Term 2 - Week 7 - Exercise (build up to World Cup)

This week we touched briefly on the World Cup by discussing some of the countries who will be taking part and we did a beautiful flag worksheet, the children matched and coloured in the flags appropriately, some were able to write the countries names and others were able to match and paste the names of the countries under each flag. This exercise was extended by some of the older children who took it upon themselves to make their own flags and glue them onto straws for flagpoles(well done, yeladim - I think you are all very clever!!!)
Our main focus was on exercise and a healthy lifestyle.......we discussed what we need to do to keep fit and build up our stamina.....we spoke about the soccer players and how long they have to play for and that in order to play for that length of time without getting tired, they need to do lots and lots of exercise to build up their endurance levels, and discussed ideas on what types of exercise we can do at home...they all seemed very eager and came up with some really good ideas (riding bikes, star jumps, monkey bars, running........to name but a few) We made a little obstacle course where the children got to play leap frog, jumping stars, running and throwing bean bags - they had loads of fun...and got to see how quickly we can get tired from doing exercise and how if we exercise everyday how much fitter we would all be (okay yes mostly myself and Morah Marina were the ones exhausted. I believe the children could have carried on for a lot longer!!!)
Our focus letter this week was 'g' - the children glued with glitter and put hair onto a large blow up of the letter g for...girl, and of course came up with great 'g' words!
We did a math worksheet where the children counted things from soccer balls, soccer boots, goal posts, soccer players...and got to draw their own soccer players.
In life skills we made our very own little soccer people...we coloured them in and used pegs for legs.
Thank you so much to those who have sent beautiful flags and decorations for our bulletin board of the World Cup. We will be continuing our World Cup theme next week so there is still time for you to send anything relating to the World Cup then.
We will be looking at the soccer pitch and the different shapes on it and expanding our knowledge of shapes...but more on that next week.
So watch this space....until we chat again....
With love Morah Mandy

Term 2 - Week 6 'Healthy/Unhealthy & Shavuot'

This week was very quick and short…..!!!
The children were all very creative………painting, drawing, cutting and glueing paper onto their boxes for Shavuot……we discussed a lot about the commandments and related them to our classroom agreements, which we are trying really hard to be a natural unforced energy in our every day at school.
Besides preparing for Shavuot, we discussed the differences between healthy and unhealthy. Why it is important to eat fruit and vegetables and to drink water. And all about what foods to eat to keep our bodies and minds fit and healthy and to keep ourselves active as we prepare to energise ourselves into little soccer stars for the upcoming 2010 soccer world cup!! We will be discussing this further next week....so watch this space......... until we chat again......
With love
Morah Mandy

Term 2 - Week 5 'Our Senses'

(Tune : Where Is Thumbkin)
five senses – five senses
we have them – we have them
seeing, hearing, touching,
tasting and smelling
we have five – we have five!!

You guessed it……this week we have been discussing our five senses…!!
A fun game we played was for the children to differentiate between different sounds (using bells, drums, tambourines, and lots of different sounds) – using our hearing solely.
Then using a blindfold on one child they had to touch the child in front of them and guess as to who it was, this was rather challenging so we added in that the child could use their voice to make it easier –and by combining our sense of hearing together with touch, it helped to make our decision as to who it was so much faster (the children absolutely loved every minute of this game)
We then explored feeling the difference of rough and smooth - (smooth : a bowl of water and mazeina) (rough : a bowl of water with sand and stones) they were so excited to squish and squeeze the two very opposite textures.
We had a tasting exercise – where we got to try out the four specific groups – being bitter(not a favourite), sour(some really love lemons), sweet(always a crowd pleaser), and salty(this was top of the pops).
In life skills we created a very gracious looking torah, using colourful lolly sticks, glitter and velvet and our own school amendments. With the upcoming festival of Shavuot we have been discussing all about the ten commandments - and as such have incorporated these into our agreements for our very own torahs - with our focus being on love, respect and gratitude)
Our focus letter this week was ‘n’ – in the spirit of the soccer world cup, we created a goal post with a net using throat depressor sticks which the children all decorated, they then glued these onto a net and added a soccer ball.
And even though I am sick in bed the fun at school will continue....our sense of smell is next with a vast array of different odours(from garlic to strawberry) to smell and match, but more on that next week.
So watch this space......until we chat again xxx
With love Morah Mandy

