Hello, wonderful preschool families!
We hope that you all had an inspirational Rosh Hashanah and a joyous start to the new year! Yom Kippur (day of Atonement) brings a more somber air to this week. With Morah Chaya the children will be reading the Story of Yonah and the big fish and learning about friends feelings - being kind and helpful and sorry if they get hurt.
In math, we will be introducing the balance scale. We aim always to let our Mitzvot, good deeds, outweigh our misguided choices in life. We will experiment with the comparison and balance of various objects. This activity allows the children to try their hand at making predictions and thinking critically. How many plastic teddy bears will it take to balance out six large glass marbles? How many pebbles will it take to equal one large stone? Through practice and repetition, the children will get a solid sense of the weights of various objects, as well as how things relate to each other.
We are turning our sights toward fall this week as well. We have a new art and nature activity planned. On an outdoor walk, the children will be encouraged to “pick a paintbrush,” selecting a unique, natural item to use as an art tool! We cannot wait to see their creativity shine through, as they utilize their own special paintbrushes to paint. Whether with brush-like strokes or stamping impressions, the qualities of each natural “paintbrush” will shine through each child’s artistic expression!
In science, our sink or float experiment will continue with the exploration of weight and density. The children will have the opportunity to carefully prepare a tub of water. In this tub, they will test whether various objects sink or float. Just before placing each new item in the water, the children will predict whether it will sink to the bottom or float to the top. After observing what the item does in the water, we will encourage the child to use descriptive language and comparison strategies to discuss why they think that happened. There always seem to be a few items that surprise our young scientists, which makes this activity so much fun!
We hope that the week ahead brings joy and good health to you and your family!
Gmar Chasima Tova, May we be sealed for a good sweet year!
Morahs Kara, Uma, Kristy, Chaya