Helpfulness and Chanukah

Hello Peach Room Families!

This week we focused on recognizing and fostering helpfulness in our young friends. They worked on helping each other as well as helping their Morahs.

Leah helped her friends get their lunchboxes and water bottles from the cupboard. Guy helped clean up and keep our classroom in order. Caleb helped by feeding our pet tortoises and being a good listener. Ronan helped his friends and Morahs with making latkes. Angie helped push our water cart in after playing outside and staying quiet during rest time so that her friends could sleep even though she was done sleeping. Shyli helped finish "lighting" our tape menorah for our last day/night of Chanukah! Morahs helped by recognizing and acknowledging helping words and actions and encourage friends hopefully repeat them.

We love reading their Mitzvah notes from home each morning during davening. We celebrate these accomplishments with them, no matter how big or small. Specific praise from loved ones is so important to our children's developing confidence and positive self-awareness. They really enjoy the ritual of placing their mitzvah note in the mitzvah box and having everyone sing to them. It really sets the tone for the day to find something positive they have done (yes, even and especially on those rough mornings where nothing seemed to go right). It also helps them generalize desired behaviors between home and school. How does your child help you at home? Try to observe your child and "catch them in the act" of doing positive, praise-worthy things. Tell them how much you appreciate them!

Our big project this week as we finished learning and celebrating about Chanukah, was making latkes. The children washed and peeled potatoes in our sensory table. They took turns helping to grate the potatoes and add the other ingredients. They also took turns mixing and scooping them onto a baking sheet. They were amazing little cooks, we were so impressed! Then we all enjoyed tasting our hard work! Do you enjoy preparing food at home with your children? Working in the kitchen with your together is a fun way to build all sorts of skills and confidence. There is even a tangible and hopefully delicious outcome. When children are involved in preparing the food they eat, it can encourage healthy habits because they are invested in the process.  If you have some extra time and an extra dose of patience, it can be a truly rewarding experience. We encourage you to try it over the break. They may surprise you!

We wish you all a safe and happy Winter Break. Thank you for sharing your children with us!

Morah Ora and Morah Lindsey

Peach Room Wishlist:
-paper plates
-bottled water for the children
-plastic spoons
-plastic grocery bags (for dirty diapers and clothing)
-Clorox Wipes

Happy Chanukah!

We are so happy to have all of our friends healthy and back with us this week! This has been a week full of music and celebration in our room. The children are singing and dancing to "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Oh Chanukah". We are marking each day of the festival of lights by having a different child pretend to be the shamash candle and "light" our tape menorah by adding a piece of colored tape. We also finished our special Chanukah project and sent it home- so hopefully you all received the handmade menorahs your children created in class.

Our explorations continued this week with olives and olive oil. The children have been smashing olives to make oil as well as tasting them. Shyli has decided that she actually does like them and Ronan was a fan as well. Angie still does not like the taste at all. And a project that captured all of the children's attention and interest was creating olive oil lava lamps. They loved pouring water, oil and liquid water color into their bottles and watching what happened. They were enjoying it so much that we decided to have them add beads to their lamps and then they explored how they looked on our light table when they were turned over, shaken and left alone for the oil to separate fully and rest at the top.

Another fun art and sensorial experience this week was a group art project using their feet and paint. There was a lot of laughter and excitement and careful dancing because it was so slippery! We have moved our latke cooking into our kitchen area and added a dreidel chair that spins for fun gross motor play. Leah and Guy and Shyli couldn't get enough time spinning like dreidels. Caleb was observing them thoughtfully and decided he wanted to give it a try. It was good experience in turn taking. Children love swinging and spinning and it is important to their vestibular development for their sense of balance. And it really is just fun!

We are excited to see everyone at Dreidels for Dads Friday morning from 9-10am. Happy Chanukah!

