On Monday the preschool enjoyed a visit from Dr. Martin who brought along a doctors bag filled with stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, ophthalmoscopes, bandages, splints... Everyone had something to hold and explore and then children volunteered to have their ears checked, eyes checked, they had their heart listened to and then took turns examining one another.  No-one brought up the subject of 'shots' and everyone left the room feeling happy, healthy and ready to get up and sprint robustly around the playground!  

 

We are learning about trees, how important it is to take care of them, what trees provide for us, for animals, insects, birds...  We read Shel Silberstein's 'The Giving Tree' and a few children were quite upset that there is no color in the book 'only black and white.' This encouraged talk about using our imagination... We Read 'Chicka Chicka 123' by Bill MartinJr. , Michael Sampson and Lois

Ehlert. This led to us decorating and cutting out numbers (the children chose number between 0 and 100) which we added to our Number Tree, now displayed in our Number Area. 

TuB'Shevat songs include the traditional Hebrew song, Hashkediah Porachat (Almond Trees are Blooming) and we have actions that go along with the song.  Other songs include 'Let's Plant a Seed on Tu'B'Shevat, maybe apples, maybe apricot, we'll dig, dig, dig in a sunny spot, where it's not too cold and it's not too hot!'  

 

On Wednesday Morah Marisol leads us on the Torah story of the week, which includes an interactive display with pictures and/or props.  See Parashat  below.  YOGA follows, and this week included planting trees, with some yoga stretches, quick movements through various poses (seed, shovel, tree, mountain,,,) as we tell a story and then some relaxing breathing before closing with 'namaste, peace, shalom.' 

 

 

This week we talked about our body, including our five senses. We also discussed how to keep our body healthy, and healthy foods vs non healthy foods. We also touched on the holiday of TuB’Shevat (the birthday of the trees), which will also continue into next week.

On Monday, we had a visit from Dr. Martin and he brought in medical instruments such as a stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, and a wrist splint. The children got a turn having a “check up” and Dr. Martin talked to us about when it’s time to visit a doctor. We created an “x-ray” of our bones using q-tips as the bones! At group time this week, we also talked about what foods are considered healthy and what foods are considered treats, and shouldn’t be eaten all of the time. The children were very good at this and we were able to extend it by having the children name healthy foods that began with a certain letter (for example, broccoli for “B”.)

We read books on our five senses, (taste, touch, hear, see, and smell). We also did a “smell test” of cinnamon, vanilla, and lemon. Surprisingly, most of the children thought that the vanilla smelt like chocolate!

For Tu B’Shevat, we created trees with blossoms which are now hanging on the door to our classroom. We talked about how in Israel, some people will plant a new tree in honor of “the birthday of the trees”.  

We also played a matching game: Light (sun) or Dark (moon). The children would have to associate and match pictures that belonged under the “sun”, such as a picture of a rainbow or a picture of a tree in a park. Or match pictures under the “moon”, such as a child sleeping or stars in a night sky. We tried to use pictures that portray a lot of outdoor scenery such as trees and shrubs for the “sun” association. 

Parashat Beshalach begins with the Israelites marching out of Egypt to freedom. The Israelites find themselves caught between the sea and the Egyptians. Moses demonstrates one final time to the Egyptians that the G-d of the Hebrews is powerful. Moses raises his rod for the sea to part to allow the people to pass through. To allow all of the Israelites safe passage, an angel provided light allowing them to continue walking while the Egyptians traveled in darkness. In the morning, Moses raised his rod once more for the sea to be restored. The Israelites rejoice to have been saved one final time from their Egyptian captors. Moses and Miriam sing a song (shirat hayam) to honor G-d for deliverance. In fact, this shabbat is called Shabbat Shirah. The children in the Garinim group made “tambourines” in remembrance of the song and also a craft of Moses parting the sea.