Goodbye to Eytan

Dear Families,

Our week began by saying a sad good-bye to Eytan and his family on Monday. Cecile brought in a delicious chocolate layer cake, much enjoyed by children and adults alike. We presented Eytan with an album of photos and artwork created by the children, so that he can bring his memories back to Paris with him. Eytan gave us a set of picture flashcards so that we can continue to practice our French! We sang “Make New Friends” together, and all of the children gave Eytan a hug before he left. We will be sure to keep in touch through writing letters, and perhaps even Skype!

We have begun to incorporate Havdalah, the religious ceremony marking the end of Shabbat, into our Monday Morning Meeting routine. We light the braided candle and enjoy smelling the spice box while singing the blessings. The children especially love listening to the sound of the candle sizzling as we dip it into the grape juice to extinguish the flame. We then wish each other a “Shavau Tov,” or a “Good Week.”

We have continued to notice signs of fall this week. While the rainy weather has kept us indoors, signs of nature were plentiful in the classroom. The children practiced cutting leaves, and then gluing them on paper. We added more leaves to the sand table. The children have enjoyed the rich sensory experience of crumbling and crunching the leaves. We also painted with acorns this week, and then conducted an experiment. We tried planting an acorn in some soil. The children made hypotheses, and learned that the word hypothesis means “a prediction,” or “a guess about what will happen.” Here are our predictions:

Nicholas: I think the acorn tree is going to grow in it.
Shayna: I think the acorn will grow into a plant like pumpkins or pineapple or clementines.
Ashley: It’s going to grow into a tree.
Julia: It’s gonna grow into a tree like an apple tree.
Matthew: When it grows to be an acorn tree, acorns will fall off of it.
Arturo: Grow.

We also had fun exploring with a pumpkin this week. We guessed at how many seeds would be inside, and then scooped them out. We counted up to 67 seeds…but alas, there were more seeds than we had the patience to count! We then rinsed and toasted the seeds, which made for a delicious snack after lunch on Wednesday.

The numerous rainy days that we had this week gave us several opportunities to play a fun new game, “Hullabaloo.” This game is a little bit like a cross between “Twister” and “Simon Says.” There are sixteen “pads” (small vinyl mats) with multiple attributes (different shapes, pictures, and colors). The children follow directions to move in different ways (bouncing, skipping, crawling, etc.) to particular pads. The children love this game, and it allows them to have some intense gross motor activity indoors. Furthermore, it supports them in developing listening comprehension, following multi-step directions, practicing knowledge of shapes of colors, and noticing multiple attributes of one object.

We have had some fun writing activities out in the classroom this week. The children loved creating their own books at the Writing Center. By drawing pictures and dictating words to teachers, the children develop their understanding that printed letters communicate specific meanings. Furthermore, when children write their own books, it supports their reading development because they can often “read” what they have composed. In the Dramatic Play Area this week, we have added wipe-off board “grocery lists” and cards displaying words and pictures relating to food. The children had a great time creating their own grocery lists. It is common for four-year-olds to use a combination of letters and scribbles when they are “writing,” and this is an important part of their development as writers. Many of the children, however, have enjoyed asking for help replicating the letters that they see in the flash cards. Adding writing materials to the Dramatic Play Area is a way to engage children in writing in a way that is different from the Writing Center – it becomes integrated into their play. This ignites their curiosity and helps build an understanding of how adults use writing.

The children are enjoying collecting tzedakah on Fridays. If any of you wish to send in a roll or two of pennies in a zip-lock bag, we will be happy to store them in the classroom and give them to the children to donate during Shabbat on Fridays.

Next week we will begin talking about Thanksgiving. We are planning on creating a feast for the children, in combination with the “Bears” classroom, on Wednesday, November 24th. There will be much cooking and preparation happening in the week ahead!

Shabbat Shalom, and best wishes for the week ahead.

Morah Larissa and Morah Kate