Kornmehl
Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmel
Community engagements
Last week the Pre-school was involved in making mishloach manot bags for the Burger Centre in Randwick. Normally, we would have visited the Burger Centre and taken the mishloach manot to them ourselves and visited the elderly people and sung some songs for them. However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, we had to make another plan to connect and support this special place.
We introduced the concept of a mitzvah to the children.
The educators did some role plays and gave examples of performing a mitzvah. We also shared examples of what we have seen the children do at Pre-school e.g. packing away voluntarily and checking in on a friend to see how they are if they have been hurt.
We told the children about two mitzvot they will be doing over the next couple of days – one for a friend and the other for some elderly people down at the Burger Centre. This is called the mitzvah of giving, in this case – mishloach manot. At activity time the children decorated a bag which was filled with hamentashen and sweets. One bag was taken to the Burger Centre and the other was exchanged with a friend on Friday at our Purim party and parade.
The children baked delicious hamentashen to put in their bags. They helped to pack their bags and make a card for the person receiving the bag. The children sat carefully at the table counting out the four different food items to go into their bag. They were very excited to be part of this lovely mitzvah. On Wednesday, Bronwyn from the Burger Centre came past to collect 35 bags. She was very excited. She thanked us very much for our generosity and for helping to make the old peoples Purim a special and memorable day.
Arava twinning program
The Pre-school has been invited to be the first Jewish Pre-school/Early Childhood Centre in Sydney, to partner with a Gan in Ein Yahav in the Arava in the South of Israel. This is a very exciting partnership. We have already received a very generous package from the Arava, which contained an Arava bucket hat for each child and a beautiful pack of recycled materials, for the children to each make their own rashanim for Purim. We have set up an Arava corner in the classroom, to connect the children to this place and have discussed where it is on the map of Israel. The Educators in the Starfish and Dolphin groups will be connecting with the Arava Educators on Zoom and planning activities to connect the children between the two schools.
In 2018 and 2019, ten Educators from Kornmehl were lucky enough to go on the JNF Educators Study Tour to Israel. On this program, we visited the Arava and learnt about the wonderful work they are doing to convert the desert into rich agricultural spaces that are successfully growing fruit and vegetables in abundance. We visited the Arava Agricultural Science Education Centre and some of the farms and learnt about the drip irrigation system that they use to ensure the plants are able to grow in this dry and very hot climate.
So, we are very excited to be able to extend our knowledge and association on a deeper level, by connecting with a Gan (pre-school) in the Arava region, as well as connecting the children to Israel in a meaningful and authentic way.
We will continue to keep you posted of our projects as they unfold.
Back to Pre-school visit
Our Back to Pre-school visit will take place on Friday 12 March 2021 from 2.00 pm to 2.50 pm in the Pre-school. We look forward to welcoming all our Starfish and Dolphins back to share their learning from Year K with us all.
13 habits that raise well-adjusted kids
Boundaries
It’s hard to set boundaries for kids and stick to them. This is especially true when kids push back, scream endlessly or threaten things like, “I hate you”. Remember that when kids act this way, they are meeting their own needs in the only way they know how. Depending on the boundary, it can take a long time before a child lovingly accepts a parent’s boundary. The world is a very chaotic place. Boundaries help your child, not only feel grounded, but thrive.
Routines
There’s so much of childhood that is new and challenging for kids. Learning self-control and empathy and learning how to be a friend and interact with others. These are all very BIG things for kids. Using something as simple as routines help kids feel grounded and relaxed. In fact, knowing what to expect at mealtimes, mornings and bedtimes can bring a sense of relief to even the most carefree child. Routines allow kids to feel a sense of control, something that is very important to a strong-willed child.
Early Bedtimes
Sleep is the building block for healthy brain development. It helps us process the day’s events and learn from it. Kids brains are constantly developing and creating new neural connections. They absolutely must get sleep to nurture these connections. Between kid activities, school and always squeezing in tech time, kids are going to bed later and having a difficult time settling before sleep. One of the most basic things you can do for your kids’ behaviour, health and wellbeing is to help them get the sleep they need.