Morah Ora and Morah Lindsey

Chanukah Preparations

We have had a busy week despite some of our friends being out due to sickness. We miss them and hope they feel better soon so they can come back to play with us! With the cooler temperatures we have enjoyed a few extra minutes of time spent in our beautiful outdoor environment which has meant that Angie has been able to join us briefly on the playground. We used dreidels to paint with and the children loved to watch the designs they created as they spun around on the paper with the paints. We are working on a special Chanukah project as a surprise for our families!

In the classroom we have been using our lightbox with a menorah and also for building with the transparent magnatiles. We have some fun activities planned for next week using oil with the lightbox as well.

We created a giant "frying pan" out of our ball pool that we have been using to "fry" our paper latkes with oil. The children are all getting quite skilled at flipping them! They enjoyed  how slippery the oil makes the latkes. We talked about how potatoes grow in the dirt in the ground and so we have to get them clean before we cook with them. We washed them in the sensory table with soap and water in preparation for making real latkes next week.

The children also explored candle wax through fine motor play with candles and our menorah. We used real candles and they have been practicing placing all eight candles in the menorah as well as the shamash candle. We counted the candles and did some sorting by color and broken vs. non-broken. We saved all of our broken candles from this work and the children created a group collage on canvas using candles and bits of wax and wick.

We also taste tested olives and talked about how we use the oil from olives for cooking but also to light the menorah during Chanukah. Their reactions were quite funny! Guy and Leah both really enjoyed the taste of olives. It was not Shyli's favorite...maybe a bit too salty. We will have Caleb and Angie try them today and Ronan when he returns to us, hopefully next week! Enjoy your weekend and thank you for your children, they are such a gift!

Morah Ora and Morah Lindsey

Introduction to Chanukah

All of our friends were happy to be back this week after our Thanksgiving break. They were excited to see each other, with big hugs and even some kisses. Some of our older friends helped our younger friends remember our routines this week. Angie is with us for lunch and nap everyday and has the best smile to greet her friends when she arrives. They are always happy to see her!

This week we began to introduce Chanukah through storybooks. The words and concepts we are working on with the children are Chanukah, Menorah and Dreidel. Guy said, "Menorah" and Caleb said, "Chanukah" very clearly. We are noticing many exciting language developments in all of the children.

Morah Ora created a Menorah on our floor using tape. The children will be using this "walk the line" - a fun gross motor activity targeting body awareness, motor planning, balance, coordination and listening skills. We will also use our tape Menorah to mark each day of Chanukah by adding tape candles and flames.

We worked on creating our first Chanukah decorations. You can see them displayed over our doorway as you enter the classroom. Shyli loved using the paint dotters on her project. Leah and Ronan both enjoyed using the markers as they continue to develop their grasp. Guy used so many stickers on his project as he enjoyed peeling and placing them in layers.

Looking forward to next week when we will begin making our own Menorahs!

Shabbat Shalom,
Morah Ora and Morah Lindsey

Thanksgiving Preparations

We had a very busy week in the peach room! We continued to practice being thankful by using our mitzvah hands, feet and mouths. We said thank you to Hashem for everything around us. Guy said, "Toda!" or "thank you!" in Hebrew. Caleb said, "Thank you Mommy, thank you Daddy, thank you Zarina!". Shyli and Angie both blew kisses when we talked about being thankful for our families. Ronan is adjusting beautifully and he is such a welcome addition to the class. He is becoming more comfortable each day he spends with us and we are so happy to have him!

We took a nature walk to enjoy all that Hashem has created.  The children collected  leaves and flowers. We even collected some sand and small rocks. The children worked hard creating special Thanksgiving cards for loved ones and they used the items they collected on our nature walk to create a collage for our families.

We continued pumpkin exploration. We have been using pumpkins to hammer and to practice pushing and pulling golf tees, so we had already discovered they have quite a tough shell. Morah Ora cut one of the pumpkins open for the children to explore what was inside. We scooped out the seeds and enjoyed squishing and touching them.

