Introducing Purim

Greetings Peach Room Parents,

What a wonderful and wet week we had! In addition to playing in the rain and really breaking in that new mud kitchen in our outdoor classroom, we began our exploration of Purim this week. We began by introducing the main characters of the Megillah: King Achashverosh, Queen Vashti, Haman, Queen Esther and Mordechai through finger puppets, dancing and storybooks. "Purim Masquerade" by Samara Q. Klein was a class favorite. They each got to take a turn "reading" it to us by trying on the different pages which are masks.

In dramatic play, Morah Ora created a castle and we have added more dress up clothes. They have all had great fun playing dress up and looking at themselves in the mirror inside our castle.

Our friends explored rice, lentils and beans in our sensory table this week. Using funnels and bottles, they each created a gragger or noisemaker. They added some liquid water colors to the rice and some play gems. We practices shaking our graggers to make noise whenever they hear the name Hamman.

During davening, we give tzedakah, but this week we talked about how this is one of the four mitzvos of Purim. We touched on the other three mitzvos: hearing the Megillah, sending food gifts to friends and hosting a festive meal. We will continue to explore more about Purim in the next couple of weeks.

Our friends also began work on a group art project for the Purim Art Auction. I will leave it a surprise, but I can tell you that it was exciting to see how our friends pen/pencil grasps have progressed. A big "Thank You!" to those families who have so generously donated the outdoor or water play items for our Peach Room Purim auction basket. There is still time to donate your $5-10 item if you have not already brought something to contribute. Our art project as well as this basket will be up for auction at our Purim India Celebration on Saturday March 11th. Tickets to this event are still available. We hope to see you there!

Enjoy the long weekend with your families!

Morah Ora and Morah Lindsey

Wishlist items:
Plastic Spoons
Clorox Wipes
small dixie cups or bowls
Gallons of water to refill children's water bottles