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Class of 2022 (2nd grade)

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

Why We Need Design Lab

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IMG_7610 (1)Here’s a challenge for you: quickly sketch a scientist. Easy, right? You might be thinking lab coat, eyeglasses, crazy hair, test tubes everywhere, computers, and oh… male.

While I may be making an assumption here, research has proven that this isIMG_7612 (1) how many people envision scientists. Here is an article explaining these findings. 

In design lab this week, students in preK, kindergarten and first grade were given the same challenge I gave to you: draw a scientist. Some drawings were consistent with what researchers have found.

 

Others were not so consistent.

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The article above suggests that “students who visit real scientists or engage in hands-on inquiry activities tend to draw less stereotypical images of scientists.” This is  why all schools need programs like our Design Lab and design thinking curriculum; so that we can change our stereotypes and create a brighter future. At each grade level, students are engaged in projects that involve hands-on inquiry inside and outside of Design Lab time. Students at JCDSRI aim to solve real world problems while learning that we can all make a difference in the world, whether you’re a girl, a boy, have crazy hair, wear a lab coat, or none of the above.

Our Eggs Are Here!

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Today, Beth – the knowledgeable educator from Casey Farm – spent the morning with us. She brought with her twelve fertilized eggIMG_2181s, an incubator, warming lights, and lots of different kinds of bird eggs! And she also brought with her another wonderful surprise: a hen – Henny Penny – to visit us! We were able to touch her and see – up close – her comb, waddle, beak, ears, feathers and claws. We were surprised to discover that Henny Penny felt so soft. We even fed her some corn!

 

After we spent some time with Henny Penny and learned more about chickens, Beth then invited us to see the eggs laid by swans, bluebirds, robins, grey catbirds, golden eagles, hummingbirds, and even ostriches! We learned that eggs are camouflaged to be either the same color as their nests or as their mothers. 

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Beth then showed us the incubator into which we will place our eggs. There they will stay (round side up, pointy side down) for 21 days until they hatch. We will have both Rhode Island Red and Black Ranger chicks.

Our countdown has begun . . . we can hardly wait!

 

 

Songs for Zimriyah 2016!

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Here is a playlist of the songs for Zimriyah this year in case students and families want to practice at home!

 

All School: Shiru Shir, Shir Hachodashim, Rabbi Akiva, Nerot Shel Ahava, Mishe, Echad Mi Yode’a, Yom Huledet

Grades Pre-K, K, 1, 2: Basukkah shelanu, Shana Tova, Hashkediya Porachat, Letsan Katan

Grades 3,4,5:  Bashana haba-a, Sukkat Shalom, Ki Tavou,

Alumni song: Yesh Li Chag

The Three Little… Prototypes

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We’ve all heard the story The Three Little Pigs, but have you read The Three Little Javelinas? In PreK, kindergarten and first grade, we read The Three Little JavelinaIMG_6880s by Susan Lowell and talked about how the two stories are similar in some ways and different in others. In both stories the first house gets blown down very easily. The second house is a bit stronger, but not by much. The third house, however, won’t budge! In the design lab, we recreated the three houses that appear in both of the stories.

We explored different materials in the design lab and created our own houses that represent the three houses in the stories. Many of uIMG_6893 (1)s noticed that by utilizing the Design Thinking tactic of rapid prototyping, we could create better, stronger structures. Rapid prototyping is used by both adults who use design thinking concepts in the workplace and children at JCDSRI! It means that we build things quickly in order to learn from our mistakes and to move onto the iteration and improvement stage of the process.

Next, we tested our structures by blowing a hair dryer on them. Of course, children gave fair warning by yelling, “I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house down!” Finally, we decided what types of characters (or objects) might be in our own ThreIMG_6919 (1)e Little somethings stories!

In PreK, we decided that we all wanted our story to be The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Crocodile. One of our Lego structures had some interesting safety features, including a trap station to catch the crocodile and a lookout tower.

Kindergarteners decided that they wanted to create their own story titles. In the end, however, we noticed that we liked the titles of our friends. Eden, Millie, Ben, Eshel, and Meital created a story titled The Three Little Socks and the Shoe. Nathan, Bentzi, and Zemer titled their story The Three Little Scooby Doos and the Monster. Malcolm, and Aeden decided on The Three Little Monkeys.

