Documentation for the week of September 6-9, 2016
Davening with Siddurs
Last week, the Morahs noticed that the children were not very interested in davening on the rug while singing preschool songs anymore. They were deadly distracted, and seemed like they were just going through the motions. We reflected on possible solutions: should we make Siddurs for the children with picture references to the prayers? Should we ask the school to purchase children's siddurs? Moran Merele then suggested that we use the Siddurs that we already have, and we decided that this would be the best choice for the children in our class. We also decided to start davening in the Shul, after considering davening on the rug or at our table in the classroom. Using real Siddurs in the Shul teaches the children the importance of davening as well as reminds them how they can Davening on Shabbos with you at home and at the synagogue.
We sat together at a table in the big Shul on Tuesday and in the weekday Shul on Wednesday and Thursday. There were so many learning opportunities as we changed our routine! The first task at hand was talking about how we treat our Siddur. Bayla remembered that it cannot touch the floor, and Oree told us that when you shut it you give it a kiss. Imie told us that you cannot put anything on top of a Siddur because Hashem's name is inside. We then asked the children to find the Aleph-Beis chart. This was a challenge, because it does not have a page number. The children were required to use previous knowledge to search for the right page. Once we were all successful at that, we sang the Aleph-Beis together!
Morah Merele asked everyone to turn to page 5. By Wednesday, Eliya shouted, "We go to page 5!" It was amazing to see how he remembered where to find the first prayer! Searching for page numbers allowed the children to explore sequence. They learned that the numbers ascend from the right side of the book to the left, making it extra challenging to find the page that they were looking for. We then asked the children to find the letter Mem at the top of the page. The children shouted, "I found a Mem!" They were so excited! We sang the Modeh Ani together. Next we asked the children to find the page 12. This was a much greater challenge. We told the children that they could search for the numbers 1 and 2 or they could turn 7 pages. Bayla, Leah, and Ariel S. chose to turn pages and count together. Imie searched on her own for a 1 and a 2, then she helped Oree to find page 12 as well. The children also followed along with their fingers as we sang the prayers together. Even though they are not yet reading the words as they sing, this helps to train their eyes to follow their fingers: an important pre-reading task. They were also able to recognize letters along the way, making the letters that they already know become more meaningful by putting them into context.
Besides the amazing learning that occurred while we davened with Siddurs together, it was so heartwarming to feel the children's enthusiasm for learning together. Their faces were so focused on their work, and it made davening together even more special.
Morah Merele asked everyone to turn to page 5. By Wednesday, Eliya shouted, "We go to page 5!" It was amazing to see how he remembered where to find the first prayer! Searching for page numbers allowed the children to explore sequence. They learned that the numbers ascend from the right side of the book to the left, making it extra challenging to find the page that they were looking for. We then asked the children to find the letter Mem at the top of the page. The children shouted, "I found a Mem!" They were so excited! We sang the Modeh Ani together. Next we asked the children to find the page 12. This was a much greater challenge. We told the children that they could search for the numbers 1 and 2 or they could turn 7 pages. Bayla, Leah, and Ariel S. chose to turn pages and count together. Imie searched on her own for a 1 and a 2, then she helped Oree to find page 12 as well. The children also followed along with their fingers as we sang the prayers together. Even though they are not yet reading the words as they sing, this helps to train their eyes to follow their fingers: an important pre-reading task. They were also able to recognize letters along the way, making the letters that they already know become more meaningful by putting them into context.
Besides the amazing learning that occurred while we davened with Siddurs together, it was so heartwarming to feel the children's enthusiasm for learning together. Their faces were so focused on their work, and it made davening together even more special.
Oree's Play Story: An Example of How Play Stories Affect Our Class Day
On Wednesday morning, Oree had a hard time saying goodbye to her Aba. A minute or so later, she was ready to move on with her day and enjoy her time with her morahs and her friends. When 12:00 came around, and it was time to write a play story, Oree remembered her challenging transition at the beginning of the day. She drew a picture of her Aba, herself, and her morahs. This type of reflective practice is so helpful for children, because it allows them to work through challenges when they are feeling safe again. She could draw and dictate about how she was crying, how Morah Tara was there to hold her, and how her Aba needed to leave. We chose her story to share during our Afternoon Meeting. She stood up in front of her friends and told them about her drawing and her experience in the morning. This allowed space for us all to reflect and problem solve together.
