Jewish Childrens' Museum

Kosher Kitchen

Kosher Supermarket

Zaylin lights the giant Shabbos Candles!

Challa!!!!

Alef Bais Party!

All set up! Friends helped prepare by baking delicious Alef-Bais Cookies.

Ron and Chava receive their Alef-Bais Books.

Mazal Tov Shlomo!

Mazal Tov 

to all friends on completing the Alef-Bais! 

You are almost ready to read Hebrew! 

Soon you will be able to read the Siddur and the Torah all by yourselves!

Parents: Although we have finished learning the letters, it is very important to review the Alef-Bais letters over the summer. Please look out for the Alef-Bais Summer Homework that I will be sending home on Friday. 

We finished!!!!

This week we learned the last letter of the Alef-Bais, the letters Sav! 

Sav looks like a Tav but it does not have a dot. 

Stay tuned: We will be having a grand Alef-Bais party this Tuesday!

Shavous

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Excitments of the week

We proved that plants stems not only hold the plants up right, but transfer water to leaves and flowers

Time to make ice cream

Delicious

Fly , fly butterfly!

We released our new hatched butterflies!

Our World- Space

We learned that there are billions stars that we see at night. But there is one that shines during the day- SUN. The sun is the closest star to Earth. It is so bright that we can't see other stars during the day. Every day Earth turns around. When continent where we live faces sun, it is day. When our side turns away from the sun, it is night. That is when we see other stars which are very very far away for Earth.

Stars are made of gas. They are hot! Stars have colors, too. The sun is a yellow- orange star. Hard to believe, but blue stars are the hotter than the sun. Red starts are not as hot as the sun. 

There are 8 Planets- Earth, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. There is song that helps us to learn the names.

(TTTO 'Twinkle, twinkle little star") I know the planets one by one
Starting with the one that's closest to the sun.
Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars,
Are the first four among the stars.
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Are the next planets in my tune.

We live on the planet that has air and water on its surface. If the Earth was closer to the sun, the oceans would boil away. If it was farther away, the oceans would freeze. The Earth has a moon. It revolves around Earth, it doesn't make light but reflects sun light. There is no atmosphere on Moon. American astronauts were the first one to explore it and bring examples of moon rocks to scientists to study. 
Another thing that we learn about Earth is that there is force that pulls all things down, it is GRAVITY! In the class we experimented with different things to see how gravity pulls them down. Then how does a rocket ship fight gravity? Very powerful engines send it into space. In space there is no gravity. Everything that is not tied, strapped or held floats in space. Learning about other planets characteristics, we decided that none of them but Earth has everything that living things need – air, water, land, gravity and Sun light.  

Tav

For the past week and a half, we have learned the letter, the letter Tav!

If you use your imagination, you can see how a Tav kind of looks like an open Torah scroll with a letter (dot) in the middle. 

We spoke a lot about Torahs. Morah showed us Sephardic and Ashkenazic Torahs. We made a venn diagram showing the similarities and differences between the Torahs. We discovered that although the covers are different, the words inside are the same words that Hashem told Moshe! 

Another word that starts with Tav is the word tefilin. Tefilin (Phylacteries) are boxes that contain the some of the holiest words in the Torah, the Shema. It is a Mitzvah for men over the age of 13 to wear tefillin on their heads and on their arms. 

http://www.chabad.org/generic_cdo/aid/102436/jewish/Tefillin.htm

Shavous Celebrations

This week we focused on how we celebrate Shavous.

One way to celebrate is by eating dairy foods. (When the Jewish people got the Torah eating meat was too hard because they did not know the Kosher laws yet, hence they ate dairy.)

We graphed what our favorite dairy food was and turns out 9/12 friends liked ice cream.

We lucked out! Morah Inna and friends got to make their own ice cream from scratch!

We also made delicious cheese cake which we brought home to share with our families on Shavous!

Shimon shows us the words written inside the Torah.

Nosson notices that Sephardic Torah's have the same words as Ashkenazic Torahs. Their covers are different, however.

Our Exciting Week

Pre-K Friends visit the Prospect Park Zoo

We are active participants of the Mazel Day School Walk-a - Thon

Pre-K Friends observe the growth and transformation of five caterpillars.

