B”H

 

Dear Parents,

 

Succos

The Purple Room Friends are constantly checking the luach (calendar) to see how many days are left till Succos. The Jewish month of Tishrei has been so packed with Jewish Holidays, the Friends have been kept in a state of excitement.

 

They enjoyed eating snack in the Succa in the playground in preparation for Succos. They were tickled pink to think one could actually sit inside a Mitzva! The Friends really felt the hug from Hashem and loved sitting together as friends.

 

When I ate in the Succa…

Jemma: I liked how it was cool and nice and how it reminded me of last year, how we used to sit there.

Bracha: It reminded me of last year when I was going to eat breakfast in the Succa with my grandpa. My parents were still asleep.

Leah:  I ate my grapes and it makes me fresh.

Ronen: That it’s really quiet in there. It’s just us. That’s what I like about it.

Naveed: I like noise. When there’s no noise it makes me bored. 

Angie: I liked thinking about trees. I liked eating in the Succa because I like eating.

 

The Purple Room Mitzvah Friends have been exploring the Mitzva of sitting in the Succa and what makes it kosher. They know from looking at the shape of the letters of the Hebrew word סכה how many walls a kosher Succa should have. (4 walls, 3 walls or 2 and a bit walls)

 

They each built their own Succa using plastic straws and joining bits which required them to use their hand muscles, great for strengthening those muscles. Then they created a class Succa and davened in it, ate in it, sat in it, …… You get the idea! They checked out if there was more shade than sun peeking through the scratch (Succa covering of cut branches) - another requirement for a kosher Succa.

 

Thank you, Rabbi Deitsch, for showing the lulav and esrog, haddasim and arovos to the Purple Room. They were so inspired they decided to create their own pretend lulav and esrog set. Rabbi Deitsch asked them which parts of the body each kind appears to represent: lulav – the spine, esrog – heart, haddasim leaves – eyes and aravos – lips. We use our whole body to daven to Hashem and do His Mitzvos. They are looking forward to the Mitzvah of shaking the Lulav and Esrog on Succos.

 

Art and Simchas Torah

Not to imagine that that’s the end of the Jewish Holidays! Oh no! We have Simchas Torah following right after Succos. The children will show you their flags that they made creating a crepe paper Torah.

 

Fine Motor

The Purple Room Friends practiced their cutting skills this week. They have been reading many stories about Succos and noticed the decorations in many of the books. They practiced cutting colored paper on the line to create a vellum mobile with which to decorate their own Succa and the CJP Succa.

 

Imaginary Play

The Purple Room Builders greatly enjoyed creating their own Succa and then building tables and chairs for their ‘pretend people’ to sit on. It was certainly the desired go-to this week. (See CJP Facebook page.)

 

Kriyah (Hebrew Literacy)

The Purple Room Friends found the letter Hey visiting their room this week. They tight roped it each day. The Hey is made from a Daled and a Yud because together they make the word yad – hand. The letter Hey also equals 5 – five fingers on the hand. We have five fingers on each hand that Hashem made for us to do the things we would need to do Mitzvos. 

 

The Purple Room Singers took home a Succos song book home and would greatly enjoy singing the songs to you.

 

Have a good Shabbos and a joyous Succos!

 

Morah Perline

 

 

 

 B”H

 

Dear Parents,

 

Yom Kippur

The Purple Room Friends are so excited for Yom Kippur! You may ask why. That’s because they are certain that Hashem will give them, and all of us, a good sweet year; the best ever! The Purple Room has been thinking of some of the many kind things they can do for another. Each child thought and thought and, together, created a Purple Room Kindness book of a good choice they can make to do a kind thing for another. 

 

The Purple Room Friends are truly trying to be kind to one another. Sometimes, by mistake, their feelings may be hurt. They read Sammy Spider’s First Yom Kippur and learned a great way to accept an apology: just by saying ‘I accept your apology’.

 

Saying ‘I’m sorry’ is not always easy but the Purple Room Friends learned the story of Yonah who was swallowed by a big fish and how he said I’m sorry to Hashem for not following Hashem’s direction to help the people of Ninveh. Yonah said he was sorry, davened to Hashem to save him, and Hashem gave him another chance. The Purple Room Friends painted a big fish in the style of Monet using tiny brush strokes in varying shades of their chosen color (which blended into one big splash of color!). Then they created a ‘Yonah’ man to go inside the fish. They enjoyed playacting the story and can use the fish they made to retell it to you.

