Dear Parents,
The exciting Hebrew month of Adar has begun, and with it, our Purim preparations. The children are fascinated by the suspenseful Purim story and wait for it every day. They are also busy in the art center putting together their special holiday crafts. (If you have not yet brought in your Pringle container please do so.) We are starting to practice our Purim songs that we will be singing at the Purim carnival on March 10th. (Please let us know if you are not able to join us for the Purim carnival on March 10th from 2-4p.m.)
In the weekly Parsha we have been discussing the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, the miraculous splitting of the red sea and the momentous occasion of the giving of the Torah on Mt Sinai. The children enjoy viewing the pictures of the special golden vessels used in the Holy Temple.
We are having great new experiences in the Montessori classroom. This month we began our unit on "Botany" in honor of Tu B’Shvat- "Birthday of the Trees." We began by learning of the parts of a plant and how each part has a function for its survival. To illustrate this we put two carnations in food coloring and watched how the dye was pulled up through the stem into the petals. To learn about the parts of a plant, we are growing beans in a plastic bag to see how the sprouts form from a seed. We also learned of the elements a plant needs to grow. We did an experiment with two identical plants. One plant is on the windowsill and given water, the other is in the dark closet without water. The children’s favorite experiment has been our “root view” planters. We sowed carrot, radish and onion seeds in a clear planter in order to see the development of the roots and how they transform into vegetables. So far we have some very promising sprouts and we will soon have some vegetables for snack-time. The children have been working on their “Parts Of..." books to learn about the parts of the tree, flower and leaf.
Now that they have so much knowledge of how a garden grows, all the children have planted parsley seeds in our class in preparation for the Pesach Seder. They will be monitoring the growth of their plants and making sure there is enough water and sun.
Thank you to all the parents who volunteered for our field trip to the Art Museum. The children had a good time looking at the art works of the artists about whom they have learned, as well as many other interesting facts and creations.
We will be having parent’s day on Monday and Tuesday, March 23-24. This is an opportunity for you to step into your childs’ world and spend time interacting with, and understanding, the many elements of your childs’ day. Please let us know which day works best for you.
Next week is Dr. Seuss’s Birthday Week and we will be concentrating on reading some of his books. If you have any books by Dr. Seuss that your child enjoys or that you would like us to read, please feel free to send them in. In addition, in the spirit we will be having Pajama Day on Monday, March 2. Send your child to school in pajamas J for a fun Dr. Seuss Pajama Party!
Have a fantastic Shabbat!
Morah Rochel
Morah Shana
Morah Jessica