We used our sense of smell by creating a scent collage using spices. We talked about how we use spices to cook with and the children really enjoyed this activity. Guy liked all of the spices. Leah preferred the cumin. Caleb really liked the garlic and Shyli loved the paprika (both the smell and the color). Our room smelled so good!

We hope you will all join us for the Thanksgiving Lunch next Wednesday beginning at 11:30am. As always, thank you for entrusting your children to us. We are so grateful for them!

Thanksgiving and kindness

Dear Parents 
It was a pleasure having parents teacher conferences with you and to getting to know your child more.

With Thanksgiving coming up we learned all about being appreciative and thankful to
everybody.  During davening time we sing a song about how thankful we are to Hashem for everything he gives us. "Thank you Hashem for giving me my mommy.  Thank you Hashem for giving my daddy.  Thank you Hashem for all my friends.  Thank you, thank you Hashem."

At story time we read books about Mitzvah feet, Mitzvah hands, Mitzvah mouth and we discuss how thankful we are for our feet, hands, and mouth.

                           Exploring Pumpkins.

This week we set out pumpkins, wooden mallets, and many golf tees.  The friends really enjoyed this activity and they were very successful at pounding the tees into the pumpkins-they had to hit the tees very hard because pumpkins are very hard!

Next week we will be learning much more about Thanksgiving.

We would like to welcome a new sweet boy to our peach room, Ronan. We are so happy to have you in our class room. 

We also said good bye to Morah Courtney this week, and welcomed Morah Lindsey to our class.  We are looking forward to a wonderful year together!

Shabbat shalom!
Morah Ora and Morah Lindsey .

Gross and Fine Motor Fun!

This week the Peach Room loved exploring new things outside! With the weather cooling down, we were able to explore so many new areas. Some things our friends enjoyed included digging in new areas, climbing in tires, balancing on the beam, and playing with Morahs in hula-hoops! All these activities are great at developing our gross motor skills. These skills help our friends run, climb, catch a ball, etc. We are loving our outdoor play!

Inside the classroom we are working on fine motor skills and manipulating different objects. We had a few stations for each friend to visit if they chose to go there. Leah matched colors in the peg holder, Guy used his counting practice to place pegs in the wooden number boards, Caleb used his hand-eye coordination to put different sized rings on a peg, and Shyli also used her fine motor skills to place corks inside a cut pool noodle! All of these objects and activities are great and stimulating for our friends.

Thank you for another great and exciting week in the Peach Room.  We are so happy to have Morah Ora back!

-Morah Ora and Morah Courtney

A Wonderful Week in the Peach Room!

This week we explored all sorts of objects around our classroom! Our friends had a blast going in and out of the tunnel in our classroom. The peach room even turned the tunnel into a place to drive cars! A simple box is such a fun way to explore open ended imaginative fun!



Another item we explored this week was the manipulative boxes fastened with all sorts of locks. Our friends had to use their fine motor skills to open up each different box. Inside they found a fun surprise! The boxes were filled with cylinder pieces that they could take in and out. This took a lot of patience!



Lastly, our friends worked on a new puzzle! There were animals cut into two pieces and placed on two different blocks. We had to problem solve and find the matching half of the animal. There was a lot of team work going on inside the Peach Room during this new task!

Wishing you a wonderful Shabbat and weekend with your family!
Morah Ora, Morah Courtney, and Morah Sydney

Noahs Ark and Animal Exploration

Dear  parents

Welcome back after high holidays, we are happy to see each other and be back on our regular routine.

Routines and Schedules

Our  friends  are  growing  up  and  developing  new  skills  everyday.  When  we  start  to  sing  the  clean  up  song  our  friends  right  away  know  to  put  the  toys  back  where  they  belong!  Then  we  start  to  sing  the  choo  choo  train song and our  friends  already  know  to  sit  down,  and  wait  for  the  Morah  to start  davening  with  them.  They  know that before  we  eat  snack  or  lunch we need to wash hands with soap.  Our  friends  know  when  it's  time  to  go  outside that we  should  put  our shoes  back  on.  When  they  see  there  cots  ready  for  them,  they  know  its  time  to  nap.   Creating a predictable routine is so important for children, and helps them know what to expect in their environment.  Feel free to look at our visual pictorial schedule hanging up outside of our classroom!