 

Fine Motor

The Purple Room Friends know there are five things we don’t do on Yom Kippur: eat, drink, put on creams, bathe and wear leather. Each child sewed non-leather slippers which was great for fine motor. They don’t know how long the slippers will last but they are trying to save them to wear first on Yom Kippur.

 

The children know their parents may not have the opportunity to make many brachos on foods on Yom Kippur and they may not feel so well so they created a lovely Yom Kippur Lemon Besamim so their parents can smell it on Yom Kippur, feel revived, and even make a special bracha on the smell: Baruch ata Ado-nai Elo-hei-nu melech ha’olam borei minei b’samim. Pushing the cloves into the lemon was beneficial for strengthening the hand muscles.

 

Math and Literacy

The Math and Literacy table was filled with lots of Yom Kippur fun. The Math Whizzes counted the Yom Kippur items and placing a peg on the correct number. There were cards with many pictures to count, some of which were non-leather sneakers, white clothes (which some people wear on Yom Kippur), and with Machzorim (the special Siddur we use to daven from on Yom Kippur), etc. Using rocks, gems, rubies and stones, the Purple Room Math Whizzes tested out the scale to see how many of each item they would need to balance the scale. The Yom Kippur matching board required the Literacy Expert to sound out the word and then match it to the starting letter sound. 

 

Literacy

On the Word Wall this week, the Purple Room Friends added many words starting with letter sounds they recognize in connection with Yom Kippur. Here are some of them:

d is for drink, d, d, drink

l is for leather, l, l, leather

w is for white, w, w, white

f is for food, f, f, food

k is for kids, k, k, kids

s is for slippers, s, s, slippers

 

Kriyah (Hebrew Literacy)

The Purple Room Friends found the letter Daled visiting their room this week. They tightroped it each day. Daled has a hand stretched out in back of him so he can get help from the Gimmel (the letter before Daled).

 

The children know many wonderful songs for Yom Kippur, most of which they sing about Ahavas Yisrael, loving and caring for others. They have brought the song book home and would greatly enjoy singing the songs to you.

 

Have a wonderful Shabbos and an easy fast over Yom Kippur. May you be sealed for a sweet, happy new year!

 

Morah Perline

 

 

 

 B”H

 

Dear Parents,

 

Rosh Hashana

The Purple Room Friends have been working hard on their preparations for Rosh Hashana. They will be bringing home the fruits of their labor: a bejeweled crown to remember that on Rosh Hashana we crown Hashem our King, a sand art apple dish and a modge podge honey bowl – both for dipping the apples into honey for a sweet new year, and a Tashlich pond, the art reminiscent of the artist study of the month, Monet. They know that we go to Tashlich on the second day of Rosh Hashana. Purple Room Friends know that the most important Mitzvah of Rosh Hashana is to hear the blowing of the shofar. They know the three sounds blown: Tekiya (one blast), Shevarim (three blasts) and Teru’ah (nine or more blasts).

 

Jemma: “Is Rabbi going blow the Shofar in Shul or the park? Because I kind of like when he blows it in Shul because it reminds me of when we didn’t have coronavirus.”

 

Note: The apple dishes and honey dishes have been toiveled and can be used at your Rosh Hashana table. Please clean without immersing in water.

 

Fine Motor

The Purple Room Friends have been practicing their cutting skills, trying to cut on the line. Straight lines and curvy lines. They will continue to practice this. The Purple Room Friends cut lilies for the Tashlich pond and crowns. 

 

Tasting Math 

The votes are in! Which apple do you like the taste of best? The Purple Room Tasters graphed the results after tasting all three types of apples and this is what they discovered:

Red: Bracha and Ronan

Yellow: Naveed and Angie

Green: Jemma and Leah

All the apples got the same amount of votes: 2!

 

They found a similar result when they graphed the tastes of honey:

Buckwheat honey: 0

Clover honey: 2

Honeycomb honey: 2

Abstaining from tasting: 2

 

The Purple Room Tasters had fun trying to guess what they were tasting while being blindfolded. They tasted sweet and savory things and recognized all the tastes. Sugar got the most votes, even more than honey!