Morah Tara: Does anyone remember Oree crying this morning?
Imie nodded somberly.
Eliya:Yes, I remember!
Morah Tara: Has anyone else felt sad or upset when they got dropped off at school?
The children shook their heads no. They didn't appear to remember feeling upset at drop off anymore.
Morah Tara: What might make Oree feel better tomorrow morning?
Ariel S.: We could give her a hug.
Morah Tara: Oree would you like it if your friends gave you a hug tomorrow morning?
Oree: No
Bayla: We could ask you how you want to be greeted.
Imie: Or we could make you a bracelet or a necklace.
Morah Tara: Would either of those choices make you feel better tomorrow, Oree?
Oree: A bracelet
Morah Tara: It sounds like making Oree a bracelet would make her feel better in the morning. Would anyone like to make bracelets or necklaces for Oree?
Everyone: Yes
Morah Tara: Ok, what kinds of things do we need?
Lucy: We need to have colorful beads.
Leah: And we need strings
Imie: The strings have to have knots on the ends of them so the beads won't all fall off.
Morah Tara: Is there anything else we need?
Imie: No, that's all.
On Thursday morning, we set out beads and string for the children to make bracelets and necklaces. Everyone sat down and got to work once they got to school! We tied knots in the ends of the string so that they would keep all the beads on. When Oree got to school she did get upset again, and was not quite ready to receive the gifts her friends had made her. After a few minutes, though, she was beaming with happiness as she wore the necklaces.
Numeracy Exploration
Last week we could hear the children counting throughout their play. They were counting blocks as they were building, they were counting fruits in the dramatic play area, they were counting manipulatives as they worked with loose parts. We decided to create a provocation that allowed them to explore number symbols and create a number chart for our classroom.
At the beginning of the week, we put our pieces of paper with numbers on them. We also provided baskets with dice, rocks, and shells as well as markers, papers, and scissors. On Tuesday, the children went straight for the markers and traced all the numbers over and over. They also copied the number onto the paper. Imie chose to add to our chart by making papers with the numbers 11, 12, and 13. They then used the shells and stones to trace the letters as well. This type of learning is important because it allows seemingly random symbols to become important to them. Using loose parts and markers to trace the numbers allowed them to become familiar with the curves and shapes that number symbols have.
On Wednesday, we added a ten frame made from popsicle sticks for the children to explore. Ariel S. chose to use one-to-one correlation by placing one shell in each frame. She also distinguished that she was only using large shells. This is a pre-math concept we refer to as sorting. She could differentiate the shells from each other in a way that was meaningful to her. Bayla chose to start with the first frame by placing one shell inside, then she placed two shells in the next frame and so on. This activity showed her how each square gained one shell, exposing her to addition properties as well as the necessity to count and use her memory.
On Thursday, we added ten frame pictures to each piece of paper. Lucy worked with Morah Tara to glue a leaf representation of each number symbol starting with one leaf glued to the ten frame on the page with the number symbol, 1. Lucy worked hard to continue this process, which required a lot of focus, and multistep directions. After a while, Imie decided to join Lucy, and Morah Tara began observing instead of participating. They first talked about how they were going to share the tasks at hand. They considered Lucy doing the gluing and Imie placing each leaf or taking turns with the glue stick and the leaves. They decided on the latter. Even though they had reached the highest numbers in our number chart, they were able to identify how many leaves they needed in each ten frame, and where the leaves were supposed to go in the sequence.
Lucy and Ariel F. Solve a Problem Together
When we were playing outside on Wednesday, Lucy and Ariel F. were working with their friends to make nature soup. They were placing leaves, rocks, and whatever they could find into a large basin and pretending to stir it up! Then this happened:
Ariel F.: Morah Tara, Lucy kicked pebbles into my shoe!
Morah Tara: Why don't you tell Lucy about it?
Ariel F: Lucy, you got rocks in my shoe!
Morah Tara: How can you make it right, Lucy?
Ariel F.: She could say that she's sorry.
Lucy: I'm sorry Ariel. I can help you get the rocks out of your shoes. I didn't mean to do that.
Ariel F.: Thanks, Lucy.
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