A Note from Cheryl Eccles, our Drama/Movement Specialist

Dear Netivot Shalom Preschool Families:

My name is Cheryl Eccles and I am honored to be sharing my Creative Drama/Dance program at Netivot Shalom Preschool through the first Wednesday of June. I grew up acting, and taught drama to elementary students throughout high school and college. I went on to"grown-up-type jobs" for many years, and in the past eight years have had the fortune to return to my passion as a creative drama/dance instructor. I have been teaching at three other preschools in Berkeley and Oakland and have also taught at Berkeley Playhouse. As part of my training, I've participated in the California Institute of Dance Learning Summer Institute Advanced Program for the past six summers. I've also taken courses at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Alameda Arts Alliance Council, Pan Improvisational Theatre, Luna Dance Institute (LDI), Shawl Anderson, and Cal Shakes, and have facilitated fellow teaching artists in a lesson study at LDI. Our three children are Temple Sinai Preschool"graduates" and are currently in the Berkeley Public Schools.

I am delighted to spend 25 minutes once every week for eight weeks with your children to sing, dance, be silly and use our imagination to act out story dramas. In collaboration with the amazing NSP staff, I am infusing a few Jewish values in my program including Derech Eretz (Common Courtesy), Kehilah (Community), Shomrei Adamah (Guardian of the Earth) and Mitzvah (Commandment). I will bring these values to life through dance, music and story dramatization. We also have focused on a couple of Jewish holidays including Yom Ha'atzma'ot and Shavuot.

My overall goals for this program are for the children to have a deeper understanding of basic dance/movement skills to help empower them with the ability to control their bodies, improve motor skills, control of direction, speed and energy. Also I'd like for them to develop character traits with gestures, voices, emotions, and movement in our stories. We develop skills to safely move around the room and around other children by utilizing our bubble spaces, stop/go games, as well as exploring the space around us—high/low, under/over, big/small, and fast/slow.

Each week I read a picture book and then the children act out this story taking on different roles. We incorporate Jewish holiday celebrations and Jewish teachings with story, song and scene work. Some of the stories we bring to life include A Duck So Small (Derech Eretz), Who Said Moo? (Kehilah), Sadie and the Big Mountain (Shavuot), Old Bear (Mishpochah and Mitzvot), Teeras Cham, Ma'as'e B'chamisha Balonim (Israeli stories read by teachers in Nachshonim) and The Great Kapok Tree (Shomrei Adamah). The children act out the stories using simple props, voices, gestures, and movements while utilizing the room as their stage.

The children's ability to have a keen understanding of their body and their relationship to others blends beautifully with their discovery of themselves through acting and dancing. Thank you again for offering me the opportunity to learn and play with your children. Feel free to contact me with any questions/comments/concerns at cheryl@ecclesinc.com

With Gratitude,

Cheryl Eccles

HaShuvuah - Nevonim

Hashavuah

May 10, 2013

1 Sivan 4773

 

Dear Nevonim Parents,

 

We continued this week talking about dogs and tzar baalei chayim. Specifically, we had a class discussion about Boris and how we need to make him more comfortable and safe in the kitah. We wrote up a list of rules, voted on whether to bring him back (13 yeses) and found a new calmer spot for him in the kitah. We learned that in Deuteronomy it says that you should feed your animals before you feed yourself. So now before snack, we check in with each other whether Boris got fed.

 

We have begun our discussion of Shavuot. We read "No Rules for Michael" and talked about the Ten Commandments. We read the "Littlest Mountain" and talked about the Commandments being given on Mt. Sinai. On Wednesday with Cheryl, we read a Shavuot story ("Sadie and the Big Mountain"), acted it out and talked about the holiday. We made our own mini Torah scrolls one day, and added Hebrew letters to it another day.

 

On Sunday, we started building our pretend Kotel outside. A special thanks to Noa's Nana Terri for envisioning this and making it happen. We put many of the bricks up on Thursday. As we were preparing to build our "Temple" wall, Menachem taught us the song "Yibaneh HaMikdash". He also taught us about the parashah this week that begins the new book by the same name "B'Midbar."

We also sang with Melita and heard stories from Nora. One new book that we loved was "Dreaming Up" which shows how children's building with toys can inspire and lead to great, actual architectural buildings.

 

We have been talking about puppets, making puppets, and putting on puppet shows - including one we wrote that had the animals in the story receive the 10 Commandments. This interest culminated in the wonderful production of "Dirah L'Haskir" that we saw today. Thanks to Jess (the Emah of Hadas in Nachshonim) for arranging this for us, and for helping in our kitah today! The story has the message of getting along with your neighbors and not being judgemental, so at lunch today we rearranged the lunchboxes to mix up who usually sits with whom - it was good to see new relationships. Speaking of which, we even had a child initiated pretend wedding this week and the marriage appears to have lasted all week! Mazel Tov - it has been a fun way to talk about families.

 

Finally, we wanted to let you know that Rabbi Kelman will be coming into the kitah on Monday morning to show us the Torah and his scribe skills. He will come in at 9:15 so we hope that you can get there on time in order to partake in this great experience.

