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Happy 5th birthday Shira!
During Morning Transition the friends recorded estimates and worked on cards for Shira’s birthday.
The friends had a grand new addition to Work Time: the “Writer’s Cart.” Jen and Esti dramatically rolled out the cart to a location near the Language shelf. The cart contains a variety of functional and inspirational materials for writing. As a baseline, the cart currently displays writing utensils, lined paper for small clipboards, “kindergarten” lined paper, story paper (with a box above the lines for an illustration), and sets of writing books. Each friend will eventually have his or her own book. Today, Aviva, Lev, and Matan all wrote stories during Work Time. As the friends begin writing, one goal will be to choose a few “sight words” from their work to practice. As Aviva wrote her story using invented spelling, Jen chose the words “the,” “first,” and “out” and ensured that Aviva spelled them conventionally. After reviewing her story, Jen gave Aviva a highlighter and asked her to trace the word each time she found “the” in her writing. She followed the same procedure with the words “first” and “out.” Each was highlighted in a different color. These words will be transcribed onto individual cards for practice, providing an authentic and relevant means of sight word practice.
Gili focused on Lag B’Omer during Morning Group. She began the lesson by asking the friends about their favorite chag (holiday). Each friend had the chance to reply “Ani ohev/et _name of holiday_” Gili then explained that Lag B’Omer is her favorite holiday because of the huge medoora (bonfire) that is often lit. The friends took turns placing wooden dowels against a tripod base to form a “bonfire.” They learned the vocabulary words etz (wood, also tree), eish (fire), chaverim (friends), and medoora (bonfire). Gili explained (in Hebrew, with the help of word/picture cards) that she and her friends usually sit around the bonfire and sing songs. Her favorite is “Hinei matov oomanayim shevet achim gam yochad” (It is so nice to sit with our friends together). Gili then answered the friends’ questions:
Leo: “Why do we make a medoora on Lag B’Omer?”
Jen: “One reason is because it represents the light that can be brought into this world through learning.”
Shira: “Why you make fire with sticks?”
Esti: “They burn well, and people have been making fires in this way for thousands of years.”
Esti: “When I lived in California, hundreds of people who wanted to celebrate Lag B’Omer lit bonfires on the beach.”
Jen: “I have a connection; When I go camping, we light a big fire and gather around it.”
During Ivrit, Shani reviewed Lag B’Omer and Mother’s Day. The friends worked on sequencing a sipor (story) in order:
1. Yaldah boche (girl crying)
2. Ema comes to see what is wrong
3. Ema sews the ripped doobee (Teddy bear)
4. Yaldah v’ima smecha (The girl and mother are happy)
Later, the friends practiced Ema Yikara Lee, which will be sung at the Mother’s Day Celebration on Friday. There will be a breakfast for mothers from 9:15- 9:45 am in the Atrium (within the elementary building). The children will present songs and poems following the breakfast.
The friends passed around the glowing ball and shared their thoughts. When the ball was passed to Jen, she explained that a few friends in the class were now writers and that they were prepared to share their work. Each friend had the chance to sit on the “Writer’s Spot” (a piece of shiny purple fabric placed on the rug) while reading their work and answering questions.
Author Q & A for The Spider by Matan
Leo: “Why did you want to write that book?”
Matan: “Well since I’m a reader I want to practice writing my own book. Then I can be a writer too.”
Rosie: “Why did you want to write in that book?”
Matan: “Because it was a good book for writing. Jen said I can fill it with my words and illustrations.”
Noa: “Why was the spider scared?”
Matan: “Hmmm. Well, sometimes people can feel scared from high places”
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Author Q & A for Flowers Growing by Aviva
Matan: “Why is it called Flowers Growing?”
Aviva: “Because over here there are flowers and they are growing.”
Shifra: “Why did you want to the rain come first?”
Aviva: “Because the rain in real flowers comes first I think.”
Noa: “Why did after the sun came out the rainbow came out?”
Aviva: “See, it’s raining here, and I couldn’t really draw it over here.”
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Author Q & A for The Birthday of the Pizza Party by Lev
Leo: “Why did you call the thing that was last Samson?”
Lev: “Because I wanted to make a guinea pig. See, here’s the guinea pig.”
Evan: “Why did the clown do magic?”
Lev: “Because clowns do magic.”
Jen: “Why did you put a clown in the story?
Lev: “Because sometimes there is clowns at birthdays.”
Congratulations to all the new authors!
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Shira’s birthday party was at the end of the day. Shira brought her mother, her babysitter, and her baby sister as guests. The friends shared their cards and birthday wishes. Later, Shira introduced the class to her sister and answered questions about her. Finally, the friends sang “Happy Birthday” and “Yom Huledet Sameach” as Shira blew out a candle atop an ice cream pop. The friends enjoyed their snack of ice cream bars and strawberries and then made sure to thank Shira’s family before packing up for home!
