Rosh Chodesh Adar Rally

For the new Hebrew month we had our traditional rally in the shul together with rest of the preschool friends. Something was different at this rally than all other rallies. We wore silly, funny, fancy, and etc. hats to get into the Purim mood.
In the month of Adar is the holiday of Purim in which we dress up in costumes, hats... It symbolizes that we felt Hashem was hiding from us and not taking care of us during the time Haman wanted to get rid of us. Really, He was with us all along and helped us be victorious.

Ethan's 5th Birthday Party

This week was Ethan's 5th birthday. 

We celebrated it by singing songs, learning Torah, giving Tzedaka, and giving Ethan birthday wishes followed by eating the most fabulous rainbow cake. Most importantly, Ethan decided something new he will start doing now that he is 5 years old. 

Thank you to Ethan's Mom and Dad for joining us in celebration and for reading us a book chosen by Ethan.

The conclusion of the party:

We noticed that Ethan's Dad is super tall and were offered a treat.

Each of the "friends" got a chance to be put on his shoulders and see what the world looks like from so high up.

Parshas Mishpatim

For more info on the Parsha:
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/359320/jewish/Mishpatim-Roundup.htm

For a nice song on the Parsha:
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/573592/jewish/Parshah-Song.htm

Letter Nun Sofis

Ethan brought us Letter Nun Sofis. It has one extra little line on the top, and one extra big line coming down. Careful not to confuse letter Nun sofis which has an extra little line on top with the letter Chof Sofis which has a big line on top and both have an extra big line coming down.

Niggun (song) ends with letter Nun Sofis.
We played an alef beis writing game where the "friends" needed to hear the first letter of a niggun and write it down.

Letter Nun

Sammy brought us the letter Nun. It has an extra little line on top, a big line coming down, and an extra little line coming down. It looks similar to letter Chof. The difference is that Chof has a big line on top and bottom, while nun has an extra little line on top and bottom.

Nun can come at the beginning or middle of a word. It cannot be used at the end of a word. 

Hmmm. Which letter then can be used at the end of the word to make the sound 'n'? It is the Letter Nun Sofis which we will learn next week.

Ner (candle) begins with Nun. It also looks like letter Nun.

Etelle forming letter Nun with our magnetic lines.


Nicole begins with letter Nun

Netillas yadayim (washing our hands) begins with the letter Nun.

While we are sleeping a part of our neshama (soul) goes up to Hashem. During that time, Hashem goes through our actions of our day and keeps track of all the things we did. When we wake up, our neshama comes back to us leaving behind a spiritual uncleanliness on our hands which we can not see. We wash it off by washing our hands with water from a cup in the morning. We fill up the cup to the top, pick it up, and wash up to the wrist once on the right and once on the left, alternating 3 times each.

Song:

This is the way we wash our hands,

Wash our hands,

Wash our hands, 

This is the way we wash our hands,

So early in the morning,

Once on the right, 

And once on the left,

Once on the right, 

And once on the left,

Once on the right, 

And once on the left,

So early in the morning. 

Purim

King Achashverosh ruled over the people in Persia (or Shushan in Hebrew), known as Iran. He made a party for all the men of his kingdom to  see his riches and taste the delicacies being served. However, the riches didn't belong to him, but to the Beis Hamikdosh. Achashverosh had taken the beautiful vessels from his wife's, (Queen Vashti) grandfather who had taken them from the Beis Hamikdosh.

Mordechai warned and begged the Jewish people not to join the party since non-kosher food would be served upon the dishes from the Beis Hamikdosh. He was afraid the Jewish people would upset Hasehm for being tempted to eat the food. Sure enough, it was difficult for many Jews to stay away, as they wanted to join the party and see everything first hand. Although they promised themselves not to eat at the party, the food was too good to pass up and they were unable to control their will.

Haman, was the King's adviser and wasn't kind or thoughtful. Because he didn't like the Jewish people at all, he was excited that many were going to join the party. Haman knew that if the Jews would eat non-kosher food, Hashem will be upset with them and  then he could get rid of the Jewish people.

At the party, King Achashverosh boasted about his beautiful wife, and had his servants call her to show her off. In the meantime, Queen Vashti was at her palace holding a party for the women and girls in Shushan. When the servants came to get her, she glanced in the  mirror and was shocked to see pimples covering her face and a tail growing behind her. This was Hashem's way of punishing her for forcing Jewish girls to work on Shabbos when she knew they weren't allowed to. Queen Vashti now refused to come to the party.

