The Great Rabbi Chait

As you see, we do many excited things in the classroom. But one area where we lacked was a genuine, guided, interactive musical experience.  And I knew I do not have the skills to provide it. 

I interviewed a few candidates.

But no one in our class had the repertoire, musical capability, or professionalism really necessary. 

Down the hall, I found someone who was! The Great Rabbi Chait!

Once a week Rabbi Chait and I swap spots. I teach 3rd grade and he brings his guitar to the preschool. The Great Rabbi Chait leads an incredible sing-along. I could tell you how much the children love it, but ask any of them, as their reports are glowing!

 

Spirituality on the Playground

 Here is a glimpse of something I had the pleasure of overhearing on the playground.


"The black is there so we can't be seen," Naomi Bina explained. [She was referring to the blackout on the playground fence which was added a few months ago.]
"I can still be seen," Audrey remarked.
"No, it is so bad people can't see us," Ava explained.
"No one can see us!" Naomi Bina insisted.
"Hashem can see us! He sees us EVERYWHERE. He can see us through the black," Ava expressed.
"Because Hashem is good. But bad people can't see us," Audrey concluded.



Meanwhile spiritual reflection was also occurring with sidewalk chalk.  
 "I made a ladder," Naftali announced. 
"A fix-it man ladder!" Yaakov announced. 
"No," Yehuda objected. "It is your ladder. It is Yaakov's. There are angels going up and down on it."
"And it goes all the way up to shamayim [heaven]," Naftali added, drawing a sun at the top. 

Veggie Party!

Today was our celebration of vegetables!
We looked at them, marveled at their many colors, and discussed their health value.

"Eating vegetables help us grow so much! They help keep us healthy. So we are going to make ourselves out of vegetables!"

The students selected vegetables from your wonderful contributions.

"I don't usually like carrots, but I will try them," Jacob announced. 

"I also didn't like them, but then I tried them with dip and they are yummy!" encouraged Moshe Leib.
 
 Then they churned out some masterpieces. Above is an uncanny self-portrait of Audrey.

 "Me and my legs!" Naftali later added arms and a few more features. 

"I made a circle instead of myself," Elchanan explained as he enjoyed tasting his creation.  

Then we enjoyed eating our healthy selves. 

Grain/Melachot/Sixth Grade Teaches

We are learning about grain as part of our lesson on nutrition and brachot. The sixth grade boys are learning about the 39 melachot. Because of their studies of "the order of bread", they are experts in the process of wheat to flour.

The boys were kind enough to share their expertise with us with an incredible demonstration.

planting/plowing

reaping/gathering

Threshing/winnowing/sorting

 Grinding 

 Everyone took a turn grinding

 Sifting

 Then the boys gave each student a wheat stalk.

It was amazing for the pre-Kers to learn from the "big boys". Everyone is a teacher.
When Tiny Tots came outside for recess, Ava gave students from the younger class a demonstration of turning wheat into flour.

Playing with Great Grain

 Everyone enjoyed stringing cereal.

But not as much as they loved playing with pasta!

First they was raw spaghetti.

"Pokey noodles," Elazar called them

 They enjoyed snapping the noodles.

 Even more fun to play with was cooked pasta.

 Tongs for motor development, super sensory fulfillment and so much fun!

 And doing something you are never allowed to do at home makes it extra fun.

If cooked pasta isn't your thing, there were raw noodles to tong feed to hungry faces.

The Magical Wooden Logs

In the list of this which I am passionate in education, nature and up-cycling are high on this list. I could (and often do) rant about the importance of these elements, but instead I will share some pictures.

When TDS installed the playground, they cut down a tree. The remaining tree stump has been an interesting natural toy, often more used than the actual playground. [Like for crushing ice here].
A few logs were left for an unnamed future activity.

Until the activity is named, Mr. Brown arranged the logs into triangle with a stump in the middle.
What are these natural trees for in this way? I cannot answer that as well as the children and these photos can.

Tea Party

Fire pit for roasting marshmallows.

Surface for grinding/thrashing grains

A dinning room for playing house

Roasting marshmallows around a camp fire.

I thrill in watching the variety of age groups, friends, and uses of the 'discarded' wood pieces. 

Ice is Nice

All of you experienced the excitement of the snow on Shabbat. At school on Monday we enjoyed the aftermath. The interest in the snow was universal but the perspectives varied.

 

"Look at the ice!" Moshe called excitedly. He held it out. "I want to take it home."

"How will you take it home?" asked Naomi.

"In my pockets!" he replied.

"Moshe, what do you think will happen if you put it in your pockets?" I asked. 

"My pockets will get cold," he replied logically. I tried to explain how ice is frozen water, but they were not interested in my point.

 Yehuda wanted to test the ice in another way. He decided to see what would happen if he crushed the ice. He enjoyed bashing them on a tree stump.
"You are making ice sparkles!" announced Ava eagerly observing his progress.

 Elazar worked on different scientific observations. He found different objects frozen in the ice. He marveled at the frozen rocks, wood chips, and dirt he found around the playground.

Everyone enjoyed the ice - for a little while.  Thankfully Moshe had not stored ice in his pockets because he quickly needed a warm place for his hands.