Preschool Patter

BY LAURAN PANCOAST Director of Early Childhood, Preschool Programming & Operations SUSAN BERNSTEIN Director of Early Childhood, Education & Curriculum

Winter has finally made its exit, and we are slowly but surely tipping back towards the sun. The warmer weather will allow for more time outdoors, where we will continue to play, learn and explore our natural environment. The children have grown so much in the last couple of months, exploring new topics, acquiring new skills, developing new friendships and gaining new perspective on the world around them.

Over the last few weeks, it has been a joy to watch the children immerse themselves in our Passover curriculum. We were thrilled to see their curiosity alive and engaged, participating in hands-on activities to further their knowledge and understanding of this holiday. Our classroom activities as well as the interactive “Passover River Ride” experience helped make this holiday come alive and offered the opportunity to learn through active participation.

The Four Questions, and the pre-kindergarten children each created a seder plate and their own Haggadah, allowing them to actively participate in making the pages with hands-on artwork, storytelling, and photographs. The books are a unique and individual representation of how the children approached each new concept and how they processed and internalized the holiday. Each class brought something home that families will be able to enjoy for many Passovers to come.

Next up: Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel Independence Day, where we will be exploring all things “Israel,” including food, dance, and more.

Each year, each grade participates in a project to culminate their exploration of this holiday. This year, the twos created a matzah cover or afikomen bag, the threes made pillows to recline on at the seder and a book focusing on

As always, we continue to be impressed by the children and their understanding of the holidays we celebrate, values we promote, and traditions we uphold. Whether it is energetically exclaiming “the longer the sizzle the better the week!” while extinguishing the Havdalah candle, reciting the blessings for Shabbat, or acting out the stories of Hanukkah, Purim, or Passover in their classrooms, to being part of their journey so far, both educationally and Jewishly has been amazing.

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