Teachable Moment:
Heshel and Liam watched patiently as Esti cut fruit for snack. Heshel complimented Esti, “You are an expert cutter!”
Esti said, “Thanks Hesh! I learned from my dad, he’s a real expert cutter. He’s a chef.”
The friends asked how he learned to be a chef. Esti replied, “He learned from his dad.”
Heshel asked, “Will you learn from your dad to be a chef?”
Liam laughed, “You can’t learn something new! You are already a grown-up!”
Esti replied, “Rabbi Akiva went to school to learn when he was a grown-up, even though it was really difficult for him! He became one of the greatest teachers of his time! We can always learn something new, as long as our hearts and minds are open to new ideas.” -
During Morning Transition the friends recorded their estimates for the Bug Estimation Jar. They also worked on two Mother’s Day-related activities. The friends cut out pictures of baby and adult animals and pasted them on the appropriate side of a chart. The other new work was a set of tripartite matching cards; to complete the work the friends need to match each animal’s name with a picture of the corresponding baby and adult animal. Both of these works will be available on the shelves throughout the week.
During Work Time friends continued working with the Animal Matching Cards. Jen worked with Rosie, Shira, Annie, Judah, and Leo to complete the entire activity. The group needed three work rugs to fit everything! As they went along, they shared facts about animals and made observations. They discussed the ways in which baby animals were different from their parents, aside from size. One trait common to many animals was that the babies were lighter in color than their parents. After the group finished, Matan and Daniel worked with the cards. Moshe and Esti worked with the Bird Math material, and Moshe completed the Pinch Transfer on his own. Shifra worked with the Rough and Smooth Boards and the Rough and Smooth Objects. Sylvie and Jen worked together with the River of Sounds; earlier in Work Time, she worked with several Mathematics materials. Evan worked on a Sound Book. Shira explored several Mathematics puzzles. Gili introduced new vocabulary for Mother’s Day and began working with friends on Mother’s Day cards, in Hebrew.
Jen began morning group by sharing a second peaceful treasure: hematite. Hematite is a dark, reflective, and heavy mineral. The piece now held in the Peaceful Treasures bag is smooth and cool to the touch, which may be soothing to the friends exploring it with their senses. Next, she read her entry in Shabbat Bear & Shabbat Bunny’s Journal and shared photographs with the friends. After listening intently (and laughing), the friends asked the following:
Noa: “Why did you go with Shabbat Bear to the playground?”
Jen: “I wanted to see if it was a good place for the class to go to on Lag B’Omer.”
Shira: “I went to that park.”
Leo: “Why did Shabbat Bear want to go in the laundry bag?”
Jen: “I guess he didn’t want to walk all the way to the laundromat.”
Gill (translated): “Did Shabbat Bear and Dante get along?”
Jen: “Yeah! They relaxed together on the couch on Saturday.”
Lev: “Are we going to the playground today?”
Jen: “We will go on Thursday for Lag B’Omer, so long as the weather is nice.”
Esti: “Zalmy and I went for a walk near the Botanical Garden on Sunday as well!”
Matan: “Why did you want to go to the playground to see if the 3-5 class wanted to go there?”
Jen: “I wanted to make sure there was no construction and that the bathrooms were open.”
Rosie:”Where did you let him sleep?”
Jen: “Shabbat Bear slept on the couch, since he was my guest.”
Jules’s friend Joey came to the class for Dance. She began by having each friend state his or her name and then dance like their favorite animals. The other friends guessed the mystery animal. Next, they stretched while listening to peaceful music. They practiced making shapes with their bodies on low, medium, and high levels. They jumped up and down and when Joey said “pop!” and named a shape, the friends assumed that shape with their bodies. Everyone went into sleeping poses. Joey covered each friend with a “magic blanket.” When she tapped a friend, he or she would dance his or her dream around the room while everyone else slept. Next, the friends danced one at a time. First each friend danced while holding an imaginary balloon; the dances were very graceful as the friends mimicked floating. Next, they danced while holding imaginary buckets of water; they were careful not to drop any, but carrying the buckets made their feet heavy and their arms hang low. Next, each friend danced with a delicate, sleeping baby. Finally, every friend had the opportunity to move like a jumping, turning bicycle across the carpet. At the end of class, the friends sang Joey’s own goodbye song. They were excellent listeners in Dance class and the teachers look forward to telling Jules how respectfully the class treated her friend.
The friends worked on word building activities in Ivrit with Morah Shani. Morah Shani wrote blank lines on a white board to indicate the number of letters in a familiar word. The friends took turns guessing letters, which was great practice, and became very excited when they were able to guess the word before all the blanks were filled. They later learning the song Ema Yekara Lee. -
During Morning Transition the friends worked on a new Mathematics activity “Water Droplet Counting.” Inspired by Rabbi Akiva’s observation that small drops of water eventually change the surface of a rock, the friends placed the appropriate number of “water droplets” (blue pony beads) on numbered rocks. The friends also resumed other new Mathematics activities, including the Bug Estimation Jar and the sheep Roll and Color work introduced yesterday.
