This week, we talked about Hanukkah and learned the difference between this holiday and Christmas. I also touched base on Kwanzaa so that the children learn that there are different holidays being celebrated this month. We talked about why Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah instead of Christmas. I read books to help explain Hanukkah and then I asked the children what they remembered in the books. They said Hanukkah is celebrated for 8 days and that the candles are not blown out until it’s over. They said that the ninth candle is called the helper candle because it lights the other candles.
We made a list of Oo words and the children did struggle a little bit until I read the Oo book to help jog their memory and they were able to come up with a list of words, we practiced writing the Oo words that I had written on the board, practiced writing the letter Oo, and practiced writing sentences with the sight words: here & are.
They counted 14 blocks and tried to stack them as high as they could but they kept falling over! One of the children made two stacks and said that it is the only way to keep the blocks from falling over. They spun the dreidels and wrote down the number of times the Jewish word came up. They practiced writing the number 14 because some of the children struggled to write it and they matched numbers on the menorah.
We made a Star of David out of popsicle sticks, painted with watercolors on the dreidel, and they finished up our special presents for their mommies and daddies.
Polar Express and Holiday Snack Party was a huge success! We watched the Polar Express movie with the whole center and they had some hot chocolate and a cookie while watching the movie. Everyone had a wonderful time and Santa Claus came during the movie! It was a huge surprise and they were so excited to see him!! They got to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas! Thank you for helping us make this day a wonderful day for the children. Keep an eye out for pictures!
I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and New Year! See you next year!
If you need anything or have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me!
-Ms. Michelle