L’hitraot, See you Again!

Dear Families,

We have had a wonderful end to a wonderful school year.  We re-visited several favorite activities this week.  Last week, as we begun to discuss the coming of the end of the school year, the children were invited to suggest some of the things that they would like to do again.  And so, we made one last batch of challah, played with the marble run as much as humanly possible, and read many, many books.

We enjoyed our author study of James Marshall this week, and focused on some of our favorite stories: those about George and Martha, two hippos who are very good friends.  James Marshall wrote several books telling humorous stories about these two hippos, each book containing several stories.  On Monday, we had a discussion about the two characters, and the children worked hard to put together some of the information that they had gathered about each character throughout the various stories.  On Tuesday, we wrote a letter to George and Martha.  The children wanted to know if they go to school!  On Wednesday, we acted out a favorite story about George and Martha.  Our combined experiences of discussion, writing, and acting served to deepen the children’s comprehension of the stories, and to allow them to begin to understand the concept of characters and perspective in stories.

We enjoyed investigating materials related to the study of insects this week.  We used small plastic insects and cards with sequential pictures to learn about the different stages of metamorphosis.  We also tried camouflaging toy insects onto floral fabric and photographs of flowers, leaves, and other natural objects.  We discussed how insects use camouflage to protect themselves from predators.  Finally, we even looked at x-rays of real insects, and matched them to photographs of different kinds of insects.  Many of the children present a natural curiosity in relation to the study of insects.  While many of us adults would rather avoid an encounter with a spider, it is a gift to see the world through the eyes of a four- or five-year-old: full of wonder and intrigue.  Insects present children with opportunities to learn about important biological concepts, including growth, predator and prey relationships, and natural defenses. 

We also spent time this week working on gifts for Father’s Day.  We hope that you enjoy them.  However, the majority of our work this week was spent in preparing for the “Big Goodbye Day.”  The children finished using writing and drawing to share some of their thoughts and memories of the school year, and we have put their work together in books.  Focusing on positive memories is a wonderful coping skill for young children as they say good-bye to a special time in their lives.  Talking at home about wonderful memories of days in school can help children to cope with the change. 

The end of a school year is often a time for mixed emotions for both children and adults, particularly in families who are leaving preschool behind.  We feel both happy about the accomplishment and the new adventures to come, but also sad about the change and the end of a wonderful time.  It is hard for all of us to know how to act when we encounter mixed emotions, and it is particularly hard for young children.  They cannot identify if they are feeling happy or sad or both, and they therefore cannot figure out how to act on their feelings of cope with them.  At school, we often say, “At the end of school, some children feel sad and some children feel happy, but most children feel both.”  This can help children to recognize what they are feeling.  Related to children’s mixed emotions and confusion surrounding the change, you may notice some regression in behavior at home.  Some children find it helpful to be reminded about the things that are consistent in their lives – the things that are not changing.  For example, you might say, “Even though school is over for the year, Mommy and Daddy will still take care of you.  You will still have bedtime TV every night.  The rules at home are still the same.”  Consistency at home can ground children and make them feel more secure when there is a change in their school situation.

We wish a hearty congratulations to our first TCEE graduates.  We will miss them dearly, but wish them all the best in the new adventures that lie ahead for them.  We hope that they will be in touch often.

We would like to thank you all so very much for sharing your children and your families with us their year.  It has been such a delight to watch them learn, grow, laugh, learn, and come together as friends this year.  We are so grateful for the trust that you placed in us this year in teaching the TCEE’s first pre-kindergarten class, and we were honored to be their teachers. 

L’hitraot, and we look forward to seeing many of you in camp this summer!

-Morah Larissa, Morah Marla, and Morah Kate

Welcome Morah Marla

Dear Families,

This has been an eventful week in the Owls’ Room.  We observed Shavuot by continuing to study and build an understanding of the Ten Commandments.  We talk about the Ten Commandments in ways that are accessible to young children and relate to the rules that they encounter in their own lives.  For example, we talk about how we shouldn’t say bad words, how we should tell the truth (or “true words), and how we shouldn’t take toys without asking.  On Monday, the children enjoyed a teacher-performed puppet show about the Ten Commandments.  On Tuesday, they used water colors and dictation to express their understanding of the Ten Commandments.

