Healthy Habits

Dear Families,

This week we have been studying healthy habits in the Owls’ Classroom. We have focused on teaching the children how their bodies work, and how their choices affect their bodies.

We began our unit of study with a fun activity that taught the children why it is important to wash our hands. First, we all put lotion on our hands. Then, Morah Larissa pretended to sneeze, and slipped her hand into a tray of glitter. We pretended that the glitter was germs! The children learned that we cannot see real germs, but that they are real. Morah Larissa shook a child’s hand, and then we all shook hands. The children were able to see how germs spread through hand to hand contact.

Then we washed the glitter off our hands. We talked about how hard it was to get the pretend germs off of our hands, and reminded the children that at school, we need to wash our hands for a long time – long enough to sing the “ABCs” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

A favorite book this week was Body Battles, by Rita Golden Gelman. The children enjoyed learning about how the body protects itself from bacteria and viruses. We learned about various parts (or superheroes) of the body’s defense system, including the skin, stomach acid and white blood cells. The children were fascinated about how their bodies “fight” germs. On the playground, a new favorite game has become “germs” and “good guys.”

We deepened our study of germs and our immune systems with a visit from Kylan’s mother, Kristi Guinn. She talked to the children about her work as a scientist, Kristi read the children I Know How We Fight Germs, by Kate Rowan. They had many thoughtful questions for her. Thank you so much, Kristi!

We have introduced a doctor’s kit, some scrubs and even a real stethoscope into our dramatic play area. These new materials have invigorated the children’s interest in dramatic play. They enjoy pretending that they work at “Framingham Hospital” (thanks to our Framingham residents, Ashley and Julia). They are fascinated by the real stethoscope and finding their own heart beats. There has been a rash of cardiac arrest among the doll population of our classroom, the cure to which appears to be some fresh squeezed tomato juice!

Pretend play is crucial to the social and emotional development of four- and five-year-olds as they learn to negotiate with other children, to take turns leading and following other children and to share materials.

We have also enjoyed using some traditional medical supplies in unusual ways this week. We used q-tips to paint with liquid watercolors at the art table and used tweezers to move cotton balls into egg cartons. Both of these sensory experiences (the small thin q-tips and the challenging tweezers) build children’s hand strength.

We also introduced some concepts about nutrition this week. The children enjoyed looking at grocery ads at the Writing Center and practiced copying some of the text from these ads. Because grocery ads contain pictures of the foods with labels, they are a wonderful way for children to engage in writing while making meaning from text at the same time. The children also enjoyed using word cards to write about their favorite foods – and they even tried writing lower case letters.

At Morning Meeting on Wednesday, we pretended to take a field trip to the grocery store. The children pretended to go shopping and picked out a photograph of a food. We sorted our “purchases” into 3 shopping bags, one labeled “Always,” one labeled “Sometimes,” and one labeled “Just a Little Bit.” The children learned that “Always” foods are foods that we can always choose to eat, because they fill us up and give our bodies energy, help our muscles, or make our bones stronger. We put photographs of green beans, yogurt, milk, and whole-grain crackers into the “Always” bag. We learned that some foods help our bodies grow and get stronger, but they might have things like fat or sugar in them that are not good for our bodies if we eat too much. We put those foods (like pizza and sugar-filled cereals) into the “Sometimes” bag. Finally, we found some foods that taste good, but do not help our bodies grow or get stronger! We put those foods (such as chocolate and candy) into the “Just a Little Bit” bag. We talked about how we eat “Just a Little Bit” of these foods. Then the children created their own collages, using cut-out pictures of food. They sorted their choices into boxes labeled “Always,” “Sometimes,” and “Just a Little Bit.”

The children also were each invited to join Morah Larissa at the computer, where we looked at a nutrition website aimed at preschoolers from the federal government. On the preschool section of http://www.mypyramid.gov/, the children were able to type in their names, click on their age and then print out their own personalized food pyramid! We talked about how the food pyramid helps us decide what kinds and how much food to eat. This was a meaningful way for the children to interact with technology to gain information. In addition, these are some of the resources that we have used at school to coach children through meal times.

While we have had a special focus on healthy habits this week, we discussed concepts of personal hygiene (such as brushing teeth and washing hands) as well as healthy eating habits throughout each and every day at school. This week has allowed us to explicitly focus on some of the language and ideas that we discuss at snack time, lunch time and every time we enter the room and wash our hands!

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Larissa and Morah Kate

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

Dear Families,

This has been a week of many celebrations in the Owls’ Room! On Tuesday, we completed our alphabet chart. This was a great achievement for the children and we celebrated with some alphabet cookies for snack. The children’s enthusiasm for this project was incredible and they have each demonstrated a new sense of mastery over alphabet letters. They often look at the alphabet chart throughout the day, and refer to it when experimenting with writing. We are looking forward to putting the photos of the children into a small book! Please stay tuned for more information about this.

