Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Bike Day

Thank you, Orlee for recommending a day of bicycles.
Morah Tova added a balance bike and a "real-no-training-wheel" bike to our recess fun, making everyone excited about bikes. Orlee said the school bikes were nice, but that she wanted to bring in her own. real bike and asked if we could have everyone bring in bikes and really ride. It was a great idea!








 Fun in gross motor development, coordination, maneuvering, and road safety.

Lag B'Omer

Lag B'Omer was super fun for everyone!

The journey to the playground was good.

 The playground was fantastic!
 PE with Ms. Chait was phenomenal. She said the students were phenomenal. She marveled at the skills the students gained this year and their determination and discipline.


 At the end of every PE session, Ms. Chait leads a special 'cool-down' exercise.
 Back to the playground!









Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Day 3 City of David

Day 3: Ir David


Just a short walk from the Kotel, we explored Ir David, the City of David.  The older grades learned the history relating to King David and the first occupancy of Jerusalem.  The timeline of Jewish history, from Moshe to David, as it relates to Israel was stressed.  Then we learned about archeology, as Ir David has fascinated archaeologists for more than 150 years. Some classes attempted to reassemble an ‘ancient’ vessel.  Some classes learned about tells [a type of archaeological mound created by human occupation and abandonment of a geographical site over many centuries]  playing a game with blocks to build and rebuild in one area.
The younger grades learned about King David. They enjoyed the Midrashic tale of spider protecting him in the cave.  The students sang “David Melech Yisrael” and went on an archaeological dig, discovering great treasures.


























Israel


Friday, April 15, 2016

Chametz Versus Pesach Food

Distinguishing between chametz and food which can be eaten on Pesach is an important skill, beginning when we are young and continuing forever (Sorting is an important component of daily executive function. Knowing which foods are acceptable for Peach is a yearly issue.) 
We began sorting our plastic foods in the sensory table. I removed the corn and other kiniyot for the sake of simplicity and they began sorting.
"I don't like to eat this, so can I say it isn't okay for Pesach?" asked Judah. 
 "I want to eat cookies on Pesach," remarked Pooky.
"Are potato chips okay for Pesach?" asked Yochanan.
"If they are just oil and potatoes and marked okay for Pesach, yes," I replied. The wheels in his head were spinning. 
"Then french fries would be okay too!" he exclaimed. Congratulations on a making a gezerah shavah, Yochanan! 

This sorting was fun, but we made it much more fun in the multi-purpose room.

We split into two teams, Pesach versus Chametz. At first Chametz was worried that they were considered bad, but I explained that eating the Chametz is a big mitzvah before Pesach. 
I poured the plastic food on the floor and handed each team a broom. They had to select a food item which matched their team name and use the broom to get it to their finish line. 









Loads of fun, gross motor coordination, Pesach learning. Now they are ready to help sweep your house and prepare the food for Pesach!