News from Miss Gloria's Class: 10/16/09

Friday, October 16, 2009 Letter of the Week: D

On Tuesday, we began learning Letter D and preparing for our Shabbat Dinner. The boys and girls told us some D words such as daddy, dinosaur, dig, dirt, dance, dinner, day, and duck. As we sang "The More We Get Together", the children made a letter D movement or they waved as we sang their names. After participating in circle time, the children enjoy looking at the calendar, counting the days, naming the month, finding the weather picture, reading the poem, and of course, selecting an outfit for the Weather Bear. We read Circle Dogs by Kevin Henkes. This book goes through the daily events of two dogs that bend their bodies like circles. For our letter D art project, the children decorated the letter D with a candle, a kiddush cup, and a challah for our Shabbat Dinner. They also used a Q-tip to paint dots onto the letter D.

On Wednesday, one group of children read Only in Dreams by Paul Frank. In this book, Julius loves bedtime because, when he dreams, he can do anything he imagines. The other group of children made entries in their journals. In looking ahead to the upcoming Shabbat Dinner, the boys and girls used markers to color candles and a kiddush cup. For Shabbat, first, we light the candles, then we drink the wine, and then, we eat the challah. In yoga, Miss Kim asked the children to imagine what person or animal they would like to be, if they could choose. We played the dog and snake yoga game where the "snakes" crawled under the "dogs". The children took an imaginary yoga trip to a farm to pick pumpkins.

On Thursday, we read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. No matter what Alexander did, his day did not go right. His day was one disappointment after another, beginning with finding gum in his hair when he awoke and ending with his cat not wanting to sleep with him at bedtime. For our art project, the boys and girls made gifts that they will present to their grandparents and special friends next week.

On Friday, 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 children made shampoo dough.

*Thank you to Lily, Lane, Michael, and Max for being our super "kids of the day" this week. Please return the flyer for Grandparents/Special Friends Day as soon as possible so that we will know the names and addresses of our guests. They will be mailed an invitation to attend our Playschool event which will take place on Friday morning, October 23. We will show grandparents and special friends how the children play together, what we do during circle time and calendar time, and we will celebrate Shabbat together. All children and their grandparents or special friends are invited to attend even if Friday is not their usual day to come to school.

*The Fall Shabbat Dinner and Art Exhibit will be held on Friday evening, October 23 from 5:30 - 7:00 PM (Please note the time change!). We will begin the evening with our Art Exhibit Opening Reception. At that time, you will be able to view ceramic tiles created by all of the Playschool children. Please let us know if your family will be attending the dinner by indicating on the sign-up sheet, on our classroom door, what you will be bringing..

*Our first trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art will take place on Tuesday, November 10. All children and parents are invited to attend. The flyer will be given out next week.

*Please sign-up for Afterschool Arts Clubs. It's a great way for children to extend their day in the Playschool. Each day, we focus on a featured activity. Monday is Cooking Club, Tuesday is Science Club, Wednesday is Art, Thursday is Movement, and Friday is Music Club. Please have your child give it a try!

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

Miss Gloria, Miss Allison, Miss Sophie, Miss Mindy and Mr. Noah

News From Ms. Terri's Class 10/13/09

Hi Moms, Dads and Special Grown-ups,

Miss Julia and I think that almost all of are friends are completely seettled in at Pre-school. We have had several tear-free days and the children seem to be enjoying all of the activities throughout the day.

We have been very busy with the beginning of the Alphabet.
A few weeks ago we made letter A.
We were eating lots of "apples" for Rosh Hashannah and painted the letter A, adding asparagus and ants! We were still having shorter days and weren't really quite sitting for story time yet.