 

Literacy

While reading the sound letter cards this week the Purple Room discovered many starting sounds in connection with Rosh Hashana:

a is for apple, a, a, apple

r is for Rosh Hashana, r, r, Rosh Hashana

p is for pomegranate, p, p, pomegranate

f is for fish, f, f, fish

h is for honey, h, h, honey

c is for carrots, c, c, carrots

 

Kriyah (Hebrew Literacy)

The Purple Room Friends found the letter Gimmel visiting their room this week. Gimmel has a leg that is always going, going to help others.

 

Keeping the Purple Room Safe

The Safekeeping promise was introduced this week to the Purple Room Friends (see pic on the CJP Facebook page). Every morning the children chant the Safekeeper Promise to their friends:

 

When I come to school each day

To keep us safe here’s what I say:

My eyes will watch

My ears will listen

My hands are gentle 

Give gentle taps for attention

My feet will walk

My words are kind

I’ll tell my friends if there’s something I mind

When I’m sad or angry 

I’m a S.T.A.R.

The safe place isn’t very far

To be my best for you and me

And for my whole school family.

 

The Purple Room Friends discussed ways to keep it safe for our friends: using helpful words, quiet voices, walking feet, safe spaces and soft touches.

 

Wishing you and your family a Ketiva V’chatima Tova, L’shana Tova U’metuka – may you be written and sealed for a sweet new year!

 

Have a wonderful Shabbos, Yom Tov and a sweet, happy new year!

 

Morah Perline

 B”H

 

Dear Parents,

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANGIE!

Happy birthday to Angie. Angie’s birthday was celebrated with great excitement as it was the first for the Purple Room this year. The Purple Room Friends created a beautiful giant birthday card with the sweetest wishes. 

 

Rosh Hashana

The Purple Room Friends finished creating the sweetest Rosh Hashana cards for their grandparents. After exploring a beeswax honeycomb, the Purple Room Artists made a crayon rubbing to create texture for the cover of the card. Then they drew on bees themselves. They then stamped them and were mailed this week.

 

The Purple Room children are SO excited for Rosh Hashana! They are counting down the days. Every day, when the Hebrew date changes on the luach (calendar), they see how much closer it is getting to Rosh Hashana. 

 

Art

The famous work by Claude Monet (1840-1926) titled Water Lilies has been the inspiration for Art this week in the Purple Room. The children are creating their own ‘Tashlich Pond’ and will be attaching the lilies next week. On Rosh Hashana we go to Tashlich to throw our sins away. The Purple Room Wise Ones know that when we go to Tashliach on Rosh Hashana we look for a body of water that has fish in it. Next week, when they finish the ‘Tashlich Pond’ they will attach the fish, too.

 

Math

The Purple Room Math Whizzes have been doing lots of things with apples. They used the apples to measure themselves. They tasted them and made a survey as to who likes which apples more. They also used the apples to figure out how many go into a pound or two pounds or three by utilizing the weigh scale. 

 

Kriyah (Hebrew Literacy)

The Purple Room Friends found the letter Veis visiting their room this week. Veis is a very close cousin to Beis only he’s missing a ‘bell’ but he looks almost like him.

 

Feelings

Here’s a chant the Purple Room Friends have learned. You can do it at home, too.

 

Bread and butter

Blackberry jam

Say "I love you" as - (fast, slow, high, low, silly, loving) as you can! 

I love you!

 

The Purple Room Friends have been discussing feelings and are learning that being a Star is a healthy way to deal with anger. This song encourages taking three breaths to help a person calm down.

 

The STAR song

When you're feeling really angry, no matter where you are

There's a way to feel better, there's a way to be a star.

With this one thing to remember, you'll stop anger in its tracks

Just stop! take a deep breath and relax 3x

 

Respect for Friends

The Talking Circle has begun in the Purple Room. The Friends sit in a circle so they can see each other and one person holds the ‘talking stick’. When one has the ‘talking stick’ all listen with respect to what that person has to say. They are learning to wait for the ‘talking person’ to be finished before having their say.

 

Thank you, Jemma!