                                                           Noah's Ark

 This  week  Morah  Ora  made  a  make-shift  ark  out  of  cardboard  boxes  to  teach   our  friends
about  Noah's Ark  and  we  would  go  inside  and  pretend  we  are  floating  through  the  waves .

                                                             
                                                              Animals

We  enjoyed  learning  about  animals  and  the  sounds  they  make . Caleb excitedly repeated  every sound  Morah   made.  Shyli, Guy and  Leah  really  liked  the  animal  matching  puzzles.  Our  friends  use stamp pads to stamp animals and to explore  their foot prints .  After  learning  about  animals  we  were  ready  for  our  petting  zoo.  We  saw  different  kinds  of  animals  at  our  petting  zoo (ducks,  chickens, llamas and goats)  The  children  loved  playing  with  the  animals. They  were  all  curious  and  gentle.  Caleb  brushed  some  of  the animals. Shyli  loved  touching  and  talking  to  every  animal. Guy  loved  to  look  at  all  the  animals.

Next week we will continue learning even more about different types of animals!

Shabbat shalom
Morah Ora and Morah Courtney

Yom Kippur

Dear Parents

This week we brought another fun activity in to the classroom.  SHOES! Our friends practiced how to put their shoes on and off with a shoe horn.  I can say it was a big hit. We all concentrated very hard in order to learn how do this by themselves.

                                    YOM KIPUR

This week we learned about another high holiday: YOM KIPPUR.

We heard the story about Yona and the whale and we spoke about how to use our gentile hands, and use them for mitzvahs. We are working hard to practice saying Please, Thank you, and Sorry. 

                                                     Class project .
Every day we do a wonderful mitzvah in our classroom of giving tzedakah.  Our friend decorated therir own tzedakah boxes to take home and fill with lots of pennies.

The friends chose stickers from all the materials we had on the table and decorated their own tzedakah boxes.

Next week we are going to explore the upcoming high holiday of Sukkot and Simchat Torah.


Wishing you a wonderful Shabbat and Yom Kippur!
Morah Ora and Morah Courtney

Rosh Hashana Apple Tasting, Cards, and More!

Everyday our morning begins with manipulative activities for our friends to practice their fine motor skills as well as hand eye coordination.
Leah and Guy like to drop big plastic buttons into containers and listen to the sounds of the buttons hitting the container.
Shyli likes to practice her skills on the sensory boxes, she likes to open and close them.
Caleb really likes to play with puzzles and he is ready to use his skills for more complex puzzles.
Angie enjoys dropping balls in our box with holes.

                                          ROSH HASHANA is around the corner!
This week we used our sense of taste by trying a sweet and sour apple.
The next day we dipped the apples into honey and we learned a song.

"Apples, apples
honey, honey
it's so yummy
in my tummy"

This week we also made Shana Tova cards for our loving grandparents.  We had so much fun using our apple stamps that we made from real apples to decorate the cards.

 A big thanks to Rabbi Tzvi for coming and blowing the shofar every day.  We love to hear the sounds of the shofar and we cant wait until Rosh Hashana is finally here!

Next week we will continue to explore Rosh Hashana and bake honey challah for our friends to enjoy over Rosh Hashana.

 I would like to wish everyone a Happy Sweet New Year.
Shana Tova!
Morah Ora

 

 

PS Please find lots more pictures from this week on our CJP Family Facebook Group!

Exploring Rosh Hashana

This week we started exploring Rosh Hashana.We began by reading "Rosh Hashana is coming "
and we took turns blowing the Shofar and singing a song about it!

The words of the song are to the tune of 'The Wheels on the Bus':
"The Shofar in the Shul goes toot-toot-toot
toot-toot-toot   toot-toot-toot
The Shofar in the Shul goes toot-toot-toot
on Rosh Hashana morning."

