The Story of Yonah

The children in Ganon Aleph learned that the story of Yonah is read in shul on Yom Kippur, and they became familiar with the story through books, songs, puppets, and felt board figures.  They have been re-enacting the story

at the water table,

with puppets,

and even inside a giant box (pretending to be Yonah inside the fish!)

They know that once Yonah davened, did teshuvah, and was sorry for not listening to Hashem, the fish spit him out onto dry land.  They also learned that you can never run away or hide from Hashem!

Bereishit Fair

Yesterday, the EC classes initiated our first ever Bereishit Fair! This amazing learning experience was completely developed and implemented by the collaboration of our model team of teachers. Each classroom was set up to represent a different day of Creation, along with hands-on projects and activities. For Day 1, children made shadow puppets and frosted black and white cookies.

On Day 2, a water table was set up for play, and children made clouds with shaving cream.

Children planted seeds on Day 3, and made collages of trees and grass. Day 4's classroom had stars projected on the ceiling, and children created original designs of stars, moon, and sun. For Day 5, real fish were available for observation, and children played a matching game with various types of birds and fish.

On Day 6, the children dressed in animal costumes, and held races and dances.

Back in their own classrooms, children learned about Day 7, our very own Shabbat, which of course we celebrate every week in school.

Pesach Story Builders

During Activity Time, the children spontaneously began to retell the Pesach story. All on their own, they created a scenic backdrop and puppet characters. They crafted several scenes, working together to put the story in sequence. We overheard them organizing and assigning different jobs to their friends. Their conversations included: "I made a mitzri with a whip," Did you make pharoah?"; "I made baby Moshe floating in the river". The most frequently heard question was "Can I help you?".

The created pyramids, palm trees , reeds and many other details to retell the story of Pesach. They are continuing their work and hope to produce a major show for their friends.

Show Time!

Every year, Morah Lauren and Morah Aviva's kindergarten classes learn about Purim with an amazing, interactive puppet show. They typically invite other classes just before Purim to join the fun and reinforce all they've learned. This morning, Ganon Bet attended the puppet show, and came away raving about it. They sang and laughed and demonstrated just how well they know the story. Good times, great memories, and a stellar education!

Purim Puppets

After hearing the Purim story from very special puppets in Gan Gimmel, the children were eager to make their own puppets. As we gradually learn the story, the children are making each Purim character any way they want. Using a variety of materials allows the children to be creative and show their individuality. So far we have made King Achashverosh, Queen Vashti and Mordechai. After hearing that King Achashverosh was not very smart and did not think for himself, a curious kindergartner asked, "Did Achashverosh ever go to school?"

Chazak Chazak V'Nitchazek! Gan Aleph Baked a Chocolate Cake!!

Did you hear the giggles of glee and shouts of joy coming from Room 207 today? Gan Aleph celebrated the culmination of learning Sefer Beraishit. The children were so excited to proclaim "Chazak Chazak V'Nitchazek!" when we completed learning about Parashat Vayechi. As a class, we made a list in Hebrew of the names of the important people we learned about. The children were divided into small groups to decorate life size characters from each of the parshiot. They traced each other to create a form on which to make these giant puppets. We sequenced the characters into a timeline for a character study of Sefer Beraishit. The children are collaborating on writing short anecdotes that explore what they learned from each. This is a great way to highlight the mitzvot and reinforce the good middot that we learned.

We baked a giant cake in the shape of a torah that we decorated with a Beraishit theme. We celebrated at an afternoon party where we sang the songs that we learned about each parsha story and danced to the song "Chazak Chazak V'Nitchazek" by Avraham Fried. The children felt so accomplished that they have learned so much Torah. They are already asking what will happen in Sefer Shemot!