Wednesday, September 29, 2010






It was another short but wonderful week at The Gan.
A lot of work was done by busy hands.

An important preparation for a mathematical mind is the ability to organize and classify. Creating patterns is one step in building these skills. This week we created patterns using objects


and in art.


Before children begin to write and read, they need to develop their ability to distinguish sounds. Each week we will be discussing a specific letter. This week we continued with S. Today, we sorted objects beginning with C and S.
This activity allowed the children to review C, and distinguish between the two sounds.


Rhyming is a way to identify similar sounds. The children were encouraged to match an object to the picture it rhymed with.
This also created the opportunity to create silly short sentences like "the duck is on the truck."

In honor of Simchat Torah we danced with our Torahs around a table 7 times. The children counted for each other and we discussed how in Shul on Simchat Torah people go around the Bimah table seven times with the Torah.








Rabbi led us in a blessing and we each had an opportunity to shake the Lulav and Etrog.

One of the standout moments this week for me was attending the pizza party in the sukkah with the children, their families and the community.

Friendships are being created and mitzvahs are happening daily in the classroom.



Wednesday, September 22, 2010

A good second week.



This was a great, if short week.
The classroom was full of smiles, and I began to hear many voices join my own.




We began talking about the letter "S". We discovered many things around us begin with "S":
spoons, scissors, squares, spiders, September, sukkah.
Morah Katie: Look at our playground, the swings begin with "S".
Dena: Swings have "S"
Morah Katie: What does slide begin with?
Levi: S, but not catching, that begins with "C".



We went on a hunt for all the square objects we could find in the classroom. We discovered our mirrors are in the shape of a square, some books and blocks as well as our group meeting room are in the shape of a square.
Morah Katie: Should we rename circle time square time?
Children: NO! silly!

We ate lunch in the Chabbad sukkah tuesday and wednesday. On tuesday we talked about the sukkah.
Morah Katie: Where are we eating today?
Children: Sukkah!
Dena: It's a big sukkah.
Morah Katie: How many sides does the sukkah have?
Dena: One, two, three.
Levi: Four until the door opened.
Kian: Big sukkah.
Tori: We can't move it.
Morah Katie: How many friends are eating lunch in the sukkah?
Levi: 7!
Morah Katie: Where will we eat lunch tomorrow?
Children: Sukkah!

Wednesday at lunch we discussed:
Morah Katie: What do we do in the sukkah?
Levi: Eat!
Morah Katie: Who do we eat with?
Tori: Friends!
Levi: Family and friends
Morah Katie: Who are we eating with today?
Dena: Levi
Tori: Dena
Kian: Friends
Levi: Kian
Tori: Daniel
Dena: Tori
Levi: Morah Katie
Morah Katie: I am happy to be eating lunch in the sukkah with my friends.



We spent a delightful time playing in our wonderful outdoor play area and on the fantastic train!

Next week is also a short week, we will continue to explore the letter "S" and practice our counting and pattern making.