The friends continued the new Mathematics activities during Work Time. They also continued to engage in plenty of partner reading. Mayah read Mat, the first in the BOB Books series. Annie practiced reading with Jen and later Leo joined the pair for a follow-up (Making Words-style lesson) with short a words. The friends later worked together to complete a shelf work also featuring short a words. Noa practiced writing lowercase letters using the lined white board. Evan chose a puzzle work for which he matched uppercase letters with images of objects that begin with each sound. Moshe practiced the Bird Math work and also had a review lesson with the Numbers and Counters. Near the end of Work Time, two observers reported that Samson appeared to be tapping his head as though he was acting out the motions for the class’s Rabbi Akiva song (“He kept on learning…”). Jen (though she surmised that Samson was cleaning his face), asked how Samson might have learned the song and the corresponding motions. The friends suggested that he had watched and listened to the class as they practiced.
Immediately after lunch the friends spent some time petting Samson. As the friends learned about caring for all living creatures while studying Pirkei Avot this week, the friends approached Samson with exemplary peacefulness.
During the Shabbat Celebration, Evan was Shabbat Abba and Shifra was Shabbat Ema. Evan shared a giant map of the United States with the class. He marked New York State with a special sticker and he also helped point out the state of California, where Bella now lives. Shifra shared a photobook with pictures from a recent trip to Florida. The friends made many connections to the picture of Shifra in the pool; swimming is a popular activity amongst the friends in the 3-5 class!
Shabbat Shalom! -
Today the 3-5 class counted 3 weeks and 6 days (27 days) of the omer.
During Morning Transition the friends recorded their new estimates for the Bug Estimation Jar and completed a “roll and color” work in which they rolled a die and marked the corresponding number of sheep (as Rabbi Akiva was first a shepherd) with a Bingo marker. As the friends seem to enjoy this work (and it is great counting and 1:1 correspondence practice for the younger friends), this sort of activity is integrated into many units of study.
Work Time was filled with reading! As many friends have begun guided reading with Jen, they now have a small repertoire of books they can carefully read on their own. The friends began spontaneously reading to one another, and the effect spread throughout the classroom. Jen moved amongst the pairings to work on spelling activities that completed each book. For example, Annie and Mayah worked with the Moveable Alphabet as they formed words in the -at word family that complemented their reading of the book, Mat. Annie said, “I’m so excited to read” and Mayah said, “Reading is so fun!”
The friends had an Ivrit lesson in which they applied their knowledge of hand washing. Gili introduced the friends to hand washing vocabulary in Hebrew: sabon (soap), magevet (towel), mayeem (water), leechlooch (dirty), and nekiyot (clean). The friends helped Gili wash her hands by handing her soap and pouring water over her hands into a large basin. At the end of her presentation about healthy skincare last week, Marcella (Heshel’s mom) suggested that one can sing a 30-second song while washing his or her hands. Gili taught the friends a shir (song) in Hebrew that they might try:
Ani Rochetz Yadim
Ani rochetz yadim (I wash my hands)
b’sabon u’b’mayim (with soap and water)
V’halichluch maher-maher boreach (the dirt goes away quickly)
Vtov leetov achshav v’gam sameach (Now I’m good/happy)
Ki ani naki (I am clean)
Oo’k’she’ani naki, ani motik! (And when I am clean, I’m a “cutie”)
Gili made the class a sign for the bathroom with the lyrics above. Soon they will learn the rest of the (very catchy) song, linked here.
After Rest Time/Reading Rug, when the lights were still dim, the friends gathered on the rug to share their thoughts. When a friend receives the new glowing, glittery ball, he or she can share a thought or ask a question. This short activity is a daily opportunity for the friends to connect and refocus before continuing the second half of their busy day. After some stretching, the friends reviewed the results of the Bug Estimation Jar and completed a Counting Circle.
During Music, Rebecca played several songs on the violin, to which the friends sang along. Leo and Daniel each had a chance to “conduct” the class. They practiced This Land Is Your Land and learned the second verse:
I’ve roamed and rambled and I’ve followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me
At the end of a very musical day, the friends began learning a Lag B’Omer song.
“Rabbi Akiva”
(original song by J. Matthews, TTO: Baby Beluga)A man named Akiva lived along time ago
He couldn’t read or write you know
While out with his sheep he saw water on a rock
It made a hole drop by drop
CHORUS:
Rabbi Akiva, oh Rabbi Akiva
With tomorrow’s sun,
Another day’s begun,
He kept on learningSo Rabbi Akiva left home to learn
After twelve whole years he did return
His wife said he could learn for twelve more
And he left before he walked in the door
CHORUS
When he returned he had begun to teach
He taught important lessons about love and peace
It’s not always easy to learn something new
But if Akiva could do it so can you
CHORUS
The friends even made up their own motions for the first verse and the chorus. The friends will continue learning and practicing the Rabbi Akiva song next week.