By the time we got to letter B, the children were all excited about the books we were reading. We were talking about the color blue and the sky. We made big-blue-B's, painted like a cloudy sky. We read Charles G. Shaw's It Looked Like Spilt Milk. The children did a great job recognizing the shapes that the clouds made and making animal sounds. We even had a friend in the Puppy Class whose name began with letter B, Brendan! Each time we do a letter we try to figure out if we have any friend's whose names begin with that letter. We put a picture of that friend on the letter. For lower case b we read Lois Ehlert's Waiting for Wings. Who doesn't love butterflies!?! We painted some beautiful Monarch butterflies and talked about how butterflies wings were exactly the same on either side. We also learned a little song during circle time.

(Twinkle-Twinkle Tune, repeat 3x )

Butterfly up in the sky

Tell me, tell me

Where you'll fly...

After singing, we asked the children to tell us where they would fly. Popular destinations were to my Mommy and Daddy, 3 Bears Park, the Zoo, Johnny Rockets and Florida! Continuing with our cloudy sky theme, we read Little Cloud by Eric Carle. (Remember how we feel about butterflies? We feel the same about Eric Carle and Lois Ehlert!) The children painted cloudy skies on some ceramic tiles. You will get to see them on display at our Fall Shabbat Dinner!!! We also had a super tactile cloud-making activity. We mixed up a slurry of corn starch and water and poured it on our blue table. We were able to make lots of cloud shapes, like the ones we saw in the books we read.

This week we are excited to begin letter C. We are going to read Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Catterpillar and Have You Seen My Cat? We are going to make capital-catterpillar C's and we will paint some cool cats for lower case c.

Please look for a letter about our Fall Shabbat Dinner. They are going out today. There is also info on this blog just below! There is a sign up sheet in the hall way. You will find it hanging over the children's coat hooks. We hope you can all attend this joyful event.

Warm regards,

Ms. Terri and Ms. Julia

FALL SHABBAT DINNER: OCTOBER 23, 2009, 5:30-7:00PM

ATTENTION: TO ALL PLAYSCHOOL FAMILIES!!!

Families of our Playschool students are warmly invited to join together for a very special Shabbat celebration on Friday, October 23. A potluck dairy meal will be provided by our Playschool families. There will be a sign-up sheet posted in your child's classroom next week to indicate what you will be bringing.

In addition, we will be having an Art Exhibit Opening Reception before the Shabbat Dinner. The children have created unique and fanciful ceramic tiles that may be used as a wall hanging or a trivet. The tiles will be on exhibit for a limited time only and are presented as a fund-raiser for the Playschool.

More information will be forthcoming next week when the children return to the Playschool. Please mark your calendars for Friday, October 23. We hope to see everyone there!

News from Miss Gloria's Class: 10/9/09

Friday, October 9, 2009 Letter of the Week:T

On Monday, 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. The boys and girls used their creative talents to paint on ceramic tiles for our upcoming Art Exhibit to be held on Friday evening, October 23 during our Fall Shabbat Dinner. As you will soon see, their art is quite expressive.

On Tuesday, one group of children read A Tree for Me by Nancy Van Laan. In this rhyming book, a child finds that one owl, two possums, three worms, four squirrels, and five spiders all make their homes in trees. The other group of children read One, Two, Tree! by Anushka Ravishankar. In this number book, a tree keeps growing as more and more animals make their homes in it. For our letter T art project, the children decorated the letter T, using turquoise paint, for Simchat Torah, a joyous holiday that celebrates the Torah. We learned the words Torah, Tuesday, tiles, tree, two, three, tiger, teeth, tongue, tummy, and toes.

On Wednesday, a group of children read a book about the adventures of Clifford, the dog, in Clifford's First Autumn by Norman Bridwell. The other group made an entry in their journals by coloring fall leaves. In yoga, Miss Kim asked the children to name their favorite food that grows in the ground as they practiced yoga breathing. They played "Yoga Simon Says", too. Their imaginary trip was to visit a farm and travel by hayride. At the end of each class, the children put their hands together and say "Namaste" to their friends to show that they had fun participating in the yoga poses.

