Kindergarten in December

Birthdays are a time for celebration…but they are also a time for self-reflection. Our kindergarten children focus throughout the year on becoming their “best self.” We take the time to talk about what our “best self” looks like to us…and what we need to do to achieve that goal. While our birthday marks a year of physical growth, it is also another year of awareness and emotional development. We realize that as an individual, “I” can affect the world in my own unique way. Acknowledging a child’s birthday in a way that says: “You are important and unique - Only you can choose the way to use your gifts and talents to shape the world we share!” sends the message that each child is valued and has purpose. This message guides the child towards their potential…their best self. On our birthday at school, we invite our family to come share the special day with us! We think about a blessing we would like to offer our friends in honor of our birthday! This friend blessed his classmates with “a happy life!”

Each week the children learn a new Hebrew letter. When we learned the letter Tet, Rabbi Yitzchok came to the kindergarten to teach us about the tallit טַלִּית
He showed us how to put on a tallit and how to wear it properly when praying.

We love to discover new things and our science center is the perfect place for the children to do some investigative work. Working with a reference book on rocks, the children use magnifying glasses to check out our own rock collection, record their observations and compare it to the pictures they found in the book! Working on our own and with our friends in this way, builds our self-confidence and critical thinking skills. Our library of science books and magazines are also a popular choice during center time!

 Creative thinking, problem solving and team work shine when we work with pattern blocks. The children enjoy suggesting an idea to a friend and then working together to create it with the pattern blocks. Here the children made an elaborate flower together!

This month the children had an opportunity to learn about the public library. We took a class trip to the Bernards Township Library where they received a tour and learned how the library was organized. Then, they got to hear two stories. The first story, Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution, prompted us to discuss what a resolution means, and write our own resolutions for the New Year when we returned to school. The second book, Snowman at Night, had us using our imaginations! Inspired from the book, the children’s journal prompt asked them what they would do if they were a snowman, and what they would wear if they were snowmen! Finally, the children made a snowman to “dress up” as they described! Looking ahead to January, we can’t wait for some snow to make our own “real” snowman!

Happy Chanukah!

The kindergarten children have been exploring Chanukah through many lenses. As each of us work towards becoming our best self every day, we think about our values, morals and beliefs to help us on our journey. We focus on our best habits to in order to build our moral character. The journey is not always an easy one, and the story of Chanukah reminded us that even when it is difficult for us, we always try to do what we know is right!


After retelling the story of Chanukah, the children discussed how hard it must have been for the Jewish people to remain strong in their beliefs when others around them told them they should believe in something different. We always remember that Hashem loves us and protects us. This helps us everyday when we are faced with difficult situations. We recognized that we struggle sometimes to do the right thing, even when we know we should! One friend offered, “I can help my friends do the right thing, when I do the right thing!” Another friend suggested, “When I feel like being silly, I can try harder!”

Chanukah also reminded us that we are a classroom community! Just like the Macabees stood in their beliefs together, we as a community work and play together. Many of our hands on Chanukah experiences saw our friends helping each other and working together. Sharing Chanukah in this way, makes us feel connected to each other and to the Jewish community!

Dreidel is always a Chanukah favorite, and we added a fun twist to it! We graphed our results after spinning the dreidel. This was a wonderful opportunity for us to discuss the concept probability. We used our completed graphs to compare our results!

Crafting our own menorah to use this Chanukah gave the children an opportunity to work with clay. As each child came up with different ideas about color patterns, and how to fashion the clay, it was a pleasure to hear them exclaim, “Oh…I love that! Can you show me how you did that?” “That looks so pretty!” “Can you help me shape it like yours?” Working together on their own individual menorahs, the children displayed their own unique creativity with sensitivity and true Chanukah spirit!

 Our classroom needed some beautiful Chanukah decorations, and the children were delighted to make dreidel prints to hang about the classroom. Using sponges and paint, they children stamped out dreidel prints. After they dried, they cut out their dreidels and used glue to “write” the Hebrew letters (nun, shin, gimmel, hay) and added glitter to make them sparkle! They proved to be just the right Chanukah touch for our class!

Each day of Chanukah, the kindergarten children join the rest of our Zimmer friends to light our beautiful menorah in our lobby. We recite the blessings together and then join in song! This wonderful tradition has become our favorite part of the day. We love seeing our siblings, friends and Morahs and sharing this special time together. We light the menorah each day at 11:30 in the morning. Stop in and join us during these remaining days of Chanukah!

Happy Chanukah!