Our World- Land and Plants

What is land made up of? Rocks, soil, and sand... We took some soil from our school backyard to see what it is made of. There we found sand, little rocks, and humus. What is humus?   Is is parts of dying plants and animals- an important part of soil that contains food for growing plants. You say- yucky, we say- science!

 We also learned that rocks are different in many ways. Some rocks are too big to hold it in our hands. They are big as a mountain. Grains of sand are rocks too but the smallest one. So we can hold at least thousand of them at the same time.
There is an amazing sequence in creation: light first, then water and land. Everything that living things need. So what living things was created on third day?

PLANTS! Friends put their heads together to think what is good about plants. They said that plants are good because they make world pretty, we can smell them, and we can eat them. We learned that plants have different parts: roots, stem, leaves, flowers and fruits.
Then we decided to plant some seeds and see what will happen. We discussed that seeds can't be planted in sand or water. They need soil, water and light.  We were so excited about the planting that we expected the seeds to grow the very next day . But it did not happen! We are going to see how long it will take our seeds to grow. Everyone is going to take care of own plant. 

Shavous

In Pre-K, we have been very excitedly counting down to Shavous. This week we started learning all about Shavous. We learned about the special present Hashem wanted to give any nation who wanted it. The children dressed up as people from different nations, all of whom did not want the Torah! Finally, Hashem went to the Jewish people. We did not ask what the Torah said, we just said “Naase V’nishma,” (“We will do and we will listen.”) Hashem is so happy, he gives the Torah to the Jewish people.

We talked about what the torah is and what is written inside of a torah.
 Here are some of our friends' ideas:

What does it say inside the Torah?

Emy: Kohanim

Ron: You should love each other.

Jacklyn: Don't lie.

Shimon: Don't kill.

Zaylin: No shooting.

Yonni: Do not hit each other.

Nosson: Do not push each other.

Shlomo: Honor your mother and father.

Aaron: Respect your father and mother.

Chava: You can not pinch.

Ariel: You can not kill Jewish people.

We opened up our class torah

 and saw how the parsha that Morah tells us every week is written inside in Hebrew. The torah talks about the history of the Jewish people and tells mitzvos that we could do to make our neshama so happy.

Each child started making their own Torah that they filled with mitzvos; their very own mitzvah notes!

Now that Hashem had a nation to give the Torah to, Hashem needed to find the right place to give the Torah. Hashem wanted to give the Torah in the wilderness, a place that nobody owns so that it should belong equally to everyone. Different mountains came to Hashem and begged Hashem to give the Torah
on him. One argued that he is the tallest, another that he is the widest, prettiest, hardest etc. Hashem did not pick any of the proud mountains, but he picked little Har Sinai. Har Sinai had good midos, he did not brag, he was very humble. Hashem liked Har Sinai’s humility and chose to give the Torah on Har Sinai.

Hashem told the B’nai Yisroel to get ready! Even Har Sinai got ready, Hashem made flowers grow on her in preparation for the Torah. (For this reason it is a custom for some to decorate their home and with flowers and plants.)

We created our own flowers so that we can decorate our homes too!

Hashem made the whole world quiet even the animals did not make noise. Suddenly clouds came down on Har Sinai and it started to thunder and lighten. The sound of the Shofar was heard and suddenly Hashem’s voice came booming out saying “Anochi Hashem Elokecha” All the Jewish people heard the ten commandments. (Two of them from the voice of Hashem and the rest from Hashem as told through Moshe.)

Shavous Songs

Song I.

Hashem gave us a present, do you know what it was?

He gave us the Torah so we should keep its laws.

He asked the other nations, do you want this gift of mine?

They said “no thank you!” For the Torah there’s no time!

(2 X’s) Then to the Jewish people, Hashem did go,

We said, “Naase V’nishma” because we love Hashem so!

Song II.

I am a mountain so very high,

I can reach way up to the sky,

The Torah should be given on me,

because I am as tall as can be you see!

Oh no! I am much greater than you!

There are so many things I can do,

the Torah should be given on me,

Because I am as great as can be you see!

But little Har Sinai just stood there and sighed,

I know I’m not tall, I know I’m not wide.

The Torah won’t be given on me,

because I am as small as can be you see!

Of all of the Mountains, Hashem chose Sinai

Because he did not hold himself high,

He had good midos and humble ways

and from this we learn that Humility pays!