Fun With Moms in Ganon Aleph

Our Chanukah fun was enhanced this week by all the moms who came in to bake, cook, read, and play with the children in Ganon Aleph.  Thank you to Evan's mom who came in to make Chanukah chocolates with the children,

Ronnie's mom who made cupcakes which became this edible chanukiyah,

Julia's mom who helped the children peel and grate potatoes and then fried them up into scrumptious latkes,

Ani's mom who came in to play fun games with Chanukah music,

Helena's mom who came to make delicious sufganiyot with the children,

and Daphna's mom who came to play some interactive games with the children on our new i-Pads.

We love when family members come in to work and play with us.  All are welcome!!

Sixth Grade Visits Ganon Bet

Mrs. Nomi Schneck's sixth grade English class came to Ganon Bet on Friday. 

They asked us riddles about Chanukah! We  had a great time answering their riddles! 

Please ask us a Chanukah riddle at home we know all the answers!!

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!!

Chanukah, Oh Chanukah

The past two weeks have been fun-filled and busy getting ready for the wonderful Chag of Chanukah. 

        Check out how the yeladim of Gan Daled made Chanukiyot:

First, they sanded the wood.  

Next, each child designed a Yaacov Agam styled Chanukiya according to their liking.

Then they painted in smocks & smiles.   

 They proudly display the finished Chaukiyot!



 The children busy decorating the Chanukah themed trivets.

The children enjoyed playing "Human Dreidel"!

Creating Chanukiyot out of Lego and

 playing Chanukah matching during activity time.







Making yummy Chanukah Chocolates! Yum Yum!
Wait for it- there is more fun to come!



A HOT TIME IN GAN DALED

Adam and his Dad

At this time of the year, when fire is so important to us, Amir Brandwein, Adam's father came to Gan Daled. Adam's father is a volunteer firefighter. He dressed in his firefighter clothes and even put on his mask and gloves for us.

Adam denostrating Stop, Drop, and Roll

Adam's dad spoke to the class about fire safety, particularly when chanukiyot are lit. Mr Brandwein told us that if your clothes catch on fire you should, "stop, drop and roll". Adam demonstrated the proper procedure for us.

Let's all be careful this week.

Half Is Better Than None

We have been counting every day since school began. On our 50th day of school Gan Daled 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.

Enjoying our 50th day snack

In honor of this great day we enjoyed half of an Oreo cookie and half of a licorice stick. In addition, the children were excited about 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!

Exploring Our Senses in Ganon Bet

We got a real “taste” of our senses when we played a game where we had to guess what it was we were tasting. Almost everyone got really daring and tried everything! We tasted things that were, sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. We got a “whiff” of our sense of smell when we were blindfolded and played what’s that smell”? We looked into 6 bowls that each held a different white food. We couldn’t figure out what was in the bowls because they all looked the same. Each child took a turn tasting something from a bowl. Some of us knew what we were tasting, and some of us did not. Please ask your child what they tasted.

Indoor Outdoor time!

With the chill in the air last Thursday, we decided to experiment with an indoor-outdoor time. We moved the tables to the side, set up tunnels...

played hopscotch...

and even had some three legged races!

 It was a great way to explore new materials with our classmates, and stay/keep warm at the same time!

The Cream of the Crop Rises to the Top!

Just where does that especially pure olive oil for the Menorah come from?
The children in Gan Bet put their senses to work in a very "hands-on" experience, playing in a sensory bin full of different types of olives, oil, and water.

The olives bobbed up and down and slid through their hands as they experienced the slippery mixture...

The children had an idea to squeeze the olives...

And look at how that slimy, green oil rose to the top!

What a curious and involved way for the children to experience some of the properties of olive oil!

"Starts With Cha-, Ends With -Kah!"

Gan Bet is feeling Chanukah all around! We practiced our Hebrew color vocabulary with Morah Debbie as we "became" a colorful chanukiyah.....and added new colorful manipulatives in honor of Chanukah as well...

The new toys allow us to experiement with the properties of transparency and translucency and opaque while building.....

We engaged our senses with squishy, home-made Chanukah playdough which we cut into all kinds of Chanukah shapes and sizes....

...and made beautiful decorations which keep the Chanukah anticipation all around us!