My Aleph Bais Touch!

Click here to download the PDF file!

This is a great way to teach the Aleph-Bais sounds. Many children learn the Aleph-Bais (the typical way) with a Hebrew picture beside it, such as Bais is for Bubbah, Gimmel is for Glidah… and so on. But, I always find that this system does not work for all children.

For instance, when I was working with Tehilla, one of my students, I would point at letter Dalet with a Deles next to it, not only did she not remember the sound, but did not know how to say door in Hebrew. So we started making “My Aleph –Bais Touch” book I was amazed how fast Tehilla started picking up the sounds. Not only that, but she looked forward in learning a new sounds.

“My Aleph-Bais Touch” consists of the Hebrew letters with a tactile material glued to it. Since Aleph is silent, we left it blank. We then moved to Bais, Tehilla glued colorful buttons all over it. Once dried, she placed her hand over the buttons while whispering “buttons.” After a few seconds, she looked at me and made the Bais sound. Slowly we continued moving on to different sounds.

Why was the “My Aleph-Bais Touch” a success with Tehilla? Well, some children learn through touch. This sensory activity was a wonderful way for her to learn and retain the sounds she has already learned. Also, Tehilla was able to associate the letter to something that was familiar to her or/and English words in her vocabulary.

Every week we’ll be working on a different letter. You can print out the cover and the Aleph Bais letters by following this link. The best way to make “My Aleph- Bais Touch” is to print out the letters on hard paper, hole punch and place them in a loose-leaf. Keep the glue around and maybe some tape to paste the materials on the letters. “My Aleph-Bais Touch” will look fantastic when completed!

Get yourself ready by printing out your letters and gathering the material needed. You are about to take an Aleph- Bais adventure… Touch!

Veis is for Velcro

Follow this link to read more about it!

Gimmel is for Glitter

Follow this link to read more about it!



Daled is for Dollars

Follow this link to read more about it!

Hey is for Honey Nut Cheerios

Follow this link to read more about it!

Get Baking Hamentashen...It's Educational!

Guest bloggers: Liana Schonbach, Menucha Langsam and Esti Hoffman

                                                            

                                  



          Purim is an exciting time of year for adults and children alike.  Families are busy creating costumes, preparing shalach manos, and arranging all the other myriad details that go into making this Yom Tov special.  What a wonderful opportunity to spend time with your children in an enjoyable and educational way.  This blog will discuss the educational advantages of working together with your child in the kitchen.

        Baking and cooking are two activities that utilize and reinforce various life skills such as following directions, sequencing, and using measurements for real-life application.  In order to be successful in the kitchen, your child must be accustomed to breaking down complex directions into small steps, and being sure to follow those steps in a precise order.  In addition, he/she will need to incorporate his/her math skills to measure out the proper amount of each ingredient.

        Baking is also a multi-sensory experience, as it requires auditory, visual, and tactile processing.  Your child must listen to directions, follow the recipe cards, and use his/her hands to create a culinary creation.

       How can a parent maximize the aforementioned skills through baking hamantashen for Purim ?  Below you will find detailed instructions. Enjoy and Purim Sameach!

1.  The first step in setting your child up to succeed in the kitchen is to encourage him/her to write down the recipe they will be following on an index card or a sheet of paper.  Using a large piece of poster paper is lots of fun, and will make the directions even clearer.  Encourage your child to write neatly along the margins, and to number the steps clearly.  This is a good time to explain any vocabulary words that your child is not familiar with.  It’s also prudent to point out any abbreviations that are included in the measurements

(i.e. T = Tbs. = Tablespoon.)  The recipe should be hung up in an easily visible spot, so your child can refer to it as needed.

Click here to print the Hamentashen Recipe

2.  Next, have your child read through the list of ingredients, and collect them.  Then, they should collect any measuring tools needed.  If necessary, show your child how to read and use the tools.

3.  As your child begins to bake,   it’s important to maintain a healthy balance of giving your child the confidence to work through the process independently, while at the same time subtly redirecting as needed.

4.  Print the Hamentashen recipe and a checklist of activities that your child can fill out as he/she bakes.  This is a generic checklist that can be also be used for future adventures in the kitchen!

Don’t forget that one of the biggest benefits to your child is spending quality time with you.  Enjoy!

               

Tu B'Shevat Basket

I love Tu B’Shevat! First of all, because it’s the birthday of the trees! We get to learn so much about flowers, trees and fruits… Not to mention all the projects we make and we even get to eat dry fruit! Second of all, it’s my parents’ engagement anniversary. It’s a date that we cannot miss and never forgotten by anyone of my siblings. Not like mine, which I’m still trying to figure out which day of Pesach Chol Hamoed did it occur.  I guess I’ll figure it out some day.

This year, for Tu B’Shevat, we did this adorable basket. It is easy to make and we use materials that we already have stored in the closet. We first talked about the Shivat HaMinim, where they grow and why are they so special. My daughter was excited to hear that these seven special foods are found in Israel. The Shivat HaMinim consist of the following: wheat, barley, grapes, fig, pomegranate, olive and date. We then moved on making the Tu B’Shevat basket.

