News from Miss Gloria's Class: 10/01/10

LETTER OF THE WEEK: T

During the week of September 20, we read Sammy Spider’s First Sukkot by Sylvia A. Rouss, Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert, and Leo and Blossom’s Sukkah written by Jane Breskin Zalben. On Monday, the boys and girls made a decorative paper chain to hang in the synagogue sukkah. For our letter of the week project, the children decorated the letter F for fall. On Wednesday, one group of children made their first entry in their journals. They used crayons to color an apple and a honey pot for Rosh Hashanah. In yoga, Miss Kim asked the children to name their favorite food as they practiced yoga breathing. They learned how to play “Red Light, Yoga Light” as they posed as snakes, frogs, and giraffes.
They learned how to play “Red Light, Yoga Light” as they posed as snakes, frogs and giraffes.

On Monday, September 27, we read We Are All Alike...We Are All Different by the Cheltenham Elementary School Kindergartners. This book is filled with photographs and drawings of children and their families. In the book, we learn how children are like each other and how children can also be different from each other. The book tells about the differences in families, in the foods that people eat, where people live, and what children like to play. Our art project was for each child to create their own self portrait. Their art work will be displayed in the Social Hall and all of the children will complete this project. We learned a song for fall called, “I’m A Nut.”

On Tuesday, we read Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha. In this book, Mr. Gilly’s job is to make sure that the town is free of trash. For our letter T art project, the boys and girls painted the letter T with turquoise paint using blue and green paint mixed together. On the letter, they placed a tree, a turtle, and a spinning top. We learned these letter T words, two, three, ten, Tuesday, Thursday, toes, teeth, and our friend’s names, Talia and Theo.

On Wednesday, one group of children made their first entry in their journals. For the start of a sweet New Year, they colored an apple and a honey pot. The other group of children read Clifford’s First Autumn by Norman Bridwell. In this book, Clifford enjoys the fall as he jumps into a pile of leaves, picks pumpkins, and plays football. In yoga, Miss Kim asked the children to say their names and to tell the group the names of their favorite animals. We played “Yoga Simon Says” and took an imaginary trip to the garden. In the garden, the boys and girls posed as butterfies, frogs, and growing plants. We also learned a relaxation pose where we repeat the sounds, “Sa, Ta, Na, Ma” as we touch our thumbs to our other fingers.

On Friday, we read Sammy Spider’s First Simchat Torah by Sylvia A. Rouss. Sammy Spider books are a great way to learn about Jewish holidays and celebrations. In this book, we learn that Simchat Torah is a holiday for the Torah, a scroll that tells the story of the Jewish people. Each week, on Shabbat, the Torah is read in the synagogue. On Simchat Torah, the Torah is finished being read, and then, the readings begin all over again. To celebrate this holiday, we eat candied apples and march around the synagogue waving flags.
Thank you to Jacob, Giacomo, Maya, Lucie, Dante, Brody, and Kaya for being our super “kids of the day” for the past two weeks.
In October, we will be closed on Monday, October 11 for Columbus Day. On Tuesday, October 19, we will be going to The Philadelphia Museum of Art. More information about the trip will be sent home next week. All children are invited to attend the trip, even if it is not your child’s regular day to come to school. Parents are welcome to accompany us, too. Friday, October 29 is Grandparent’s and Special Friend’s Day and we will be celebrating Shabbat at our Playschool Shabbat Dinner and Art Exhibit on that same evening. More information will be forthcoming.
Please check out our Playschool blog at http://shsplayschoolnews.blogspot.com to find out all of the exciting things that the children are doing in preschool.
Don’t forget to have your child stay for Afterschool Arts Clubs. Monday is Cooking Club, Tuesday is Science Club, Wednesday is Art Club, Thursday is Movement Club, and Friday is Music Club. Afterschool Arts is a great way for the children to have additional time to play with their friends as well as experiencing a creative themed project.
Next week, we will learn letter P. Have a great weekend!
Miss Gloria, Miss Chloe, Miss Julia, Miss Mindy, and Mr. Noah

A Warm Welcome to the Kitten and Puppy Class!!!

The First Full Week of School Rocked!!!



Hi Moms, Dads and Special Grown-ups,
We have finally settled in to a full schedule here at Playschool.Our Fall holiday schedule has been tricky, but the children have adjusted to the program beautifully. Almost all of our tears have dried and we have been doing some exciting art projects, singing lots of songs, exercising in our yoga/jumping circle and enjoying yummy snacks brought by our kids of the day.

So far we made the letter "A". We made this back when we were still having short days. The boys and girls learned a silly song about dipping apples in honey for Rosh Hashanah. The children decorated the letter "A" with the words to the song, along with an apple, an ant, asparagus and a healthy dose of sticky red apple paint. We also started off the year getting used to coming to our table for art projects. Some of our earlier activities included playing with playdough, free painting and coloring.