 

Shabbat Shalom,

 

Nevonim Teachers

Caitlin, Ruth and Shirlee

 

--
Lauren Kindorf
Preschool Director
Congregation Netivot Shalom
1316 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94702
phone: 510/549.9447 ext. 110

HaShavuah - Nachshonim

Hashavuah
May 10, 2013
1 Sivan 5773

Shalom Nachshonim families,
We have had a very busy week, with lots of visitors and special activities. Here are the highlights of the week in the kitah.

- On Monday Shirlee brought her dog Daisy to school. We watched her perform tricks and we got to pet her too.
-On Monday we pulled out the dress up bin and the stuffed animal bin. The kids had a chance to choose the ones they wanted to use in the kitah.
-Ofra brought her Ukulele to school and the kids strummed on it and sang songs with Ofra.
- On Monday we read about Laney's experience with Baby Owl at her house.
- We conducted an experiment where we put half of our play dough in the freezer and the other half in the microwave. We explored the differences in texture and temperature.
- We brought the magnet tiles from the Nevonim kitah into our kitah for some building fun.
- On Wednesday we made hummus with the garbanzo beans we soaked and cooked earlier this week.
- We had our usual visit from Melita for music and Cheryl for drama class this week.
- On Thursday morning we had a special visit from Rabbi Menachem. We pretended the carpet was a sandy desert and he told us the story of Shavuot. He also sang with us and we had a very pleasant time.
-We had a second visitor on Thursday. Nora came to read us some of her favorite library books.
-We got to see a wonderful puppet show on Friday based on the classic Israeli children's book called "Dira L'haskeer" (Room For Rent). The puppeteers were dynamic and engaging and our Nachshonim enjoyed it very much. Thank you Jess for helping set this up. The teachers enjoyed it too.
- We have been reading "Ma'as'e B'chamisha Balonim" (the Tale of Five Balloons), a classic Israeli Children's book that was written and illustrated by the same woman who wrote "Teeras Cham". We used our felt board set that goes with the story. We also read it during drama class with Cheryl and we then acted out being balloons that pop.
- Some other books we currently have in the shelf are: "Put Me In The Zoo", " Yo! Yes?" By Chris Raschka, "The Sleepy Alphabet", an animal book in Hebrew, "We Are In A Book" by Mo Willems, and "I Can Help" by David Hyde Costello.

We are looking forward to more fun activities next week.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ofra and Anna

--
Lauren Kindorf
Preschool Director
Congregation Netivot Shalom
1316 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94702
phone: 510/549.9447 ext. 110

HaShavuah - Nachshonim

Hashvua'im

May 6, 2013

26 iyar, 5773

 

Shalom Nachshonim Families,

We would like to fill you in on the highlights of the last couple of weeks in the kitah.

 

Teeras Cham continued
-We continue to read "Teeras Cham"/Hot Corn. We have been using our felt board pieces to tell the story.
- On Thursday a couple weeks ago we cooked corn pancakes with our food processor and electric skillet. We were inspired by the book "Teeras Cham" /Hot Corn to eat corn for snack.
- We pulled out our decorative corn from the closet for us to look at in the science area.
- Last week, on Wednesday at circle time we acted out "Teeras Cham" by letting the kids play the instruments that the characters in the story play. Then we marched through the kitah singing the song. "Bim Bam Bam! Teeras Cham! Teeras Cham! Bim Bam Bam!"

The last couple of weeks, we have had some of our favorite books in our reading corner.

-Caps For Sale.

-Where's My Teddy

-Teeras Cham

-"Lefamim"/Sometimes

-Duck on a Bike.
- Owl Tried to Sleep

 

-On Tuesday and Wednesday a couple of weeks ago, we played with Ooblek in the morning. The children played with dinosaurs in the Ooblek.
- We had visits from Melita on Tuesdays for a music lesson.
- On Wednesdays we had a visit from Cheryl for drama class. We acted out a story about animals that live on a very large tree in the rain forest. We also acted out a story about sea creatures. Some of the other things we do are sing and act out the songs, and lots of movement activities.

-Our children are very excited about our craft sticks. They have been popular since September, but now they are the biggest craze.

-We have pulled out the height chart we made in the fall. We stuck it back on the wall and we are measuring ourselves again to see how much the children have grown since the school year began.

- We made some finger paintings and drawings last week.
- Cheryl and the children acted out Humpty Dumpty in our drama clas onWednesday. Lauren then brought down a very large book with nursery rhymes and pictures for us to enjoy.
- We were sure to water our indoor and outdoor plants last week when the weather was so warm.
- We have been talking a lot about using inside voices at lunchtime and in the kitah.
- We have been telling stories at lunch and the children have been helping make them up as we go
- We took a field trip on Thursday last week. On our way over to Charlie Dor park, we walked by Tobie's house and she came out to greet us. We had a nice time climbing on the structure and the giant rocks and playing in the sand. We also checked out the construction trucks and workers on Addison Street that are working on the water pipes underground.

