November 2019

The children learned about the primary colors red, yellow and blue. They heard the story Mouse Paint in which the mice mix the colors to make new colors. The children then had the opportunity of using finger paint to mix the primary colors to make purple and green. The children used their fine motor skills during this activity.

The children heard the story of Thanksgiving and had many discussions about how they can be good helpers in school and at home.  They have been putting change in a jar from the beginning of the year for Tzedakah which helps people less fortunate and in need.  The recent discussions have focused on giving thanks.  For the Thanksgiving project, the children made their own Tzedakah boxes.  They incorporated the fall exploration, by using fall colors and leaves.  The children were able to pick out the first letter of their name (letter recognition) and adhere the letter to their project.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving feast gathering with many of the Zimmer families.  Each class contributed to the feast by making something delicious for the holiday.   We made yummy cornbread.  The children measured, poured and mixed the batter.  It came out great; everybody loved it.

 

 

 

November Autumn/Fall activities

During the month of November, the children were learning about the pumpkins, gourds and Indian corn.  The children had the chance to try and remove the corn from the stalk.  They used their fine motor skills, which was using their fingers taking a kernel off one at a time.  The children used the kernels to fill a picture of a corn stalk. The children counted the kernels as they glued them on and they added the husks to the top of the corn stalk.

    

Our exploration of pumpkins began with washing the pumpkins with sponges in soapy water.  When they were clean and dry we cut open three pumpkins and compared the seeds in size and texture. The smaller the pumpkin the smaller the seeds. We also learned first hand about the guts of a pumpkin. Sticking our little fingers and hands inside a pumpkin was sticky and slimy.  We got handfuls of seeds and pulp.  We counted the seeds and found out that there were way too many seeds to count. The seeds were then baked.  When done we ate them. They were yummy, however, not all of us liked touching or eating the seeds.

     

     

   

 

 

 

 

 

October welcomes the Fall Season & its also Fire Prevention Month.

October is Fire Safety Prevention Month.  Firefighters Gary & Russel from the Liberty Corner Fire Station came to Zimmer.  They talked to us about fire safety.  If there is a fire, the best thing to do is get out of the house or school.  When outside of the building, 911 is the phone number to be called. They showed the children the gear they wear when fighting a fire.  The highlight of the visit was going onto the fire truck.

    

The children have been learning about Autumn/Fall.  They understand the weather is changing from hot to cold, and that means that outwear is needed to be worn.  The children have noticed that the leaves are changing color and the many leaves on the ground.  They saw the bare trees.  The children collected leaves and sticks and twigs from the ground, and some of the children also had a chance to collect acorns from the ground.  They examined and hugged several trees; connecting them with nature during this fall season.

        

The children painted pictures of trees using brown paint and a brush to make the tree trunk, limbs, and branches. Next step, the children used red, yellow and orange paint.  They dipped sponges into the paint and sponged painted the leaves on the tree to finish the tree they scrunched up tissue paper and put on the leaves on the tree.

       

The children used large acorns for one to one correspondence.  They put acorns on a card trying to match the number of acorns to the number of circles on the card.  The children used their fine motor skills using a spoon to scoop up the small acorns and put them into an empty space in an egg carton.

   

The children have been focusing on building their fine motor skills, The different ways play-dough was used was squeezing it, rolling it into a ball by using their fingers and using a rolling pin to make it flat as a pancake. The children used their fist to hold stampers to create images in the play dough.

Using their fine motor skills the children squeezed and popped the packing bubble. It was hard but lots of fun!!!

Sukkot

The children have been learning about the holiday of Sukkot,   An outdoor hut is built with walls and a thatched roof.  It is customary to eat all meals in the Sukkah especially at night under the stars.  The children saw what a large Sukkah looks like and a model one in the classroom.  They saw that the big one was assembled with hammer and nails.  Some children had the opportunity to practice hammering golf tee’s into Styrofoam just like the nails into wood.

     

 

Another custom is to decorate the Sukkah.  The children did this by marble painting a star of David and hanging it on the walls.

 

We enjoyed eating dinner in the Sukkah.  In preparation for the dinner we made the bread sticks.  We used our challah dough recipe and instead of making rolls we rolled it out into sticks using our hands and then dipped them into the seasoning, Boy they were yummy!

 

It is customary during Sukkot to shake a lulav and smell an etrog

     

The children made flags with pictures of a Torah for the holiday Simcah Torah. It is a fun and joyous holiday celebrating the Torah.  The children visited the Shul and had the opportunity to see the large Torahs.

Rosh Hasana/Yom Kippur- Jewish New Year

For the holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur the children have been busy baking and making crafts and learning about the holidays.

The children worked hard to make an apple honey cake. First they grated the apples, then they poured the ingredients into the bowl and they mixed and mixed the batter until it was just right. We put it into the oven to bake. Hope everybody enjoyed their holiday honey cake.

The children took a tour of the big white tent which is the Shul used for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services.  They experienced holding and blowing the shofars.

                                                                                                        

We  made paper shofars.  The children used their fine motor & upper body skills, by standing at the easel sponging with big motions with he paint, while using their fingers to hold the sponge,  The children dipped their fingers into paint to make dots and lines with their fingers creating texture on the shofar.

    

 

 

Rosh Hashana Holiday

The children have been learning about the Yom Tov Rosh Hashana holiday. On this holiday we eat sweet foods representing the upcoming sweet new year. We ate a sweet apple dipped in honey.  Yum!  The children had the opportunity to use their fine motor dexterity skills with sponges to wash the apples prior to eating them.

                 

September 2019

School got off to a good start. The children reunited with their old friends, & made new ones. They enjoyed playing inside, and outside on the playground. They exerted their gross motor skills by riding bikes, running and climbing.
We are working on our listening skills and following directions.