We also enjoyed making Morah Shari a small gift for her birthday on Thursday. We decorated a tote bag for her and made it extra sparkly, as per the children’s request. It is always an amusing challenge for four- and five-year-olds to try to keep a secret about a gift. We may have had more security leaks than we would like to admit! The children felt a great sense of pride about being able to create something real and useful for a favorite teacher.

We led up to our Purim festivities on Friday by wearing funny hats on Wednesday and celebrating Backwards Day on Thursday. We even tried walking backwards and ate lunch before snack on Backwards Day!

Finally, we spent much of our week continuing to learn about Purim and preparing to celebrate it. The children watched Morah Kate and Morah Larissa re-create the Purim story using puppets, and then made their own puppets. We took out the puppet theater at Dramatic Play so that the children could perform their own puppet shows. Through so many varied, but repeated exposures to the Purim story, the children have been able to develop an understanding of why we celebrate this holiday.

We focused many of our discussions this week on some of the feelings that the characters of the Purim story might have had. In particular, we have talked about Esther’s bravery – how it was scary for her to go before King Achashverosh, but how brave she was nonetheless. One day at Circle Time, the children discussed scary situations in which they have been brave, and the next day, they drew and used dictation to write about their own experiences. The children thought about times that they have jumped off diving boards or been at a doctor’s office. Talking about the feelings characters might have in stories helps children to build their comprehension skills. It also helps children to relate to the story and makes the learning more relevant for the children.

We also prepared for Purim this week by decorating bags for Mishloach Manot, or the gifts of food that we give on Purim. Most importantly, we made hamantaschen! First we read a teacher-made “book” of the recipe. Then we made the dough, carefully measuring the flour, sugar, oil and eggs. We refrigerated the dough overnight and shaped the hamantaschen the next day. This was a great geometry lesson, as we learned how to turn a circle into a triangle shaped cookie.

The theme of castles appears in the Purim story (as Esther goes to live in the king’s castle) and is often of high interest to young children. Morah Larissa’s husband, Dr. Gregory Halfond, who is a Medieval Historian, joined us on Thursday to read the children a book about castles. The children were fascinated by the pictures. They discussed the sequence of events that they have learned about. Julia pointed out that first there were dinosaurs, then Queen Esther and then came our school. The historian-in-residence agreed that this was a fairly good assessment of things.

Finally, we made masks for Purim as well, decorating paper cut-outs with water colors. Another favorite Purim activity used laminated paper hamantaschen for sorting, counting and making patterns. The children’s math skills have all grown so much throughout the year!

Please remember that there is no school next Thursday, March 24^th as the TCEE staff will be participating in a Professional Development Day at Smith College.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Purim!

-Morah Kate and Morah Larissa

Purim, Freeze Clean-up and Mat Man!

Dear Families,

We have enjoyed our study of Purim this week. The concepts that we focused on are learning that Purim is a fun holiday and that we celebrate it by dressing up. We have also focused on learning the story of Esther. To that end, we have read several versions of the Purim story. We have even begun to act it out, dressing up as King Ahashueros, Queen Vashti, Mordecai, Queen Esther, and even Haman! It was fun to use our dress up clothes to make a story come alive as Morah Larissa read the book. Doing a “play” while a book is read supports children’s comprehension of the story.

The children have been very curious about the characters in the Purim story. It is fascinating for them to hear about Queens and Kings and brave “superheroes” like Esther and Mordecai. At the art table on Wednesday, we made crowns so that the children could pretend to be Queen Esther or King Ahashueros.

We have also been working hard building castles (such as the one Queen Esther might have lived in) at the block area. On Tuesday, at Morning Meeting, Morah Larissa demonstrated to the children how to use drawing to create a simple plan (or a blueprint) for a castle to build at the Block Area. First, the children contributed their ideas for the castle while Morah Larissa drew them. This was a great way to build mathematical vocabulary surrounding the unit blocks, and to build spatial awareness. Next, we built our castle together! The children learned how to translate a 2-dimensional plan into 3 dimensions. It was also a wonderful opportunity for the children to work cooperatively on a block building with teacher support.

We have also had a lot of fun making groggers, or noisemakers, this week. Traditionally, groggers are used to make noise when Haman’s name is read during the Megillah (or Book of Esther) reading on Purim. We made two different kinds of groggers this week: one made with salt in a sealed toilet paper tube, and one made with beans in a stapled-closed paper plate. On Friday, we will compare the sounds of our different groggers. This will be a fun science exploration and build the children’s sensory vocabulary. Meanwhile, a new favorite game for the children is to ask Morah Kate to say a list of names. When she says “Haman,” they shake their groggers!

The children have also experimented with some real groggers. On Wednesday, we played “Esther, Esther, Where’s That Grogger?” The children took turns pretending to be “Esther,” and hid in various places in the room. When the rest of the group shouted, “Esther, Esther, where’s that grogger?” we tried to use our sense of hearing to find the our missing friend with the grogger!