First graders were proud to create their own individual story titles:

Naftali… The Three Little Ships and the Big Bad Star Destroyer
Maya… The 100 Little Army Ants and the Tilting Earth
Simon… The Three Little Snakes and the Lion
Elie… The Three Little Basketball Players and the Big Bad Basketball
Jude… The Three Little Leaves and the Grasshopper
Hannah… The Three Little Dwarves and the Giant
Moshe… The Three Little Squares and the Big Bad Triangle
Ella… The Three Cupcakes and the Cake
Maor… The Three Little Snakes and the Big Bird
Ayden… The Three Little Critters and the Big Bad Critter
Hadas… The Three Little Bunnies and the Cat

Happy Birthday to the Trees!

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It may be cold outside but spring is blooming in PreK!

Our Kehillah has been learning about the holiday of Tu’Bishvat (the birthday of the trees).

We have been collaborating on a beautiful mural depicting springtime in Israel! The children created brightly colored flowers, ladybugs, trees with lush, green leaves, dragonflies, butterflies, and more! We used various materials to create our mural including egg cartons, cellophane, beads, construction paper, pipe cleaners, glitter, paint, tissue paper, and actual tree branches from outside!

We also enjoyed a Tu’Bishvat Seder! We sampled many different foods that grow on trees including oranges, olives, pears, almonds, figs, dates, clementines, bananas, and apples. Yum!

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Pre-K in Music!

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Lately our Pre K students have been exploring and learning about a lot of different music and instruments. Last week, we learned about the orchestra and all of the different musicians and instruments that are used in it. We watched a video of an orchestra performing and talked about how all the musicians follow the conductor, which helps them to perform as a group. Later we practiced playing as a group and following a conductor using some hand drums!

Blooming in PreK

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In honor of Tu’Bishvat (“the birthday of the trees”), we planted an amaryllis plant in our classroom. One of the many exciting things about an amaryllis is how fast it grows; we can actually observe the bulb’s growth from day to day. While caring for our amaryllis plant, we are practicing measuring, close observation, scientific documentation, number sense, and making predictions and comparing them to observable results.

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We are having a wonderful time preparing for Tu’Bishvat in other ways, as well. While it is still winter in Providence, we know that spring is arriving in Israel and that some trees are beginning to bloom. Inspired, we are transforming our classroom into a colorful and flower-filled forest by creating beautiful and glittery flowers and trees to decorate our walls and ceiling.

 

We Are All Upstanders!

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This week, as we prepared to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we learned about Dr. King’s legacy and how he – and many others – worked to change people’s beliefs and attitudes, as well as the laws of the land. We acknowledged that there is still so much more work to be done and reflected on the ways in which we could build on Dr. King’s legacy of repairing our world (tikkun olom). Our reflections are hanging in the school lobby’s bulletin board.

Learning about Dr. King’s life also afforded us an opportunity to learn about  upstanders and bystanders. As one child explains: “An upstander stands up and says ‘STOP’!’ They say ‘stop’ when people aren’t showing kavod or hesed.”

“A person who helps people when they are fighting is an upstander,” states another student. “If someone is fighting, a bystander doesn’t help them. We should be an upstander and help people,” she continues. “Martin Luther King Jr. was an upstander. He taught people kavod, hesed and shalom. He also changed bad laws. Like if someone like Wilma Rudolph [an Olympic Gold-medalist – one of our favorite books recounts her life story] had brown skin and the doctors didn’t treat her well, the law should be that doctors have to take care of you.”

Every day our kehillah (community) works to affirm Dr. King’s words: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

 

This Little Light of Mine!

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We all enjoyed our classroom’s Hannukah celebration with our families and friends! We eagerly sang songs (Sivon, Sov, Sov, Sov; I Had a Little Driedel; 3 Little Latkes; This Little Light of Mine – HaNer HaKatan Sheli), proudly wore our beaded beautiful necklaces (complete with the svi’vonim we made out of clay) and our bejeweled candle crowns, lit our newly completed hannukiyot, and ate latkes with our “home-made” applesauce. Thank you to all that joined us for this festive celebration.