Toras Emes E.C.E. השקדיה פורחת השקדיה פורחת ושמש פז זורחת צפורים מראש כל גג מבשרות את בוא החג טו בשבט הגיע חג לאילנות טו בשבט הגיע חג לאילנות

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1 Toras Emes E.C.E. Parashas Bo January 18, :35 P.M. VACATION POINTS OF INTEREST השקדיה פורחת Thank you to the E.C.E. Staff and especially Mrs. Bryna Roth for preparing the comprehensive Guide to South Florida Attractions, listing places to enjoy with your children during vacation. The booklets are in your brown bags. Calendar Notes: January Mid-Winter Vacation. No School January 28 School Resumes February 5 Pre-K Trip to the Museum of Discovery and Science השקדיה פורחת ושמש פז זורחת צפורים מראש כל גג מבשרות את בוא החג טו בשבט הגיע חג לאילנות טו בשבט הגיע חג לאילנות THANK YOU: Rabbi Moshe and Ahuva Druin for donating educational materials to the Kindergarten II class in honor of Yossi s sixth birthday. CHEVRA KADISHA: The annual review class for members of the Chevra Kadisha will take place, I YH on Tuesday evening, January 29, 8:15 p.m. at Levitt Weinstein Memorial Chapels, West Dixie Highway, North Miami Beach. Follow the Moon The kindergarten children are charting the phases of the moon during the month of Shevat. Please assist your child with this project. Newsletter 1

2 NURSERY MORAH TAMI The children are very excited that Tu B Shevat is almost here. They have been working diligently on their many projects and cannot wait to take them home lichvod hachag. The songs How To Plant A Tree and Little Rain, Little Sun were taught to the children. They also listened to a story about Shivat Haminim entitled Dates as Sweet As Honey by Tali Krivolet. For Parashas Bo, we talked about the last three makkos that Hashem brought on the Mitzrim and how King Paroh finally agreed to let Bnei Yisroel go out of Mitzrayim. We talked about the significance of placing mezuzos on our doors. We listened to two stories about mezuzos: Take Care Of Me by Chana Jacobs and The Scribe Who Lived In A Tree by Michoel Muchnick and sang the song I Have A Mezuzah On My Door. I have a mezuzah on my door Now I will tell you what it s for I protect you day and night As you enter I m on your right I contain Shema Yisroel Learn it by heart, remember it well If I m worn out I m no good Should I have you checked? Yes, you should NURSERY - MORAH SUSAN A new unit on plants and seeds was started this week in the afternoon nursery. We listened to many stories such as How A Seed Grows by Helene J.Jordan, A Tree Is Nice by Janice May Udry, Why Do Leaves Change Color by Betsy Maestro and The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. As our art project for this unit, we transformed our handprints into fruit trees and colorful flowers. We also used our leaf collection to create leaf people. A new fingerplay was taught this week: Five Fat Peas Five fat peas in a pea pod pressed One grew, two grew And so did the rest They grew, and they grew and they never stopped They grew so fat the pea pod popped! The children were fascinated to see what was inside a mezuzah cover. They learned that a mezuzah is written on a klaf. The man writing on the klaf is called a Sofer. He uses pen and ink. We also learned that it is very important to have our mezuzos checked regularly to make sure they are kosher. Newsletter 2

3 PRE-KI, II & III MOROT ETTIE & HEIDI For Parashas Bo, we learned about the last three makkos and sang the song Ten Makkos. We pretended to be in Mitzrayim sitting in the dark during the makkah of choshech. We learned that the first mitzvah that B nei Yisroel received from Moshe was the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh. We spoke about the various phases of the moon and made a project for the chodashim. We also learned about the Korban Pesach that Bnei Yisroel brought in Mitzrayim. We continued learning about the letters kaf, chaf and chaf sofis. These three letters are in your child s brown bag, to be added to the other letters that have been sent home. Please take time to review the name and sounds of the letters that we have already learned. In honor of Tu B Shevat, we talked about the importance of trees and plants and how we need to take good care of them. We listened to the stories A Tree Full Of Mitzvos by Dina Rosenfeld, A Tree Is Nice by Janice Udry and I Am A Tree by Jose Sanchez. We learned about the Shivas HaMinim and looked at beautiful photographs depicting these foods. We also discussed how Tu B Shevat is celebrated in Eretz Yisroel. PRE-KI, II & III-MOROT JUDY & NECHAMA The Pre-K children began a new unit on Plants and Seeds. They were curious about the process of seeds growing into plants. The children planted popcorn kernels by placing the kernels into moist cotton and then into a zip loc bag. They will be pleasantly surprised to see plants growing from each kernel. We also started our unit on recycling. The children understand that keeping the world clean is an important responsibility. They created collages and other works of art from recycled materials. The letter Gg was featured in our class this week. The children sounded out many Gg words such as goat, grow, go, ground, gift, Gavriel, Gabriella, guitar, grass, guest, gold, gallop and grapes. Some of the books read to the children this week were Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone, How A Seed Grows by Helene Jordan, The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein and The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss. I wish I were an airplane I d fly across the sea I d fly to Eretz Yisroel And there I d plant a tree For Tu, Tu, Tu B Shevat (3x) For Tu B Shevat! The children also became familiar with the following phrases: איפה הפרות? הפרות על העץ איפה העץ? העץ על האדמה הגשם יורד על האדמה Newsletter 3