Another new fun game this week has been “Freeze Clean-up.” We put on a song during clean-up time, and the children clean up to the music. Just like in “Freeze Dance,” they have to freeze if we pause the music. This has really changed the tune of everyone’s least favorite time of the day! Sometimes adding in a fun game can engage children in routines that are important but otherwise not enjoyable for them.

We also learned a new fun song this week, “Mat Man.” This song and activity are part of the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum, which is used in the Brookline Public Schools in kindergarten. The vocabulary and routines that the children are learning in the Owls room this year will be consistent with what is used in the kindergarten classes. “Mat Man” is an image of a person created using the wood blocks that we have used when learning letters. (The blocks are various lines and curves that are put together to make letters, and each has a specific name that the children are learning.) The Mat Man song teaches the children about each different part of the body, and it builds body awareness as well as number sense. It is also a great way to teach the children how to draw more detailed illustrations of people. The children have had much fun drawing Mat Man!

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Larissa and Morah Kate

Welcome Kylan, Amanut and "We Are the Dinosaurs!"

Dear Families,

We have been delighted to welcome Kylan Guinn and his family to the Owls class! We are all so excited to get to know them. The Owls have enjoyed finding their new cubby spaces, as we moved things around a bit to accommodate the addition to our community.

On Tuesday this week, we happily explored the new Amanut, or Art Studio, at the Trust Center. This new space has been carefully set up to nurture the children’s explorations of process-based art. It is fun for the children to do crafts in the classroom, and we often teach important content and skills this way. However, young children benefit greatly from the opportunity to create and express their own ideas freely with variable mediums. On Tuesday, we experimented with crayons at the easel. The children also used a large piece of butcher paper taped to the floor to create a large collaborative mural. It was wonderful to find Shayna and Noah working together to carefully illustrate and label some of their favorite characters from Toy Story 3. Many of the children also explored the collage bank. Matthew and Nicholas discovered two different ways to make birds. Matthew used feathers while Nicholas used popsicle sticks!

On Thursday, we welcomed Rhonda Solomon, a Guest Reader from the Temple Ohabei Shalom Sisterhood. She brought two Purim books to read to the children: It’s Purim Time! By Latifa Berry Kropf, and When It’s Purim, by Edie Stoltz Zolkower, and donated them to our growing TCEE collection. Mrs. Solomon also brought us hamantaschen to taste at snack time. It was a delight to get to know her, and we happily wished her “todah rabah,” or thank you very much.

We continued our study of dinosaurs this week, focusing on learning about some of our favorite species. We have learned that some dinosaurs were plant-eaters and that others were meat-eaters. We have also noticed the different ways that different species of dinosaurs moved – either on two feet or on four feet. We had a lot of fun moving around like dinosaurs during the indoor movement time afforded to us by some of the rainy and very cold days this week. The children took turns choosing various pictures of dinosaurs, and then finding ways to move their bodies like them. It is hard for us to move around on four feet, like stegosaurus or triceratops, but a great opportunity for the children to develop their core strength.

Another highlight of the week was pretending to be paleontologists, excavating toy dinosaurs out of the ice cubes in which Morah Larissa and Morah Kate froze them. The children used eye-droppers to melt their ice cubes and free their dinosaurs. This was a lot of fun, but also a great way to teach science concepts (such as paleontology, excavation, fossils, as well as ice/water and melting) while building children’s fine motor strength. Small eye-droppers are a great way to build the hand strength necessary for children to become writers.

We have also been enjoying a new favorite song: “We are the Dinosaurs,” by The Laurie Berkner Band (click on the video to hear the song). We love marching around the room pretending to be dinosaurs! In addition, the children have loved playing with the nest that they made before vacation. They take turns pretending to be baby dinosaurs hatching from eggs, or adult dinosaurs sitting on a nest. On Friday this week, we will read a book from Jane Yolen’s popular series about dinosaurs, How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food? Then, we will write our own book, titled, How Do Dinosaurs Celebrate Shabbat?

This week, we have focused on some of the literacy and mathematical skills that support children in collecting and organizing information. We have talked about what kind of words we use in a question. The children have learned that questions are words we use to talk about things that we wonder about, and things that we don’t know yet. The children have each practiced asking a question before reading non-fiction books about dinosaurs. It is fun to find the answers inside our books!

We have also introduced Venn Diagrams this week. We used hula hoops to make a Venn diagram with our bodies, and we discovered who has brothers, sisters, both, or none. We also created a Venn diagram with our toy dinosaurs, and compared and contrasted the ways that they move.

Finally, we have continued to build on our graphing skills this week. The children have learned that a graph is a chart that we can use to find out how many people like or do not like something. We created a graph about our favorite dinosaurs. Stegosaurus and iguanodon were two favorites! Finally, we also used graph paper with some of our manipulative toys, to compare and contrast them by various attributes including color and shape.

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Larissa and Morah Kate