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Month: September 2016

Welcome to Kindergarten!

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Welcome to Kindergarten! The first few weeks of school have been filled with new discoveries, ex504citing games and lots of learning! In our play-based, student-centered kindergarten class, children learn and construct their own knowledge through discovery, investigation and hands-on projects. These first few weeks have been dedicated to building a strong classroom community through daily “Morning Meetings” and class games or projects. We completed an art project the first week of school, bringing our feelings to life through color. The students have also enjoyed honing their engineering skills while constructing awesome Lego structures.503

Stay tuned for more exciting posts regarding specific activities and information about fun Fall projects!

Love,

Mrs. Alison and Kindergarten

What does it mean to Love Your Neighbor as Yourself?

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This year, JCDSRI is weaving a values curriculum into all areas of the curriculum. This month’s Jewish value comes from Leviticus 19:18, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The fifth graders are using other Jewish texts, especially from Pirkei Avot (a section within the Rabbinic collection known as the Mishna), the Ethics of the Fathers, to help them unpack the meaning and application of this verse. Some of the questions that have been raised by them: What does it mean to be a neighbor – does that mean only people within your community? (They rejected that understanding). What happens if you don’t like yourself – how does that help you know how to treat somebody else? (This question is still being explored). What are the behaviors connected to this concept that will help to show that we love our neighbors? (Treating someone with respect, being helpful, reaching out to them, using kind words, etc). Using the teaching from Pirkei Avot which states, “I am only for myself, what am I; if I am not for myself, who will be; and if not now, when?,” we have explored the idea of maintaining a balance. While we need to be there to help others, we also have the obligation to take care of ourselves, These are important concepts to be considered at any time but are even more significant at this time of the year as we enter into the spiritual tasks of the HIgh Holy Day season. May all of you have a good year, one filled with blessings and health, and may you have more laughter than tears in the year to come.

What makes a community a community?

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In first grade, we have spent the first weeks of school building a learning community. One activity included reading Swimmy by Leo Lionni. From the book we learned that a community is made stronger when it sticks together. Swimmy emphasized the meaning of community and how people, even fish, could collaborate to solve problems. After our reading, we worked together to designimg_5426 a class poster. Each student created a unique fish, and then we made one picture together. We reflected on community and how we could collaborate. The conversation started when a child said, “I will help others with their work.” One child added, “I will be a good friend.” Another noted, “I will be kind.” Others said, “We will help by sharing.” We are learning about friendship and common interests, and growing as a first grade community.

Global Cardboard Challenge Was a Hit!

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jcdsri-cardboard-challenge-2016

 

Just build it! That was the theme of the day for dozens of children and parents who dropped in for some creative building at the JCDSRI Global Cardboard Challenge. Inspired by Caine’s Arcade, this fun annual event encourages children to design and build with cardboard and recycled material. It’s a community play-date that unleashes your child’s imagination! In case you missed it, here’s what it looked like in under 1 minute:

JCDS Cardboard Challenge 2016 from Jewish Community Day School RI on Vimeo.

Teamwork in First Grade

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porch-at-the-rabbis

How can we love our neighbor as ourselves?

First Grade has been working hard on practicing how to work as a team. And what better way to practice working together as a team than herding goats?!

We were invited to Rabbi Philmus’ house to learn how to care and shepherd two very clever goats named Kesef and Cinnamon.

We gathered on a porch shaded by a beautiful grape arbor. We sat on hay bales and woven mats and held objects that could have been used during the time of the Torah. Students were asked to find objects that were either made from plants or came from an animal.

hay-bale

Once Kesef and Cinnamon had their hay stashed in the goat barn, students learned how to care for the goats, which included a quick nail trimming, grooming, and adjusting the goat’s harness.

goat-harness

 

 

We learned the key elements of goat herding:

  • Stay together as a group.
  • Show them where you want them to go by walking behind them.
  • Sometimes it helps to shake a can of goat treats and walk in the direction you want them to go.
  • Best of all, you can use a shofar to signal what you want them to do.

We also used commands; for example, Tekiyyah = run! Tekiyyah gedolah= stop!

game-time

First Grade was able to herd the goats all around the large field, then we stopped for a story and a game featuring goats and mountain lions. The goats were content to nosh on leaves during the game.

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It was time for snack, and students had to work hard to herd the goats back to the house. img_8413

Thank you Rabbi Philmus!

May we continue to work as a team and to build a classroom community which works as a team, shows kindness, and has fun together.

 What a wonderful way to begin the new year!

שנה טובה ומתוקה – May we all have a sweet new year! 

Herding goats from Jewish Community Day School RI on Vimeo.

2nd Grade Ear Training!

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2nd-grade-music-video

Recently we’ve been working on ear training and trying to recognize pitches and scales. In this activity, students with bells are the “instruments” and the other students must help to organize them according to pitch.  Here are our second graders organizing themselves into an ascending major scale! (Plus a small celebration afterwards).