On Tuesday, we also enjoyed tasting a traditional Shavuot food: cheese blintzes.  These crepes stuffed with a cheese mixture are traditionally served on Shavuot because they contain milk and are sweet.  This is symbolic of the Torah, which is said to be sweet like milk and honey. 

We also had a “Good-bye Day” for Morah Kate on Tuesday.  We informed the children on Monday that we would say good-bye to her the next day.  We tell young children about changes closer to the time that they will happen at school, because we find that it is difficult for most pre-school aged children to truly conceptualize time.  When we tell them that they will go to kindergarten soon, they often think that it will happen the very next day!  We prepared the children for Morah Kate’s “good-bye” by giving them clear information the day before it happened.  We find that it is helpful to support young children through separations by using a three-step process.  First, we give them clear information about what will happen and when.  Then we talk about the things that will stay the same.  This supports children in coping with the change – they know that they have some consistency to rely on.  For example, we acknowledge that even without Morah Kate, the routine will be the same at school, the toys will be the same, and Morah Larissa will still be there to take care of them.  Finally, we discuss the children’s mixed feelings.  We talked about the fact that they will feel sad, but that we will always remember the nice times that we had with Morah Kate in the Owls Room this year.

To that end, we had a wonderful time composing a list of our favorite moments with Morah Kate this past year.  The children remembered how much they liked sitting next to her at lunch, playing hide and seek or soccer with her on the playground, and reading books with her.

We will use the same three-step process to support the children in getting ready for the end of the school year.  On Thursday, we began talking about the “Big Goodbye Day” that is coming next week.  We noted that some children will stay at home over the summer, and some will come to camp at the TCEE.  We also noted that some children will go to a new school next year, and that others will return.  We support the children in coping with the diversity of their experiences by reminding them that “Moms and Dads know just what’s right for their children,” and that it’s the parents who will decide what the children’s individual plans are.  While the end of the school year is an exciting moment of accomplishment with the anticipation of a fun summer, it also represents change for young children.  We remind the children about all of the other things in their lives that remain consistent throughout that change – in this case, their home lives!  Finally, we have begun to make a list of some of our favorite activities that we remember from the school year – in the interest of revisiting some of these activities one last time!  The children had fond memories of the marble run, our new weights and scale at the Science Center, making challah, and, of course…the worms! 

The children have begun to work on individual books about their school years.  Each child is writing and drawing about some of their favorite (or least favorite) toys and experiences, and some of the new things that they have learned.  These will be a nice keepsake to take home and to remember their year, and the process of creating them also supports the children in their preparation for the end of the year.

We enjoyed welcoming Morah Marla this week, who is subbing for Morah Kate for last few days of school.  Marla Beller is an accomplished early childhood educator with a Master’s Degree from the State University of New York at Albany.  She currently teaches at a Head Start program in New Hampshire and has previously taught at Temple Israel in Boston.  She is also…and perhaps you’ve heard…Morah Larissa’s mother!  The Owls find this absolutely hilarious! 

This week we have started an author study of James Marshall, who has written some of the Owls’ favorite books this year, including the Miss Nelson books and the George and Martha books.  Conducting an author study, or reading and discussing many works by one author, allows even the youngest of children to gain insight into the writing process.  They are able to make observations about an author and illustrator’s style, and to use these observations to deepen their comprehensions and gain insights.

We are looking forward to having you join us for the Shalom Picnic at 11am on Friday, June 17^th.  We will be sending home much of the Owls’ work that day, as well as their extra clothing and other things that they’ve kept in school. 

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Larissa, Morah Kate, and Morah Marla

The Story of Ruth, the 10 Commandments and New High School Buddies!

