Making Bricks in Ganon Aleph

In this week's Parashat Shemot 
 we learn that Pharoah forced the Jewish slaves to make bricks.  The children in Ganon Aleph tried to make their own bricks out of dirt, grass, and water in milk carton molds.  They really enjoyed this messy, tactile experience!

Yaakov's Yummy Lentil Soup

In this week's Parashat Toldot, the children in Ganon Aleph learned about Eisav returning from a hunting trip so famished that he traded his rights as a first-born for a bowl of lentil soup.  After the children chopped up all the vegetables themselves (even the onions!) we cooked our own pot of yummy lentil soup.  The delicious aroma wafted through the halls of Yavneh, drawing many visitors who were following the scent!

Ganon Aleph Experiments with Opposites

Our discussion of Yaakov and Eisav in this week's parasha brought us to the topic of opposites.  We played games and did activities with opposites throughout the week.  We covered the TOP and BOTTOM of one of the tables in our classroom with mural paper, and the children had fun coloring both sides, especially the bottom!  They experience WET and DRY when we spread flour on the table and then added water; they enjoyed mixing it and feeling how the consistency changed.  They traced their hands on the white board and then picked out the SMALLEST and the LARGEST.  Who knew opposites could be so much fun!

Ganon Aleph Inspects the Pipes

After learning in this week's Parashat Chayei Sarah 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 checked out the big pipes down in the boiler room.  You'll be relieved to know that Yavneh passed Ganon Aleph's inspection!

Challah Baking in Ganon Aleph with Esti's Mom

The children learned in this week's Parashat Chayei Sarah that when when Sarah Emainu passed away, the candles which always stayed lit from one Shabbat to the next were extinguished, and that the challah dough which always rose stopped rising.  When Yitzchak brought his new wife Rivka to his mother's tent, the candles  burned and the dough rose once again.  To acknowledge this significant part of the parasha, Esti's mom came in to help the children make challah.  She then read them the book, "Way Too Much Challah Dough" by Goldie Shulman.

We love when parents, grandparents, and other family members come to work or play with the children in Ganon Aleph!

Ganon Aleph Has Fun With Parashat Vayera

The children in Ganon Aleph have been acting out this week's Parashat Vayera in our classroom tent, complete with floor pillows to sit on, a small table with pretend food, and a water pitcher for washing the feet of Avraham's guests!

They also enjoyed snack and singing in the large outdoor tent which was put up outside for all the early childhood classes to use.

We put into practice Avraham's favorite mitzvah of "hachnasat orchim" when we invited Ganon Bet to our classroom for Shabbat party!

Gan Gimmel's Bereishit exploration

Gan Gimmel has been learning all about how Hashem created the world. What better way to learn about creation than to go outside and look around. After observing our surroundings, we each drew a picture of what we see in the world and then wrote the word.

We then discovered a sensory box of items that relate to Bereishit in our classroom:
Each item represents a different day we are having a blast exploring!

 To represent day number 1 there was a black and white circle.

 To represent day number 2 there were blue marbles and a cotton ball
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To represent day number 3 there were foam flowers and a green foam tree and sand

To represent day number 4 there were a sun, stars, and a moon sticker

To represent day number 5 there were fish and birds

To represent day number 6 there were plastic animals and 2 wooden people as Adam and Chava

We are also busy creating a bereishit matching game as well:

No "Lashon Hara!"

In this week's double parasha of Tazria and Metzora, we learn, among other things, about the prohibition against speaking "lashon hara."  After discussing the importance of this mitzvah, the children in Ganon Aleph went on to create self-portraits with moveable hands to cover their mouths as a reminder never to say things that might hurt someone's feelings.

Making Bricks in Ganon Aleph

After learning in this week's Parashat Shemot that the Jewish slaves had to make their own bricks, the children in Ganon Aleph tried to do just that.  We went outside with shovels to dig up some dirt and grass, brought it back to the classroom, mixed in some water, and pressed the mixture into some small milk carton molds.  After allowing them to dry, we opened them up, and, voila!  The children enjoyed this messy, tactile experience!!    

Yosef's Colorful Coat

After learning about the special gift that Yaakov gave his son Yosef, each child in Ganon Aleph cut out Yosef's coat.  They then colored the coat with crayons on top of a warming tray.  The children "oohed" and "aahed" as they felt the melting crayons glide across the coat, creating beautiful, colorful designs.  It was interesting to watch the solid crayon turn into a liquid as the wax melted. What a great way to combine science, parasha, and Chanukah!!

Cooking Lentil Soup in Ganon Aleph

In this week's Parashat Toldot the children learned about Eisav returning from a hunting trip so famished that he trades his first-born rights for a bowl of lentil soup.  We cooked our own delicious lentil soup today, and the children chopped all the vegetables themselves - even the onions!  We're happy to share the recipe if you want it!!

Ganon Aleph Inspects Yavneh's Pipes

In this week's Parashat Chayei Sarah, the children learned that Rivka got water for Eliezer and the camels from a well.  We talked abut how getting water from a well differs from the way we get water today.  First, we learned about how the water goes from the reservoir where the rain collects, to a filtering system which cleans the water, to the pipes in our homes, schools, shuls, etc.  Then, we took a walk around the school and checked the pipes under the sinks, water fountains, and toilets.  We even went down to the boiler room and checked out the big pipes down there!

Challah Baking In Ganon Bet

 In this weeks Parsha, Chayei Sarah we met Sarah Emeinu. Sarah’s table in her tent always had fresh challah while she was alive, and when she died, it disappeared. When Rivka and Yitzchak got married, the challah reappeared. We learned that there is a special Bracha to say when we make 5 pounds of challah . We baked our very own challot this week with Howie’s mom.  Before we baked them we took off a piece and said the bracha of Hafrashat Challah. We measured, poured, mixed, kneaded, and then braided our challot. We even made one big one to eat at our Shabbat party! Boy, were they yummy.

Avraham's Tent

Last 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.)  The children in Ganon Aleph and Ganon Bet have been enjoying acting out this parasha in our classroom tents, complete with floor pillows to sit on, a small table with pretend food, and a water pitcher for washing the feet of Avraham's guests!

Making Bricks in Ganon Aleph

We learn in this week's Parashat Shemot that Pharoah forced the Jewish slaves to work so hard and to make bricks. We tried to make our own bricks out of dirt, grass, and water in milk carton molds. You can see the results above. The children enjoyed this messy, tactile experience!

Family Trees

The children learned that Yaakov's family numbered 70 when they came down to live in Mitzrayim, and in this week's Parashat Shemot B'nai Yisrael's numbers continue to grow even while they are slaves to Pharoah. We created a family tree to illustrate the generations, beginning with Avraham and Sarah. The children then took turns coming to the dry erase board to draw their own individual family trees, using the Hebrew vocabulary for the different family members.

Gan Bet Stars

Gan Bet was so excited to participate in today's Chazak Kiddush. The children had worked together to prepare a yummy Israeli salad, as well as Rice Krispie snowball treats. They were a big hit! In addition, we practiced some songs related to our assigned parshiot: Lech Lecha, Vayera, and Chaye Sarah. Our friends in the other early childhood classes listened and clapped as we sang "Hachnasat Orchim", "I Have a Little Pitcher", and "When Rivka married Yitzchak". We were proud of our contributions to this wonderful event, and truly felt like stars!