We celebrated Sukkot last week. During circle time the children learned that it was important to put on their listening ears for story time. While Ms. Terri is reading, it is time to be like "the old lady in good night moon who was whispering hush!" We read Papa, Please Get The Moon For Me by Eric Carle. A video of the story can be found here. We talked about how there was going to be a full moon for Sukkot. The moon was like a night light that would help the farmers work late into the night picking crops before the chilly winter time comes. During movement time we reached for the moon and did yoga stretches where we said hello to the sun and the moon. After circle time, the children made magnificent "Moon Masks." We painted them and glued the moon's face on. Ms. Terri and Ms. Michelle cut out the eye holes. Now when ever there is a full moon, we can go outside and look at it with our moon masks!



This Week we started talking about letter "B." On Monday and Tuesday we read a sing along with Raffi book called Baby Beluga. Ms. Terri and Ms. Michelle got out the record player and played the song on the turntable. Here's a clip. I am sure it will bring back some memories for our Moms and Dads! The children painted "Big Blue Baby Beluga B's." The boys and girls had fun trying to say that tongue twister. We also sang the "WILLOUGHBY WALLABY WOO" song. Each time we explore a new letter, we are going to change our names to begin with that letter. I got to be Ms. Berry this week!

On Wednesday, we read Sammy Spider's First Shabbat, by Sylvia Rouss. We are getting ready to celebrate our first Shabbat together. Friday will be the first time the Puppy class will travel to Miss Gloria's room to enjoy a Shabbat celebration with all of our Playschool students. During circle time we learned oodles of new Shabbat songs. It will be so exciting to gather together each Friday and sing, dance and share Challah and special blessings. The boys and girls made a collage of a "Shabbat Dinner Table." The children learned the order of Shabbat from Sammy Spider. First you light the candles, then you bless the wine, and then you bless the Challah!
Hmmm, I think we may have learned a little about "Cubism" too!!! (see above!)

On Friday, we read Dinosaur On Shabbat by Diane Levin Rauchwerger, and made some bracelets for letter "B." The Puppy class did a wonderful job sharing our first Shabbat in Miss Gloria's class. No mistake...the Puppy class anthem is the "Dinosaur Song." This coming week, we will celebrate our first Shabbat in the Kitten class. We can't wait to see what their favorite song will be!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Shabbat Shalom!

Ms. Terri and Ms. Michelle

News from Miss Gloria's Class: 9/17/10

Welcome to the 3 - 4 year old class.

Letter of the week: S

The boys and girls had a fantastic first day of preschool.
They were very excited to see their friends, make new friends, play with our toys, read books,paint at the easels, color, put puzzles together, and interact with the teachers. On the first day,they got a feel for some of the things that they will be doing each day, like putting their pictures on the picture boards, singing two morning welcome songs, counting the kids, and looking at the calendar and dressing the Weather Bear. The children learned the S words, September, school,and sunny from the calendar. We read Starting School by Franzeska Ewart and Leonie Shearing. This book tells about first week experiences in a new school. For our arts and crafts project, the children made placemats that they will use on Fridays when they are eating their Shabbat snack. They also enjoyed bike-riding outdoors on such beautiful day. After lunch, we thanked our "kids of the day" and "parent of the day" and we sang "Shalom Chavarim", which means "Goodbye My Friends". What a fantastic way to start the school year!

Wednesday is our yoga day with Miss Kim.
Before the class, we read Little Yoga by Rebecca Whitford and Martina Selway to introduce yoga movements to the children. Miss Kim begins each class with yoga breathing. As the children take yoga breaths, they lift a yoga ball into the air. Miss Kim asked each child to say their name and their age after they tried yoga breathing. The children played "Yoga Simon Says" and they took an imaginary trip to the beach using yoga movements. At the end of the class, the children lie on their backs to practice shavasana, a relaxation posture.

On Thursday, we read Show and Tell Day by Anne Rockwell. This book explains how children bring in something special from home to share with the class. In our own class, the "kid of the day" has the opportunity to bring in a show and tell object. Please ask your child to select a toy or book to bring in to show the class. At circle time, he/she will be able to show and tell the other children what they have brought in. For our art project, the children sponge painted their journal covers with fall leaves. In the journals, the children will illustrate drawings that will depict the seasons, holidays, letters of the week, and topics that we learn about in class. The boys and girls will make entries in their journals every other Wednesday before yoga.

On Friday, we read Sammy Spider's First Shabbat by Sylvia A.
Rouss. This book explains how Shabbat is celebrated in the home. For our project, the boys and girls made spiders that looked like Sammy. Each Friday, all of the children in the Playschool celebrate Shabbat together along with Cantor Rebecca Carl. We sing Shabbat songs, dance, and say the Shabbat blessings over the candles, wine (grape juice), and challah.

Thank you to Phoebe, Max L., Laura, Nina, Ava, and Cole for being our super "kids of the day" this week. If you have not sent in all of your forms, please send them in by Monday. There are open spots available in our class and in any of the Afterschool Arts Clubs. Please spread the word about our programs to your friends who may be in search of a wonderful preschool for their child. This week, the children really enjoyed spending extra time in our classroom for play
and for our programming in Afterschool Arts. The children baked peach pastries, they experimented with things that float and sink, they made Shabbat placemats, they played musical chairs and played musical instruments, and they sang some of their favorite songs and learned new ones, too.

More information will be forthcoming very soon about our new Playschool blog.

Have a great weekend!
Miss Gloria, Miss Chloe, Miss Julia, Mr. Noah and Miss Mindy