News from Miss Gloria's Class: 10/29/10

We are so excited for you to see our exhibition of beautiful paintings!!!


Friday, October 29, 2010
LETTER OF THE WEEK: G
On Monday, we read The Village Garage by G. Brian Karas. Throughout the year and in all types of weather, the workers at the Village Garage are very busy. With the help of their trucks, they clean the streets in the spring, patch up potholes in the summer, pick up the leaves in the fall, and spray the roads with sand and salt in the winter. We learned these letter G words, green, gold, gray, gorilla, guitar, grandmom, grandpop, garage, girl, glitter, and our friends, Gemma and Giacomo. For our art project, the boys and girls made fall trees for our Shabbat Dinner centerpieces. We hope to see all of our Playschool families in attendance for the Art Exhibit and Shabbat Dinner on Friday night.

On Tuesday, we read The Ultimate Guide to Grandmas and Grandpas! by Sally Lloyd-Jones. In this book, children learn that there are all sorts of special things to do to make their grandparents feel loved. Children can dance with their grandparents, sing with their grandparents, draw pictures for them, and even hold their hands when their grandparents cross the street. It is also important for children to take a nap with their grandparents when their grandmas and grandpas get tired. Most importantly, children need to give grandparents lots of hugs and kisses because that is what grandmas and grandpas like best. For our letter G art project, the boys and girls painted the G with gold paint and glitter and added on pictures of a grandmother and a grandfather.

On Wednesday, the story group read the book called Look Out, Suzy Goose by Petr Horacek. In this beautifully illustrated book, Suzy Goose is trying to find a quiet place to stay because all of the other geese are too noisy. She goes into the woods to look for that quiet place, but instead, finds that the animals in the woods are even noisier than the other honking geese. In yoga, Miss Kim began the class with yoga breathing. Each child said their name and what they are going to be for Halloween. We played “Yoga Light” and posed as tall giraffes, hopping frogs, and slithering snakes. For our imaginary yoga trip, the boys and girls used their legs as candles to help them through the darkness as they posed as scary animals in the night.

On Thursday, we read Dinosaur on Shabbat by Diane Levin Rauchwerger. This fantasy book tells how a dinosaur comes to share Shabbat with a child. This book is very much like the song that the children sing at Shabbat, “There’s a Dinosaur Knocking at my Door”. For our art project, the boys and girls made a picture of Shabbat at night. Their art work will be displayed in our classroom as we prepare for the Shabbat Dinner.

Thank you to Luke, Gemma, Rachel, Carly, and Nicky for being our super “kids of the day” this week. Thank you to all of the grandparents and special friends who spent the morning at the Playschool. It was a pleasure to meet everyone and we hope that you enjoyed our programming. Also, thank you to all of the families who will attend the Shabbat Dinner and Art Exhibit this evening. Please let us know, next week, if you will be purchasing your child’s painting. Their preschool art makes a great childhood keepsake.

Please sign up for Afterschool Arts. The children are having a fantastic time and it is a great way for your child to spend the afternoon. This week, on Monday, the children baked cookies, on Tuesday, in Science Club, the boys and girls collected leaves and made leaf rubbings, on Wednesday, they made an art project of Elmo going to the Shabbat Dinner, on Thursday, the boys and girls rode scooters and played running games, and on Friday, the children celebrated Shabbat with songs, movement, and blessings.

In November, we will close at 12:30 PM on Wednesday, November 24. There will be no Afterschool Arts Club on that day. The Playschool will be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 25 and Friday, November 26.

In looking forward, please mark your calendars for the Hanukkah Happening and Playschool Open House on Sunday, December 5 from 11 AM to 1 PM. More information will be forthcoming soon.

Have a great weekend! Next week, we will learn letter N.

Miss Gloria, Miss Chloe, Miss Julia, Miss Mindy, and Mr. Noah
Friday is Grandparent’s and Special Friend’s Day. All guests will have the opportunity to spend time with the children during playtime. Following playtime, the boys and girls will participate in circle time and calendar activities. All of the children in the Playschool and their guests will celebrate Shabbat together with songs, movement, and blessings. We will read What Grandmas Can’t Do by Douglas Wood and My Grandpa is Great by Betty Root. For our art project, the children will do paper weaving with green paper and felt.

