Dear Purple Room families,

    We hope you enjoyed the Shabbat celebration this morning! It was the culmination of so much learning. This month we have explored Shabbat through art, song, and stories. We have updated our Documentation Board with some of this learning, but in case you haven’t had a chance to see it yet, here are some of the highlights.

Learning Through Song

Singing is a wonderful way to build community and learn together! Each week, we sing Shabbat songs and brachot during our Shabbat Party. The Chicken Soup Song is a particular favorite. The children sing it as they pretend to prepare Shabbat meals in the Dramatic Play center. We also like to pretend to make huge pots of soup outside!

The Chicken Soup Song

To the tune of “London Bridge”

Put some chicken in the pot

Stir it up, nice and hot

Get it ready for Shabbat, for Shabbat

Put some…(carrots, onions, celery…)

Learning Through Play

Play is the most important way young children learn. When they play, they are collaborating, testing ideas, and building flexible thinking skills. The Purple Room loves to play Shabbat in the Dramatic Play center. They clean, cook, and set the table, then enjoy a Shabbat meal. They discuss with one another what they should do next, how they should prepare the food, and how to say the brachot.

Some quotes we’ve heard in the Dramatic Play area:

“I’m the challah boy! I say a hamotzi.”    

“Is it kiddush or hamotzi first?” 

“If you don’t know the bracha let’s say it together. I think I know it.”    

“For Shabbat lets have burgers and waffles.”    

“When you set the table each person gets a cup.”    

“Is this fancy for Shabbat? Shabbat should be fancy.”    

“If you pretend to light the candles be careful. It’s a fire. You move your hands slowly like this.”    

“Do you want to have bananas too? And grapes. And corn. And pizza. It’s the most food for Shabbat.”    

“We got to sweep! And mop! It’s almost Shabbat!”    

“Morah, we need a tzedakah box in our kitchen. We are giving tzedakah before Shabbat.”    

“If someone else wants to come they sit here. We put two tables to have lots of seats for all the Shabbat guests.” 

Learning Through Art

Action Art: The Purple Room talked about how Hashem worked so hard for six days to create the world, and then rested on Shabbat. What does it mean to work hard? What does it mean to rest? How does it feel in your body? We moved our bodies in active ways, and then practiced different ways to breathe deeply and rest. 

We listened to energetic music and drew at the same time! Our arms moved fast, and the shapes were big and spiky. We made dots and huge shapes that moved quickly across the page.

We listened to calm music and drew at the same time! Our arms moved slowly, and the shapes were curvy and wavy. It took longer to fill the page as we drew at a calmer pace.

The Shabbat Box

The culminating project for our Shabbat unit is our Shabbat box. Over the course of several weeks, each child created a kiddush cup, challah board, challah cover, candlestick, and a special box to hold these items. We discussed how we use each item and what makes it special. The Purple Room can remember their Shabbat learning for years to come as they use these creations!