Haman suggested the guards take  Vashti away and should not be allowed to continue as the Queen. King Achashverosh didn't think much for himself, and took Haman's advice. The next morning the king awoke saddened when he realized that he had no longer had a queen.

Haman suggested that the girls from Shushan should come to the palace for Achashverosh to choose a new queen. Ssecretly, Haman was hoping his daughter would be chosen.

A Jewish girl named Esther, lived with her uncle Mordechai who took care of her as she didn't have a mommy or daddy. He taught her many good things including Torah, how to be kind, and thoughtful.

One day, the kings guards found Esther and brought her to the palace. Although she didn't want to go, she had no choice. As soon as King Achashverosh saw her, he chose her as his new queen. This made Esther sad, because all she wanted was to stay with her uncle Mordechai. 

But Mordechai understood that Hashem had a plan for the Jewish people by making Esther the queen instead of any other girl from Shushan. Mordechai thought she may need to save the their people one day, and told her not to tell anyone she was Jewish. Esther followed Mordechai's advice. In addition, during her entire stay at the palace,        she only ate fruits and vegetables so as only to eat kosher food.

Daily, Mordechai would sit at the palace gates to try and find out how Esther was doing. One day, Mordechai overheard two servants making a plan in another language. They were deciding how to get rid of Achashverosh, so one of them could become the new king. Mordechai quickly sent a message to King Achashverosh so he could be saved. The king was so thankful that he wrote down Mordechai's good deed in his Royal Book of Memories.

Meanwhile, King Achashverosh made a new law that everyone must bow down to Haman. Only one Jew was not afraid and refused to do so: Mordechai the Jew who told everyone that he only bows down to Hashem, the Creator of the world. 

This made Haman furious. He could wait no longer to get rid of the Jews and asked for the king's permission to do so. King Achashverosh gave Haman his ring with a stamp on it, and told him to do  whatever he wanted. Haman quickly sent a letter to the people of Shushan to be prepared for the day  they will be getting rid of a nation living in Shushan. He stamped the letter with the king's ring.

Now, Mordechai told Esther to go to the King and tell him she was Jewish and that Haman was trying to get rid of her nation, the Jewish people.

Since Esther was afraid to do so since the King hadn't called her into his private chamber for 30 days, she asked Mordechai to get all the Jewish people to daven and fast for three days on her behalf. She also said the Jews should ask Hashem to forgive them for going to King Achashverosh's party.

The entire Jewish nation followed Esther's words and her example, because she also fasted and davened. After 3 days of fasting and davening, Hashem listened. This is what happened next.

Esther bravely entered the King's room. Achashverosh was upset because he hadn't called her. But then Hashem made him change his mood and asked her what she wanted. Esther didn't feel it was the right time yet to tell the King about Haman's evil plan. Instead, she invited the King and Haman to a party she would prepare specially for them. Achashverosh and Haman accepted, only to be invited by Esther to a second party.

That night, King Achashverosh could not sleep, and asked his servant to read to him. The guard opened the Royal Book of Memories and read the story of how Mordechai saved the king's life. Achashverosh asked if Mordechai had ever been rewarded for doing so and was told that Mordechai hadn't.

Just then, Haman walked in and King Achashverosh asked him what should be done to the man whom the king wished to honor? Greedy Haman thought it was him whom the king was talking about. He suggested that his man shall wear the king's clothes and crown and ride on the King's horse throughout Shushan while all the people parade after him chanting, "This shall be done to the man whom the king wishes to honor." Achashverosh thought it was a splendid idea, and told Haman to do so to Mordechai on the next day. Naturally, Haman was upset but had no choice. 

The following day Haman got Mordechai ready for the parade, and was embarrassed to be leading Mordechai on a horse. Afterwards, ashamed and upset he went to Queen Esther's gathering. At the party, Queen Esther finally told King Achashverosh that it was Haman who was trying to get rid of her and her nation.

Achashverosh told his guards to take Haman away and to get rid of him.

All the Jewish people danced and sang and thanked Hashem for saving them from Haman's evil plan.

This week we learned

Last week, was the Benny's week! Why? Because, Pre-K friends learned Benny's letter - the letter B!
To make the letter, one needs one big line and two little curves. Friends never forget to start a letter from the top, jump up and make one curve and then other.
All friends were "spying" Bs around. They found that Morah Bassie, Morah Bella, Bina, Bibi, Benjamin, and Ethan's brother Benka's names start with the letter of the week.
Dear Parents,
play with your kids word games. Take turns to say words that start with the same letter. It is fun and you will be surprised how much your kids know.

