Apple Picking

Mommy took Clara and Emma to the children's service for the 2nd day of Rosh Hashanah. In the afternoon and in the spirit of the holiday, the whole gang took a quick drive to Congers to Dr.Davies Farm to pick apples.

Matzah Balls!

It was rainy morning and the kids didn't have school, so before heading to Staten Island, Mommy let the kids try to blow the shofar.

At Grandma's house, Clara and Emma got to help make Matzah Balls. Emma loved rolling the balls, while Clara tried a few and decided she didn't like being sticky!

Happy New Year- Shana Tova!

Clara and Emma have been in back in school, enjoying their last year of pre school for about 2.5 weeks. They go for almost 3 hours a day and have a blast.  Turns out, they are learning quite a bit - as demonstrated in the last few days.

Emma suddenly started singing "Modeh Ani" a morning prayer, followed by the English version which she and Clara have shared in bits a pieces. They even know the Shema (another prayer) and the sentence after (lots of adults don't know it!). They enjoy singing together. And, they can be shofar. Sure, they can make the sounds- but the best is that they even know the name of the sounds "tekiyah..." Go figure Emma's fav is the long one, "tekiyah gdolah." They also have a cute song "apples, chopped and sliced, apples very nice."

They made cards and shofars in school (pictures coming soon).

Wishing all that celebrate a sweet, healthy and happy new year!

Nursery School Update

Here is what Clara and Emma have been doing at school for the first week.

This week in the Fours Sept. 16, 2011

We are back to school with the wonderful Fours and lots of smiles!

On Monday we spent some time getting to know one another, and talked about our new routine. We looked at the poster with pictures showing our daily schedule. The Fours were very excited to be the first ones to go outside and are very proud to be the big guys in the school!

The class explored their new room, discovered where the different centers are and what the rules are in the classroom. Of course, the most important rule is to be kind to one another and have fun!

The children drew self portraits which will be displayed on the bulletin board in the hallway next week. They told their teachers how they were feeling in their picture. See if you can figure out who is who!

At our first group meeting, we made a list of how the Fours were feeling about the first day of school. Most of the Fours were happy, but some missed their brothers and sisters, and one was feeling "super!" about his first day.

On Tuesday, we cooperatively painted the house to go on the bulletin board in the classroom. In this house, the pictures of the children and their families will live. . The children love looking at the photos of their families, and it gives them a sense of comfort as well.

Before we painted the house, the children voted on what color it should be. Blue won, so our house is blue with a red roof. Our first democratic process in the Fours!

We started reading Chicken Soup With Rice, a book of poems about each month, by Maurice Sendak. It's been a favorite with the Fours over the years. Ask your child about September - many of them know at least part of the poem already.

On Wednesday we made placemats to use at the Shabbat table. The children printed with objects representing Shabbat - a challah, candles, and a kiddush cup.

Our mitzvah tree is already hanging in the classroom, and has already grown two leaves on it! We read the book A Tree Full of Mitvos by Dina Rosenfeld. The Fours talked about what a mitzvah is - they explained that it is when you are nice to people, you share, you give tzedakah, and you enjoy Nature (the gifts that G-d has given us). We asked the children "How can a tree do a mitzvah?" They replied that the trees give us fruit and help the squirrels and the birds. When your child does a mitzvah or a good deed at home, please share it with the class by sending in a quick note telling us about it. Your child can share it with the class and receive a leaf to go on our tree. Please remember to give your child some coins for our tzedakah box on Fridays - that's also a mitzvah!

We invite any parent or family member to come and share a hobby or special interest or talent with the class. Please talk to us and we will set up a time. The children are always so proud to have a family member come in and share with us, and we love to have visitors.

We celebrated our first Shabbat of the year, all of the children wanted kippot.

Thanks for sharing your children with us.  Enjoy! Here's to a great year!

New Yellow Shirts

Clara and Emma got new shirts from Grandma Kathy and Grandpa David from their cruise earlier this summer and they were so excited to wear them!

Auntie Alyssa and Uncle Ryan's Engagement Party #1

It was quite a busy Sunday! Clara and Emma started the day off by playing soccer. It was a big group and they seemed to be quite clingy to Mommy and Daddy, but were still excited to play. The gang headed to Ardsley Day for some treats and then home quickly to change before heading to NJ for the party.

Clara and Emma behaved beautifully! On the way home, they were so excited to see the sunset and the pretty colors.

Nursery School Update

Here's a note from their teachers about what they've been doing at school.

This week in the Fours Sept. 23, 2011

 

With Rosh Hashsna coming , the fours have been talking about honey and apples. The class made a list of what we know about bees: some bees make honey, some bees sting, the queen bee is the boss, they live in a hive, they have wings, they make a buzzing sound, they take nectar from the flowers, they are black and yellow, the queen lays eggs, and thereare bees that guard the hive. We've learned a lot of facts about bees! Then we made our own honey bees and hung them on the class bulletin board. We read Eric Carle's book, The Honeybee and the Robber, It is a story about a honeybee as she goes about her day and comes across a hungry bear! The children enjoyed the story with its pop-up pictures.

We painted apples to go on the bulletin board as well, and our class is looking very colorful! The fours are learning new songs all the time. We have been singing the apple song, which tells how we use apples throughout the year for the Jewish holidays. Hope you will hear your child singing the catchy tunes at home.

Cantor Janet came and sang some Rosh Hashana songs with the class. It was fun to see her after the summer. She said the children looked very grown up now that they are in the fours class.

Wednesday we began to talk about the shofar - what it is and what sounds it makes. The fours made their very own own shofars tot ake home. The children glued different colored paper on their shofarot to make them look festive for the holiday. On the back you will find the shofar song that we have been singing in class. The children learned that the shofar is telling everyone to wake up and think about the new year that is coming. Rabbi Kenter surprised us with a real shofar and blew it for the class. Some of us had to cover our ears because he was such a good shofar blower!

With thoughts of the new year coming, we talked about what we are proud of and what we are sorry for. The children said they were proud that they could dress themselves, when theylistened to their mommies and daddies, when they played nicely, when they go to school, when they play with their brother and sisters, when they sleep through the night, when they eat healthy foods and when they take care of themselves. They are sorry for not playing nicely with their brothers and sisters, for not listening to their parents, for hitting people, and for being mean to their brothers and sisters. We all decided that in the new year we would try harder.

On Thursday we cut some apples and printed with them tomake New Year's cards, and on Fridat we celebrated Shabbat with Anabelle and her mommy.

Shabbat Shalom to everyone and have a Happy and Sweet New Year.

Play Time

Clara and Emma had Pizza and Play after school today and then went to Kidville.