Pre-K

Cooking a Shabbat treat weekly – Our Pre-K children work together in school to cook a Shabbat treat each week.  Sometimes the Shabbat treat is connected to a unit they are studying, holiday or season-themed, or a class suggestion and voting on a favorite.  Cooking brings out many different literacy, math and science skills all in one lesson, all at one time!!

The opportunity to take home ”Lovie,” the Pre-K’s class bunny rabbit for Shabbat and holiday weekends –  Lovie is happy to get to go home with a different child each weekend and/or holiday; the children and their families are happy to host Lovie too! There is a parent sign-up which gives different children the chance to have the responsibility and fun of having Lovie on their own, all weekend!

Chanukah celebrations with parents and special guests –  Our children love to invite parents or a special person in their lives to come to school and join them, along with their classmates and teachers, for a fun Chanukah celebration where we light the menorah together, enjoy yummy treats and sing together with Mr. Shmuely.

 End of year celebration – We close out the year with a parent/child gathering to celebrate all we have done throughout the year, highlighted by a slide show, a memory book presentation, and a sing-a-long with Mr. Shmuely. 

 Upper school Chaggim celebrations together – Throughout the year the Upper school students come to visit us and to celebrate Rosh Chodesh or a Chag in different ways, such as dancing with graggers, singing a special Tefillah and creating an art project together.  All of our students find this a great experience.

Storytime with middle schoolers– Throughout the year, the middle schoolers enjoy coming to read to the Pre-K students during lunchtime.  The children loved the chance to sit and read together one-on-one with the “big kids.”

Brave Tasting – Brave tasting happens weekly when a student from each class brings in a specific snack that ties into a  theme or holiday. Each child tastes it in some way to broaden their palettes.  The class then takes a survey as to whether or not they enjoyed the snack! A sign up sheet will go out in an email. 

Observation of baby chicks hatching in the springtime – Every spring the Pre-K gets 6-8 eggs from a farm and places them in an incubator in the classroom. The children count down to day 21 when the chicks should hatch. They watch the egg development from start to finish and then take care of the baby chicks for 1-2 weeks before they are returned to the farm. They learn about life cycles, responsibility, and mother nature!  It’s an incredible learning experience for them all.

Yom Ha’atzmaut –  Imagination takes flight as we “take a plane to Israel” and get to visit different cities in Israel for the day!  Without ever leaving our campus, the children are able to experience getting a massage at the Dead Sea, writing a letter to Hashem at the Kotel, visiting the Shuk to buy some pickles and pita, and then buying some jewelry on Ben Yehuda Street.

Birthday Parties – Parents come in to celebrate children’s birthday with a special treat for the class and a book to read!

Kindergarten

Mindfulness parties – For mindfulness parties we set up rotating activities that promote calmness, mindfulness, slowing down and focusing in a variety of ways, such as balancing an egg on a spoon when walking, exploring chimes, using eye droppers with precision, stacking balancing rocks, and more.

Winter Wonderland – For Winter Wonderland we set up a number of different winter- themed activities that correspond with all the different domains to celebrate the beginning of winter/last day before break (“ice skating,” “ice fishing” play-doh snowmen, winter books by the “fire,” snowscapes and more.

100th day of school – Each day the children are in school, we count the days in different ways including a 100-day chart and counting sticks. To celebrate this exciting milestone, the children take part in many different activities to show they can count to 100 by 2, 5, and 10’s!

 Chanukah Performance, Pesach Performance –  The children work hard to prepare for these special performances that they put on twice during the year for parents and special guests to come and enjoy.  For Chanukah, the children sing Chanukah songs led by Mr. Shmuely and then participate in a number of engaging Chanukah-themed activities with their grown-ups. For our most recent annual Pesach performance, the children sang songs like Ma Nishtana, The Frog Song, and many more to bring the spirit of Pesach into our hearts.  Then the children got to proudly present their very own Haggadah to their families. 

Hibernation Day – We learn about animals that hibernate, what it means to hibernate, what the animals need in order to hibernate.  The children wear pajamas for a special show-and-tell featuring their own favorite stuffed animals and supplying details for their classmates on the stuffed animal’s name, how they got it and other information they are excited to share with their friends and teachers. Our children especially enjoy having the opportunity to “hibernate” in our cave which they build in the class!

 Butterfly exploration in spring – Learning takes flight as we observe the metamorphosis/life cycle of a caterpillar/butterfly and collect the data in an observation book.

Pre K and K Special Activities Together

Weekly Shabbat celebrations– The children gather together to experience the warmth of Shabbat as they sing favorite Shabbat songs together and enjoy challah and juice.

Purim– What an exciting day!  The Early Childhood children come to school in costume to celebrate this holiday with music, dancing and pure joy!!  Rabbi Rosenfeld reads Megillat Esther for the children in a way they can all connect to.  To end the day, each child exchanges a mishloach manot– gift basket with a friend to say Chag Purim– Happy Purim!

Parade for Simchat Torah–  The halls are alive with the sound of music as our Pre-K & K children march around throughout the school singing Simchat Torah songs to bring the excitement and joy of the holiday and Torah to the entire school!  They wave flags, shake instruments and bring their smiles as they go from one end of the school to the other!

Thanksgiving feast –  Early Childhood classes gathes together to celebrate and have a feast before Thanksgiving.  Each class prepares and brings different traditional foods such as cranberry sauce, corn muffins, sweet potato pie and baked apple cookies!  Maybe we will send home some leftovers for your feast!!

Pesach Model Seder –  Ma Nishtana…… The Early Childhood children learn about and prepare for the Pesach holiday in many different ways–through math, science, literacy, songs, and art!  The children all make their own Haggadah, learn the songs for the seder, and are ready to go to their families to show all they know….. but not before we celebrate in school.  Before Pesach, we gather together to have a Model Seder.  Going through all the steps in the Haggadah, each child has a seder plate and follows along through conversation, questions, and singing with Mr. Shmuely and Rabbi Rosenfeld to create a memorable experience!