We also created decorations for our classroom to bring in the Rosh Hashana spirit.
We used paint stamps to decorate our apple tree, Shyli enjoyed stamping paint and choosing all the colors that we had on the table.  Morah Orah turn our apple tree into sticky wall for us to stick apples on to.  Caleb was focused on sticking apples on to the tree and counting them.

Another activity we did was matching apple cards.  Leah loved to find the apples that looked the same and she would play this game for a while .

We also used markers to color Rosh Hashana symbols.  While our friends colored them Morah Ora explain why we dip apples in the honey and why we listen to the sound of the shofar.

In our sensory table this week we enjoyed washing apples for Rosh Hashana and practicing the bracha Ha-etz before we eat the apples.

We are so excited to welcome our new friend Guy to our classroom! Our friend Angie from the infant room had a birthday this week so she will be joining our class starting Monday! We are so happy to have you in our class.

We are also excited that Morah Courtney has joined our classroom in the mornings on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays!

Looking forward to exploring more about Rosh Hashana next week!

Morah Ora

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Our New Friend Truck!

DEAR PARENTS,

THIS WEEK IN THE PEACH ROOM WE WERE WORKING ON OUR FINE MOTOR SKILLS.



PEELED WOODEN STICKS



LAST WEEK IN THE CLASSROOM WE NOTICED THAT SOME OF OUR FRIENDS WERE VERY EXCITED TO PEEL THE TAPED LABELS OFF OF THE SHELVES.  AFTER NOTICING THIS, MORAH ORA TAPED STICKS DOWN TO THE FLOOR FOR THE CHILDREN TO PEEL OFF.  EVERYONE LOVED THIS ACTIVITY! 





NUMBERS



CALEB AND LEAH WORKED ON THEIR NUMBERS BY PUTTING THEIR FINGERS INTO THE HOLES, AND FEELING HOW MANY HOLES ARE IN EACH DOMINO.  THEY WOULD THEN COUNT OUT THE PEG AND PUT THEM IN THE HOLES.



SENSORY EXPLORATION

THIS WEEK WE HAD LENTILS AND RICE WITH FUNNELS AND MEASURING CUPS.  OUR FRIENDS ENJOYED
SCOOPING AND POURING THE MATERIALS INTO THE MEASURING CUPS.


ART


WE USED OUR FINGERS TO SQUISH THE PAINT THROUGH THE SARAN WRAP.  AFTER WE FINISHED MIXING THE COLORS CALEB FINISHED OFF THE PAINTING USING A PAINT BRUSH.



NEW PET TORTOISE


OUR FRIENDS WERE INTRODUCED TO ANOTHER CLASSROOM PET, SINCE WE LOVE TAKING CARE OF THE ANIMALS!
MORAH ASKED CALAB : HOW SHOULD WE NAME HIM? CALEB DECIDED 'TRUCK' WOULD BE A GOOD NAME.
EVERY MORNING OUR FRIENDS COULD NOT WAIT TO FEED HIM AND PLAY WITH HIM.  

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PACK SOME LETTUCE FOR OUR LITTLE FRIEND TRUCK!



HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND AND SHABBAT SHALOM

MORAH ORA

First Week of School!

Welcome to the Peach Room!

Our friends are continuing exploring our classroom and all of the new materials.  This year we have an art center, and Caleb is very interested in the chalk board.  He has been practicing writing 'C' the first letter of his name!

Shyli particularly enjoys the circle time area where we have a big wall maze. She also enjoys climbing in our new Toddler Loft.  Angie has been trying so hard to balance her body on the ramp/ slide.

 

Leah loves to spend her time in library area, where we have lots of cozy pillows and different types of books.

Of course, we can't forget our class room pets: a bird name Lemon and a beta fish named Mr Fishy. We love to feed them every morning.

Looking forward to exploring the kitchen, sensory table and outdoor area next week!

Have a wonderful Shabbat!

Morah Ora