Tikkun Olam Collaboration

Our second week of school, K-3 students were hard at work learning about one of our Jewish values: Tikkun Olam (which means repairing or taking care of the Earth)

As you know, we collected items that you would otherwise throw away. Those items were put into a pile in the middle room and the 2/3 graders taught us that nearly every single item could be either recycled or reused by someone else (In fact, Mrs. Komisarski now has a tool for weeding her garden thanks to this project!). 

I made the picture as large as I could so you could see the different designations for each bin. The older kids did a fabulous job explaining why recycling these items is so important and useful!

The students got into groups of 3-4 in which the 2/3 graders helped the younger students sort through the trash and put it in the correct locations.

Then, using inspiration from the assemblage artist Louise Nevelson, each group was given a box lid and instructed to choose objects to fill it. Assemblage is a type of art consisting of three-dimensional objects that are put together and stick out from a flat surface. An assemblage typically uses 'found objects'.

The next day, the 2nd graders directed their team members to fastening their objects to the lids (via zip ties, drippy glue, or hot glue that was done by a teacher) in a way that they all liked.

It was so fun to hear all of the collaborating and teamwork happening!

The teachers spray painted each piece bronze and hung them in the main hallway of the school. 

Here is a piece that Louise Nevelson created: 

And here is the finished work of art the students made:

It's hard to believe that every item up there used to be trash. Now it is a masterpiece! How cool!

The artwork was on display for Friday's welcoming ceremony in which the kindergarten students sang a lovely song with the older students and were presented with this book:

Here are the newest members of the Hillel family!

(I have to admit, I am pretty excited that I was able to get a photo of 11 kindergartners in which all of them are looking in the same direction! Small victories!)

It is going to be a very fun year!

Our First Week of Kindergarten!

We started out our year by creating a family/school connection by having all of the parents write their hopes and dreams for their child on a strip of paper and then weave it through the chicken wire frame. This frame will be displayed in our room all year as a reminder of the hopes and dreams for them from their parents.

Our first week of school was spent figuring out how school works. We have many materials to explore that many kids have never used! Most of our time was spent getting to know each other and learning how to use the materials in our room. The students shared their hopes and dreams for the school and what rules we should have in the classroom. They came up with quite a list! But we narrowed it down to three major rules: Be nice. Be safe. Work hard. 

We have been slowly introducing all of the areas in our room and practicing respecting and taking care of the materials in each area. If they do not respect the materials, they are not allowed to explore that areas until they show me in other areas of the room that they can handle it. 

There are currently four areas open during rotations:

Literacy

Math

Construction

Creation Station

Home Living/Dramatic Play

The students are getting used to figuring out their area and exploring the materials at each station. When the timer goes off, they freeze and wait for instructions. Finally, they clean up and leave the area just as it was when they arrived. These are tricky things for 5 year olds! But they are doing a great job!

We also went on a nature walk to explore and look closer at things.

 He is showing me the bumps he found underneath a leaf. (Sorry for the lack of focus in this shot!)

We also had some fun exploring a new area and walking along the wall. Working on balance is great for helping build our core muscles!

This one is particularly taken with all things nature! He found a strawberry!

She liked the color and shape of this leaf!

"Look! I found a dead moth!" (She also came to me later holding a dead daddy long legs! No fear! I love it!)

He was showing me the 'pea berries' on this branch 

The entire class is also working on finding things that are already on the ground rather than pulling things off a tree/bush or just calling me over to see something instead of bringing it to me.

Another friend also found a fuzzy caterpillar on the sidewalk when we were heading back inside. 

I overheard one student exclaiming, "Yes he was too still alive after I put him down. I saw him move a little!" ...Oh dear. Learning how to be respectful of nature is another skill we will be working on... ;)

We also practiced using magnifying glasses to 'look closer' at shells and then use words to describe what we see.

It was a great week!

First Day of Kindergarten!