Term 2 - Week 4 Our Lungs

How nice it is to be back to normality with a full week!...this week we discussed our lungs. The children were all very eager to grasp around their rib cage and breathe in to feel their chest getting bigger and then feel it getting smaller as they breathed out. We spoke about how we breathe in air (oxygen) which travels down our windpipe and into our lungs and how when we exercise, we breathe heavier because we need more air in order for the oxygen to be sent into our bloodstream to pump the blood faster through our bodies.
We built onto ‘our body’ using 2 pieces of bubble wrap to depict our lungs and had lots of fun blowing objects of different weight along a measuring card to see how far we could blow – we tried our best to take in deep breaths and exhale really quickly…..some rather humorous results followed and fun was had by all.
In life skills we blew through straws into bowls of coloured water and created beautiful bubble patterns.
Another experiment we tried was to transfer tiny balls of paper from one bowl to another – again using a straw, and our very powerful lungs – this was a little challenging and frustrating for some but all were very eager and intent on getting the job done!
Our focus letter this week was ‘o’, using paint, glitter, and feathers, we created a very proud ostrich!
Our outing to the stadium was met with mixed emotions but I am happy to say that most of the children loved every minute, just being there was an amazing experience, but the highlight for them definitely seemed to be the electronic safes in the locker room….thank you to all the moms for helping out.
Our ‘breathing’ experiment continues, this time with balloons…..but you will have to wait till next week for the conclusion…!
So watch this space......until we chat again.....!!
Please feel free to leave your comments, we love hearing from you all!
With love Morah Mandy

Term 2 Week 3 - Our Muscles

The week may have been short but we still managed to muscle it all together..!!!
Our focus was on…….our muscles.
Even I discovered some very interesting facts about muscles……how when we blink we use the muscles in our eyelids, when we sleep our muscles help us to breathe, and basically how our muscles help us to do just about everything there is to do from lifting a feather to lifting a heavy box, from tiptoeing to walking and standing to sitting…..!!!
We each felt the muscles in our arms and clenched our fists real tight to pretend to be like weightlifters, we rolled our tongues in and out our mouths…..and discussed muscles that we often take completely for granted!
In life skills we used wool and plastic needles and sewed hair onto a face outline – of course feeling our muscles tighten up each time it was exerted and felt the difference as it relaxed at the end of a stitch. The children then got to create their own beautiful faces.
We wish Daniela a very happy 4th birthday and a very big thank you to Daniela and her family for the donation of a beautiful toy and book on the occasion of her birthday.
We are on day 41 of our World Cup 2010 countdown….and are so excited for our impending outing to THE STADIUM - yay…!!....but we will have to fill you in on that next week..!!
So…watch this space……until we chat again…
With love Morah Mandy

Term 2 Week 2 - The Heart

Hi…this week has been PUMPING……!!! We kicked off exploring our HEART…, where it is, what it does, what it looks like, and how to keep it healthy. We were lucky enough to have a stethoscope at hand and each child got a chance to listen to their own heartbeat or that of their friend.
Although most of the children believe that their heart is the shape of a love heart cut-out, they were amazed to see how a heart really looks and delighted to discover that by making a fist you can establish as to the size of their own hearts.
They enjoyed feeling their hearts beating at a resting rate and then to feel the difference in their heartbeat after they had done some exercise, and we dicussed how important it is to exercise regularly.
In life skills we spooned, mixed and rolled dough to make delicious heart-shaped biscuits which we then decorated with red icing and sprinkles, this activity was met with much enthusiasm by all!!
We also got to make a beautiful heart worksheet as we discussed the difference between rough and smooth.
We are building up a tactile body cut out, and will build onto him/her each week as we learn about a new body part.
Our letter focus of the week was ‘i’ – the children loved glueing their little pieces of styrofoam(ice) onto cardboard to create their very own little igloos.
We have also started our countdown to the Soccer World Cup and are currently sitting at day 48….and have been discussing counting in a descending order!
Thank you to those of you who have sent books from home…the children absolutely love bringing their books from home for me to read and to show to their classmates.
Thank you for a fun week…..watch this space……..until we chat again!
With love Morah Mandy

Term 2: Week 1 Welcome Back...

Welcome Back to a funfilled term! The children have settled well and are very eager to explore their day. There was great excitement from all the children on their return to school when they saw all the new materials set out for them - as soon as they arrive at school in the mornings, before their bags are even in their lockers, they are already so excited to tell me as to which materials they are going to work with that day. Our news of the week was about Pesach and our wonderful holidays....a great deal of fun seemed to have been had by all!
We are now discussing our bodies and how to keep fit and healthy and what foods are better than others - and we look forward to you sending us some lovely books that we can put to good use at ringtime.
Our term is loaded with fun and excitement, so watch this space.....until we chat again......!
With love Morah Mandy