Toras Emes E.C.E. Vayakhel-Pekudei
March 12, 2010
Shabbos HaChodesh
6:11 P.M.
TORAHNASTICS
IMPORTANT DATES
The Pre-K classes participated in a Torahnastics class which was focused on the Yom Tov of Pesach. Each child held a scarf and pretended to clean the classroom for Pesach. The children had lots of fun Nursery– Wednesday, 1 doing different exercisesApril with scarves. Talking about Pre-K– Thursday, April 2 the ten makkos and then jumping on a special Kindergarten– April 3 jumping board toFriday, simulate the experience of being a grasshopper was lots of fun.
Matzah Factory- All Classes. Tuesday, March 16 Pesach VacationThursday, March 25- Wednesday, April 7 School ResumesThursday, April 8 DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
REGULAR DISMISSAL
Turn your clocks one hour ahead this Motzei Shabbos, as we “spring forward” to Daylight Savings Time.
FRIDAY DISMISSAL WILL REVERT BACK TO 2:00 PM BEGINNING NEXT FRIDAY, MARCH 19. MODEL SEDARIM
Children should be dressed in Shabbos clothing. We need parents to help prepare and serve the food for the model sedarim. Please call the school office if you are able to volunteer. Nursery parents should send in the food items requested for the Model Seder by Wednesday, March 17, Pre-KI by March 18, Pre-KII by March 16 and Kindergarten by March 19. Please inform the school if your child will not be in school for the last days before Pesach, so that we will be able to prepare your child’s bag in advance. Nursery Classes…..……….Friday, March 19 Pre-KI…………………….Monday, March 22 Pre-KII…………….…….Thursday, March 18 Kindergarten Classes….Tuesday, March 23
Newsletter 1
NURSERY I & II- MOROT ETTIE & TAMI
NURSERY I & II- MOROT NECHAMA & SUSAN
The Nursery children loved hearing the many beautiful midrashim about the life of Moshe Rabeinuhow he was placed in a teivas gomeh by his mother Yocheved and hidden in the river amongst the tall reeds. As Miriam watched her brother Moshe, Batya, the daughter of Paroh came down and heard Moshe cry. She reached out her hand and Hashem made a nes occur. Her hand stretched out all the way to the teivah. We also learned how Bnei Yisroel became slaves and how Moshe Rabbeinu was commanded by Hashem to lead Bnei Yisroel out of Mitzrayim. The children pretended to be slaves. They built the cities of Pitom and Ramses and sang the song “Bang, Bang, Hold Your Hammers Low.”
This week, the Nursery focused on the sense of touch. We had an exciting time doing experiments. We washed clothing with soap and water and compared how they felt when they were wet and when they were dry. We created a “touch picture” using many different textures. We had a fabulous time with our hands. We felt, touched and smoothed shaving cream all over the tables. We listened to the stories The Five Senses by Maria Ruis, Find Out By Touching by Paul Showers, Five Senses by Tasha Tudor and The Touch Book by Jane Belk Moncure. During center time, we counted objects on the flannel board. We also counted with math sticks. Outdoors, we had a great time doing parachute activities. We danced and sang many songs as we held the parachute. What fun! We sang the song “This Is The Way We Wash Our Hands:”
Bang, bang, bang, hold your hammers low Bang, bang, bang, give a heavy blow For it’s work, work, work Every day and every night (2x) Dig, dig, dig your shovels deep Dig, dig, there is no time to sleep. In conjunction with our science unit on the properties of water, we experimented with a variety of materials such as sponges, paper towels, silverfoil and wax paper to determine which absorb water and which do not. For Parshios Vayakhel-Pekudei, we learned about the mitzvah of tzedakah. Bnei Yisroel loved this mitzvah and gave generously for the building of the Mishkan. We also learned about the importance of Shabbos and how it took precedence over the construction of the Mishkan. We talked about objects which are “mukseh” on Shabbos and how we are not allowed to touch them.
Newsletter 2
This is the way we wash our hands Wash our hands Wash our hands This is the way we wash our hands So early in the morning.
