LETTER OF THE WEEK: R
Each morning, after singing “Boker Tov” and “The More We Get Together”, we talk to the children about the things that they need to know for the day. We explain the art project, we learn words that begin with the letter of the week, and we tell the children about the book that we will read during story time. The “kid of the day” gets to count the kids, first, by counting their pictures on the boards, and second, by counting the children in the circle. After counting, the “kid of the day” shows his/her Show and Tell. After circle time, all of the children look at the calendar to find out the day, date, and the weather, and the “kid of the day” dresses the Weather Bear. On Monday, we read Apples and Honey A Rosh Hashanah Story by Jonny Zucker and Jan Barger Cohen. In this book, we learned how Rosh Hashanah is celebrated in the home. For our snack today, the boys and girls ate apples dipped in honey. Traditionally, apples and honey are eaten on Rosh Hashanah for a sweet, new year. We sang, “I Dip the Apples in the Honey”. For our art project, the boys and girls made a decorative paper chain to hang in the synagogue sukkah for the holiday of Sukkot, a festival holiday in October.
On Tuesday, we learned the letter R. Some of the words that we learned were: Rosh Hashanah, red, rain, rabbit, rectangle, roar, refrigerator, rainbow, and our friends, Robert and Miss Rebecca. We read Sammy Spider’s First Rosh Hashanah by Sylvia A. Rouss. In this book, as Sammy Spider learns about celebrating Rosh Hashanah, he also learns how easy it is for him to get his eight little legs stuck in the honey. For our art project, the boys and girls decorated the letter R for Rosh Hashanah. They painted the letter R red and placed an apple, a honey pot, and the words to “I Dip the Apples in the Honey” onto the R. On Wednesday, one group of children read My Preschool by Anne Rockwell. In My Preschool, a child’s preschool experiences are very similar to the experiences of the Playschool children. This book tells how the children put their coats in cubbies, listen to stories, paint at easels, play outdoors, practice yoga, sing songs, and wait for their grown-ups to pick them up at dismissal time. The other group of children worked in their journal books. They decorated their page with coloring pictures of apples, honey, and apple stickers. In yoga, Miss Jackie asked the children to breathe as they lifted the yoga ball. Each child said their name and they named their favorite animal. The boys and girls learned animal poses today. They posed as elephants, lions, flamingos, and giraffes. At the end of class, the children relaxed as Miss Jackie gave them the “spaghetti test”. For the “spaghetti test”, Miss Jackie moves the children’s legs in a side-to-side motion to see if they are relaxed.
On Thursday, we read Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert. This book tells about trees in the four seasons. A favorite time of year is in the fall when the leaves turn red, yellow, and orange. For our art project, the boys and girls made fall mural paintings that will be used for our classroom bulletin board. We learned the song, “I’m a Nut”. On Friday, we read Nuts to You! by Lois Ehlert. This book is about a squirrel that sneaks inside an apartment window and how a nutty solution gets the squirrel to come out. For our art project, the children made squirrels for our bulletin board display. We learned the song, “Gray Squirrel”.
*Thank you to Lucia, Laura, Jared, Oliver, and Patrick for being our super “kids of the day” this week.
* Please enroll your child in Afterschool Arts. The boys and girls have so much fun cooking, experimenting in science, creating art projects, using their body in movement, and learning and singing new and familiar songs. If you know of any children who are not enrolled in the Playschool, but would like to participate in our Afterschool Arts programming, please let me know.
* As a reminder, the Playschool will be closed on Tuesday, September 27, Wednesday, September 28, Thursday, September 29, and Friday, September 30.
* The Playschool will also be closed on Friday, October 7, Monday, October 10, Thursday, October 13, Friday, October 14, and Thursday, October 20. There will be no Pre-K PM or Afterschool Arts on Wednesday, October 19.
* Please make sure that we have a good supply of diapers in your child’s cubbie, if they are not potty trained.
* In looking forward, on Friday, October 21, we will be celebrating Grandparent’s /Special Friend’s Day, the Playschool Art Exhibit, and our Fall Shabbat Dinner. Information about these family events will be sent home soon.
* Tuesday, October 25 is our first trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A flyer and parent sign-up sheet will be available soon.
Have a great weekend!
L’Shana Tovah!
Miss Gloria, Miss Michelle, Miss Mindy, Miss Polly, and Miss Rebecca