Thank you to Jemma for donating two books to the Purple Room. The new books have joined the library. The Purple Room Friends have so enjoyed reading the new books. 

 

Wishing you and your family a Ketiva V’chatima Tova, L’shana Tova U’metuka – may you be written and sealed for a sweet new year!

 

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

 

Morah Perline

 

 

B”H

Dear Parents,

 

Five Senses

The Purple Room has been exploring the sense of hearing in preparation for Rosh Hashana. They have been testing the sound jars to compare and match sounds. Thank you, Rabbi Deitsch, for blowing the shofar for the Purple Room. The children have been learning the three types of sounds that are blown on Rosh Hashana: Tekiya – one blast, Shevorim – three blasts and Teki’ah – nine blasts.

 

Math

The Purple Room Mathematicians measured their heights utilizing apples of all types: red (Red Delicious), yellow (Golden Delicious) and green (Granny Smith). After graphing they learned that some measured 14 apples long, some 15 and some 16! Then they measured their heights in inches and discovered that they all measured between 42 and 47 inches high!

Kriyah (Hebrew Literacy)

The Purple Room has started reviewing all the Alef Beis letters and are ‘tightroping’ the letter Beis. They are also thinking of words that begin with the letter Beis. They have thought of Beis Hamikdash, Bracha, Baruch … all words they use every day in the Purple Room when davening or eating.

 

Parsha (Weekly Torah Portion)

In this week’s parsha the children learned about the special Bikurim presents the Jewish people would bring to Hashem in the Beis Hamikdash. These would consist of the seven species of grain and fruit with which Hashem blessed the Land of Israel:

 

Song:

These Are the Shivat Haminim (Seven Kinds)

(TTTO: Oh My Darling Clementine)

 

These are Shivat

These are Shivat

These are Shivat Haminim

There are seven different species

That are used for Bikurim.

Wheat and barley, olives, grapes 

Dates and figs, pomegranates.

Wheat and barley, olives, grapes

Dates and figs, pomegranates.

 

Art

The Purple Room Friends are very busy in preparation for Rosh Hashana. They are creating stunning cards utilizing the Claude Monet art style for personal wishes to their grandparents for a sweet new year. For their own homes they created apple dishes with a sand art centerpiece for their Rosh Hashanah tables. 

 

When I grow up I want to be a…

Leah:  ballerina

Naveed: poke-man master

Jemma: teacher

Angie: police officer

Bracha: artist

 

Discussion overheard:

Naveed: Leah, you know you always look pretty?

 

Wishing you and your family a Ketiva V’chatima Tova, L’shana Tova U’metuka – may you be written and sealed for a sweet new year!

 

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

 

Morah Perline

 

 

 B”H

Dear Parents,

Literacy

The Purple Room enjoyed using their new Letter Sound Cards this week being that the emphasis is on phonics, the sounds the letters make. This helps them learn how to sound out words.

The Purple Room friends began ‘writing’ in their journals this week. They illustrated and Morah wrote the words for them. Later in the year they may want to add some words to their entries.

All About Me

The children explored facts about themselves. They observed their eye color, their hair, the things they were wearing. After they were traced in true life size they filled in all their personal details such as details of their faces, clothing etc. They are now displayed in the hallway so they see ‘themselves’ as they walk by.

The Home Corner is now graced with the children’s family photos which the children chalk painted. They altered the pictures at their discretion: some dads’ shirts changed colored and some moms’ hair appeared dyed. ☺ 

Math

The Purple Room Friends were introduced this week to their Work Trays. The trays are individual work encompassing many learning skills. Some trays focus on cognitive skills, some on math, on Literacy, and some on fine motor. For example, one of the trays requires sewing, another on one to one correspondence. Once the child is finished with their tray they sign the card and return it to the shelf for another.

Kriyah (Hebrew Reading)

The Purple Room friends began creating an Alef Beis book. This week they did a crayon rubbing of an Alef for the first page in the book. Tracing the sandpaper Alef gave them sensory knowledge of this letter. Every day after sign in the children tight roped the giant Alef on the floor. They know the three lines of the the Alef are whispering a message: “Hashem loves me!”

Parsha

In this week’s Parsha the Purple Room Whizzes learned about the importance returning lost objects and being sensitive to the feelings of animals. 