PRE-KI & II- MOROT ETTIE & HEIDI
PRE-KI & II- MOROT BERNEY & JUDY
The children are very busy working on their haggadahs and learning new songs for Pesach. This week, two parshios are read in shul. For Parashas Vayakhel, we talked about the concept of the thirty-nine melachos. The children enjoyed looking at the book The Thirty-Nine Melachos by Rabbi Baruch Chait and talking about the activities that we are not allowed to do on Shabbos. For Parashas Pekudei, we reviewed the names of the kelim and the bigdei kehuna. We learned that Bnei Yisroel were very eager to contribute to the building of the Mishkan. However, when they attempted to assemble the Mishkan, they were unsuccessful. Only Moshe Rabbeinu could put together all of the sections of the Mishkan. We learned how the shechinah rested on the Mishkan when it was completed as a sign that Hashem was with the Jewish people. After Pesach, we will IY”H resume learning the Aleph-Bais letters and continue sending the letters home with your children.
This week, the Pre-K classes continued working on their "All Around The World" unit, focusing on life in China and Africa. The people of China and Africa have many different customs than us, but the children like to play games and go to school, just like the children in our Pre-K classes. Our science theme of "All About Air", has been fascinating. This week the children experimented with an air machine. They experienced air pressure, and how air can lift things into the air. Feathers, cotton balls, pompoms, and tissues were lifted up into the air by the air pressure coming out of the air machine. Heavy items would not lift up so easily. The Pre-K children reviewed the letters of the alphabet. They played matching games that helped them to recognize and sound out the letters. They also practiced writing their names. We adapted our classroom centers to reflect what we learned on our trip to the Museum of Discovery and Science. We set up a pretend airport like we saw at the museum. Some children created huge bubbles out of soap and water, and others pretended to pick fruit on a farm. The visit to the museum was a great experience that the children are still talking about in the class.
Newsletter 3
KINDERGARTEN I & II-MOROT BAYLA & RENA
KINDERGARTEN I & II-MOROT BERNEY & MIRIAM
As the Yom Tov of Pesach comes closer, the excitement in the Kindergarten classes continues to grow. We have been busy working on our Haggadahs and through stories, songs, and arts and crafts, we have been learning the “Semanei Haseder.” We discussed the many types of food that we eat at the seder. Of course, we have been practicing the Mah Nishtana and we know how proud our Abba and Imma are going to be when they hear us on the seder night. We know that our Abba reclines at the seder so that he will feel just like a king. We learned the song “Avadim Hayinu” and talked about what it would be like to be a slave. The yeladim were fascinated to learn that we call this Yom Tov “Chag HaAviv.” In our listening center, we heard the story Boruch Learns About Pesach by Rabbi Shmuel Kunda. We welcomed the letters נand ןto our kindergarten class. We mentioned many words that start with the letter נsuch as נס, נח, נחמה, נתנאל,נתן נרות, נרand נחשto mention a few. We already know three of the sofis letters, the ם, ךand ן. ייןand שמעוןare two words that end with the ן. We learned so many beautiful concepts from the Parshios of Vayakhel and Pekudei. For Parashas Vayakhel, we discussed the Lamed Tes Melachos. We were happy to learn that Bnei Yisroel rushed to give so many gifts for the Mishkan. Parashas Pekudei discusses how Moshe was the only one able to set up the Mishkan. We learned how the kaylim and the Kohen Gadol were anointed with special oil. Hashem’s Shechina rested on the Mishkan as a cloud by day and fire by night. Shabbos Mevarchim and Parashas HaChodesh were also discussed. Project Derech is a wonderful program reinforcing the laws of honoring parents and teachers. This week, we learned that it is a mitzvah to help a teacher.
What a magnificent week our kindergartners had- a week filled with many marvelous experiences! We started our “Mm” letterbooks and were so excited to play with our magic mirrors. We hope that the children will experiment with these magic mirrors at home. In honor of “Mm” week, we started a new unit in math. We started counting real money. We computed the value of different sets using pennies, nickels and dimes. We are using real coins in order to familiarize the children with the look and feel of real money. During art, the children had a marvelous time creating their own marble paintings. A piece of paper was placed in a rectangular pan. Dabs of different colored paints were placed in corners. The children then rolled marbles around the pan. We also made up sentences about the Muffin Man and marched as we sang the names of the months of the year. Our Science Center featured magnets, magnetic marbles and magnifying glasses. The book Madeline’s Rescue by Ludwig Bemelman was in our listening center. During the week, we also reviewed the concept of a healthy and balanced meal and reviewed the four food families. In science, we continued our exciting unit on magnets. This week, we did experiments showing that magnetic attraction can pass through nonmagnetic materials such as paper, water glass and material. Our classrooms have many exiting magnetic materials for the children to experiment with and experience.
Newsletter 4
