Hip Hip Hooray! It's Penguin Day!

A morah walked through the halls and saw Gan Aleph waddling around like penguins. "What's the occasion?" she asked. "It's Penguin Day!" On Tuesday, Gan Aleph arrived at school wearing black and white and excited to celebrate all that we have learned about this fascinating animal. We began the day with a special penguin snack. The children were provided with oreo cookies, candy corn and chocolate chips and were presented with the task of building a penguin on their plates using these items. It was fun to see how different children used these items in different ways to create their penguins. Of course, the best part was when we got to eat them!

Next, we played a fun math game using jellyfish. We sat around in a circle and looked at these jellyfish swimming in the "ocean." The children were presented with different addition and subtraction problems based on these fish. For example, "6 fish were swimming in the ocean. Along came a penguin named Vicky and ate 3 fish! How many fish were left!?" Vicky ate the fish and we counted the remaining fish together.

In the afternoon, we had our very own waddle relay. The children lined up into two teams and were given a ball to hold in between their knees in order to ensure the best possible waddle! We raced back and forth in the halls and cheered each other on! It was a wonderful display of good sportsmanship and we waited to make sure everyone had a turn to waddle.

By the end of the day, our penguin bulletin board had gone up and our life-size penguins were hung next to it. The children are so proud of their work and invite you to waddle your way to our outside bulletin board to view their creativity and enthusiasm for the penguins!

The Power of Play

Abundant research affirms again and again the powerful impact of play in every area of child development: cognitive, motor, emotional, social, and language. At its best, play is child directed and open ended, giving the child limitless opportunities to manipulate and learn about the world around him/her.

Children playing with simple building materials learn to negotiate for pieces, collaborate, observe each other's work for new ideas, and learn first hand about balance, symmetry, and spatial relationships. Children like Rebecca, who pretend to read, actually learn important concepts about print and the pleasure that books can bring. Card games can teach children to take turns, sharpen focus, and build math skills.

Of course, along with growth come some bumps and challenges. A good teacher uses conflict between children to guide them toward independent problem solving, empathy, fairness, and assertiveness.

Tapping into our own sense of play can help in making sure that our children take full advantage of this special time in their lives. What did you like to play as a child? Do you remember how it made you feel? I'd love to hear your responses.

Celebrating the Birthday of the Trees in Ganon Aleph

We baked a birthday cake for the trees to celebrate Tu B'Shevat. After singing Yom Huledet Samai-ach to the trees, the children enjoyed a special tree-shaped cake decorated with pink and white marshmallows to resemble the almond trees which are now beginning to bloom in Israel. In addition, the children tasted (or observed) the seven special foods that grow in Israel. Happy Tu B'Shevat!!

Tu B'Shevat seder

On Tuesday, we held our Tu B'Shevat seder. The children tasted the seven species that are mentioned in the Torah; wheat, barley, grapes, figs, dates, olives, and pomegranate. They also had four cups of wine(grape juice). Gan Daled culminated our celebration of Tu B'Shevat with singing and dancing in honor of the trees.

Dr. Martin Luther King

In honor of Doctor Martin Luther King's birthday, we learned about the power of nonviolence. We already know that we should never hit and fight, but should use words instead. To really understand and practice this concept, the class was divided into 2 groups, the orange group and the yellow group. Each group took turns preventing the other from playing with certain toys.
The children engaged in dialogue to problem solve.What strategies do you use at home to help solve conflicts?

The March of Gan Aleph's Penguins!

Gan Aleph began exploring the fascinating world of penguins! We learned all about where penguins live, what they eat and how they surf and dive for fun! We focused on the emperor penguin, african penguin and macaroni penguin and learned what makes each penguin different from the next. We read the book If You Were a Penguin, by Wendell and Florence Minor, which we used as a springboard for writing. The children imagined themselves as penguins and wrote what they would eat, which kind of penguin they would be and even gave themselves a name. Vicky named herself "Oreo" while Matan named himself "Snow!" We then used water bottles, paint and many different materials to create our penguins... and wow, did they come to life! The children had to think about what features made their penguin different and then add that feature to their "penguin doll"(ex. the macaroni penguins have yellow hair!). Do you have any fun or interesting facts/stories that you would like to share with Gan Aleph about penguins!?

Where Did All the Birdnests Come From?

In honor of Shabbat Shira, we made bird feeders to remind us of the Midrash that tells us how the birds helped Moshe. We also made edible nests using Chinese noodles and melted chocolate and the eggs were jellybeans. Bird feeders for the birds. Chocolate nests for us. Mmm they were good.

