Parshat Vayetzei in Ganon Bet

After learning about Yaakov's dream in this week's Parsha, we decided it would be fun to build our own ladders from popsicle sticks. We had fun playing with shaving cream clouds in our sky as well. Some of us even pretended to see angels climbing up and down our ladders!

Can You Find the Pattern?

The ability to identify, extend, and create patterns is an important math skill in kindergarten. In Gan Bet, the children used many hands-on materials to help them learn more about patterns. Some of these included beads and basic school supplies. The children worked in pairs to begin and extend various patterns. They challenged each other to continue
the pattern, enjoying their shared work and ideas.

Chanukah Science

In anticipation of Chanukah, Gan Bet conducted an experiment with oil. We started by feeling the oil and describing the sensation of how it felt. Some of the children said that the oil felt slippery and smooth and that it made our hands sparkly. We then filled a bottle with water and blue food coloring, and added some oil. Our little scientists were asked to hypothesize what might happen. Some children thought that the colors would mix together and turn green. Other predictions were that the oil would sink to the bottom, or that the water would go to the bottom and the oil would stay on top. Each child had a turn to shake the water bottle really well. At first it seemed as though the water and oil mixed together, but upon further observation we saw that the water stayed at the bottom of the bottle and the oil rose to the top. No matter how many times we mixed the oil and water together, the oil and water continued to separate. Now we know for sure that oil and water don't mix!

We are Thankful ...

The past few weeks Gan Bet has been preparing for our wonderful Thanksgiving feast that we celebrated yesterday with the entire Early Childhood Department. We wore our Native American clothing. We decorated our vests and wore our headdress with our special Native American names on them. We wore our pattern necklaces. Once we were dressed, we had a parade and sang songs on our way to our yummy feast. We sang "Adamah, V'shamayim", " This Land is Your Land", and " The Turkey Ran Away". Then we sat at the table with yummy treats that all the classes prepared and cooked. Before we began our feast, we made Brachot to thank HaShem for the delicious treats. We ate blondies, rice krispy treats, oatmeal cookies, corn, pumpkin cake and apple juice. Then we sang songs. The children had a wonderful time. The children are excited to bring home their Native American clothing and wearing them at their family Thanksgiving Feast!

We're Vermicomposting in Ganon Aleph and Ganon Bet!

After we returned from the teacher workshop on nature and planting a couple of weeks ago, the children began collecting leftover fruit and vegetable scraps and peelings (instead of throwing them in the garbage.) This week we put these leftovers in a large container with newspapers which the children shredded. They then dropped in special worms which speed up the composting process. Hopefully, this will result in some very rich soil for us to use for planting when the process is complete. We'll keep you posted!

Baking Challah with Rabbi Ross

We learn in this week's Parashat Chayei Sarah of the passing of Sarah Emainu. The midrashim teach us that the candles in her tent were extinguished when she died, and the challah dough no longer rose. When Yitzchak brought his new wife Rivka to the tent, the candles were rekindled and there was plenty of challah from one Shabbat to the next. To remember this special midrash, Rabbi Ross (Tiferet's Aba) came to help the children in Ganon Aleph make challah. It came out so delicious!! If you want the recipe, just give Rabbi Ross a call! (or you can ask us . . .)

Parshat Chayei Sara

Parshat Chayei Sara came to life this week in Ganon Bet. We talked about Eliezer’s long journey from Eretz Cannaan all the way to Charan where Avraham’s family lived. We decided that the 10 camels that he brought with him must have been really thirsty when they got to Charan. It’s a good thing they met Rivka at the well. Our discussion continued about how difficult it must have been for Rivka to carry all that water to and from the well for the camels. We realized that long ago there was no indoor plumbing and how lucky we are to have this modern day convenience. Of course, we had a hands – on demonstration and searched the “pipes of Yavneh”. We examined the plumbing system in our classroom and then went down to the “bowels” of the school and saw all of the pipes twisting and turning that carry the water and waste throughout the building. We created our own pipe system with pvc pipes and watched the water flow through the pipes. We also created our own well with a pulley system. We practiced putting different objects in a basket and we learned how hard it must have been for Rivka to get all of that water!

Ganon Aleph Checks Out the Pipes in Yavneh!

In this week's Parashat Chayei Sarah, the children learn that Rivka got water from a well for the camels and for Eliezer. We talked about how getting water from a well differs from the way we get water today. We took a walk around the school and checked the pipes under the sinks, water fountains, and toilets. We even went downstairs to a part of Yavneh the children had never seen to look at some very large pipes!

Ganon Aleph Visits Avraham's Tent

This week's Parashat Vayera took us to Avraham and Sarah's desert home where they especially enjoyed performing the mitzvah of "hachnasat orchim" (welcoming guests.) We visited "Avraham's tent" which was put up outdoors for all the early childhood classes to use. In addition, we put up a tent in our classroom, complete with throw pillows to sit on, a small table with pretend food, and a water pitcher for washing the feet of Avraham's guests. The children have been enjoying acting out the story all week long!

Life Long Learners

The early childhood teachers attended an amazing conference this past Tuesday on "Hands-On Jewish Early Childhood Garden Education". Outreach educators from Kayam Farm, an organic, kosher farm in Reistertown, MD, guided us in connecting the values of gardening, the goals of early childhood education, and torah. Three stations were set up for us to reflect, explore, and experience. We learned about creating terrariums to teach Parashat Bereishit; making compost in the classroom with worms and food scraps; and putting "kavanah" into our plantings. We also learned a great song, which we plan to teach for Thanksgiving. We came back to school excited and inspired to expand our nature education. To learn more about Kayam Farm, visit their website: http://www.kayamfarm.org/. And check out the song:

Beautifying a Mitzvah!

Look at the beautiful quilt that our children created to welcome home Gilad Shalit ! Each child in the Early Childhood Department wrote or stenciled his/her Hebrew name and decorated a square. Thank you to Sharon Sebrow for putting the quilt together, along with parent volunteers Holly Weiss and Aviva Edelstein. The quilt will be delivered by El Al Airlines. We are proud to express our great joy at Gilad's release with such a beautiful gift.

Creating Different Colors

Ganon Bet had a great time using their fine motor skills creating different colors with red, blue and yellow finger paint. We mixed red & yellow, yellow & blue, red & blue, and red, blue and yellow. Do you know what happens when you mix milk, food coloring and soap together. We do!

Try it at home and tell us what happens.