Learning about Life Cycles in Gan Aleph

"Frogs here, frogs there, frogs were jumping everywhere!" Gan Aleph decided to learn about frogs and wanted to know more about where they came from. We began with an activity in which the children were presented with pictures of Morah Aviva, from birth until now. They were challanged to put these pictures in the proper sequence, bearing in mind the natural order of one's life. For example, the children knew that her kindergarten picture would be placed after some baby pictures but before her wedding picture. After putting all of these pictures in order (and laughing while looking at some of them!) we went through Morah Aviva's life cycle thus far. We learned that living things have stages in their lives which led us to explore a frog's life cycle.

The children were provided with more pictures, this time of the different stages in a frog's life. They worked together to put the pictures in the proper order, and learned that frogs start off as eggs. The egg hatches into a tadpole which then grows into a froglet and ultimately a frog!

We read the book If You Hopped Like Frog, by David Shwartz and recreated his book with our own ideas and frogs jumping off the page! Through this book ,we learned that frogs can jump a distance of 20 times its body length! We took turns jumping on a number line to see how far we could jump and compared it to a frog's jumping abilities!

Frogs here, Frogs there, Frogs were jumping everywhere...Especially in Gan Aleph!!!!

Yitzchak and Rivka Get Married

MAZAL TOV!!! In last week's Parsha, Parshat Chaya Sarah, Avraham sends Eliezar to find a wife for his son Yitzchak. Eliezar knew that Rivka was the right one because she had such good middot! She not only gave Eliezar water to drink but she also gave Eliezar's camels water too!!

Gan Gimmel made a well in our classroom and learned how Rivka got the water. We realized that there were no sinks like we have today. We problem solved and worked together to figure out how to attach a bucket and pole in order to make the well. We even had a magnetic matching game in the well.

We have a Yitzchak and a Rivka in our class so they pretended to get married. We made a chuppah and Sam said that we have to break a glass. Zachary told us that we do that to remember that the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed and not rebuilt yet. The children used gross motor skills and coordination to dance and celebrate!

Yitzchak and Rivka's Wedding

Mazal Tov! We celebrated Yitzchak and Rivka's wedding in Gan Daled. The brides wore beautiful gowns, and the grooms looked very handsome in their kafias (headdresses). The musicians played their handcrafted instruments and added spirit and joy to the occasion. The Rabbi looked distinguished in his black hat, and the chefs outdid themselves in making a delicious wedding cake. The flowers, created by Gan Daled's florists, added color and beauty to the festive tables. Bridemaids, dancers, and guests celebrated together. A great time was had by all.