All you need:

The Shivat HaMinim Print out

Brown Crayons

2 Paper Plates

Scissors

Stapler 

Click here to download the Shivat HaMinim Worksheet

We first colored two paper plates brown making sure we covered all the surface area. We then cut out the Shivat HaMinim fruit. I helped my daughter with the scissors, showing her how to hold it properly. I turned the plates into a basket, by folding one of the paper plates in half and stapled down the round side. Make sure to leave open the top. I then took the second paper plate and cut the handle out of the ruff surface and stapled it to the top of the basket. We discarded the rest of the paper plate.

We placed all the Shivat HaMinim inside the basket. It looked really cute when we hung it up in the fridge!

All the best,

Menorah Choco-Lollys

              Every year, I make these adorable Menorah Choco-Lollys to give out (besides the fact that I’m a “chocoholic”). They are really easy to make and I've gotten so much positive feedback from them. One year, I made these for the rest of my co-teachers in school. Since I taught a special-Ed class in a regular school, all the teachers and school secretaries were very sensitive towards us and made sure to include us for their classroom activities or give a hand in whatever they could. To show great appreciation, I made dozens of Menorah Choco-Lollys to hand out. During recess, my students walk around the hallways holding the basket of chocolates and handed them out to the teachers and secretaries.

             So many teachers came over the following recess to thank us for the chocolates. They felt it was a special touch since the Menorah Choco-Lollys were specially made for them. They already had gotten tons of the typical chocolate coins in all sizes, silver and Gold, Parve and Dairy.

Now it’s your turn to make them. Just gather all the materials needed and get started!

Chocolate Chips

Menorah Chocolate Molds

Lollypop Stick

Chocolate Wrapping paper

Small clear plastic bags

Ribbon

Labels

Torah Toy carries the Chanukah Chocolate Mold that comes not only with the Menorah's, but can make chocolate Dreidels, Menorahs, Candles, the Star of David, Chocolate Coins, and a "Happy Chanukah" All out of chocolate in one mold!!

Roll up your sleeves, and lets get to work!

              Place water in a pot to boil. Then, place a smaller pot over it with the chocolate chips. Once the water boils, the chocolate will start to melt. Use a spoon to fill up the chocolate molds and place the lollypop sticks. Place the chocolate sheet in the freezer and wait a few minutes. After removing the chocolates from the freezer, take the chocolate wrapping paper and wrap the chocolates tightly. Place a bag over it and tight the ribbon around it.  Stick a label in the back with your own message… And, Walllaaaa! They are ready to eat! Just make sure I’m not around.

Happy Chanukah to All!

Chanukah Sensory Bag

I’m crazy about sensory bags. They are really easy to make and children can spend long time playing with it. It usually keeps my daughter busy exploring the items in the bag and gives me some extra time to get supper ready. What I also like about the Sensory Bags, is that you can place anything (I really mean it, ANYTHING!) in them and still make them exciting to play. I usually grab the bag, take a quick tour around the house and place in it whatever I find… For Chanukah Sensory bag, I placed some pennies, dreidels, Chanukah Foam cut-outs, candles…

Here is what you need to make the Chanukah Sensory Bags:

Ziploc bag

Tape

Hair Gel

Several Chanukah items to place in the bag

Place Hair gel in the bag. Close the bag and spread the gel. Open the bag again, and place the Chanukah items in the bag. Mix well the items and then tape the top. We want to make sure it’s well sealed before playing with it.

Have your little one engaged and exploring the Chanukah Sensory bag!

Happy Chanukah!

Dreidel Sorting

During Chanukah season, we got the dreidels all over the house…. Under the couch, on the counter, on the stairs, in the porch… and some where they should be -the toy closet. I promised my daughter if she would help me “find” (clean-up) all the dreidels we would do an activity together. I gave her the little basket and asked her to place them there. Well, sure enough, she gathered all the dreidels within minutes. Now, it was my turn to come up with the activity.

Way back, we received from one of our shabbos  guest a clear candy dish with several compartments. It’s been sitting on top of my fridge quite a while and figured I’d put it now in good use. I placed it on the floor 

near the dreidels and showed her how to sort the draidels.

For this activity you will need:

Dreidels

A dish with several comportments

If you can’t get access to a dish with several compartments, you can always use several cups. Assign a color for each cup and have your child place the dreidels there.This activity is wonderful because it refines so many skills such as categorization, color recognition and fine motor skills. 

Have a Happy Chanukah!

Chanukah Stick-on-Candles

This Chanukah Stick-on-Candles is tons of fun and little materials are required. I always find children love stickers and enjoy sticking them on anything (yes, even on my kitchen wall)! This activity is educational.  Students can learn the correct way to light the menorah - “lighting” the new candle first every night. The Chanukah Stick-on-Candles activity also reinforces fine motor skills.

For this Activity you will need:

The Chanukah Stick-on-Candles worksheet

Large Labels

Follow this link to download the Chanukah Stick-on-Candles worksheet

Once you printed out the worksheet, make sure you laminated it. This way, you can use the same worksheet over and over again… As many times as you need it! Then, take the large labels and cut several strips. I recommend using the silver labels - it looks nicer and it’s easier to see the candles with the white background contrast. However, if you already have white labels at home, that would work just fine.

Set aside the “Candles” silver strips next to the worksheet. Model with the first candle positioning it on the Menorah and let the child do the rest. Children love to stick on the candles and removing them. Don’t worry if they are not placing the candles in the correct place. It’s just matter of practice… till they get it right!

Have a great Chanukah!