News From Miss Gloria and Friends, 10/31/08

On Friday, we read What Pet to Get? by Emma Dodd. In this book, Jack's mother agrees to get Jack a pet. Jack suggests an elephant, a giraffe, a lion and even a t-rex. Jack's mother explains why each of his choices would not make a good pet. They finally agree that a puppy, named Fang, would be a perfect pet. Our art project was to design picture frames for our grandparents and special friends who will be coming to spend time with us on Friday.

On Tuesday, we read What Grandmas Can't Do by Douglas Wood. This book tells how grandmas can't bake your favorite cookies by themselves and how they can't let you go to bed without reading you a story. The one thing, that they can't do best of all, is that they can't possibly love you more than they already do. For our letter G project, we decorated the letter G with a grandmom or a grandpop face.

On Wednesday, one group read Dinos on the Go! by Karma Wilson. In this book, dinosaurs travel around on world in all types of transportation. The other group of children made entries in their journals. Their journal entry was to color a picture of Shabbat candles or a kiddush cup. In yoga, Miss Kim began the class with yoga breathing. The boys and girls enjoyed playing "Yoga Simon Says" and they worked hard to listen for the words, "Simon Says". The imaginary yoga trip was to pose as things that could be found outside at night. For this yoga activity, the boys and girls posed as bats, stray cats and dogs, and the moon.

On Thursday, we read Look Out, Suzy Goose by Petr Horacek. Suzy Goose is looking for a quiet place because all of the other geese are honking too loudly. Suzy tries to find a quiet place in the woods, but then, she realizes that she is not alone. For our art project, the boys and girls made an illustration of Suzy Goose and her animal friends. We listened and moved to the CD Preschool Aerobic Fun by Gerogiana Stewart.

Friday is Grandparents and Special Friends Day. All guests will have the opportunity to spend time with their special child during playtime. Following playtime, the boys and girls will participate in circle time and calendar activities. We will read The Grandma Book and The Grandpa Book both by Todd Parr. All of the children in the Playschool and their guests will celebrate Shabbat together with Cantor Carl. Grandparents and Special Friends will enjoy reading "Grandparents are Special because . . . " written by some of the children.

Thank you to Jonnah, Laura, Lucia, Ciampone, and Charlotte for being our super "kids of the day" this week. Thank you to all of our families who attended the Shabbat Dinner last Friday. The attendance was fantastic and we hope to see everyone again at our Spring Shabbat Dinner. Please let us know if you would like to purchase your child's art and the matching notecards. Thank you to all grandparents and special friends who spent this morning at the Playschool. It was a pleasure to meet everyone and we hope that you enjoyed our programming.

In Afterschool Arts Clubs, on Monday, we made pomegranate art (food art), on Tuesday, we learned about comets and asteroids, on Wednesday, we painted a dog from the book Why is Blue Dog Blue?, and on Thursday, we played "Duck, Duck, Goose" and "Red Light, Green Light".

Our first trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art will take place on Tuesday, November 18. The cost is $10.00 per child and $10.00 for an adult. Parents are invited to attend, too. Next week, we will learn letter N. Have a great weekend!

Miss Gloria, Miss Allison, Miss Lily, Miss Sophie, Miss Mindy

News from Miss. Ali's Class- Week of Oct. 20th

This week in Pre- K we talked about Simechot Torrah and made beautiful centerpieces for our Shabbat Dinner!

On Monday, we made fun, glittery flags for Simechot Torah and began to practice the letter "H" in our Handwriting Without Tears workbooks.

On Thursday, we painted pumpkins for part of our Shabbat dinner centerpieces. The children had the choice of painting orange or green pumpkins, and adding some glitter paint to them so they would sparkle! We also had some practice writing and counting the number "4" with help from our math worksheets. Miss. Vanda came for drama and the children started to act out the book "Are you my mother?" By Dr. Suess. The children will continue acting out this story next week in drama as well!

Friday, we added the finishing touches to our centerpieces by adding 3-D pumpkins on to them!
We also had the chance to catch up to some work from earlier in the week, and celebrated shabbat with Cantor Carl.

A BIG THANK YOU to Stephanie Squires for being our Royal Reader this week!


