Kitah Alef (2-year-old class): The Morning Routine
We wanted to try to give you a glimpse into what is going on during a typical day in the life of Kitah Alef. During morning free play in the classroom, children have a wide range of activities available to them. There are always books on the bookshelf, puzzles in the puzzle rack, art at the easel, blocks for building, cars and trains to drive, play food, plates, cups and Shabbat and Havdallah ritual objects in the dramatic play area along with dolls and blankets, and usually a morning activity at the table.
Kitah Bet (3-year-old class): Marble Painting
Our bulletin boards are adorned with marble/ball paintings. What may seem like a simple and quite beautiful art activity is really a science exploration. Using various paint colors, the children explored motion while watching the marbles and golf balls roll on the paper inside a cardboard box. There is much more to this activity than meets the eye.
Primarily, this activity serves to help children understand the cause and effect relationship between moving a box in various directions and moving the balls. The children develop the language in observing the process, i.e., prediction, fast/slow, here/there, forward/backward, wide/narrow, etc. They are also engaging in cooperative play, as two friends move the box together. We moved the activity outside, used a very large sheet of paper and invited small groups of children to participate at a time. Hopefully, we have enhanced curiosity, motor strength and problem solving skills.
Kitah Gimmel (4-year-old class): Children as Designers
Teachers of young children have long recognized that recycled or “found” materials have a great value for children’s creative expression. When children have access to a variety of recycled materials such as paper tubes, fabric scraps, ribbons, string, gift-wrap, envelopes, as well as tools such as scissors, glue, tape, hole punches, they become design thinkers and makers of all sorts of gadgets.
Exploring with materials in an open-ended way has many benefits to children’s overall development. They gain knowledge about tools and materials as they learn techniques and practice skills like joining, adhering, cutting taping and gluing. Language development is encouraged when children have the opportunity to articulate and describe what they have made. They also engage socially as they share ideas and techniques and model the use of tools and materials as they collaborate with one another. Additionally, teachers and children discuss the importance of recycling and raise environmental awareness in the children who will be the stewards of the earth.
