Miss Audrey & Miss Corey
Our children loved learning and celebrating the miracles of this holiday season. They “recreated” the story of Chanukah by taking on the roles of all the characters including mean Antiochus, strong and brave Judah Maccabee, the temple cleaners and oil seekers. Our “thespians” acted out their parts as the story was read to them. Emphasis was also placed on the symbols of the holiday. Learning about dreidels was a huge hit. The children loved singing about and spinning around like dreidels. They learned the letters Nun, Gimel, Hay and Shin and what to do when each one appears by actually playing in small groups.
The children worked cooperatively to create our bulletin board menorah and took special care to color the Hebrew letters on the surrounding dreidels. They were all so proud of their chanukiot. Making the candle holders was actually a multi-step process. The base was collaged with colorful Chanukah paper. The candle holders were made from clay. The children first rolled the clay into balls and then they took a “nut” and pressed it into the clay making an indentation for the candle. They had to use a pencil to take out the excess clay from the middle of the “nut.” We also created a life-sized menorah with the children taking turns counting all the candles and pretending to be the “shamash” or helper candle.
Special foods are a part of all holiday celebrations. The children helped Miss Amy make latkes for our holiday party. They also played “Feed the Latke to Judah” which is played like “Pin the Tale on the Donkey.”
During our holiday fun we took some time out to work on a family unit which culminated in absolutely wonderful family murals which showcase the children’s developing fine motor skills. The children enjoyed sharing stories about their families and what each member of their family does. We found out that most of the fathers work for money and the moms spend that money on toys.
We can’t believe 2011 is coming to a close and look forward to continuing to work and play with our children in 2012. Our best wishes for a happy and healthy new year.
Thriving Three's - Miss Louise & Miss Meryl
December marks the end of autumn. Our class completed a science unit on animal coverings. We studied how feathers and fur are insulators for birds and animals. The class made a book for this and enjoyed doing science experiments with oily feathers that keep birds dry in snow and how fur is an insulator. The culmination of our unit was a reading and reenactment of The Hat by Jan Brett. The children all agreed that animals look silly wearing clothes!
We studied Hanukkah and enjoyed creating hanukkiah for our families; we also built hanukkiot with blocks, pretzels, mini-blocks, craft sticks, and glitter. Each time is a counting exercise that is a fun part of this holiday too! Another fun item at Temple Beth Ahm during Hanukkah is all the music that goes along with it. The students found such joy in telling the mean king Antiochus "Don't bother me", in spinning like a dreidel, and in sizzling like a latke. In telling the story of Hanukkah we use props and act it out. We ask the children to help us re-tell the story. Hearing the story through their words (with a little prompting) is priceless.
For part of our social unit we discussed dressing for cold weather. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the weather outside was generally not that cold! A 60 degree day didn't help the children understand the need to wear hats and gloves! As the winter approached our sand table was converted into an outdoor late autumn scene complete with evergreens, pine cones, crunchy leaves, snow and winter animals. The students took initiative and introduced blocks for a cave, paper to become trees, bits of acorns for food. Blending items like this is a critical part of child's play!
We had such fun making latkes with Miss Amy and can't wait to get back to school in 2012!!!
Terrific Two's - Miss Dana & Miss Randi
What a month December has been! We started this busy month finishing up our color theme. Green and yellow were just as exciting as blue and red. We had scavenger hunts, read books and made beautiful collages which will remain hanging in the classroom for the school year. We enjoyed singing our songs and searching for the colors in our room.
We started our Hanukkah lesson with a lot gluing, painting and glittering beautiful Jewish stars. You can see them hanging on our bulletin board. The girls had so much fun making them.
The story of Hanukkah has been taught by making some terrific projects. We made a small book which tells the story in pictures and a handprint menorah made with the girls own little hands. They are absolutely beautiful and a perfect keepsake to take out every year.
The girls spent a lot of time making their special gifts for you. The tray was made with glue, tissue paper and love. The card attached was also prepared with love for the special holiday. We hope you enjoying using them on your holiday table.
We got a special presentation by Miss Amy. She taught us how to make potato pancakes, also known as latkes. We all got involved in the process of washing, mixing and of course eating. They were so yummy!
This busy month ended with a special Hanukkah celebration. We sang Hanukkah songs, played with the parachute and had a feast of latkes and donuts!!
We wish you the best holiday season. May your holiday and New Year be filled
with health, happiness and love.
Terrific Two's - Miss Judy & Miss Pilar
December was a delightful month filled with lots of learning! We began the month by learning about numbers. We made textured numbers one to four using different materials. We love the way our numbers feel! To help us count we created one star, 2 dreidels, 3 menorahs and 4 donuts. We learned about Hanukah through stories and songs. We pretended to be dreidels, latkes, presents and candles on the menorah. We created handprint menorahs and menorahs with candles to “pretend” light on each night of Hanukah. We hope you will enjoy using the trays we created for our families. It was made with lots of love.
We wish you a Happy Hanukah and a wonderful 2012. We’ll see you in January as our winter adventure continues!