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January 9, 2009
Parshat Va-Yechi
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From Our Director
When you walk through our halls during SKA clubs on Tuesdays,
you may see enraptured faces listening to a great book read by their very
own "big sister" from SKA. This wonderful experience bonds our 4 year
olds and high school girls in such a special way. Who knows?
Maybe some fabulous teachers will grow out of this wonderfully positive
experience. It is never too early to practice Mitzvot.
Our yeladim graciously shared their toys, Morot, and
friends with children from Kulanu. These children got to experience a
yeshiva setting during a very exciting week.
As we ushered in
Chanukah, we noticed that it wasn't only the chanukiot that
were shining brightly. It was the faces of our parents enjoying a one
on one experience with their children! I loved watching the joy and
love permeating every room. The children will always remember this
special time shared with you and how important you made them feel.
However busy your lives are, you made the time for them! Thank you for
making the experience so special. Enjoy the pictures of our fun filled
days!
Betty Shusterman
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Parent Teacher Conferences |
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It
was great to see so many parents on Tuesday night, December 16, at our parent
teacher conference night. One of the hallmarks of our educational philosophy is
having you, the parents, as our partners. We value your input and enjoy sharing
anecdotes about your children's day at school with you. May we all
continue to see much nachat from all of our children. |
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Lev Chana Reading Buddies |
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The four year old nursery classes have been participating in our Lev Connections
Reading Buddies program. This program pairs SKA students with nursery children
for a unique reading experience. During the high school club hour on Tuesdays,
some SKA girls come to Lev Chana to read stories to small groups of children.
The children and their "buddies" gather in clusters around their classroom to
enjoy hearing and discussing quality children's literature. The shared reading
experience is another way to enhance the children's early literacy skills and
promote a love of reading. Both the Lev Chana and the SKA students look forward
to spending this time together. |
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Chanukah Music Chagigot |
On
the Wednesday of Chanukah our music teachers, Morah Karen and Morah
Tzila, led festive music chagigot for the children in the SKA gym.
Each grade had the opportunity to go across the street for music instead of
having regular music in their classrooms. The children sang and danced to
their favorite Chanukah songs. You can see from their faces what an
exciting and fun time they had. Rabbi Klammer joined the chagigot
as a special guest story teller. He also lit the Chanukiah with the
children.
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Children From Kulanu
Visit Lev Chana |
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During
the week of December 24th, we were privileged to be able to perform the
mitzvah of hachnasat orchim. Some of our four year old nursery
and kindergarten classes had the opportunity to host a guest in their class
for a few days. Our guests usually attend schools that best meet their
special needs. Having them be part of our program helps all children
appreciate unique individual differences. The Lev Chana children and their
guests gained and grew from their experience together. We would like to
thank Kulanu for coordinating this special program. We would also like to
thank the SKA students who participated in this mitzvah with us by
serving as shadows for our guests. |
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Art From The Heart of Lev Chana |
Chanukah was certainly a radiant time of year. The preschool windows
have been aglow with the children's beautiful artwork. We're constantly
reminded of the bright lights of the Chanukiyah. The four year old
nursery and kindergarten children were so excited to emulate the artist Marc
Chagall. They were all familiar with stained glass windows, and were happy
to say that they have all seen some form of stained glass windows in shuls.
We used transparency film to make our windows. The four year olds drew a
representational picture on the transparency film and then they glued
colored tissue paper creating the colorful glass effect. The kindergarten
children were given transparency film with boxes printed on it and were
instructed to draw something different in each box. The results were
remarkable and all of the children were so excited to see the colorful light
shining through our windows.
Besides
their stained glass windows, the kindergarten children drew Menorahs.
We discussed the difference between a Chanukiyah and a Menorah
and learned that a Menorah has seven prongs. The children were
introduced to a new artist named Ben Shahn. They learned that he painted a
Menorah using different shapes in shades of purple, pink and blue.
First the children drew outlines of the shapes they chose to use. Then they
colored in the shapes using the same warm shades as the artist.
Also in honor of Chanukah, the kindergarten children had the unique
opportunity to draw with candles. Each child was given a Shabbos
candle. They were told to press very hard while "drawing" with the candle on
paper. This was a particularly difficult task since they could not actually
see what they were drawing. After the drawings were completed, the children
were given watered down tempera paint. Then they proceeded to paint over the
entire paper. Magic! The drawing appeared before their eyes. This technique
is called wax resist. The children learned that water based paint repels
from the wax and will not stick to its surface, therefore revealing any
hidden surprises.
In addition to the windows, the four year old nursery children had a fun
time painting with oil. The children laughed at the idea that they were
going to use oil to paint when normally it's used for cooking and for
lighting the Chanukiyah. The children used Q-tips dipped in oil to
draw Chanukah symbols. They discovered that oil stains paper
leaving a translucent mark everywhere it touches. Those drawings are also
hanging on our pre-school windows.
Karen Fromowitz |
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Trip to Hewlett Woodmere Libraryeadline |
January was a very special month at our library! The four year old nursery
and the kindergarten classes went to visit a "real big" library - the
Hewlett-Woodmere library. The librarians greeted us and gave us a tour of
the library. Some mothers joined us too! The classes saw one of two films, "The
Mushroom in the Rain" by Mirra Ginsburg and "The Caterpillar and the
Pollywog" by Jack Kent. They were also read The Long Nosed Pig by
Keith Faulkner and Goldie Socks and the Three Libearians by Jackie
Mims Hopkins. The kindergarten children received their new library cards and
were able to take home a book of their own choosing. The kindergarteners
were also given an opportunity to enter in a bookmark design contest for the
Hewlett-Woodmere library. I hope this experience will lead to many more
trips to the library and a love for reading books! Please take advantage of
this library to spend reading time and special time with your children.
Click here for more pictures of the library trip! | |
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January Activities and Events Calendar |
Click on the image to download this month's calender! |
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Chanukah Workshops |
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Our Chanukah workshops were a great success, as usual. Parents
and children truly enjoyed their time together. It is always very meaningful
for children to be able to spend quality time with some of the most
important people in their lives. The children and their guests collaborated
on various art projects in a relaxed and pressure free environment. The
children also had the opportunity to share some of what they learned about
Chanukah with their parents through stories and songs. A wonderful time
was had by all!
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Happy Birthday! |
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December Birthdays
Alisha Livshits
Yaakov Zerykier
Aviva Schreiber
Hannah Zucker
Stephen Olshin
Naomi Sigman
Mazal Eskenazi
Hannah Lifschutz
Michal Hammer
Nava Schein
Isaac Croog
Shani Roffe
Zachary Srulovich
Netanel Attias
Yoni Aspir
Miri Fein
Max Grill
Judah Leifer |
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Roving Reporter
Heard Around Lev Chana... |
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What do you like about Winter?
 Jake
Abramowitz: "I like to make a snow angel!"
Rebecca Krakauer: "I like the snowflakes and
snowballs!"
Moshe Rattner: "I like to drink hot cocoa. It makes
me warm!"
Abigail Lampert: "I like making snowmans!"
Yisrael Attali: "I like to skate!"
Raz Amar: "I like making snowmans. I wear a jacket!"
Arbel Ifergen: "I like throwing snowballs!"
Akiva Mehlman: "I like to build a snowman!"
Stephen Olshin: "I like to make tracks!"
Joey Cohen: "I like hot cocoa!"
Daniel Rosner: "I like to throw snow at the door!"
Ari Meyer, Moshe Storch and Dovid Rothman: " We like to throw snowballs!" | |
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