Empathy
What do kids really need to be happy and successful? The answer surprises most – Empathy. It’s the trait that allows us to “walk in another person’s shoes”. New research shows that empathy plays a major role in predicting kids’ happiness and success. Though kids are hardwired to care, they aren’t born empathetic, it’s a learned behaviour.
Hugs
There is a saying by Virginia Satir, a respected family therapist, “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need twelve hugs a day for growth”. Hugging triggers the release of oxytocin, also known as the love hormone. This feel-good hormone has many important effects on our bodies. One of them is growth stimulation. Studies show that hugging can instantly boost the level of oxytocin. When oxytocin is increased, several growth hormones, such as insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-1) and nerve growth factor (NGF), are increased as well.
“The nurturing touch of a hug can enhance a child’s growth.” – Pamela Li creator of Parenting for Brain
Playful parents
Children don’t say, ‘I had a hard day. Can we talk?’ They say, ‘Will you play with me?’ We don’t reserve much room in our lives for fun and games anymore. Our days are filled with stress, obligations and hard work, and without realising it, we are more disconnected from our kids than ever. Play is the work of the child and to connect with our kids, we must play with our kids. Take the time to put down your phones and realise that your kids need you to play.
Outdoor time
“Movement through active free play, especially outside, improves everything from creativity to academic success to emotional stability. Kids who don’t get to do this can have so many issues, from problems with emotional regulation, for example, they cry at the drop of a hat to trouble holding a pencil, to touching other kids using too much force.” – Meryl Davids Landau, author of Enlightened Parenting.
Chores
“Even though it is more difficult at the time to persist in having children do chores, kids benefit from the experience. Research indicates that those children who do have a set of chores have higher self-esteem, are more responsible, and are better able to deal with frustration and delay gratification, all of which contribute to greater success in school. Furthermore, research by Marty Rossman shows that involving children in household tasks at an early age can have a positive impact later in life. In fact, says Rossman, ‘the best predictor of young adults’ success in their mid-20’s was that they participated in household tasks when they were three or four.’”
Screen time limits
“In order for the brain’s neural networks to develop normally during the critical period, a child needs specific stimuli from the outside environment. These are rules that have evolved over centuries of human evolution, but not surprisingly, these essential stimuli are not found on today’s tablet screens. When a young child spends too much time in front of a screen and not enough getting required stimuli from the real world, their development becomes stunted”. – Dr Liraz Margalit, Behind Online Behaviour
Experiences, not things
Children require less things and far more meaningful experiences. When they grow up, it’s not the stuff in their life they will remember, it’s that time you tried to catch tadpoles at the lake, or that sand castle you both built that the wave knocked over at the beach. The best life experiences cost little to nothing, like a picnic in the park, blowing bubbles in the backyard, making chalk drawings on the sidewalk, or tossing a football around, but they all have one thing in common – you do them together. What kids really want in life is quality time spent with their parents.
Slow moving days
“Encourage parents to take some time to just watch their children, whether they are playing, doing homework, or eating a snack. Take a moment to drink them in. Remember and remind yourself how remarkable your children are. That pause alone, even if momentary, can drive a shift in the pace”. John Duffy, Clinical Psychologist
Books read to them
One of the most important things parents can do, beyond keeping kids healthy and safe, is to read with them. That means starting when they are newborns and not even able to talk and continuing well beyond the years that they can read by themselves. Study after study shows that early reading with children helps them learn to speak, interact, bond with parents and read early themselves, and reading with kids who already know how to read helps them feel close to caretakers, understand the world around them and be empathetic citizens of the world.
Music
Science has shown that when children learn to play music, their brains begin to hear, and process sounds that they couldn’t otherwise hear. This helps them develop ‘neurophysiological distinction’ between certain sounds that can aid in literacy, which can translate into improved academic results for kids. A child’s brain develops faster with music education. Providing high-quality music education nurtures success in kids.
Taken from the Military Wife and Mom
