Week of the Young Child: A Celebration of Learning and Tradition

A highlight of the school year at Bernard Horwich JCC Early Childhood Center is always our monthly Rosh Chodesh celebrations. Children have the opportunity to participate in special programs led by Morah Miriam and Morah Jody that reflect the Jewish holiday or an event that is in that month. The children are busy learning in their classrooms about Yom Haatzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day which takes place next week in Iyar. When we noticed that Rosh Chodesh Iyar coincided with NAEYC’s Work Together Wednesday, we knew we wanted to focus on teamwork and collaboration.
We were privileged to obtain the use of the fabulous map of Israel that was so generously donated to JCC Chicago by the Gould Family for this day. Each class came into our sensory motor room for the activity, and you could hear the “oohs” and “aahs” from the children. One child said, “this is so awesome!” We played a game on the map where the children had to hunt for the clues and symbols. The children worked together from south to north and east to west as they found the hottest place in the Negev to the coldest place in Har Chermon. The found the port of Chaifa, and the airport in Lod, Kotel Wall in Yerushalayim, and stopped to “swim” in the Yam Hatichon—the Mediterranean sea. The children practiced their map skills identifying bodies of water, forests and dry land. They identified the Hebrew writing on the map, which labeled cities and seas. The children worked together to create a degel-flag of blue and white loose parts using a real flag as the base. Additionally, they had a chance to smell the spices of the Shuk, an outdoor market, explore pretend animals that are indigenous to Israel and study photos of scenes from Israel. We were so grateful for this amazing experience working together as a team, celebrating Rosh Chodesh and the fact that we have our own Jewish country of Israel!