Three Rabbis Walk in to a Room....

You could say "Curiosity got the best of us", as the children in Gan Bet started to ask some really grown-up questions about the upcoming chag of Purim.




We took our questions to Rabbi Knapp, who in turn, invited any available Rebbeim from Yavneh Academy to come to answer our questions. The children excitedly anticipated the arrival of our special guests by preparing snacks for the rabbis. What ensued was remarkable; a question and answer session with three of our most beloved rebbeim! Rabbi Knapp, Rabbi Penn, and Rabbi Ross arrived with sources in hand to show the children the special sefarim that helped them find answers.


The children were truly amazed and in awe of their special visitors and enjoyed the dialogue that was open to them to ask their questions and discuss their answers. The connection and love which these children formed with these three rebbeim is undescribable. The encouragement and respect to ask questions has truly been impressed on the children in Gan Bet and has taken their learning to a whole other level!

Pre-Purim Fun

Purim festivities are in full swing! Mrs. Cohen came to all the classes on Rosh Chodesh Adar for a very fishy lesson! (Fish are a significant Purim symbol.) She taught the children a fun fingerplay about going fishing, showed them a real fish, and brought a special treat so each child could catch their own fish with a pretzel fishing rod, marshmallow fluff bait, and jelly fish!

Later in the day the Ganon classes had a special visit from Rabbi Srulovitz and a couple of his middle schoolers who performed some special cup tricks for us, and then Inbal (one of Yavneh's Sheirut Leumi girls) came to talk to us about Purim in Israel and sang and danced with the children.

All this week the children had fun acting out the Purim story in our drama corner which has been transformed into a Shushan palace, complete with thrones, crowns, scepters, capes, and jewelry.

The week ended with a lively Purim chagiga in the gym together with the other early childhood classes. What a fun pre-Purim week we had!!

Turtle Or Tortoise

What looks like a turtle but lives on land? A tortoise. This was one of the differentiating characteristics we found upon researching our class pet Shelly. We knew that she is female and a reptile. The class enjoyed learning other interesting facts that make a tortoise and a turtle different from each other. We observed that Shelly's back is not flat and she has paws rather than flippers.

Gan Gimmel extended its interest into our literacy program when we learned the classic poem "The Little Turtle " by Vachel Lindsay. We used our artistic talents to make turtles with movable heads from paper plates.

You can find more interesting facts about tortoises at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortoise

Winter Animals

Gan Bet has been exploring how different animals adapt to the winter. The children learned that both the polar bears and penguins have blubber, which helps keep them warm in the cold weather. To demonstrate this, we performed a science experiment using “blubber”, water, and some bags. The children placed one hand inside two empty plastic bags. The other hand was placed in an empty bag and an additional bag with “blubber”. The children placed both hands in cold water. When their hands became cold, they were told to take the cold hand out of the water. The hand without the blubber coating was pulled out quickly!

Gan Aleph Celebrates Dental Health!

In honor of Dental Health month, Dr. Jacobs (otherwise known as Dovi's mommy) came to our class and helped us learn all about teeth and what keeps the clean! We created our own Tooth Book, in which the children wrote and illustrated their own experiences with the dentist or told us about losing teeth etc. We read our book to Dr. Jacobs and enjoyed listening to each other's stories! Dr. Jacobs taught Gan Aleph all about good brushing and different ways to help ensure that our teeth stay healthy. We even discussed the good foods vs. bad foods for our

teeth. We enjoyed looking at Dr. Jacobs giant toothbrush and smelling the different flavors of toothpaste! The children in Gan Aleph were so excited to take home

their dental health "goody bags!"

Pajama Day in Ganon!

It was fun coming to school in our pajamas on Monday morning and having a healthy breakfast together! We ate food from all the different food groups of the food pyramid. The children even used juicers to make their own fresh-squeezed orange juice! They used the placemats they made which show the food pyramid on one side, and the correct way to form a place setting on the other side. At the end of the day we invited Ganon Bet for a "sleepover" party when we turned down the lights and watched a movie together.