Footprints on the Dry Land

Parshat Beshalach came to life today in Gan Gimmel!! After creating the props needed to reenact kriyat Yam Suf, the children took off their shoes and socks, stepped in a pan of paint, and watched as Moshe (Yoni Bernath) lifted his staff, split the Yam Suf, and led B'nei Yisrael out of Mitrayim. The children left footprints on the dry land as they journeyed out of Mitrayim. After the water closed up on Paroah (Ethan Badner), the girls played musical instruments and danced, just like Miriam and the women did.

Also, in connection to the parsha, the children made challah dough, watched it rise and brought home lechem mishne for shabbat! We did this after we learned about the Mann that Hashem sent down to Bnei Yisrael after leaving Egypt.

Hibernation Time for Hibernation

Ganon Bet has been learning about how animals prepare for winter! We found out that some animals hibernate, some forage for food and others migrate south where it's warm. We realized the animals that stay where it's cold need to add an extra layer of fat to stay warm! We experimented with a tray of ice. first we touched it with our bare hand, and then with a layer of Crisco in glove. Ask your child what happened! We'd love to hear what they tell you!!

Ganon Aleph Doctors Teach Us About Our Bodies

As part of our study of the human body, Dr. Horowitz (Amira's mom) came to talk to the children about their eyes. She showed us diagrams of the eyes and spoke about how to take care of them. She also reminded the children not to run around with sharp objects! On Thursday, Dr. Borgen (Ezra's dad) came to talk to us about our hearts. He showed us a heart which didn't pump properly because of a blocked artery, and then we saw Ezra's healthy heart in an ultrasound. He then explained to the children how important healthy food and exercise are for keeping our hearts healthy.

WHAT'S BLACK ,WHITE AND SMILING ALL OVER?

What's black, white and smiling all over? Gan Daled on Penguin Day! On Penguin Day the children dressed in black and white and acted like penguins waddling on ice. They pretended to be emperor penguins carrying babies on their feet. Gan Daled particularly enjoyed playing in our class igloo and making snow with insta-snow, an amazing powder that erupts into a fluffy white snow when water is added. The children also enthusiastically prepared and ate a special penguin treat made of Oreos, candy corn and raisins.

Adult penguins come in different sizes, ranging from 16 to 45 inches. We compared the heights of the penguins with the heights of our children by mounting the face of an emperor penguin at 45 inches, an Adelie penguin at 30 inches and a little blue penguin at 16inches. Each child was invited to see 'eye to eye' with a penguin.

The weather cooperated in keeping our penguins comfortable (Brrr!!).

Tu Bshvat Through The Senses

Pre-K at Yavneh Academy is a multi- sensory experience. Each and every day the children use all 5 senses to navigate the classroom in all areas; including art, dramatic play, manipulatives, etc. This week in honor of Tu Bshvat, Ganon Bet used their sense of touch to create beautiful trees paintings. Instead of paint brushes, the children used their arms to create the bark of the tree, their hands as the leaves and grass, and their fingers turned into fruit! To some the paint tickled, others said it felt funny, but all around everyone had a great time creating their masterpieces!

Connecting Torah to Nature

Gan Aleph explored Parashat Beshalach this week. We learned the story of how Hashem sent birds to eat up the extra mann from the ground in the parsha. The children painted their own bird feeders from orange juice cartons. They beaded the handles. The children can't wait to hang these bird feeders outside!

Once Upon a Time...

IMAGINATION...Gan Aleph explored the wonderful world of their own imaginations as they listened closely to the fourth grade girls tell them stories. Hayley, Sara,Chaya and Stephanie put our listening skills to the test as they came to Gan Aleph today and allowed us to participate in the storytelling festival. They told stories to the children using nothing but their own voice. Gan Aleph really had to use their imagination to picture the different characters and the setting of the story. When they were finished, we asked them questions and learned that they memorize stories from books and work with a professional story teller to learn how to tell their stories. We took special notice to the expression in their voices and faces and how those expressions changed based on what was going on their story. The fourth grade girls even showed us some of the "practice exercises" they used in order to help them learn how to tell a story and engaged us in some of these activities. We truly enjoyed listening to them and the children are now talking about what story they will tell when they are in fourth grade!

Thanks to the Birds!

In this week's Parashat Beshalach, the children learned that Moshe told B'nai Yisrael to collect two portions of "mon" on Friday because none would fall on Shabbat. Datan and Aviram do not trust Moshe and spread "mon" on the ground early Shabbat morning so that the people would think that Moshe is not telling the truth, but the birds came and ate it up! To show our gratitude to the birds for helping Moshe, the children made bird feeders to hang outside so that the birds can have a yummy meal!