On Thursday, we read Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. Where does a Leaf Man go when the wind blows? In reading the story, we find out that Leaf Man just follows the wind. For our art project, the children painted murals for our classroom bulletin board. Red, orange, yellow, and green paints were used to make the leaves of a fall tree and darker paints of brown and blue were used for the tree's trunk.

On Friday, we read Sammy Spider's First Shabbat by Sylvia A. Rouss. Sammy Spider observes how the Shapiro family celebrates Shabbat. For our art project, the children made flags for Simchat Torah. On this holiday, we wave flags and sing happy songs. The Torah is a gift to the Jewish people.

*Thank you to Tommy, Max, Jonah L., Maya, and Avery for being our super "kids of the day" this week. Please return the flyer for Grandparents/Special Friends Day as soon as possible so that we will know the names and addresses of our guests. They will be mailed an invitation to attend our Playschool event which will take place on Friday morning, October 23. We will show grandparents and special friends how the children play together, what we do during circle time and calendar time, and we will celebrate Shabbat together. All children and their grandparents or special friends are invited to attend even if Friday is not their usual day to come to school.
*The Fall Shabbat Dinner and Art Exhibit will be held on Friday evening, October 23 from 5:45 - 7:15 PM. You will be receiving more information pertaining to the details of the dinner and art exhibit soon.
*Our first trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art will take place on Tuesday, November 10. All children and parents are invited to attend. More information will be coming soon.
*Please sign-up for Afterschool Arts Clubs. It's a great way for children to extend their day in the Playschool. Each day, we focus on a featured activity. Monday is Cooking Club, Tuesday is Science Club, Wednesday is Art, Thursday is Movement, and Friday is Music Club. Please have your child give it a try!
*Jackets are missing!! Please check to make sure that you have not mistakenly taken home another child's jacket. All outerwear must be labeled with your child's name.
*The Playschool will be closed on Monday, October 12 for Columbus Day. Have a great weekend!

Miss Gloria, Miss Allison, Miss Sophie, Miss Mindy and Mr. Noah

Ms. Terri's Friends: 2009-2010

Hi Moms, Dads and Special Grown-Ups,
Our first few weeks of school are going beautifully!
Click on the image below and see friends from Ms. Terri's Kitten and Puppy Classes and a few friends from After School Arts!

Miss Terri's Friends: 2009-2010

News from Miss Gloria's Class: 10/02/09

Friday, October 2, 2009 Letter of the Week: F

On Tuesday, we began learning letter F. We learned some F words like, fall, feather, face, forehead, feet, fingers, four, five, and friends. During circle when we sang "The More We Get Together", the boys and girls made funny faces or waved when we sang their names. 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 letter F project, the children used a feather to paint the letter in fall colors. On the F, they placed leaves and an acorn. We learned a new fall song called, "The Leaves of the Trees".

On Wednesday, one group of children read Fall Leaves Fall! by Zoe Hall. In this book, we can read about how much fun it is to play in the leaves, how we can collect leaves, and how colorful leaves are. The other group of children made their first entry in their journals. For fall, the children used markers to make colorful leaves. In yoga, Miss Kim asked the children to name their favorite animal as they practiced yoga breathing. The boys and girls learned how to play "Red Light, Green Light" as they posed as animals. The imaginary yoga trip was to go to the woods. The children pretended to ride their bikes to the woods and they posed as lions, snakes, frogs, and bears.

On Thursday, we read It's Sukkah Time! by Latifa Berry Kropf. This book is filled with photograhs of children making and decorating a classroom sukkah. For our art project, the boys and girls made a paper chain to hang in the SHS sukkah. After the Jews escaped slavery in Egypt, they wandered through the desert as they waited for the Ten Commandments. Because they wandered from place to place, they lived in temporary homes, or booths, called sukkot (one is a sukkah). Jewish families build sukkot to give thanks for the harvest and for the goodness of the earth. We decorate the sukkah with fruits and vegetables associated with the harvest. The sukkah has walls of bamboo poles or canvas and a loose roof of evergreen or palm branches. The covering of the roof should allow for shade during the day, but open enough for the stars to be seen at night. You can visit our synagogue sukkah which is located behind the building.

