BEECC PA Newsletter Jan 2010

Owl and Frog Update

The Outstanding Owls

Hanukkah is a happy holiday that celebrates the triumph of a small army pitted against a much larger, and better equipped Syrian foe. That miracle alone made a great impact on the Owl class. But the impact loomed even larger when coupled with the idea that a small amount of oil would last for eight days and nights. I think this is especially important to our preschoolers as it is a reminder that great things may happen and we should not feel limited by our size. Even little people can accomplish great things!

It is no surprise that many of this month's activities centered around this joyous holiday. Our class enjoyed making unique clay hanukiahs as gifts for the holiday. The children looked at a large variety of menorahs on display in our classroom. We also took a walk to the gift shop to see the other interesting menorahs before creating our very own. We had such a wide array of shapes and designs! The children also became well acquainted with dreidels, by practicing the game, and making beautiful foil versions that now adorn the school hallway. We used a dreidel graph which served as a wonderful tool to reinforce the Hebrew letters shin, hay, nun and gimmel. In addition, the graph gave us practice counting, comparing, and ordering numbers. We followed up many of our dreidel activities by reading The Magic Dreidels by Eric Kimmel. This was a class favorite. Other Hanukkah activities included: making giant costume-sized dreidels, cooking latkes, patterning candles by color, and singing holiday songs for Hazak. Perhaps the most valuable lesson, was one in which we categorized items into "Needs vs. Wants." The children had to identify objects that are truly imperative to our lives, and those that are simply extras. Even at this early age, the children understood that many of their Hanukkah gifts were simply "wants" and that we must think of others that require "needs."

This month we also worked on many activities that centered around houses. The children sequenced the construction steps in building a home and became familiar with building terminology. We enjoyed comparing and contrasting homes of today to those of long ago. Not surprisingly, the idea of outhouses versus bathrooms brought squeals of laughter! Homes around the world were of great interest to the Owl class and we are in the process of constructing several of the homes we studied. Homes are constructed based on the resources, climate, and needs of the people in the region. An interesting idea for any four year old to ponder! We hope to be able to display our Israeli stone house, Native American teepee, and African mud hut in the near future. Of course, no house unit would be complete without a reading of the Three Little Pigs. Everyone had fun drawing and later using straw, sticks, and red paper bricks to adorn their pigs' homes.

All of our learning this month was enhanced by our weekly Hebrew class taught by Karen Smith. She coordinates our class learning with Hebrew lessons as a tie-in. Thanks also to Miss Carol for helping us learn so many Hanukkah tunes. They added a festive mood to our class.

The Owls had a busy December, and are looking forward to being together again in 2010.

Morah Joan/ Morah Nancy/Morah Susan

The Fabulous Frogs

The Fabulous Frogs spent most of an abbreviated December happily and heartily preparing for and celebrating the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. This just happened to coincide with our "show and share" letters H and J.

First, though, the Frogs joined the Owls, Puppy Dogs and Kitty Cats in a belated but very festive Thanksgiving feast where we sang songs, stuffed ourselves and enjoyed the closeness of our family and friends. Our contribution was a sweet cranberry sauce and some enthusiastic songs of thanks. Our favorite part was actually decorating our tablecloths with pictures of ourselves, our families and friends, and nature. We did our tablecloth drawings on the floor and we loved it!

Our beautiful Havdalah boxes, complete with our own braided candles, Kiddush cups and fragrant hand filled spice jars were put on hold when an early December snow canceled our Havdalah service/program. We look forward to rescheduling it on a warm starry night.

Our "Hats" theme naturally evolved. After listening to many books about hats, fiction and non fiction, and documenting data about who wears a hat and why, it was time for us bring in some of our own and model our favorites. We counted and classified a total of 68 hats. (The morahs obviously brought in a few.) They were mostly caps and winter hats but there was also a sombrero, a bird hat, a hand made Hanukkah hat and an unusual fish hat. We looked hilarious! Then it was off again to the floor to draw ourselves in our hats. The resulting pictures and photographs make up our "Hooray for Hats" bulletin board. We hope to turn the pictures and photos into a class big book.

The miraculous holiday of Hanukkah kept us happily busy with all manner of activities. To begin with, the Frogs cut triangles and positioned them all by ourselves to create Jewish stars, which we then uniquely painted with watercolors. We observed that the sides of our triangles did not appear to be the same lengths, so we decided to measure them to know for sure. We used our unifix cubes and were a bit surprised to see that the three sides were exactly equal! Over the course of a week, we counted candles, recited blessings, marched like Maccabees, spun dreidels, discussed the miracle of the oil, sang lots of songs and created glittering menorahs with Morah Keren to name a few things. Our gifts to our families were definitely a labor of love. We pulled and poked and worked our hand muscles to mold menorahs of clay that we trust will be kept forever. As an added bonus, with some leftover clay, we actually shaped dreidels and painted them to go with the famous song. A few Hanukkah highlights stand out for us: With Miss Carol's able direction we, along with the owls, sang and danced for the special group of grandmas and grandpas that make up Hazak. We were terrific! Also, we helped cook latkes with Morah Judy. Many, many were eaten and they were delicious! Finally, we had a great time with the Owls at our very own Hanukkah party, on what unexpectedly turned out to be our last day before winter break.

Lastly, our green thumbs were put to the test this month. We planted winter flower bulbs, Amaryllis and Narcissus. We have been watching them grow and taking measurements weekly. We can't wait to see to see how much they have grown in our time away.

The Frogs surely enjoyed the huge snowfall and winter break, but we now look forward to returning to school in a new month and a new year!

We wish everyone a very Happy New Year 2010!

Morah Gayle and Morah Paula