P'jammin' at Shulamith ECC

 

P’jammin’ at Shulamith ECC

How can a pajama party be educational? When it is held at Shulamith Early Childhood Center!

In honor of Parashat Vayechi, the entire student body at Shulamith ECC, as well as some of the morot, came dressed in their pajamas! Some children even wore fuzzy slippers and toted teddy bears.

It all began as the children listened eagerly to the continuing saga of Yosef in Mitzrayim. They were fascinated to hear that Yaakov gave his children and grandchildren berachot, just like their parents give them a berachah every Friday night at the Shabbat table. They were so excited to recognize the words “Ha’malach Ha’goel” and eagerly sang them along with their morot.

Since the children say “Ha’malach Ha’goel” every night before they go to sleep, everyone agreed that a pajama party was a wonderful vehicle to learn important skills in every content area.

The children participated in a special asifah where the entire school gathered and enjoyed the reading of two special nighttime books — “The Baby Beebee Bird” and “Goodnight Moon.” The children laughed uproariously as the baby bird insisted on singing throughout the night, keeping all of the zoo animals awake. Then, they enjoyed the soothing words of “Goodnight Moon.” The children liked it so much they listened to it twice!

The younger children created beautiful signs full of stars and night time imagery along with the words to “Ha’malach Ha’goel.” The production of this sign required the use of important fine motor muscles as well as planning and problem-solving. Each sign reflected the girls’ individuality and creativity. The children enjoyed looking at the words on the signs as they sang “Ha’malach Ha’goel” and then pretended to go to sleep.

The older children exercised their math skills by comparing and contrasting their pajamas! Sorting and classifying are important foundational math skills. The children also needed to do a lot of counting in order to determine which patterns and colors were the most popular. Stars and stripes and hearts abounded.

The children also used their budding Ivrit language skills to understand the book “Layla Tov Yareiach.” The book tied beautifully to the letter Yud which they had recently learned. Yareiach was one of the words they chose to put on their list of words beginning with the letter Yud.

The day ended with a scrumptious “bedtime snack” of chocolate milk and s’mores that the children prepared by themselves. Spreading marshmallow fluff was great for their fine motor muscles and counting out chocolate chips was a fun way to do math.

What a delicious end to a day full of fun and learning at Shulamith ECC!

Shulamith Bat Mitzvah Celebration

On Wednesday evening, January 8, Shulamith sixth-graders welcomed many beloved relatives to celebrate their entrance to the age of mitzvot! Mrs. Rookie Billet, Shulamith Middle Division principal, delivered a short welcome address in which she charged everyone to consider the character traits they cherish most.

Shulamith bat mitzvah dinner

The students then performed a beautiful cantata in Ivrit which told the stories of the seven prophetesses of the Jewish nation. The script was composed by Morah Chana Schwartz, based on sources in the Tanach and the Midrash Agaddah. The beautiful voices of the girls filled the room as they sang songs taught to them by music teacher Morah Tali Spector. The girls also shared a charming musical rendition of Shirat Chana which they learned in Morah Chani Pollak’s Navi class, with interpretive hand motions that explained the words of the Shirah.

After enjoying a scrumptious dinner, participants rotated through three workshops, including a shiur with Morah Chana Schwartz about Jewish heroines from Tanach, baking challah with Morah Shoshana Fischman, and simcha dancing with Morah Tali Kozachkov.

The celebration concluded with the presentation of personalized Siddurim, sponsored by the Shulamith Women’s Organization, to each bat mitzvah.

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