WHERE DID VAN GOGH GO?

He went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Who did he see? He saw the children of Gan Daled who were there celebrating the culmination of their kindergarten art program.

The art program introduces our children to the works of famous artists and their lives. The students learn about each artists style, subjects and medium. The young artists are then given an opportunity to express themselves through projects in the style of that artist.

Some of the artists that we studied this year include: Rembrandt, Piet Mondrian, Mary Cassatt, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall and Georgia O'Keeffe. The children were very excited to see the actual works that they had learned about during the year. Passersby in the museum were amazed at the knowledge exhibited by our children.

Our trip ended with "Tuesday Afternoon in the Park". All around, it was a picture perfect day.

Ganon Aleph Celebrates Lag B'Omer

We had beautiful weather for our Lag B'Omer celebration on Monday.  All of the early childhood classes participated in some friendly competitive relay races organized by Heela and Atara, Yavneh's B'not Sherut Leumi.  We then had an outdoor picnic lunch, after which we played on the giant moon bouncers which were set up on the lawn.  We returned to our classroom where we invited Ganon Bet to join us for storytelling, songs, and s'mores around our "bonfire."  What a fun and busy day we had!!

CUT IT OUT!

Gan Daled enjoyed learning about Henry Matisse.

Matisse was a great artist. He was born in France and grew up to be a lawyer. When he got sick his mother brought him paints and he decided that he wanted to be an artist.

Matisse liked to use bright colors. He was a Fauve (wild beast) painter. He used  different patterns and decorations to enhance his work. 

In his old age Matisse created a new art form, cut paper compositions We made our own Matisse masterpieces .

When Matisse was old and sick he painted with charcoal at the end of a long stick.

Gan Daled had the opportunity to empathize with Matisse by sitting and using a long stick with a marker at the end to make a picture.

Fun Bus Comes to Yavneh

The children in Ganon Aleph had a great time when the Fun Bus came to Yavneh last Friday as a pre-Purim treat.  Daniel and Bernice guided them through some floor exercises, an obstacle course, a swinging tube, and finally out of the bus down a long slide.  What a great way to get some "indoor" exercise when the weather is below freezing!

Ganon Aleph Celebrates Rosh Chodesh Adar Bet

We celebrated Rosh Chodesh Adar Bet on Monday with a fun and festive Purim chagiga in the gym where we sang and danced to the music of BaRock Orchestra along with Ganon Bet, after which some middle school students came to our classroom to do some face painting.  We are all excitedly awaiting the arrival of Purim!!

Ganon Aleph Helps Out at ECD Bake Sale

The 4th annual ECD Bake Sale took place this week to raise money for i-Shine.  Each early childhood class baked items to sell to older children and staff during lunchtime in the cafeteria.  Ganon Aleph enjoyed "manning" the tables and collecting the money from older siblings and friends.

As a reward for all their hard work, the children were treated to yummy ice pops after the sale was over.  Altogether, over $900 was raised for i-Shine, an after-school program for children living with illness or loss in their homes.  What a great way to put our good middot into practice!

Gan Daled's Parsha Pastry!

Gan Daled had a blast this week learning about the clothing that the Kohen Gadol wore in the Mishkan. The children learned that the Kohen Gadol wore a special breastplate made of precious stones called a "Choshen". Each stone represented one of the twelve Shevatim. To reinforce this lesson each of the children enjoyed their own edible version at our Shabbat party. What a yummy treat! Shabbat Shalom! 

Officer Sal Teaches ECD Children About Safety

Officer Sal, a retired Paramus police officer who works in Yavneh security, visited all the early childhood classes this week to talk about safety.  He covered many topics including:  wearing a helmet when you're on a bike or scooter, crossing the street in the crosswalk, stranger safety, what to do if you get lost, from whom it is safe to ask for help, and opening the door only with a parent's permission.
We are so lucky to have Officer Sal at Yavneh!

Pat Rose Visits Yavneh

Ganon Aleph enjoyed our annual visit from Pat Rose and her furry (and some not so furry) friends!  She talked about what the different animals do in the winter time: some hibernate, some migrate, and some adapt to the winter weather conditions.  The children had a chance to see and pet a furry white bunny, a slithery red-tailed boa constrictor, a cute wallaby  from Australia named Dixie who hopped around the gym for us, a bright blue macaw who flew over our heads, a Texas raccoon named Millie, and Charlotte, a colorful parrot who did some funny tricks for us.
What a fun, "hands-on" activity for all of the early childhood classes!

Drum Tales

Another exciting Chanukah program which came to Yavneh this week was Drum Tales:  a unique, interactive presentation with the performers and the children telling the Chanukah story using drums.

 The children learned about rhythm and tempo while having fun banging out the Chanukah story!

Ganon Aleph Enjoys ECD Chanukah Chagiga

Ganon Aleph had so much fun singing and dancing to the music of BaRock Orchestra at our chagiga on Monday morning.  What a great way to celebrate our week of Chanukah in Yavneh!

Let's Dance!!!

Gan Daled celebrated Chanukah along with the other Kindergarten classes at an awesome chagiga in the gym.  The children were super excited to participate in this Chanukah dance party to the sounds of the BaRock Orchestra.  Rabbi Penn even led the children in a fun dancing game! What a way to kick off our Chanukah celebrations! The children are looking forward to all of the fun and exciting activities planned for the rest of the week. Happy Chanukah! 

Ganon Aleph Celebrates Thanksgiving With All of ECD

In preparation for our Thanksgiving feast, the children husked ears of corn which the kitchen ladies cooked up for us.  We then donned our Pilgrim costumes and marched around the entire school along with the Native American kindergarteners.  We sang songs as we passed all the classes who were standing on the sidelines.  The children in Ganon Aleph were excited to see their older siblings and friends.  We then marched to the cafeteria where we enjoyed traditional Thanksgiving foods cooked and prepared by all the early childhood classes.  Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

 

Fun With Parashat Noach

Morah Shani was inspired by Parashat Noach to pull out the ECD spin art machine and set it up in the hallway where each child had a chance to create a beautiful rainbow design on a frisbee!  The children also enjoyed experimenting with objects of different size, shape, and weight to see if they would sink or float.  There was a lot of comparing, predicting, and experimenting going on with these budding scientists in ECD!