Parasha Plays

These parshiyot of Beresheit, recounting the stories of the avot and imaot, are very dramatic. I used to teach them as a dramatic performance, acting out different roles with small costume changes. Although the classes always learned and enjoyed, this year I switched it to hand puppets. Then I left a puppet theater and my puppets out for the students during free play. The results were amazing! They love performing the stories from the parasha. They prove their interest, retention, and love for Torah every time they reach for a puppet or sat raptly in the audience. 

 This interest in puppets will be extended by sending home the same puppets for use at home as well as introducing another sort of puppet to the class. The new puppet will be highlighting social emotional growth.


We also explored sulam Yaakov, Jacob's ladder in many ways.
Here we took turns rolling a die and adding its number as popsicle stick rungs to the ladder. In this was we practiced many mathematical principles, like number recognition, counting, and one to one correspondence. 

Nail vs Screw

I find it irksome when people use the words 'screw' and 'nail' interchangeably. Apparently I am not the only one.
"Chana! It is called a 'nail'! That is not a screw!" Yochanan exploded. Chana was busy playing on the tap tap board and was confused by his outburst.
"I know because..." she started to explain.
"Yes they are the same," Yitzy argued back. "They are both for building things."
I decided it was time for me to explain this important distinction in hardware and construction.

 "Yitzy, you are right that both nails and screws are for building. But like Yochanan said, they are not the same. You keep making your beautiful work. I am going to borrow something from Mr. Brown to show you the difference."

 I returned with a handful of assorted nails and screws in different colors and sizes. I showed them the smoothness of a nail versus the inclined plain of a screw. I encouraged them to feel them and sort them.

The distinction between the two was clear to some, like Yochanan, but others struggled to sort based on that feature. They wanted to sort on size or color.

Some students tried to hammer in the screws. Everyone had fun comparing the two. I added giant plastic screws into the mix to make the comparison clearer.

During this play time we built a lot- including our vocabulary of building equipment.

Count On It

It started, like everything else, during Creation.
We counted the days Hashem spent making the world. And we began to actively count things all around the room.
We counted pairs in games.

 We counted animals for Noach's teva.

 We counted stars in the sky for Avraham's promise.

 We counted money.

 Number Puzzles

 Numerals and counting

We count ourselves often, playing many number games.

This is just a part of early numeracy where we are focusing.
We are currently working on:

• Counting
• one-on-one correspondence
• How many?
• More / less
• Recognizing numerals

Some of our classroom techniques:

• Promote the concept of one-to-one correspondence through kinesthetic learning – Letting the child combine the assignment of each number word with the physical act of either moving, touching with a finger, or at least pointing at the object it represents.
• Provide activities that allow the child to easily see and physically deal with objects.
• Use comparison words
• Provide plenty of materials with numerals alongside the number written out and corresponding objects that add up to the number
• Invite the children to group or sort objects and materials during art, science or other activities and routines
• Sing songs and fingerplays that include numbers
• Use numbers as you talk with children about what they are doing
• Recite the sequence of counting words up to the required number and in the correct order.

Please practice numbers with your kids whenever you can. Counting steps, cars on the way to shul, identifying numerals all around you. Those little brains are constantly working; give them something worthwhile to process!

The Making of Our Havdala Candles

At the upcoming Havdala program, the students will be taking home Havdala candles we are making in class. My students make many impressive projects and their work is valued, but people (including the students) are generally unaware of how much valuable and varied learning is involved in each of their classroom experiences. We are not "just making stuff" or even "creating masterpieces." We are learning.
The value of learning through art in the classroom is not new. Friedrich Froebel, the father of kindergarten, believed that young children should be involved in both making their own art and enjoying the art of others. To Froebel, art activities were important, not because they allowed teachers to recognize children with unusual abilities, but because they encouraged each child's "full and all-sided development" (Froebel, 1826).

Here I will outline the process we took in candle making and some of the learning involved in each step.
We started discussing havdala candles after Yitzy made a play-dough one.
First we explored a varied of havdala candles. We compared color, size, texture, and shape. Taking time to compare and contrast verbally works on skills of assessment and understanding of our world.

This led to a discussion about the difference between wax and beeswax. Drawing on previously acquired knowledge, the students marveled that the little hexagons were made by the bees we learned about before Rosh Hashana. Drawing from and building on previously acquired knowledge is the foundation for all learning.

As we discussed wax, the children were intrigued by its smell and texture (five sense and learning). "It is like a crayon," they remarked (again, the drawing on and building). "Yah, like a crayon!" came a chorus of agreements. I explained how right they were and decided we would make candles from crayons. Until this point I was tentatively planning for us to roll beeswax candles, but emergent curriculum means the experiences in the class reflect the interest and expressions of the students.

Step one: Preparing the crayons.
I searched the school for the "yucky" crayons and found a good stash along with thousands of new crayons. During free play, one of the optional activities was pulling the paper off of crayons. The students were pretty excited about this because 'making crayons naked' is usually discouraged. Pulling the paper off is a great fine motor development activity and many students enthusiastically took part.

The activity was rewarding for many, but very time consuming. The next day I put the crayons in warm water first. "The crayons had a bath! And now I can take off their clothes!" laughed Ariela. 

Step 2: Sort crayons

The crayons needed to be grouped by color so that the candles didn't all turn brown. Students each a chose a different color and got to work finding theirs. This actions of comparing colors led to many interesting discussions of learning, like is teal blue or green and how peach isn't really anyone's skin color (at least in our class). To connect back to our senses, I asked how we can check the colors. "Without eyes." they chorused. "Right, try closing your eyes and sorting," I suggested. They giggled at their fruitless attempts.

Step 3: Wicks

Racheli found a stash of wicks in the supply room and prepared two wicks for each child. I explained the difference between a crayon, a Shabbat candle, and a Havdala candle was just wicks. Crayons don't have one, Shabbat candles only have one, and Havdala candles have two or more. The students seemed fascinated by this newly acquired information (there is value in good old frontal teaching too- although I explained it in an impromptu puppet show).

 

Step 4: Filling the molds

We are using coffee cups as molds. Each child was instructed to choose a color from the sorted crayons and get 10. This directive tested two skills we are focusing on in class. 1)following directions 2) counting with focus on one-to-one correspondence. Numeracy has been a focus over the last few weeks, with many activities to reinforce early numeracy. see here  The students who are good at one seemed to lack in the other, but with some assistance and redirecting, everyone got their crayons.

Next they had to break them in little pieces and fill the cup around the wick. The task required different muscles in fine motor development than the peeling task.

Step 5: Adding the heat

The students, one at a time, placed their cup on a hot plate. They were warned of the heat and acted with appropriate caution (why the lesson on following instructions is always important). They socialized on this over lunch, shared their knowledge of safety around heat sources and stories of mishaps.

"What do you think will happen to the crayons?" I asked. (Encouraging hypothesizing and scientific contemplation).

"They will turn into candles," Chaya said gleefully.

"Yes, but how?"

"The hot will make them change their shape," Yochanan accurately predicted. I sent them one at a time to observe and marvel at the chemical reaction of wax and heat.