Parshas Bishalach

Click on link below for more info on the Parsha:

http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/347708/jewish/Beshalach-Roundup.htm

Click on link below for a song on the Parsha:

http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/573590/jewish/Parshah-Song.htm

For Parshas Bishalach, we put out kasha for the birds who sanctfied Hashem's name and ate up the Mann in the desert Friday night. There were two men who said there will be Mann on the ground the next Morning on shabbos and will be able to collect it to eat. But the birds ate it to show Hashem puts out two portions of Mann on Friday to collect for Friday and Shabbos so as not to collect and carry on Shabbos.

Letter Mem Sofis

Mem Sofis had one extra big line on top, one big line coming down, one big line on the bottom, and one big line coming up. Im sure you are thinking, if we have the letter Mem why do we need the letter Mem Sofis? They both make the same sounds. Good question. :) Mem can come at the beginning or in the middle of a word. But, Mem Sofis can only come at the end of a word. As you see in its name. Mem Sofis means "Mem at the end". Mem Sofis is one of the 5 letters in the Alef Beis that only comes at the end of a word.

Words we learned that end with Mem Sofis:

Mishkafayim- Glasses 

Magafayim- Boots

Mayim- Water

Mitzrayim- Egypt

Letter Mem

Our Mailman Dylan brought us Letter Mem. It is made with one big line on the bottom, one big slanted line coming up, one big slanted line coming down, and one little line coming down onto the big slanted line.

 and  look similar.

Tes has an opening on the top, and mem has opening on the bottom.

The "friends" had to divide their letters tes's and mem's they had and give the mems to Nicole who was the Mommy and the teses to Sammy who was the Totty (Dad).

Parshas Yisro

More info on the Parsha:

http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/347711/jewish/Yitro-Roundup.htm

Song on the Parsha:

http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/573591/jewish/Parshah-Song.htm

Song we learned in school:

Hashem gave us a present,

Do you know what it was?

He gave us the Torah,

So we can keep its laws.

He asked the other nations,

Would you like this gift of mine?

But they said, "No thank you,

For Torah we have no time."

Then to the Jewish people,

Hashem did go,

They said, "We will do and listen,

Because we love Him so." 2x

Tu B'Shvat

TU B'SHVAT

An important part of a tree's continuation is its seeds. Hashem created seeds that look like a variety of different things, such as beetles and pebbles etc, so birds would not eat them up. This allows trees to continue growing the same kind of trees.

The first stage is when the seeds, water, wind, and sun combine to encourage the roots to begin growing underground, then allowing the trunks, branches, buds, flowers, leaves and fruits to grow above ground.

In a fruit tree, seeds are found inside the fruit, but, not all trees grow fruit. So where are the seeds in non-fruit-bearing trees?  A maple tree, for example, has its seeds on the tree with wings attached to it, while an oak tree's acorns are its seeds.

We learned that not only are the farmers the only ones who can plant and grow vegetation. Animals, birds, and people such as our selves, can do the same as well.

"Friends" are creating their own kind of fruit bearing and non- fruit bearing trees. As you can see, they were careful to "plant" the seeds before creating their trees.

From year to year, Israel doesn't usually get much water. As we are all connected to the land of Israel, beginning Sukkos we daven for the land to have rain. Finally, four months later, on Tu B'Shvat, the rain that fell during the winter seeps into the ground, helping the trees "wake up", and begin to grow. First we will see its buds, then flowers, leaves, and finally the fruits.

Although, it is still winter time, this process begins to happen although we can't see it because it all starts under the ground.

Since we daven that Israel should have rain, and then on Tu B'Shvat the trees begin to grow, we eat special fruits that specifically grow in Israel to remind us of this and thank Hashem.

We eat 3 types of fruit and grain; fruits with pits, fruits that are whole, and fruits with peels that are thrown out and not eaten.

Pomegranates, grapes, dates, figs, olives, barley, and wheat.

Tu B'Shvat is the Rosh Hashana for the trees. Hashem decides what will happen to each tree on this day. Will the tree grow tall and strong, will it have lots of leaves, will children climb on it, will the tree be cut and the wood used for a sukka?

In addition, you may be asking why didn't we celebrate Rosh Hashana for the trees on Rosh Hashana during the month of Tishrei? And the answer is simple: because the trees didn't start growing yet.

