Kindergarten Blog 9/23
Dear Kindergarten Families,
Today is chilly! Kindergarten is excited about the change in season and have begun talking about Fall in Hebrew. As the weather gets colder, be sure to send your child with a good jacket and warm shoes, as Kindergarten goes outside for recess in all temperatures.
This week in Science, we learned about the scientific method, and the five steps in the process: ask a Question, form a Hypothesis, conduct an Experiment, record Observations, and reach a Conclusion. This week we asked the question “Which objects sink and which objects float?” and using the scientific method, tested our hypotheses on different objects and materials and observed whether they sank or floated. Some objects, like our wooden blocks, surprised us by floating!
Hebrew
In Hebrew, the sudden and dramatic changes in weather gave us a lot to talk about! We learned how to say it’s raining outside (גשום gashum), and it’s stormy outside (םוער so-ehr). We also learned how to wish each other a happy and sweet New Year (שנה טובה ומתוקה Shana Tova ve Metookah).
Judaic Studies
We learned about different סימנים לראש השנה simanim le Rosh Hashanah (symbolic foods), like apples and honey, pomegranates, and round sweet challah. We were treated to a visit from Atir’s mother and grandmother who taught us about simanim from their North African and Syrian Jewish traditions, like dates, leeks, spinach, squash, and beans. We spoke about the reasons why these simanim are featured during Rosh Hashanah. For instance, the many seeds inside a pomegranate represent the 613 mitzvot people aspire to carry out. We experimented by opening up an apple and then opening up a pomegranate, and comparing their seeds. Of course, we also got to eat delicious apples, honey, and pomegranates once our exploration was complete.
We also were paid a visit by Rabbi Menashe, who demonstrated an awesome and powerful shofar blowing. Rabbi Menashe also talked to us about the reason why we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, and some history on the origins of shofar blowing in the Jewish tradition.
We spoke about the tradition of sending our friends and loved ones Rosh Hashanah cards, and made our own special cards (ברכות brachot) to give to our families. Please be sure to check the Kindergartners backpacks to make sure you get yours. We wish you all a very happy and sweet New Year! שנה טובה ומתוקה
In Writing we continued to work on information books. As a class we worked on a book about Choice Time (something we know a lot about). Children made suggestions about pictures to include and we labeled some of them with their first letter. We learned that most books have more than one page and learned how to add a second page to a book.
In Phonics and Handwriting we worked on the letters D and R by studying the names Dawn, Romi, and Rami, learning the sounds the letters make and how to form them. We also reviewed the letters that we have already introduced.
In Math we continued working on counting and forming the numbers up to 6, being careful when counting to say just one number for each object. We also played a game called Racing Bears. See if your child can describe it for you.
In Reading we continued reading information books and continued to do a Shared Reading of Mrs. Wishy Washy. Children had their own copies of the books and tried to point out some of the words that repeat or could be figured out by the picture and the first letter.
In Social Studies we continued our study of ourselves. Children have started self portraits looking closely at their eye color and hair. We read a book called Hair which showed the many different colors, lengths, and textures of hair.
We ended our week with a K/1 Sing and Kabbalat Shabbat. We had such a good time at the K/1 Sing last week that we decided to make it a Friday tradition.
It was so nice meeting many of you at Back to School Night on Monday. Below are links to the slideshows the K team used during our presentations:
Shabbat Shalom,
The K Team
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