February 10
Your children readied their classroom this morning to prepare and clean for Shabbat. Working as a team, we first removed each item from the shelf, dusted and wiped the shelf, and then replaced the items! Ben’s mother (our special Shabbat guest) noticed and commented on what we were doing. Each Shabbat is special, as was this one. We were fortunate to have with us Ben’s mother, caregiver, baby brother, and older siblings—Maya, and Sammy. The song they sang and shared with us spoke of the beauty of Shabbat (and we heard how beautiful their voices were!). The 3-4 class shared and sang our Shabbat song with Ben’s family: “Dinosaur’s Shabbat.” Our routine changed today, which in itself was unusual. Your children had no difficulties with the schedule change proving to me that they are completely comfortable within their environment and with each other.
Walking to the playground, we stopped to examine and notice nearly every tree that we saw (looking for roots or if the roots of the tree had pushed up the concrete). We also noticed two different things in our neighborhood. One was a homemade bird feeder. This feeder was made from a clean and recycled milk carton. Whoever made this feeder had carefully cut out each side of the carton for the bird to hop in and take out seed. They also had pushed through a dowel for a small bird to rest upon while feeding. While we were examining the feeder, the neighbor (who I imagine had made the feeder) waved to us from the second floor window! We also noticed a small nest, directly above this feeder, in a tree. There is always something interesting to see when we walk to the playground!
Before beginning our Morning Meeting, to settle our minds and our bodies, we took slow deep breaths in and out. We then sat peacefully and silently for a few moments. I then asked, “What did you hear?” Teddy replied that he heard Merav tearing paper. We repeated this peaceful process, and then proceeded (quietly) with our meeting. This exercise helps your children in a variety of ways: to help with a transition, to calm one’s body, to heighten our senses, to connect with our environment, and to connect with each other.
Our Work Time today occurred after lunch. Many of your children (possibly because of the cozy feeling of the sun shining on the meeting rug) chose to unroll a mat and work collaboratively with the magna tiles, the connectors, or the legos.
Read Aloud:
“Little Kittens First Full Moon,” by Kevin Henkes