Dear Families,

This week, we have continued with our study of Shavuot. We have been studying the story of Ruth, which is traditionally read on Shavuot. This biblical story teaches of Ruth’s loyalty to her mother-in-law and her acceptance of Torah. We have relied on multiple strategies to teach this story. First, the children saw Morah Kate perform a puppet show telling the story. Then, another day, Morah Larissa led a storytelling circle and told the story aloud. The children were instructed to try to see the pictures in their imaginations! In a day and age when high-tech toys eliminate the need for much imagination in young children, storytelling is a valuable way for children to develop their creative and abstract thinking skills.

Another fun Shavuot activity this week was the initial work on the creation of our own Torah! On Tuesday, we used Hebrew letter cookie cutters to do some printing on a large piece of butcher paper. On Friday, we will work together to turn our work into a scroll, like the real Torah.

We have also begun learning about the Ten Commandments this week. On Thursday, we read No Rules for Michael, by Sylvia A. Rouss. This book tells the story of a boy learning about the Ten Commandments at school. When the teacher in the book makes the connection between the Ten Commandments as rules for living and school rules, Michael announces that he wishes there were no rules at school. The teacher agrees to try a day with no rules, but Michael discovers that he is unable to get what he needs when there are no rules at school. We then discussed our own class rules, and the children drew and wrote about school rules that they know about. Many of the children thought about things that are prohibited, such as tackling, punching and saying bad words. We then discussed some of the rules about things that we should do at school, including being kind to friends, being a good listener and taking good care of our things.

In relation to our study of the Ten Commandments, we have been working with the number ten and building the children’s number sense in regards to numbers one through ten. Number sense is built gradually, and it is defined as a general understanding of numbers and operations in a way that is flexible enough to develop useful strategies for solving problems. For example, number sense indicates that children are able to relate a set of 7 objects with the spoken word seven, the written digit 7, and able to understand that a set of 5 objects and a set of 2 objects can be combined to yield 7 objects. Number sense is heavily emphasized in the new prekindergarten Mathematics curriculum in the new Common Core State Standards that are being adapted in Massachusetts as well as 46 other states.

One of the fun ways that we have built number sense this week is by working with our Snap-Cube builders and a seriating chart. This chart shows a picture of one Snap-Cube in the first column, followed by a picture of two Snap-Cubes in the second column, and then three in the third column, etc. A seriating chart allows the children to engage in hands-on work to discover that five is one more cube than four, but one less cube than six. In addition, the children are able to discover that the “two” Snap-Cube set and the “three” Snap-Cube set can be combined to create the “five” Snap-Cube set. Allowing children to make their own discoveries about quantity and addition is much more meaningful than memorization of addition facts because it builds understanding as well as problem-solving skills.

This week, we have had the pleasure of doing some collaboration with students in a Spanish class at the Meridian Academy, the independent high school that rents space from Temple Ohabei Shalom on the floor above the early childhood center. The high school students have been learning about language acquisition, and as part of their work, they have developed curriculum designed to teach the Owls simple vocabulary. This week, we worked with the first group of high school students as they implemented their curriculum. They used charades, art, movement, and games to teach the children vocabulary words including house (“casa”) and alien (“marciano”). They even read us a fun book about a boy visiting outer space, in which many of the new Spanish vocabulary words were used. This has been a delight for the Owls! It has been a rewarding social and emotional experience for them, as they have gotten to know and come to admire high school role models. They have also been intrigued by the Spanish vocabulary. Second language development supports young children in developing a broad and deep vocabulary, which is of integral importance in the children’s future reading skills. The Owls enjoyed teaching the high school students a little Hebrew when they thanked them by saying “Todah Rabah!” We will continue to work with the Meridian Academy students next week.

We're so excited to welcome a new friend, Ayden, to our class this week. The Owls have been so wonderful about showing Ayden all the fun things to do in our classroom and helping him learn our routine.

Shabbat Shalom,

Morah Larissa and Morah Kate