Books We Read This Week:


Monday- Chica, Chica, Boom Boom- Bill Martin Jr.

Thursday- Norma Jean, Jumping Bean- Joanna Cole

Friday- The Peace Book- Todd Parr


****Grandparents Day is Friday, October 31st from 9-11am. Please let me know who is coming from your family.

=-)

Miss. Ali and Miss. C

Important Info from Ms. Gloria!

The boys and girls in the 3 - 4 year old class have been learning about Sukkot and Simchat Torah. They were so excited to visit the synagogue sukkah. We played a game where they tried to find the sukkah decorations that they made amongst the lights, leaves, flowers, fruits, and vegetables that adorned the sukkah. Their floral paper chain stood out as a decorative addition. We read The Sukkah that I Built by Rochel Groner Vorst and It's Sukkah Time! by Latifa Berry Kropf. For Simchat Torah, we made flags and the boys and girls waved their flags and marched around our classroom in celebration.

Our letter of the week was D for the upcoming Shabbat Dinner. The children made their letter D art project with pictures of the candles, a kiddush cup, and challah placed on the cut-out letter. In preparation for the Shabbat Dinner, the boys and girls made centerpieces for the tables and Shabbat wall hangings. The children also made dinosaurs to go along with their favorite Shabbat song, "There's a Dinosaur Knocking at my Door". We even read a book called Dinosaur on Shabbat by Diane Levin Rauchwerger. Another Shabbat book that we read this week was Bim and Bom A Shabbat Tale by Daniel J. Swartz.

Thank you to Maxwell, Anya, Max M., Ava, and Lucia for being our super "kids of the day" for the past two weeks. Next week, we will learn letter G. Please mark your calendars of our first trip to the Art Museum on Tuesday, November 18. All children in the 3 - 4 year old class and their parents are invited to attend the trip even if Tuesday is not their regular day to attend the Playschool. More information will be forthcoming soon. Have a great weekend!

Miss Gloria, Miss Allison, Miss Lily, Miss Sophie, and Miss Mindy

Shabbat Dinner and Art Exhibit

We look forward to seeing all of our Playschool families attend our Shabbat Dinner and Art Exhibit this evening from 5:30 PM until 7:00 PM. Please take a few moments to look at the children's art work that is on display. Not only did each of our artists create their own work, they also titled their paintings to reflect what they worked very hard to represent. The paintings are unique and very special keepsakes of your child's time at the Playschool. The works of art will be on display in the front hall of the synagogue for a few weeks in the event that you are unable to attend the opening. Wine and cheese will also be served. Information about the fundraising portion of the exhibit will be available. Thank you in advance for celebrating Shabbat with us.

Grandparent's and Special Grown-Up's Day

Friday, October 31 is Grandparent's and Special Grown-Up's Day for the children in the 3 - 4 year old class and the Pre-K class. Please let us know as soon as possible the names and addresses of those grandparents and special grown-ups who will be attending. Grandparent's and Special Grown-Up's Day will take place from 9 AM until 11 AM. Grandparents and Special Grown-Ups will spend time in their grandchild's classroom and celebrate Shabbat with Cantor Carl and all of the children in the Playschool. If your child does not have a grandparent who can attend, special grown-ups in your child's life are welcome. Please let us know their names and addresses, too. If your child does not attend the Playschool on Fridays, he/she is invited to come to school on this day to be a part of this special event.

If you have any questions, please contact the Playschool office or email gparris@societyhillsynagogue.org

Pre-K Quick News for October 16th and 17th

Hello All!

We had a very short week in Pre-K! On Thursday we painted beautiful pictures on canvas for our Shabbat Dinner on Friday, October 24th. The children did a wonderful job creating awesome pictures and naming their artwork! We were able to have drama after a week off with Miss. Vanda. The children acted out different roles as they pretended to wait at a bus stop! We had alot of fun!!

On Friday, we discussed Fire Safety! We talked about when to dial 9-1-1 and what kind of clothing firefighters would wear. We even made a fun fireman arts and crafts project, using paper plates!

Thank you again to Ira Kauderwood for being our Royal Reader this week! We always enjoy having him as our special guest!


