There is so much to be grateful for, Mr. Tilove has been emphasizing the importance of Gratitude (Hakarat Hatov) and Responsibility (Achriut) during our Kabbalat Shabbat service together on Friday. The answers the students gave were so powerful, especially when some of the students answered “I am gratitude for my family or my dog or my toys. Some said, plants, food, my sister, my brother, the world, our school and our teachers. It was so inspiring to hear each voice and it is those voices that have inspired my list of Gratitude.
I am grateful for my beloved ( and very) patient family, Antibiotics, Probiotics, my incredible colleagues who have stepped up and took such good care of my students while I have been out for the count, my thoughtful, kind and loving class parents and finally my resilient fabulous first grade students. I can’t wait to give a hug to each and everyone of them! Thank you all for your well wishes and love.
Lego Parking Lot
We did some fall Lego clean-up as supplies were getting low and a cleaned up of the Lego gallery was a must. Now everyone works on one “ship” or “structure” at a time. We created a Lego parking lot (labeled, reserved parking for all!) The kids asked me to take pictures of the structures before they destroyed them and put back into the box for further communal use. Enjoy!
First Grade Torah Scholars
Our Torah study has evolved in magical ways. We are using the medium of ripped paper to show our interpretations of the events in Bereishet (the first book in the Torah) Students are writing about their collages and many of their “I wonder” questions that they think of as they listen to each new Parasha (chapter). These writings will be included in their personal Torahs and be displayed at our milestone event. Please see email for important information about upcoming events.
One Last Egg-experiment
It was fascinating to discover that it was the apple juice that caused most damage to our pearly whites. The culprit being the natural acid that is in the juice. I couldn’t resist and we had to do one more follow-up egg-spiriment and brought in two common household acids; White vinegar and Apple cider vinegar each containing 5% acidity. We wondered what would happen to a raw egg if soaked in vinegar. Students were fascinated to watch the bubbling and slow disintegration of the shell. It has been a while since we have checked them and will be interested to see what has become of them after the Thanksgiving break.
1st and 2nd Grade Daven (pray) Together
On Thursday mornings, 2nd grade joins us for T’fillot. It is a very special moment in the week as my students welcome 2nd grade into their classroom. We all look forward to it and it is magical to close my eyes and listen to their sweet voices praying as one. We share snack together where they have the time to socialize, listen to a good book or do a word problem..
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And speaking of word problems…..
There Are Two New Jobs in First Grade!
I was so inspired by the Literacy for All conference that I attended several weeks ago. I learned about the importance of the language of math in the classroom. One of the tricks of creating as many opportunities to talk about math is to add two more jobs to our classroom responsibilities. The Surveyor is in charge of creating a daily class survey for each member to vote on with their individual photos. (More photos to follow!) and the Mathematician who is in charge of a different number each day.
Here is Ruben, our first Mathematician showing how many ways you can show the number 19.
