3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 02/03/25

Hello, wonderful preschool families!

Happy February!  This month, we will begin exploring outer space!  The children are so excited to learn all about the planets, stars, and beyond!  This is always one of the favorite units of the year.  The children are already singing the planet song in anticipation!  We will begin this fun unit of learning with another visit with Jane from Mother’s Nature.  The kids had so much fun with her last time, and we cannot wait to see all that she has in store for us on Tuesday!

We are also continuing our study of trees this week, as Tu B’Shvat nears.  The children have been hard at work, carefully tracing and pin punching different shapes and sizes of leaves.  The concentration and fine motor coordination as the children focus on this precise task is truly beautiful.  They are taking such care as they work collaboratively to create something special for our classroom.  They’ve also been working to identify the different parts of the tree, comparing types of tree, and learning about all of the many ways trees help us and our Earth!  We’ve even been able to observe out our classroom windows how trees provide food and shelter for the local wildlife!

With the warming temperatures, we are hoping to continue to get outdoors more often!  Thank you in advance for sending weather appropriate clothing and footwear for your child.  After a long, cold January, they are so happy for any time we get to spend outside!  

We hope you all have a wonderful week ahead!

Morahs Kara, Uma, Kenzie, and Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 1/27/25

Hello, wonderful preschool families!

As we enter this final week of January, we are hoping for some warmer temperatures and sunshine!  We are definitely looking forward to those first signs of spring.  In preparation for Tu B’Shvat, we are beginning to learn all about trees.  We will compare and contrast the size, coloring, leaf shapes, and bark texture of various trees, learning to identify some varieties native to our area.  The children will also learn about the different parts of a tree and the tree life cycle.  We will be keeping a close eye out for the spring awakening of the trees in our outdoor environment!

This week we are also beginning to learn about the human body!  We will take a closer look at all of the systems in our bodies, and how they help us live and grow.  Of course, learning the best ways to take care of our bodies is important too!  The children will get the chance to practice brushing a model set of teeth.  We will also take a closer look at our cardiovascular systems.  Before and after activity, we will monitor the beating of our hearts.   We will then utilize a science experiment to see up close how the heart pumps blood to all of the parts of our body…so cool!

As the weather has warmed up, if only ever so slightly, we do hope to spend more time enjoying our outdoor environment.  During this time of year, outdoor time tends to get a bit messier.  Please be sure your child has a footwear and warm outerwear for chilly fun outside, and a weather appropriate change of clothes or two…just in case!

We hope that you all have a happy and healthy week!

Morahs Kara, Uma, Kenzie, and Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 1/21/25

Hello, wonderful preschool families! 

We hope that you enjoyed the long weekend, whether by enjoying the wintery weather or staying cozy and warm indoors.  With the active weather cycles we’ve been experiencing, we thought this would be a great week to dig deeper into what causes different types of weather.  In the science area, we will take a closer look at the water cycle, utilizing experiments to explore both condensation and freezing.  It will be fun to carefully watch and observe the icicles outside, as we learn about these concepts inside.  The slow melting in the sun and refreezing with the dipping evening temperatures has definitely been bringing curious questions and imaginative ideas from the children!

We will also take a look all the way up to the source of all of this rain and snow, the clouds in the sky!  After learning about how clouds form, we will start to compare the different types of clouds.  What can we learn or predict about the day’s weather by examining the shapes, colors, and textures of the clouds overhead?  We will even learn the names of different types of clouds!

With the arctic cold and snow keeping us inside more than usual, we are extra thankful for music and movement time in the big room and artistic exploration in our classroom.  It has been fun to dedicate more of our focus to these experiences.  The children are enjoying painting on snow with colored water, painting snowmen at the easel, and using spray bottles to create unique color explosions with bleeding tissue paper.  We love seeing the children express themselves through these activities!

We hope you have a happy and healthy week ahead!  Stay warm!

Morahs Kara, Kenzie, Uma, and Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 01/13/25

Hello, wonderful preschool families! 

The focus of our start to 2025 has certainly been the beautiful winter wonderland outside!  The children are loving all of the sparkling snow!  We have been both seeing it through the classroom windows and bringing it into the classroom for exploration and fun.  In the art area, we are inviting our young artists to create colorful creations on a canvas of fresh white snow.  They love using droppers of colored water to “paint” the snow, mix new colors, and experiment.  In the area of biology, after reading a book about animals in the snow, the children are using miniature animals to examine and compare the tracks of different animals.  With all of this snow, we are excited to incorporate it into a variety of lessons!

With the blanket of snow outside, the birds are drawing our attention more than usual.  It is so interesting to watch their busy activity, fluttering in and out of the trees and searching for food. Through books and observation, we will take a closer look at the birds that stay here in Ohio for winter, as well as those that migrate to warmer temperatures.  The children will get to compare the feet and feathers of different birds, noting that you can tell a lot about a bird’s behaviors and preferences simply by looking at their feet!  We will also create some bird feeders to hang in the trees outside for our feathered friends!

We do get a brief reprieve from cold and wintery weather this week, if only in our imaginations.  We are looking forward to a visit from Mother’s Nature this week, during which we will learn all about the ocean!  We will discuss all of the creatures that call our world’s oceans home, learn about the different oceans of the world, and examine the importance of protecting our oceans.  We are hoping this day of ocean exploration will put us in the mindset of a warm and breezy beach day, if only for a bit!

We hope you all stay warm and cozy!

Morahs Kara, Uma, Kenzie, and Chaya