Ganon Classes Work in the ECD Garden

Now that it finally feels like Spring, it's a perfect time for working in the ECD garden.  Each class has a plot of land for planting flowers or vegetables.  This week the children and morot from Ganon Aleph and Ganon Bet were busy weeding and preparing the soil, after which we planted some radish seeds.  We also have some bulbs which should be growing into beautiful flowers very soon.  Come by in a few weeks to take a look!

Getting Ready for Pesach in Ganon Aleph

What a busy week we had in Ganon Aleph getting ready for Pesach!  We made matzah with Rabbi Grossbaum from Lubavitch, and we finished all of our Pesach projects.

We enjoyed many leftover snacks at our chametz party, after which we scrubbed our classroom to get it ready for Pesach.  We then did a thorough search for chametz with a feather, spoon, and candle, and then went outside to burn it.  We enjoyed our model seder in our classroom together with Ganon Bet.  After our seder, we skyped with some residents of the Jewish Home at Rockleigh.  One of the residents read a Pesach story to the children, and we all sang some Pesach songs for them.
We were so well-prepared for Pesach!  We hope you enjoyed spending it with your families.

P is for Pesach and Parents in Ganon Bet





                                     We love when parents come visit with Ganon Bet. 
Thank you for coming in and helping us work on some of the projects in conjunction with our Pesach preparation and understanding the  difference between Chametz and matzah.





Willa's mom helped the children wrap the pillowcases with rubber bands in preparation for the tie dyeing.









Grace's mom helped us tie dye our pillowcases.



Gabby's mom baked challah with us. 

We watched the yeast rise!

Thank you all for coming in!



We Work, Work, Work.... in Ganon Bet

The children are taking a hands-on approach as they work hard preparing 

some of the foods for the seder plate.  

They grated 

the maror.

First it was a big horseradish root. Then it was grated into  little
pieces. 

Apples were grated

for the charoset. 

The charoset has a red color to

 remind us of the bricks in Mitzrayim. 

The brave children were excited to try the  maror and charoset.

They couldn't wait to

taste the real  thing of ...

shmura matzah!!

 

The children built pyramids in our sandbox!

A Windy Day In March With Ganon Bet

They say March comes in like a lion. Today the wind outside felt like a lion roaring. Ganon Bet took advantage of those strong winds and had a great time flying kites.

CUT IT OUT!

Gan Daled enjoyed learning about Henry Matisse.

Matisse was a great artist. He was born in France and grew up to be a lawyer. When he got sick his mother brought him paints and he decided that he wanted to be an artist.

Matisse liked to use bright colors. He was a Fauve (wild beast) painter. He used  different patterns and decorations to enhance his work. 

In his old age Matisse created a new art form, cut paper compositions We made our own Matisse masterpieces .

When Matisse was old and sick he painted with charcoal at the end of a long stick.

Gan Daled had the opportunity to empathize with Matisse by sitting and using a long stick with a marker at the end to make a picture.

Fun Bus Comes to Yavneh

The children in Ganon Aleph had a great time when the Fun Bus came to Yavneh last Friday as a pre-Purim treat.  Daniel and Bernice guided them through some floor exercises, an obstacle course, a swinging tube, and finally out of the bus down a long slide.  What a great way to get some "indoor" exercise when the weather is below freezing!

Ganon Bet Enjoys a Spring Like Day in March

 A Spring like day in March!
Enjoying the weather with some
chalk and shadows!
Pictures speaks a thousands words!

Ganon Aleph and Ganon Bet Skype With Residents of Jewish Home at Rockleigh

Jakie Herman's mom, a program director at the Jewish Home at  Rockleigh, arranged for the children of Ganon Aleph and Ganon Bet to Skype with some residents of the home.  Shirley, one of the residents who is a retired librarian, read the children a Dr. Seuss book called  "I Wish I Had Duck Feet", after which we sang some Purim songs together.

We hope to repeat this experience several more time during the school year, perhaps to coincide with holidays.  It was a fun and fulfilling experience, both for the children and for the residents!