Thank you to everyone for bringing in a different kind of fruit for Tu B'Shvat. We decided to have fun with our fruits by cutting them up and putting them into Jello, for a very special treat.

"Friends" became real time artists. They were looking at the fruit in front of them and painted what they saw.

This is the Tu B'Shvat Party with Morah Chani and all the preschool classes. We watched a video of the 7 different types of fruit that grow in Israel. We then got to eat those fruits including new ones we had never seen or tasted, such as, dragon fruit, gauva, and star fruit.

The party was fun and we learned a lot about the special fruits. 

This week we learned

This week friends learned the letter P. To make a letter, one needs one big line and one little curve. The letter P can be found at the beginning of words: pin, pencil, penguin, parrot, plants, pear, plane, pan, pot and puppy.

                                      Etelle noticed that Pre-K starts with the letter of the week.

Upcoming week, we will not learn a new letter. Friends will master all learned skills and work on first letter/sound recognition.                 



Our Community- Firefighters and Fire Safety!

The important members of our community is Firefighters.

Pre-K friends met with firefighters at one of the local fire houses.

We witnessed how they work. As soon as we came in, they got an emergency call.

Firefighters very quickly put protective suits on and jumped in a Big Red Fire Truck.  

They turned siren and lights on, so driving by cars will clear the way for a rushing fire truck.

To our luck, another team of firefighters came for regular visit to see if our school is fire safe: working smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, and free way exits.  Firefighters taught friends important fire safety rules- never play with matches or candles, do not touch hot objects, if you smell smoke or see fire warn adults and get out of house as soon as possible, know your name and an address when call 911, if you don't know where are you don't hang up the phone until operator locates your call.

After firefighter left, we decided to see if our school is fire safe indeed. We found 4 smoke alarms, 3 fire extinguishers, and 2 exits.

Friends learned how to act in case of fire. First, try a door knob with the outer side of your hand. Why? That's way you don't get a burn. If it is hot, do not open a door. Open a window and scream "FIRE". Don't hide under a bed or in a closet. If a door knob is cold, open it.

If you see smoke, act like a baby- get down and crawl. Why? Smoke is very dangerous. It can make a person sick. But smoke is lighter than air, it goes all the way up. Therefore, we need to get down for fresh air. It is important, to have an emergency plan and practice it.  

Winter at last!

This week, WINTER showed its beauty! Friends were so excited about snow!

We found enough snow for a snowball fight but not enough for snowman.

We got some snow for a sensory table and built there a teeny tiny snowman.

Next morning, friends did not find snow in the sensory table- it melted.

Friends learned that in warm temperature snow melts into water,

but can we turn this water back in snow? NO! 

Art helped friends to express their winter love!

Look at friends "Winter in Town" projects.

Friends used different materials to create their art pieces- construction paper, tempera paint, glue, pop sticks and etc. Please, stop in our classroom to see children's Art projects.

Pre-K Literacy Month has officially started!

Dear Pre-K Friends,
We are pleased to announce that Literacy Month has officially started! This Friday, Eli's mom read friends book "Let's Stay Safe!" The book teaches important safety rules: wear a helmet when you ride a bike, don't open a door without parents' permission, have a family emergency plan, and don't talk or take anything from strangers without parents' permission.

Dear Parents,

many exciting activities and events are planned - all aimed at increasing our children's love of reading!  Thank you to all parents who already signed in for reading in our classroom. We now how busy you are. Remember, that our door is open for every member of your family- grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters, cousins and uncles, aunts and even close friends:) Pre-K friends will be very excited to see everyone in our classroom.
Here are some guidelines to consider when you choose a book:
a) It should be a book that your child enjoys reading at home (you would know the one. It is one that was read a million times and you know this book by heart already, but your child somehow never tired to listen to it again and again:)
b) The average length of the books we read in class is about 5-10 minutes long to accommodate the attention of the children when being read to in a group.

Please let me know which title you have selected, so that I can ensure that you don't end up reading the same book as another parent :)

Sincerely,
Morah Inna and Friends

P.S. THIS WEEK! On Wednesday, friends will visit Brooklyn Library. If your child has a library card, please, send it with him or her to school. Children will choose 1-2 books to take home. Remember, that in three weeks these books should be returned to any library.
On Thursday, friends will visit Mazel School Book Fair and purchase some books. Please send $10 with your child to school anytime before Thursday. It would be helpful if you find time to visit the Book Fair yourself and check the books are offered for sale. Please, let me know if you have any book preferences for you child, or you have some of the books at home already.