HALF IS BETTER THAN NONE

We have been counting every day since school began . On our 50th day of school Gan Gimmel celebrated with half of a party. What is half of a party you might ask? It is the half way mark to the exciting celebration of the 100th day of school.

In honor of this great day we enjoyed half of an Oreo cookie, half of a pretzel stick and half of a licorice stick. In addition, the children enjoyed counting to 50 by 1's, 2's, 5's, and 10's.

If the 50th day was so good, we cannot wait to celebrate the 100th!

Learning Through Lexia in Gan Aleph

Every Monday and Friday, Gan Aleph is engaged in a phonetic reading program called Lexia. The children truly assert their independence logging onto the program, using their own headphones and logging off when we are done. Some of the games on Lexia include Rhyme Time, Sound Slide and Word Snip! Through fun games and interactive activities, lexia offers the children an opportunity to learn phonics on their own level and at their own pace. Gan Aleph is truly enjoying learning through Lexia!

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 Addition is a Piece of Cake!

How many ways can you make the number 8!? In honor of the 8 days of chanukah, Gan
Aleph put their addition skills to the test! We spent the week learning about all of the numbers from 0 through 8. We created different math sentences each day to represent the number we wer elearning. We sat as a group and experimented with 8 candles. The children worked together to take 1 candle and figure out how many more candles they need to make the number 8. We used numbers and math signs to help us create different math sentences to go with our candle equations. The children each created their own "How Many Ways Can You Make 8!?" book to reinforce these concepts.

Gan Bet's Oily Mix Up

Learning about the nes of Chanukah led us to explore the properties of oil. We learned that oil comes from olives, which grow on trees. We counted 26 olives, and pressed them with a garlic press, to see how much oil we would get. We only measured 4 1/2 teaspoons! We realized that it takes a lot of olives to make just a little oil.

We also conducted more experiments with oil. The children compared a mixture of paint and water with a mixture of paint and oil. They sharpened their fine motor skills by squeezing droppers with these mixtures. While the water mixture spread quickly on their papers, the oil mixture dropped in clumps, and the oil spread out around the paint. We knew from last week's experiment that water and oil don't mix; now we learned that oil doesn't mix with paint either!

To further test the oil's propensity to separate from other liquids, we predicted what might happen if we added salt to a mixture of oil, water, and food coloring. Initially, the salt attached to the oil, making it heavier, so that it sunk to the bottom of the bottle. However, when we came back from lunch, we saw that the oil was now on top, and the water on the bottom! We learned that the salt had dissolved, and so the oil separated from the oil.

Science in Ganon Aleph

Chanukah has provided many opportunities for science in our classroom. The children learned about the scientific concept of "wax resist" when they water-colored over "invisible" designs they drew with candles. They saw that oil and water do not mix when we poured oil into a bottle of water with blue food coloring. Before our last experiment we asked the children how we could extinguish a flame. They came up with the following: blow it out, let it burn out, use water or a fire extinguisher, or call the firefighters! We tried using sand to put out a small flame, and then we placed a jar over a lit candle and watched it go out all by itself! The children learned that fire needs oxygen to burn, and the candle went out when the oxygen in the jar was all used up. We then went on to talk about fire safety rules like "stop, drop, and roll" and what to do in case of a fire emergency.

Chanukah and Our Five Senses

In Ganon Bet we learn by doing! Our five senses help us make "sense" of our surroundings. To get a feel what it would be like not to have our sense of sight, some children were blindfolded and had to rely on a partner to guide them. Another sense we learned about was touch. We had a chance to put our hands into a feely box and we guessed what was inside by only touching and feeling it. Ask us what was inside! Our unit will continue with hearing, taste, and smell and will conclude with a Chanukah sense book.

Chanukah Fun in Gan Aleph

Gan Aleph learned all about the artist Yaakov Agam. The children learned that Agam was famous for a unique style of kinetic art. We learned that kinetic art has movement and can be viewed as one picture in one direction and another picture going the other way. Gan Aleph explored famous photos of the work of Yaakov Agam including Star of Peace and the fountain in Dizengoff Square. The children began working on chanukiyot this week in the style of Yaakov Agam. Using wooden blocks, paint and paper they are creating masterpieces to be used for lighting candles on Chanukah. They can't wait to share their finished projects and celebrate this special mitzvah in a few weeks!

Pablo's People

Gan Gimmel has been learning about the great artist and sculptor, Pablo Picasso. The class was excited to hear about his Blue Period and his Rose Period.

Picasso invented Cubism.When he created a Cubist portrait he tried to show all sides of the face at once. This made the eyes and noses of his portarits appear to be in the wrong place.

The children used their fine motor skills to create portraits in Picasso's style.We all enjoyed the results.

Opposites in Ganon Aleph

Last week's parasha discussion of Yaakov and Eisav's similarities and differences 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 experienced WET and DRY when we spread flour on the table, and then added water; they enjoyed mixing it and feeling how the consistency changed. The children also took turns tracing their hands and then picked out the SMALLEST and the LARGEST. Hands-on, sensory activities are the most fun!

Chanukah in Gan Bet

The excitement for Chanukah is building in Gan Bet. The children worked together to fill our hall bulletin board with Chanukah decorations. They were free to choose different mediums for their creations. The class was busy cutting, writing (in Hebrew!), stenciling, and drawing. Come and see the final project!