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