Our Annual Thanksgiving Feast!

This morning, in preparation for our feast, we completed both our Native American name t-shirts and our hand-sewn medicine pouches. We discussed how long it would take if we had to hand sew our clothes and blankets rather than going to the store to buy them or sewing them on a sewing machine. They turned out to be the perfect accessory for our feast apparel.

Once our costume preparations were complete, we got together with the First and Second grades to celebrate Thanksgiving at our annual Thanksgiving feast. We dressed as Native Americans, with our Native American names and hand-sewn medicine pouches while the First grade dressed as either Native Americans or Pilgrims, and the Second grade as their assigned Pilgrim from their Pilgrim unit. We sat around a Thanksgiving table and listened to Joyce read a story and then we sang This Land is Your Land as a whole group. We feasted on our lovely meal of Tuna, rolls, pretzels, chips, grapes, carrots, celery, corn, apple juice and of course, cupcakes. It was a wonderful morning spent with friends, remembering all that the Native Americans and Pilgrims did for us here in America and reflecting on what Thanksgiving is really about: friendship.

Celebrating Thanksgiving and Hanukkah with EC3 and First Grade

Today we spent the morning singing Hanukkah songs, dancing like a Svivonim, and saying what we are thankful for. We began by talking about how the two holidays coincide this year, followed by singing and dancing to Hanukkah songs. We then discussed different things we are thankful for this year. We made dreidels as a group with the EC3 and First Grade classes for a mobile, and then decorated cookies using pretzel sticks, chocolate chips, and m&ms to make cookie turkeys. The cookies were then enjoyed by all as a delicious holiday-themed snack!

Giving Thanks During Hanukkah

Today we joined the First and Second grades to make Tzedakah boxes for centerpieces on our Thanksgiving tables. We discussed how Hanukkah and Thanksgiving coincide on the calendar this year and to wed the concepts of giving thanks for what we have and re-dedication, in this case to tikkun olam, repairing the world, we decided to make the Tzedakah boxes. We took acrylic paint and decorated individual tzedakah boxes and used the time as an integrative moment for the three classes to work side by side.

Integration for Hanukkah

This week, during our integration time with our First grade friends, we told the story of Hanukkah and learned the proper greeting for Hanukkah – Hanukkah Sameach or Happy Hanukkah. We also discussed how this year, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah fall together on the calendar and then learned how to say Thanksgiving in Hebrew – Hag Hahodayah. We discussed things we are thankful for, like our bodies, family, friends, health, school, etc. Then we decorated our own Svivonim (Dreidels) and added the Hebrew greeting, and decorated turkeys and wrote Todah (thank you) and what we were thankful for, all to be displayed on our Holiday Integration Board in the hallway.  

Seuss and Shakespeare at The Bushnell

We went to The Bushnell today! It was a morning filled with the invigorating sounds of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. We heard music from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story (Based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet), Mendelssohn’s, Wedding March from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and a unique retelling of Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham, where the orchestra played while two actresses sang and acted out the story. We sat in the front row of our section and were on the edges of our seats the whole time watching the many different instruments in action.

Thanksgiving Fun in Computer Class!

We had computer class today with our First grade friends, and learned how to use Microsoft Publisher to make greeting cards for Thanksgiving! Everyone had their own computer and was given the card template. They then were asked to write a note on the cover of the card and learned as a group how to to insert a picture from ClipArt. They were asked to write a second note on the interior of the card as well as add a second or third ClipArt picture. Everyone got to print their card and take it home, so enjoy these lovely Thanksgiving card creations and look forward to one for Hanukkah!

The Colorful Sugar Star: Chemistry Experiment

 

Our science experiment last week with First grade was a chemistry experiment called “The Colorful Sugar Star.” Prior to the start of the experiment we discussed our hypotheses, and our reasoning behind them.

First, we placed a sugar cube in one side of a Petri dish, then put a few drops of ink on the cube with a dropper. Then we put warm water in the other side of the Petri dish and placed the inked sugar cube in the water. The sugar cube dissolved slowly and the color from the ink followed the sugar particles as they moved to the edge of the dish. The dissolving inked sugar made a fan design in the water and then eventually turned all of the water blue.

Hanukkah in Gan Yeladim!

We began our Hanukkah unit today! We read the story of Hanukkah and learned about the Macabees, mean Antiochus, the temple, and the miracle of the oil. After the story, we talked about the different things we do on Hanukkah; play dreidel with gelt, light the Hanukiah, eat latkes and sufganiot (jelly donuts), and spend time with our families. Finally, we learned the rules to play dreidel and then had a whole group dreidel extravaganza!

Veterans Day and Rosh Chodesh Kislev!

Monday was a very busy day in Kindergarten. We Celebrated a belated Rosh Chodesh with the EC 4 Class for the month of Kislev, as well as Veterans Day with our First Grade friends!

For Rosh Chodesh we had a Havdalah service where we lit the Havdalah candle, and said the prayer for it as well as the grape juice and spices. After the service, we discussed the holiday that takes place in Kislev: Hanukkah! We talked about lighting candles and our favorite things about Hanukkah. The top three were presents, spending time with family and eating latkes and donuts. After our discussion, we went to the 4’s classroom to have a Hanukkah dance party with glow sticks because Hanukkah is the festival of lights.

For Veterans Day we went into our First Grade friend’s classroom to discuss some of the different types of Veterans: Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force and the reason for the holiday. We talked about how we say the Pledge of Allegiance every day and why. After our discussion, we talked about how Julie, one of the teachers in the 3’s classroom, is a Veteran, and we all said thank you! We ended our time together with a coloring activity where we colored the American flag as well as a picture of the four different armed forces we discussed.

Magnets, Magnets, Magnets!

This past week, in the science center, Magnets were out for investigation. Everyone got a chance to explore the concept of magnetism and to categorize a number of objects as either magnetic, or not magnetic. Once the provided objects were categorized, a discussion was held to further our understanding of why certain objects and materials are magnetic. We then went around the classroom, to find other objects that are magnetic. One of our classmates brought in a set of magnetic rocks, and we were able to play with them all week and see what other objects the rocks could attract.