News From Miss Gloria's Class

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Friday, October 8, 2010 LETTER OF THE WEEK: P

On Monday, we read The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall. This book follows the growth of an apple tree throughout the seasons. In the fall, the apples on the tree are used to make a delicious apple pie. For our art project, the boys and girls painted murals that will be used for our fall bulletin board. Four murals, brown, orange, red, and a handprint mural, were created. Each was used to make a fall scene for our classroom. We reviewed these letter T words: tree, turtle, tiger, two, three, ten, tummy, tongue, teeth, toothbrush, toothpaste, and toast. As we sing each child’s name in, “The More We Get Together” during morning circle, the children can wave or make a movement to illustrate a letter T word.

On Tuesday, we read Pie in the Sky by Lois Ehlert. This colorfully illustrated book tells about the growth of a cherry tree. To make a cherry pie, ripe cherries are washed and the cherry juice, flour, sugar, and cinnamon are added together. Then the piecrust dough is mixed and the filling is poured in. After the piecrust and cherries are placed in the oven to bake, a delicious cherry pie is ready to be eaten. Our letter P art project was to decorate the letter P with purple paint, a pumpkin, a pie, and a picnic basket. We learned these letter P words: pumpkin, pie, pizza, puzzle, pony, pig, puppy, pink, purple, pickle, and pretzel.

On Wednesday, the journal group drew pictures of fall leaves for their page. The children in the story group read Nuts to You by Lois Ehlert. This book is about a squirrel that sneaks inside a window of an apartment building and how a nutty solution gets the squirrel to come out. In yoga class, Miss Kim asked the children to name their favorite place to go on vacation as they practiced yoga breathing. They played “Red Light, Yoga Light” and slithered like snakes, crawled like dogs, and jumped like frogs. For the imaginary yoga trip, the boys and girls traveled by boat to the mountains.

On Thursday, we read Old Bear’s Surprise Painting by Jane Hissey. In this book, Old Bear and his friends paint patterns of wiggly lines, dots, and stripes to create one exciting painting. For our art project, the children began to paint on canvases for their Art Exhibit display. All of the paintings will be hung in the Spruce Street lobby for the Shabbat Dinner. On that evening, all guests will have the opportunity to view and purchase the art as it will be presented as a fund-raiser for the Playschool.

On Friday, we read Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. This picture story follows Harold as he draws himself in some fun-filled adventures. Every Friday, all of the boys and girls celebrate Shabbat together. Miss Terri and Mr. Noah lead the children in Shabbat songs, dance, movement, and the blessings for the candles, wine (grape juice), and challah. On Friday, the boys and girls continued to work on their canvas paintings.

Thank you to Cobrin, Max, Sofia, Samantha, and Jack for being our super “kids of the day” this week.
As a reminder, the Playschool will be closed on Monday, October 11 for Columbus Day.

On Tuesday, October 19, we will be going to The Philadelphia Museum of Art. 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. The cost is $12.00 per person. Please let us know by Friday, October 15 if your child will be attending.

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. Please return the “Save the Date/Request for Info” note as soon as possible so that we can mail invitations to Grandparents and Special Friends for this event.

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. On Monday, the children made pizzas, on Tuesday, the children made an aquarium scene with a spongy fish, on Wednesday, they made unique cats after reading Have you seen my cat? by Eric Carle, on Thursday, they had fun doing aerobics, and on Friday, the boys and girls sang Shabbat and fall songs. 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 R. Have a great weekend! See you on Tuesday.
Miss Gloria, Miss Chloe, Miss Julia, Miss Mindy, Mr. Noah

A Note From Our Playschool Committee

Hi Playschool Parents,

I haven't met many of you because I wasn't at the Parent Meeting -- we just had a baby on August 17. My other son, Jeremy, is in Miss Terri's M/W/F class. Lisa, Susan, and I are very excited about the upcoming year. I am technically on leave as the chair/co-chair of the committee for a bit, but I'm not totally out of commission!

We had a great idea for an ongoing fundraiser that should prove rather useful -- fabulous, waterproof name labels that stick onto all sorts of things (coats, shoes, cups, etc.) from a company called Name Bubbles. Every time we make a purchase through our special link: http://www.namebubbles.com/fundraising/SocietyHill.html, the Playschool gets 15% back. I bought some for Jeremy for camp and am very happy with the product. So, please buy some labels and feel free to tell your non-playschool friends, too.

Remember to use our special link, though, or the sale won't be traced back to us. Thanks!!

Look forward to meeting you!

Laurel Landau