Some Important Dates:

We are off on Tuesday, October 21st and Wednesday, October 22nd.

Playschool Shabbat Dinner is Friday, October 24th from 5:30pm until 7:00pm. If you haven't already, please sign up outside our classroom on the bulletin board. Parents are asked to make a kosher dairy dish.

Grandparents Day will be on Friday, October 31st. Please sign and return the form in your child's folder.


Books We Read This Week:

Thursday- Old Bear's Suprise Painting- Jane Hissey

Friday- The Little Engine That Could and the Fire Rescue- Platt and Munk




Enjoy your weekend!

Miss Ali and Miss. C =-)

SHS PLAYSCHOOL FAMILY SHABBAT DINNER

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24th, 5:30pm - 7pm
FAMILY SHABBAT DINNER
Families (moms,dads, siblings, bubbes and zaydes) of our Playschool students are warmly invited to join together for a very special Shabbat celebration on Friday, October 24th.
Cantor Carl will be on hand to lead our prayers and song at this popular and joyful event. The meal is pot-luck (dairy), a sign up sheet will be posted in your child's classroom.

Don't Miss the Art Exhibit and Opening Reception!!!
(featuring wine and cheese...grape juice and snacks and a chance to meet the artists!)

This museum quality collection of the work of local Philadelphia artists (each of your children)
is presented as a fund-raiser for the Playschool. Artists' families will have an opportunity to purchase these very special canvases at the end of the exhibition!

QUESTIONS?
CONTACT: Gloria Parris
215.922.6590, ext. 28
gparris@societyhillsynagogue.org

Kitten & Puppy Class News from Ms. Terri & Ms. Amber: 10/10/08

Hi Moms, Dads and Special Grown-ups,

We are so excited about our October 24th Fall Shabbat Dinner!
The children are going to have a real "Art Opening!"
We have been painting on a real canvas each day we've come to Pre-school for a week now.
We have been using different colors and different painting techniques each time.
The children are learning how to make different textures. So far we have made our marks with brushes, sticks, string, stamps and fingers. We are going to use feathers and air before we are through!

We also learned lots about the Holidays we've been celebrating through our friend Sammy Spider. We read Sammy Spider's First Rosh Hashanah and Sammy Spider's First Sukkot,by Sylvia A. Rouss. The children loved the colorful pictures by Katherine Janus Kahn. The Rosh Hashanah story taught us about small, middle sized and large objects. We tried to make some marks like that in our paintings. The children learned about directions like under, over, above, below, inside and outside in the Sukkot story. We love Sammy Spider!!! Our wonderful Cantor is even teaching us how to sing Itsy-Bitsy Spider with Hebrew words!

For our "art inspiration" we read Little Blue and Little Green by Leo Leonni and have learned lots about mixing colors as we work on our canvases. We also read Olivia, by Ian Falconer. We noted that we should only paint on paper, canvas or what a grown up gives us to paint on. Olivia got a time out for trying to paint like Jackson Pollack on a wall! Hey...I know, I think we'll try and paint like him too!!!

A reminder that the Playschool will be closed on Monday, October 13, Tuesday, October 14, and Wednesday, October 15 for Columbus Day and Sukkot. We will also be closed on Tuesday, October 21 for Shemini Atzeret and on Wednesday, October 22 for Simchat Torah.

We are looking forward to coming back to school after these long breaks. We have lots work to do to prepare for Shabbat Dinner. We plan to make it a festive event with lots of beautiful decorations...and of course our exhibit!!!
We hope you have a wonderful week!
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,
Ms. Terri and Ms. Amber

Check Out What Happened This Week In Pre-K...

We have had a busy and crazy month of October in the Pre-K!

This week we discussed the many different holidays that fall during the week of October 6th and the week of October 13th.

On Monday, we talked about Yom Kippur and made a fun shofar necklace that the children pretended to blow. Tuesday, we talked about the harvest holiday of Sukkot. The children were split into 2 groups to make BIG sukkah's. They decorated the sukkah's with leaves, fruits, vegetables, people and plants, crayons and markers! Our beautiful sukkah's are displayed in our classroom. Please make sure to take a look at what a great job the children did! Wednesday, we made a delicious and glittery fruit salad for Sukkot, and Thursday we had a little break from school because of Yom Kippur. Friday we talked about Columbus Day, and made a Christopher Columbus silly puppet!