Literacy Night

Our first Kindergarten Literacy Night took place in the lunch room last night. The children had great fun greeting their classmates in the night time. They snacked on chocolate milk and popcorn, and began the evening with a life size game of Sight Word Bingo. Several tables were set up with interactive literacy activities for the children to enjoy with their families. To culminate the program, Mrs. Cohen read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, as the children listened for letters and jumped.

This was a great opportunity to display to parents the types of learning activities that their children engage in daily. It was also a wonderful reinforcement of the strong connections we make between school and home.

Next week, we will run the same program for Gan Aleph and Gan Gimmel.

Investigating Trees

At this time of year, just before Tu B'Shvat, we typically learn about trees. In our integrated curriculum, the children have many opportunities, in both Hebrew and English, to participate in social studies, science, math, art, literacy, and music activities, all pertaining to trees.

Morah Shira took a small group of children outdoors to explore a tree up close. She taught Hebrew vocabulary for each part of the tree, and gave the children clipboards and charcoal for sketching. The children were encouraged to look carefully, and even given magnifying glasses to get a closer look.

The sketches will be brought inside and used in further investiations. Connecting children to nature, building Hebrew speaking skills, encouraging careful observations, and giving time, space and individual attention for deeper learning -- kindergarten at its best!

Gan Aleph "flips" for the YU Maccabeats

Who knew that we'd be 'flippin our latkes in the air' all the way to Rosh Chodesh Shevat? Gan Aleph barely noticed that the snow was coming down outside on Friday morning. They were so excited to welcome the YU Maccabeats! We sang and danced along with the YouTube sensations. The ruach in the gym was palpable. The children decorated signs to welcome the a capella singers. The children were fascinated that they performed without any instruments and only by making sounds with their voices. Gan Aleph presented the Maccabeats with the signs that they decorated and were so excited to have a photo op with the guys. The Maccabeats were equally excited to meet the children!

Bake Sale for Tzedakah

The children in Ganon Aleph baked delicious chocolate chip cookies and blondies to sell at our Early Childhood Bake Sale on Thursday. They went to the cafeteria in shifts to help sell the baked goods and collect the money. All of the tzedakah will be going to Keren Malki, an organization in Israel which assists the families of handicapped children. This offered a great opportunity to talk to the children about different disabilities. We experimented in our class so the children could learn first-hand about how to compensate for an ability they are lacking. This was a great way to increase their sensitivity towards people with disabilities.

What's the Temperature?

In conjunction with our unit on the winter season, Gan Daled is conducting experiments to learn about thermometers. Several liquids of varying temperatures were set out, and a thermometer placed in each. The children tried to predict which would be warmer or colder, then read the thermometer and completed a chart with the temperatures. This science experiment also incorporated many math concepts, such as measurement, comparisons, and reading and writing numbers.

Gan Gimmel Prepares for our Bake Sale

In preparation for our Rosh Chodesh bake sale, the children in Gan Gimmel made delicious chocolate covered pretzels. All of the proceeds from the bake sale will be going to Keren Malki, an organization in Israel that helps people with differing abilities. The children read many books in class about people with differing abilities. Their favorite was Yossi and Laibel On The Ball which was about a boy in a wheelchair who wanted to play baseball with his new neighbors. Making a book about our own acts of chesed is helping us get even more excited about our chesed tzedaka project. We hope to sell all of our baked goods, at .50 each and be able to send a lot of tzedaka to Israel from Yavneh's Early Childhood Department.

Flexing Our Muscles

This week, the morot in Ganon Bet filled the sand table with rice and beans. They added cups and clothespins, challenging the children to pick up the beans with the clothespins. This fun and effective exercise prepared those small muscles for writing!

The children are also learning about differing abilities. Rebecca and Shalom are further challenged to pick out beans without the use of one hand (Rebecca) or vision (Shalom). It was a great way to learn about the wonderful body that Hashem has given each of us, and the many ways that we can use it to help us get along in the world.

Getting to the Heart of the Matter

This week our study of the human body continued when we talked about the heart, veins, and arteries. We used a latex glove filled with red water to demonstrate how the heart works. The children took turns pumping the "heart" and watching the "blood" flow out.

Have You Ever Eaten a Snowman!?

Snow days at home may be fun, but snow days in school are even more fun! Gan Aleph spent a lot of time enjoying the snow and many fun snow-related activities. In addition to sledding, jumping and rolling in the snow, we baked our very own snowman cookies! Sammy's parents joined our class and helped us bake the dough, shape them into 3 different sized circles and assemble a delicious snowman. The children used chocolate chips, candy corn, hershey's kisses and other yummy treats to fill in the eyes, nose, mouth, hat, scarf and buttons of the snowman. When the snowmen were ready, we enjoyed them as our special winter snack of the day!