 

Shavuah Tov/ Have a lovely week

Ofra and Anna

--
Lauren Kindorf
Preschool Director
Congregation Netivot Shalom
1316 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94702
phone: 510/549.9447 ext. 110

HaShavuah

Hashavuah
April 19, 2013
9 Iyar 5773

Shalom Nachshonim families,

Another week filled with learning and play has passed. Here are the highlights of our week.

Yom Ha'atzmaut/ Israel Independence day
- We talked further about how it is Israel's birthday. We sang happy birthday at circle time on Monday.
- We talked about all the people we know who are from Israel and speak Hebrew.
- We have been singing songs in Hebrew and talking about how people in Israel speak Hebrew.
- We are painting with shades of blues just like the Israeli flags we have hung in the kitah.
-Tuesday was Yom Ha'atzmaut and we made hummus for snack in our food processor. We also read "It's Israel's Birthday" several times. We sang happy birthday a a few times throughout the day.
-Inspired by that book we pretended to be airplane and fly to Israel at circle time on Tuesday. We pretended to knock on the doors of Tobie's and Ofra's families to say hello. We pretended to swim in the Mediterranean Sea, we built a sand castle and we drove on the bus from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Then we flew home.

-On Monday we were invited to come into the Nevonim kitah. They had prepared a lesson especially for us about volcanoes. We listened to what they had to teach us and we watched the science experiment of the volcano eruption.

- On Wednesday we were gifted some fava beans from Hadas' garden. We had a fun time shelling the beans. We gave some of the leaves from the fava plant to the guinea pigs but they did not love them.

- The children have been constructing train tracks that are much bigger and more elaborate then the tracks they were making months ago. It's exciting to see these changes as we proceed with the school year.

-We saw Cheryl again this week on Wednesday for a drama class. One of our activities was to act out a book. Anna read that Israeli classic called "Teeras Cham", which means "hot corn". The story is about a boy who likes to march and sing about Teeras Cham. Other children hear his song and join in the march. After Anna read the story, Cheryl guided us as we acted out the story.
-On Thursday at circle time we read the story again and used our felt board shapes as we read the story.

-This week we went out to courtyard a few times after our lunch. On Friday we played "Red Light, Green Light" and "Machbo'im" (Hide and Seek) out there. We also brought some balls out and played catch with each other.

We are looking forward to having a chance to sit and meet with all of you this Monday for conferences.

We are also looking forward to more great activities in the kitah.

 

Shabbat Shalom,

Ofra and Anna

Fwd: Everyone is invited to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the Preschool!

5th Anniversary Celebration of our Preschool! Sunday, May 5th beginning at 10:00 am at Congregation Netivot Shalom 1316 University Ave. Berkeley, CA 94702 There is not one good reason for you and your family to miss this party. Please join us for fun beyond a reasonable doubt  as we come together to celebrate our 5th anniversary. 10-11 am    brunch & silent auction 11:00 am    Octopretzel concert 11:45 am    honorary ceremony 12:00-1 pm    family art making & games This event will raise money for the preschool's scholarship fund.  Click here to register Would you like to honor someone you know, perhaps someone particularly special from our preschool community?  There are so many good choices...  Whether or not you can attend,  please consider making a gift to the Preschool Scholarship Fund. We look forward to celebrating with you!  For more information or questions, please contact:   elanank@gmail.com

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--
Lauren Kindorf
Preschool Director
Congregation Netivot Shalom
1316 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94702
phone: 510/549.9447 ext. 110

HaShavuah - Nevonim

Hashavuah

April 12, 2013

2 Iyar 5773

 

Dear Nevonim Parents,

We had a great week with lots of meetings to find out what the children wanted to learn about. The consensus was Dinosaurs, Camoflouge and Volcanoes. We read many books about dinosaurs, learning what scientists used to think about dinosaurs and what they now think! We made our own fossils of dinosaur prints in salt dough. We built a volcano out of clay, added dinosaurs and made it erupt with baking soda and vinegar. We discussed showing this to Nachshonim and how we could teach them about it without it being too scary. There were great, gentle suggestions and we will follow through with their plan next week.

 

We started a fun new game with "inchimals" to measure, count and even do addition and subtraction.

 

We tested a hypothesis about whether our wooden boats would float - one did and one didn't!

We had singing with Melita, Torah with Menachem, Drama with Cheryl and LIbrary with Nora. What a great crew of educators! Drama/Movement with Cheryl will be every Wednesday for the next 8 weeks. We did games, acted a story and learned about bubble space.

 

We also began talking about Israel and Yom Ha'atzmaut. Thank you for the photos that have already starting coming in. We sang "Kachol v'Lavan", we painted, colored, collaged with blue and white. We suggested to the children that next Tuesday everyone comes to school in kachol v'lavan (blue and white) as we celebrate on the actual Day of Independence. We also read "Shira Imagines", a lovely out of print book about Israel.

 

Shabbat Shalom,

 

Nevonim Teachers

Caitlin, Ruth and Shirlee


phone: 510/549.9447 ext. 110