On Friday, we read Sammy Spider's First Sukkot by Sylvia A. Rouss. In this book, Sammy Spider learns about the holiday of Sukkot and observes how the Shapiro family builds a sukkah. For our art project, the boys and girls made their own sukkah using craft sticks and photos of fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

*Thank you to Simon, Jake M., Jordana, and Leila for being our super "kids of the day" this week. Please return the flyer for Grandparents/Special Friends Day as soon as possible so that we will know the names and addresses of our guests. They will be mailed an invitation to attend our Playschool event which will take place on Friday morning, October 23. We will show grandparents and special friends how the children play together, what we do during circle time and calendar time, and we will celebrate Shabbat together. All children and their grandparents or special friends are invited to attend even if Friday is not their usual day to come to school.

*The Fall Shabbat Dinner and Art Exhibit will be held on Friday evening, October 23 from 5:45 - 7:15 PM. You will be receiving more information pertaining to the details of the dinner and art exhibit soon.

*Our first trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art will take place on Tuesday, November 10. All children and parents are invited to attend. More information will be coming soon.

*Please sign-up for Afterschool Arts Clubs. It's a great way for children to extend their day in the Playschool. Each day, we focus on a featured activity. Monday is Cooking Club, Tuesday is Science Club, Wednesday is Art, Thursday is Movement, and Friday is Music Club. Please have your child give it a try!

*Have a great weekend! See you on Monday!

Miss Gloria, Miss Allison, Miss Sophie, Miss Mindy and Mr. Noah

The News In Pre-K week of Sept 21st and Sept 28..

The past two weeks in Pre-K have been so much fun! The children are really settling into our routine and love the responsibility of their jobs and their folders!





Last week in school we continued our unit on Healthy Living and talked about Yom Kippur and learned "All About Us!"





The children made a super hand washing project, and we even used some tissues for our lesson on sneezing! We also created beautiful tee-shirts where we got to use rollers and paint all over it. We made a shofar for Yom Kippur and decorated it with foam and tissue paper! We practiced blowing it and did an excellent job!





Thank you to our Royal Reader last week, Sharri Horowitz!








During week of September 28th our unit was Fall!





We went on a leaf hunt outside, then used our leaves for a beautiful collage. We talked about all of the different colors of Fall, and what is different about the weather. We also talked about clothing we wear in Fall weather and what special holidays happen during the Fall!





The kids also had a fun time illustrating pictures of what they like to do in the Fall. They also explained the picture to me. Check them out around our classroom, they look great!!





We made a super, silly apple puppet, which the children absolutely loved!!





On Friday, we made two sukkah's for the holiday of Sukkot. We decorated them with things that we see and eat in fall. Please take a look at our sukkah's when you are in our class.





Books We Read This Week:





Tuesday- "Leaf Man"- Lois Ehlert


Wednesday- "Fall Leaves Fall"


Thursday- "Who Stole the Apple?" - Sigrid Heuck


Friday- "Sammy Spider's First Sukkot"





Thank you to our Royal Reader this Week: Egle Vasiliauskaite!!





Next Week- Columbus Day/ Safety Week!!





FYI!!- Snack DOES NOT need to be packed for children on Friday's~!!





If you have not already, please sign up your child for our GREAT Afterschool Arts Club! It runs from 12:30-3:00pm Monday-Friday, and is a great way to extend the day and learn new things!!





Monday- Cooking





Tuesday- Science





Wednesday- Arts and Crafts





Thursday- Movement





Friday- Music





Thank you to all of our friends who have been feeding Arden, R2D2, Sally Pig! She is very happy when her tummy is full! Keep it coming!~!!





Have a nice and Healthy weekend~! =-)





Miss. Ali