4 KINDERGARTEN I, II & III-MOROT BAYLA AND RENA For Parashas Bo, we learned about the last three makkos and sang the song Ten Makkos. We pretended to be Mitzrim sitting in the dark during Makkas Choshech. We learned that the first mitzvah B nei Yisroel received from Moshe was the mitzvah of Rosh Chodesh. We spoke about the various phases of the moon and are busy filling in our classroom chart depicting the changes in the shape of the moon. In recognition of Tu B Shevat, we talked about the importance of trees and plants and how we need to take good care of them. We listened to the story A Tree Full Of Mitzvos by Dina Herman and learned about the Shivas Haminim. Tu B Shevat is called Chag HaIlanot. We learned that Tu B Shevat is the day that Hashem judges the trees. We also asked the children how trees are involved in each of our chagim. We realized that trees contribute to every one of our Yomim Tovim: Rosh Hashana The trees provide apples and rimonim. Yom Kippur Our machzorim are made from paper which comes from trees. Chanukah-We use oil from olives which grow on trees to light the menorah. Purim Haman was hung on a tree. Pesach We get our wine from grapes which grow on the vine. Lag Ba Omer We use the branches to make a fire. Shavuos The first fruit of the trees was brought to the Bais Hamikdash. KINDERGARTEN I, II & III MOROT BERNEY & HEIDI Hurray! Our kindergartners completed the letterbook Ee and began learning about the letter Hh. We read the story Ted s Hat and reviewed the rules of the apostrophe s ( s). To reinforce the letter Hh, we talked about things that are heavy and light and what makes us happy. We also practiced our hula hoop skills. In the listening center, our featured book was A House For Hermit Crab by Eric Carle. A new math unit on measurement was introduced. The children practiced ordering objects of different lengths by using shape cubes and unifix cubes. They also practiced estimating, or guessing how long an object is. In honor of Tu B Shevat, we began a unit on plants and seeds. It is amazing to see how a tiny seed can turn into a vegetable, plant or tree. We learned that plants come in different sizes, shapes and colors and that each part of the plant has a different function. Among the books that we read were The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss and A Seed Is A Promise by Claire Merrill. Have a wonderful winter vacation! The children took home their marigold plants. They are so proud of thir successful gardening experience. The letter lamed was introduced this week. We learned many words which begin with this letter such as: לב לימון לחם לבן לבנה לילה לא We enjoyed listening to the story Yossi, The Boy Who Wouldn t Speak Loshon Harah by Phyllis Weinberg and Harvey Klineman. In Project Derech, we learned that it is a mitzvah to wait for parents to eat first. Over vacation is a wonderful time to review the letters that we have learned so far so that when we return we will be able to continue with our reading program. Newsletter 4

5 Erev Shabbos Parashas Bo 5773 Dear Parents, In conjunction with the reading of the Parshiyos in the Torah that detail the Jewish People s tortured sojourn and construction work in Mitzrayim, we are witnessing, LeHavdil, a great level of activity in the building of a new building on our campus. We can easily observe the bricklayer, slowly but surely placing brick upon brick, until he has accomplished something noticeable. An entire wall of a building has gone up in a short amount of time. The mindset of the bricklayer, between that first brick and the completed edifice is worthy of our attention and analysis. We can assume the bricklayer s goal in all his efforts is to build a complete wall or building. The question that we need to ask is how does the bricklayer keep from giving up? He can work a very long time and put brick after brick after brick into the building. However, after placing each brick he may be left wondering each brick is so small and the building so large - what motivates him to continue after much effort and little to show for it? Apply that question to your children they and you have a goal of becoming educated, upstanding members of society. But what happens after a few years, a lot of work and their goal hasn t been achieved? Will they maintain the necessary effort or become burned-out at the age of 10? They struggle in math and chumash, their things are very disorganized, they don t have as many friends as they would like, the goal is becoming more and more elusive and they become angrier, more frustrated and less motivated. The answer to our children s struggles can be found in the lesson of the bricklayer. Despite his goal of constructing the lofty edifice, the bricklayer perseveres because he can savor the accomplishment and importance of each individual brick. It is akin to the famous encounter of Rabbi Akiva and the drips of water on the rock (Avos D Rabi Nosson 6:2). An ignoramus at the age of 40, he nearly aborted his superhuman efforts to achieve even a basic level of learning because he couldn t discern any measurable movement towards his goal. It was only once he could appreciate the effect and value of even one drip of water on a rock that he was able to persevere and ultimately achieve greatness. Imagine a non-speaking toddler who utters the sound wa. Any normal parent will get very excited and happy and respond to the wa with cheers and the requested water. Would a parent not respond to the child until he can clearly articulate I want water? Is that any different than a child who struggles in any area of academics, behavior, socialization or athletics? Do we stifle our cheers until there s a 100 on a test, until a non-interested reader completes an entire book, until a socially awkward child brings home half a dozen buddies? How often do we (unwittingly) set goals that are way too high for our children? If a child who usually can t sit down to homework spends five minutes at her own initiative on homework one night, it s time to celebrate! Just as the toddler won t get to water without experiencing the joy of his parents for his wa so too do we jeopardize our children s chances of being independent workers if we don t show appreciation for the minimal attempt at five minutes of study. -continued on next page- Newsletter 5

6 Our children have just completed five months of sometimes intense efforts at mastering work we have decided is important for them. If they ve improved in any area, and they all decidedly have to some degree, ask yourself which path will sustain and increase that effort. Remember what worked at the age of 14 months that s your key throughout life. Savor small gains, appreciate reaching bite-sized goals and you have the greatest guarantee for achieving monumental goals and sustained success throughout your child s life. Enjoy your week reveling in the joy that you have children with unlimited potential to change themselves and the world. Best wishes for a wonderful Shabbos, Rabbi Kalman Baumann Newsletter 6