Community Helpers... and Yom Ha'atzmaut

We had such a busy week!!  We started a new unit on community helpers, talking about firemen, policemen, and soldiers that help protect us, and doctors who help us when we're sick.
We colored firetrucks,

 built buildings out of blocks that were "On fire" so the firetrucks had to come,

mixed red and yellow paint on the easel to make orange fire.

We had fun matching the different parts of a firetruck,

and even practiced putting out fires outside with a real hose!

We also talked about calling 911 if there is an emergency, and practiced dialing the number.

We had the chance to play with special police cars and rescue helicopters, 

We even made our own police hats!

On Wednesday, Gabe, the security officer, came to speak to us about his job, and how he protects us every day.  He let the children see the walkie talkie he uses,

put handcuffs on,

and let the children see his badge.

Thank you,Gabe!

All of the children had the chance to practice being a doctor.  We tried on a doctor's coat and mask, gave shots to our friends, and listened to their hearts.  We also practiced on babies, putting bandaids on them when they cried. We read books about x-rays, and even made our own x-rays of our hands. We made a doctor kit with bandaids, cotton balls, etc to take home!

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Today we made a soldier puppet, in honor of the Israeli soldier who came to talk to us for Yom Ha'atzmaut. We glued on arms, legs, and a hat, and sponge painted brown and green paint for his camouflage uniform.

 Then we got started on our Yom Ha'atzmaut fun!! We started by making our own Israeli flags!

Then we had an Israeli Day Fair!! We went to each classroom to spend time learning something about Israel.  We started in the Shuk, where we made orange juice and Israeli salad.

From there we went to Yerushalayim, where we wrote notes to put in the Kotel, and davened with siddurs.

Next we played "Jump into Israel," where we learned how there is so much to see in Israel: mountains, a dessert, the Dead Sea, and especially the Kotel. The the children had a chance to jump to their favorite locations.

We then went to Masada where we climbed an obstacle course to get to the top of the mountain!  At the top we took a picture with a "camel."

We made chummus by mashing chick peas in bags, and got to taste it when we were done!

We finished our fair with a talk from Jacob, an Israeli soldier. He told us how he and his friends keep all of Israel safe. We then colored Thank you cards that we are going to send to the soldiers.

We had a special falafel lunch to end our exciting day!

A special thank you to all of the mothers who helped made today such a great event!!

 And, of course, how can we forget the fun we had with Morah Lilly,

and our Rosh Chodesh club!  We made edible bonfires, in honor of Lag Ba'Omer!

Have a great Shabbos!