Song:

(TTTO: Down By the Bay)

Down by the bay

Where the watermelons grow

Somebody lost

A colored bow.

I checked the name

I gave a call,

“Did you leave a colored bow,

Where the watermelons grow,

Down by the bay?”

Down by the bay

Where the grass grows high

Somebody lost

A colored tie.

I checked the name

I gave a call,

“Did you leave a colored tie,

Where the grass grows high

Down by the bay?”

Parsha Discussion: How have you taken care of animals?

Leah: I take care of the baby chickens. I have one. I named him Pascale. I gave the chickens food.

Jemma: I‘ve never been in a barn. But when I was by my friend’s house one of the dogs had a bee in their mouth – that was Harley, the little one - and I had to help him choke it out. 

Angie:  I take care of Ali, he’s a dog. I put a bandage on him and doggie medicine on Ali’s mouth because he likes it. He feels better with his medicine.

Bracha: My sister had a bee sting because she went to her friendss house and I helped it get away. I put some bee medicine on it and a bandaid and it felt better the next day.

Naveed: I have a dog. His name is Phoenix. My sister only takes care of Phoenix. Lots of time he had a broken leg and he went to the vet. I only like to see a chicken. 

Apples please?

In preparation for Rosh Hashana can you please send two apples to school with your child? We will be using them for many Holiday, art and math activities.

Angie: 2 red apples

Bracha: 2 green apples

Leah: 2 yellow apples

Naveed: 2 red apples

Jemma: 2 yellow apples

Ronan: 2 green apples

Show and Tell
Thank you for sending the pictures/videos of your child’s Show and Tell item this week. In the future please only send a picture of the item. If you wish your child can be holding the item. Utilizing a picture is more beneficial for this activity so that they can better develop confidence and poise in public speaking.

Please whatsapp me a picture the night before:

Monday: Naveed

Tuesday: Leah and Ronan

Wednesday: Jemma and Bracha

Thursday: Angie

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

Morah Perline

 B”H

Dear Parents,

Welcome to a fantastic fun year of learning in the Purple Room! This week the Purple Room Friends have been learning about their new schedule as Purple Room friends: how to start the day, how to care for the classroom materials, how to care for the paints and brushes and many other procedures. It is plain to see they are so very happy to be back at school and have missed it so these very long months. They are already a cohesive and caring group.

They have very quickly acclimated to a Morah who wears a mask all day. I was concerned that it may bother them but it doesn’t seem to at all. It is amazing how children adapt so quickly. Some children are wearing masks and some not. Please let me know if you have a preference. 

The Purple Room Friends have been starting the day with Outdoor Water Play so that they can take advantage of the cooler temperatures before the day becomes too hot.  They really enjoy running and playing in the water and getting some fresh air.

Literacy

The Purple Room has begun reviewing the Alphabet phonetically (sounds of the letters) with Letter Sound cards. They been practicing signing in in the morning utilizing the correct pincer grip and writing from top to bottom.

Math

The Purple Room has been working with Morah Perline on number recognition and one to one correspondence.

Art

See what you see and paint it! The children have been peering in the mirrors and deciding which colors to use and which shapes to paint to get as close as they can to an accurate depiction of their faces. It is so interesting to see how the painting skill evolves over the year as they paint their self portraits every month. In the next few weeks we will be exploring the art of Claude Monet.

Indoor/Outdoor

The Purple Room know the importance of keeping their outdoor shoes out while they wear their indoor shoes in. They collaborated with their friends and traced each other’s feet, then cut and decorated the shapes which are now proudly displayed in the hallway outside the classroom door. Their shoes stay on their footprints when not in use.

Parsha

A Parsha binder will be sent home every Friday for your child to share with his/her family over Shabbos. The Parsha information sheets are to remain in the binder. Please make sure to return the binder every Monday.

This week the children learned how a Jewish king always carried around a Sefer Torah with him all the time. Even though he may be the king, he would always remember there is a King above him watching him as he rules. This King is Hashem. This would help him be a good example to his subjects as he kept the Mitzvos (commandments/good deeds) of the Torah.

They also learned that Hashem wants us to have judges and we discussed how people go to a judge to help them decide what is right when they can’t figure it out themselves.

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

Morah Perline