We didnt have drama this week because of Yom Kippur, but we look forward to seeing Miss. Vanda next week!

Our letter of the week this week was letter "E." We practiced "air drawing" it and then completed some letter "E" pages in our Handwriting Without Tears workbooks. We also discussed at circle time some words that began with the letter "E." We thought of 25 words, and wrote them on our blackboard!

We reviewed the numbers 1-3 and had some more practice writing those numbers in our workbooks.

In Language Arts, we talked once again about pictures and words that are the SAME and DIFFERENT. The children are really getting a hang of this concept and did a wonderful job with their work and following directions!


Books We Read This Week:


Monday- Sound the Shofar- Himmelman

Tuesday- Sammy Spider's First Sukkot

Wednesday- The Sukkah That I Built- Rochel Vorst

Thursday- OFF

Friday- Columbus Day- Dennis Brindell Fradin


A BIG THANKS to our Royal Readers from the past 2 weeks, Annabelle Levi's nanny Jady, and Michael Miele! They both did a fantastic job reading stories to our class!

Also we want to wish Michael Miele a happy 5th birthday! We enjoyed celebrating his birthday in school Friday with some yummy treats!


WE WILL BE OFF OCTOBER 13th- OCTOBER 15th. Playschool will resume on Thursday.


Have a great few days off!

Miss. Ali and Miss. C

Ms. Gloria & Friends: News from the 3-4 Year Old Class

On Monday, we read Mama Cat has three kittens by Denise Fleming. For our letter of the week art project, the boys and girls made a kitten playing with a ball of yarn. At circle time, we learned a song called, “The Leaves of the Trees”. The boys and girls continued all week long completing their work for the upcoming Art Exhibit.

On Tuesday, we read Sound the Shofar! by Leslie Kimmelman. For our letter of the week art project, the children decorated a K for the holiday of Yom Kippur. On the letter K, they put a kippah, a tallit, and a shofar. The kippah is a skullcap worn by men and women during services and other religious rituals. The tallit is a prayer shawl also worn during Jewish services. The shofar is a ram’s horn blown on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to welcome the New Year. The boys and girls painted the K using dark brown, light brown, and orange to make the color khaki.

On Wednesday, one group of children made entries in their journals. For Yom Kippur, the boys and girls made a picture of a shofar. The other group of children read Leo and Blossom’s Sukkah by Jane Breskin Zalben, the story of celebrating the holiday of Sukkot. In yoga class, Miss Kim asked the children to say their favorite numbers as they practiced yoga breathing. The children learned how to breathe like the fall. They enjoyed playing “Red Light, Yoga Light” as they posed as giraffes, frogs, and snakes. Their imaginary trip was to go to the zoo.

On Friday, all of the children in the Playschool celebrated Shabbat together with Cantor Carl. We read Sammy Spider’s First Sukkot by Sylvia A. Rouss. For our art project, the boys and girls made paper chains of floral pictures to hang in the synagogue sukkah.

Thank you to Charlotte, Anya, Brooke, Jack F., Annalise, and Jack L. for being our super “kids of the day” for the past two weeks. The Playschool will be closed on Monday, October 13, Tuesday, October 14, and Wednesday, October 15 for Columbus Day and Sukkot. We will also be closed on Tuesday, October 21 for Shemini Atzeret and on Wednesday, October 22 for Simchat Torah.

Please have your child try our Afterschool Arts Clubs. Last Thursday, in Movement Club, the children played parachute games, and on Friday, the boys and girls sang new fall songs and learned the alphabet song in Hebrew.

This week, in Cooking Club, the children made snacks for the birds, and in Science Club, they experimented with water and temperature.

Please mark your calendars for the Fall Shabbat Dinner and Art Exhibit on Friday evening, October 24. Grandparent’s Day will be held on Friday, October 31 for the 3 – 4 year old and Pre-K classes. More information will be available shortly. Have a great holiday and we will be back at the Playschool on Thursday,

October 16.

Miss Gloria, Miss Allison, Miss Lily, Miss Sophie, and Miss Mindy