Dear readers of this blog...

I want to apologize for the lack of writing in this blog page lately. I just wanted to let you know that I am still here and will be continuing to write and add to this blog. Since the 2012-2013 school year I have been enrolled in a masters program. As you can imagine, recently, I have been concentrating on writing papers. I will try to post more during the year, and I may ask a few friends to add some of their ideas as well. 

Please stay tuned and thank you for your patience. 

Have a great school year everybody. 

Yael

Purim Day... What a Happy Holiday...

Purim day... Purim day... What a Happy Holiday...

Purim is a happy and a festive holiday.  I wanted to share another festive looking Purim basket with you.
We use hard paper (oak tag) for this basket.  This paper is sturdy enough so the children can carry it all around the schul, the school and the neighborhood without spilling any treat along the way.  For the two-year-old classes, we decorate them with dot paint, water paint, or tempera paint.  Or other times, before folding the paper into hamantashen, we cut tissue papers into little squares, and lay them on the oak tag and spray water on them.  This way the colors on the tissue paper bleed through.  When it is dry, we remove the tissue papers and voila, the beautiful tye-dye design created on the basket.

After we fold the paper into hamantashen, we add the pipe cleaner to make a handle to carry the basket. 

The kids choose any color for a tissue paper to put in their basket.  When the basket is ready they place the treat in the basket.
This basket is ready to go!

HAPPY PURIM!

Tu B'shevat Recipe

     Believe it or not, Tu B'shevat is on its way.  While we are still trying to manage the snow and the cold weather here in the States, Israel (despite its current record rains) will be getting its first spring buds soon. Then the first fruits will show up on the trees and we will eventually benefit from their nutritiousness. 

     In my classroom, I show pictures of all the different kinds of fruits that grow on trees. I bring in some dried figs, some fresh figs, some dates, and, of course, some apples and bananas. Then we have a feast while tasting all these fruits. 

     We also bake this simple recipe with bananas and dates. It's very easy to make. I let the kids cut the fruit and mix everything. All I do is just put it in the oven and take it out. 

Enjoy!

 

BANANA BITES (TU B’SHEVAT)

    Ingredients:

3 Ripe bananas

       1C. chopped dates

1/4C. oil

 2C. oats

 1tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1)   Cut two of the bananas into bite-size chunks.

2)   Mash the third banana.

3)   Combine all of the ingredients and stir until well mixed.

4)   Let it stand for 10 minutes.

5)   Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet.

6)   Bake at 350ºC for 15-20 minutes.

7)   Let cool before eating.

8)   Makes approximately 24 bites.

Feed the Maccabee

The Maccabees are the heroes of the Hanukka story. They were strong, brave, and bold. They fought Antiochus and his soldiers and chased them away. Did they eat latkes to celebrate this glorious event?
Well, in my classroom we feed the Maccabee latkes. I found a Maccabee picture in one of the coloring books, and enlarged it when I copied it. I taped it on a box and cut a hole in its mouth. I have been collecting playdo container tops. So we pretend they are colorful latkes and feed them to the Maccabee. The children love this game. We sometimes try throwing the latkes in the Maccabee's mouth and count them in Hebrew at the same time.

 

Here are two songs that go with the theme today.

Tune:Are you sleeping?
Potato latkes, potato latkes.
They are so good, they are so good.
I could eat a million.
I could eat a billion.
Yum, yum, yum.
Yum, yum, yum.

Here is another one, but the tune is unknown.

I want to be a Maccabee,
So brave, so stong, so bold.
And chase away the enemy,
But I'm only two (or three, or four) years old.

This song is very cute when the children sing it in front of their parents.
Happy Hanukkah!

Sameach at Simchat Torah

This is my first post of this year. Since me and my family came back from visiting my family in Turkey, a lot has been happening. I want to apologize to everybody who has been reading my blog. Now I'm back on track, so let the fun begin.

I know Simchat Torah is already here but I still wanted to add a few ideas to start this school year. 
The first idea is coming from my friend and colleague Eileen's 3 years-old-class. These hand-made Torahs look very cute and are very easy to carry to the schul for hakafot.

She gave every child white paper bags to decorate with stars and Torah prints. They filled the bags with crumpled newspaper. Then the children dipped the craft sticks in the glue and then in the glitter. After the sticks were dry, they added them on the paper bag, and... voila.
I personally don't like bringing glitter to my house, but I discovered that if we dip the craft sticks in 'Mod Pudge' (which can be found at Michael's or at any craft store.) after the glitter has dried, the sticks have an extra coat to keep the glitter safe.


The next project is one of my favorite project for Simchat Torah: Edible Torah.

 

For this project we use tortillas, cream cheese, big pretzel sticks, and some sprinkles. Then we let everybody to create their own Torahs. What could be yummier than that. 

Hag sameach!

 

 

From Lag Ba'omer to Shavuot

Lag Ba'omer has come and gone. In our school the threes and fours and Kindergarten classes got together in the lobby (our playground would have been a nice option but unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating with the program). They sang some songs and listened to the story of Lag Ba'omer while eating ice-pops. Then all the classes took turns going to the big gym to play some racing, running, fun games with the gym teachers. This was a very nice activity for the kids. Everybody had fun. 

While waiting for Shvuot we talk about Moses and the importance of getting the '10 Commandments'. We discussed that everybody and everywhere we need rules to be able to live in peace with each other.  The children used floppy brushes to paint the tablets to give them more of a stone-like appearance. 

While the paint on the tablets were drying we talked about rules. Then we created our own classroom rules and wrote them on the tablets.  

  

 This year we wanted to add something different for Shavuot. As a little science project we went for a walk outside. We looked for some rocks, brought them into the classroom. We put a piece of paper next to each rock and talked about the differences between the rock and the paper.  After all this discussion came the critical question: "Why did G-d choose the rock over paper?"  The responses were amazing and very creative. 

Lastly, we put the rocks and the paper on our discovery table. We put some markers, crayons, and some chalk next to them. We asked the children to draw something on both the rocks and the paper. Our discussion panel continued with this question: " Which one was easier to write on?"

Conclusion: We still don't know why G-d chose the rock over  the paper.

Hag Sameach!

Yom Huledet Sameach Israel!

(Happy Birthday Israel!)

We love marching, especially if there is a reason to march. Israel is celebrating its 64th birthday. When we march all the children carry their own flags. 

In our classroom we like to give the children the freedom of creation. 

We show the children the Israeli flag.  We talk about it. We acknowledge the stripes, the Star of David, and the colors. We all agree that blue paint will be needed. We give the children blue dot paints and blue paint for the star cookie cutter, and we let them create their Israeli flag. As you can see below, all of the children's projects are Israeli flags, yet they are all unique. 

 

Happy Birthday Israel!