We wish every day could be Pajama Day!!

Miss Terry Comes to Visit Ganon

Miss Terry came from Yavneh's kitchen to talk to the children in Ganon Aleph and Bet about good nutrition. She talked about the choices we have at lunchtime in the cafeteria, and which of those foods go into the different food groups. She then offered the children plastic aprons to wear while they prepared their own healthy snacks from the foods she brought with her. What a yummy and educational lesson! Thank you, Miss Terry!

Look Close!

In honor of Tu B'Shvat, the early childhood classes conducted a nature scavenger hunt. Each class was given a long list of items to find on our school grounds. Some of these items were: twigs, stems, different types of leaves and rocks, pine cones, pods, moss, vines, and bark. Each item was either collected or documented, along with the location where it was found. Gan Bet brought several tools to aid the search, including sticky bracelets, binoculars, magnifying glasses, clip boards and pencils, cameras, and dough for making impressions. We gathered an amazing collection of natural items, and learned many new things. Inside, each child was treated to a cupcake from the yummy tree that we all baked. We sang Yom Huledet to the trees, and put up a bulletin board with pictures and items that we found on our hunt.

"Dr. Eddie" Comes to Visit

In honor of Dental Health Month "Dr. Eddie", Brian Jackson's dad, came to Ganon Aleph this morning to talk to the children about taking care of their teeth. He read "The Tooth Book" by Dr. Seuss, and brought his kangaroo friend to teach the children the correct way to brush their teeth. He told the children to always remember the number 3 for taking care of their teeth: Brush your teeth 3 times a day, the 3 places you should brush your teeth (outside, inside, and the top of your tooth), the 3 ways we use our teeth (for eating, for talking, and for smiling), and the 3 things we use on our teeth (toothpaste, mouthwash, and floss.) We learned SO MUCH from Dr. Eddie! Hopefully, we won't be getting any cavities!

Gan Aleph's Nature Hunt

In honor of Tu Bshvat, Gan Aleph spent the day learning about trees and how important trees are in this world. The children spent some time planting lima beans which they will take home to nurture and watch grow. In the afternoon, the early childhood participated in a nature hunt using Yavneh's entire field and playground. We took clipboards and crayons, a camera and some bags to document and collect some of the amazing things we would find.

We used a checklist to help us find twigs, sticks, barks and even a nest! We couldn't believe it when we even found an owl sitting in one of the trees! When we finished our nature hunt we came back into the

early childhood hallway and enjoyed an amazing cupcake tree snack together as a family! What a better way to end an amazing celebration for the birthday of the trees.

Tu B'Shevat Celebration

We invited Ganon Bet to join us in our classroom on Wednesday for a joint Tu B'Shevat seder. We drank four cups, just like we do at the Pesach seder, beginning with white grape juice to symbolize the winter season, making the juice a little darker for each season. The children had an opportunity to taste all seven special foods that grow in Israel (shivat ha-minim.) We sang songs together and had a great celebration for the trees! The festivities continued in the afternoon with a scavenger hunt outdoors, and a birthday party for the trees in the early childhood hallway with the other classes. Happy Birthday, trees!!!

We Love Woody

Over the course of the school year we have observed, Woody, our adopted tree, change from a blossoming green tree to a fiery, red leaved tree. Finally, the leaves fell off and Woody is bare.

Gan Gimmel has become aware of the wonderful world that Hashem has created for us with its magnificent seasonal changes.

As part of our Tu B'Shevat celebration, Gan Gimmel decorated Woody and sang songs in honor of the holiday.

Ganon Bet Learns about Shadows

The children learned that light can travel through objects that are translucent. We observed light shining through our glass windows and a plastic soda bottle. We then shined a light on opaque items like paper, cardboard and even ourselves . We realized that light can travel around those things. We played shadow tag outside. Then we traced our shadows to see which was longer, the children or their shadows. Do you know which was longer?