Hanukkah & Kwanzaa

There are so many different holidays to learn about during this time of year!  This week our lessons focused on Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.  

As the week of Hanukkah finished, we decided to start the week with this holiday. The children learned about the Festival of Lights with a story about the facts and history of this long time holiday. Then they watched to see how the dreidel game was played then went to the tables to do it themselves. 

They also learned how to write the various symbols seen on the sides of the dreidel to work on their fine motor skills. 

By the end of the day they showed their artistic aides as they decorated driedles to bring home as a reminder of this fun traditional Hanukkah game. 

The special Kinara consists of four candles, three red, three green, and one black.  We made our own Kinaras by using our fingerprints as the candles!  

Continuing our Kinara theme, the children played a game where they tried to toss bean bags into buckets.  This represented the lighting of the the candles on the Kinara.  The bean bags acted as the flames and the buckets acted as the candles.  

The preschoolers learned even more about the African American culture when they listened to a book about Kwanzaa.  The seven principles of Kwanzaa are a big part of the celebration and led to a great discussion about creativity, responsibility and unity!  

The preschoolers worked very hard on our giant class Kinara!  They used their handprints to color the candles and learned about the importance of teamwork.  

The children made Kwanzaa themed necklaces out of red, green, and black pasta noodles.  Threading them onto the strings was a great activity for improving their fine motor skills.  

We ended the day on Wednesday with a science experiment where baking soda was out into a pineapple, apples, and an orange. Next Vinegar was added which caused a reaction. Fruit volcanos were made. Feel free to make your own volcanos at home by putting baking soda in paper cups and then adding Vinegar. Enjoy watching the reactions occur!

Friday was our annual Holiday Party and we had a wonderful time enjoying the treats catered by our Practices in Entrepreneurship (PIE course at PHS) which is the student run bakery we enjoy!  

We had a wonderful time with Santa and his elves and heard a traditional holiday story and sang Jingle Bells!  

Thanks for another terrific fall semester and we will see you all in February!

What's Coming Up?

This winter break, current preschool families will be getting emails from Mrs. Stary with all the photos taken for the fall semester.  We will also email a copy of the case study to you in January.  

Spring semester Preschool Orientation will occur Monday, February 8th and the first day of preschool without parents will be Wednesday, February 10th.  You will receive emails in January with further details.