Jumping for Joy in Gan Aleph

Gan Aleph was super excited to get new jump ropes to play with just in time for Spring. This was a great new tool that the children could use to sharpen their gross motor skills. Many of the children were eager to learn how to jump rope. During our outdoor play time, Morah Lauren taught small groups of children how to use the jump ropes correctly and safely. The children learned how to bring the ropes back behind their heels and to jump when the rope came to their toes. In the coming weeks, we are also going to learn some new jump roping rhymes! Jump rope is a great way to have fun and exercise at the same time!

Cleaning for Pesach

Some of the children cleaned out their cabinets at home and brought in their leftover snacks for our "chametz party" on Monday. After this, the children used sponges and rags to scrub our classroom for Pesach. This was more fun than it sounds, as you can see!

Matzoh Making in Gan Bet

The time to bake matzoh has arrived! The children were very excited to learn first hand about matzoh baking. Each child was given a special matzoh bakers hat.They examined the wheat kernels and helped crush them. They mixed water and flour and then learned how to knead the dough. Each child flattened a piece of dough and rolled it into a very thin circle. Using a special tool, they were able to put the holes in the dough. The dough then went into the oven and the children were so excited to see their finished matzoh.

We saved the matzoh for our class seder and the children cannot wait to eat their very own matzoh! This was a fun learning experience for all.

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!!!!

No "Lashon Hara!"

From this week's Parashat Metzora, the children learned about the mitzvah of not speaking "lashon hara." We talked about how hurtful words can be, and that it is important to try not to hurt our friends' feelings with our words. Speech is a special gift from Hashem, and we must use it the right way! Each child looked in a mirror and created a self-portrait. They then traced and cut out their hands to cover their mouths as a reminder never to speak lashon hara!

ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO

At Chanukah time, Gan Daled placed a sweet potato into water.

During the next few months the potato sprouted roots and leaves which grew into vines. The root and leaves grew and grew until we decided that we didn't have a container large enough to hold them and it was time to transfer the potato into the ground.

The children enthusiastically dug a large hole and planted the potato in it. They replaced the soil and carefully watered the plant. We will be observing our plant and hope it will continue to flourish.

We would love to hear from anyone who knows how we will know if potatoes are growing underground.

Nature Hunt in Gan Bet

Armed with magnifying glasses, shovels, sticks and a big box, the children embarked on a nature hunt. Their goal was to find earthworms. Using the magifying glasses, they carefully examined the grassy areas outside. When they discovered a worm they used the shovels to gently place the worm in a specially prepared box.

We brought the worms inside and proceded to build a "wormery". The children added sand and dirt to create layers, then added some water and finally leaves for the worms. They gently placed the worms in their new home. We are hoping to see the tunnels that they worms will dig!

Matzah Ball Fun

In honor of Rosh Chodesh Nisan, Mrs. Cohen came in to play a fun game with the blow-up "matzah ball" she gave to our class. To the tune of "Mama's Little Baby", we sang Mama's little baby loves matzah balls while the children passed the ball around the circle. Whoever ended up with the matzah ball had to think of a food item which is "chametz". This game reinforces our knowledge of which foods we are and are not allowed to eat on Pesach. We plan to continue playing this game in our class. We always have fun with Mrs. Cohen when she comes to visit our class!

Reflecting On Monet

Gan Daled learned about the Impressionist painter, Claude Monet. His style of painting received its name from his famous painting, Impression:Sunrise.

Monet loved to paint reflections. The children talked about reflections and discovered they could see their own reflections right in our room - in our mirror.

The class was fascinated to learn that Monet's studio was on a boat giving him the ability to travel on the river and paint.

Gan Daled's Monet paintings are worthy of hanging in any gallery.

Pesach Is In The Air.

Pesach is coming and Gan Daled is working hard preparing for it. The children are busy making Haggadot and Matza covers to enhance their Seder table. Our builders and architects are busy building Egyptian palaces and pyramids while dramatizing the Pesach story and singing Pesach songs. Our artists are creating pictures depicting the holiday story and use them on our board.Yes, definitely, Pesach is coming.