My SJCS Day in Gan/Kindergarten
8:15 a.m. – Doors Open
Every morning I get dropped off in my classroom sometime between 8:15 and 8:30 a.m. At the beginning of the year my parent usually comes in with me, but as I get older, I sometimes go in alone. We start the day with General Studies and there’s always something fun for me to work on when I arrive. My friends in the older grades say that it’s the same for them, too.
8:30 a.m. – School Starts!
Every day is a bit different, but we always start the morning with circle time and the day’s schedule. This morning after circle time we had some Writer’s Workshop. I wrote a story about when my dog ate my ice cream! We also did science – we are learning all about bees! Next year I’ll be doing science labs on top of all the cool stuff we do in the classroom.
9:45 a.m. – Snack
We eat our meat- and nut-free snacks in the classroom every day. Usually our teacher reads to us or plays a game with us during snack time.
10:00 a.m. – Recess
I always look forward to recess time. I get to play with 1st and 2nd graders. The older grades (3rd-5th) have their recess after us. My favorite place to play is on the playground structure – I love the monkey bars. Sometimes I like to play in the sports games, especially if it’s soccer.
10:15 a.m. – Specialist
Today I have music right after recess. Every day is different. Sometimes I go back to the classroom and then go to a specialist later, and sometimes, like today, I go straight there. Depending on the day, I am singing, enjoying P.E., dancing, or in the library. When I’m older, I’ll also be in the art studio and the science lab.
10:45 a.m. – Classroom Time
Today we’re doing a blended activity with 2nd grade. We are going to bring books and read to them, and then they are going to read stories to us. I always have so much fun when we get to do activities with the other grades. After our blend with 2nd grade we are going to do math. Today we are going to survey everyone in the whole school about their favorite foods and then record our results! Every day we do something different and learn a lot. I hear from the older grades that they have really hard math, but also get to play lots of cool games, too.
12:00 p.m. – Lunch Time
I get hot lunch three days a week and bring my lunch the other two days. Today is spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, and fruit. Yummy! We eat lunch in our classroom and read some really great stories during lunch. Sometimes we even listen to a book on tape during lunch. When we are done eating we all sing Birkat Hamazon/Grace After Meals.
12:30 p.m. – Recess
We have recess with 1st and 2nd graders for our lunch recess also. Because we have more time at this recess, I usually try to do a bunch of different things. Today, I’m starting off with some hula hooping or jump roping, and then I think I will join in an imaginary play game about superheroes. Even though this recess is longer, it always goes by so quickly!
1:00 p.m. – Rest Time
At the beginning of the year we have some time to rest after recess. There is nice quiet music, and we can either lie down or read quietly to ourselves. By the middle of the year we will probably be too old for rest time.
1:15 p.m. – Judaic Studies
Just like in the morning, we start off with some circle time. This time we get to speak in Hebrew! We talk about what day it is, and we learn about different Hebrew letters. After circle time we always have different activities. Usually we are studying a Jewish holiday or story because there are so many of them! We make books and do art projects for each holiday to help us remember what makes them so special. We also study different Hebrew letters at this time. We have a book, like our own dictionary, where we write down and draw different words that start with each letter. It’s really cool to learn a second language!
2:30 p.m. – T’fillah/Prayer
Today is Monday, so we have a havdallah/Sabbath ending service with 1st and 2nd grade. On Wednesday we do t’fillah/prayer, and on Friday, we have a big Shabbat/Sabbath celebration. Next year I will get to do a Torah service, too! I really like havdallah. We say the prayers, and then we sing lots of other songs all together.
3:00 p.m. – Pack up
I can’t believe the day is already almost over! Every afternoon we pack up all of our school stuff. I have to take everything out of my school mailbox and make sure that it gets into my backpack. I want to make sure my parents get to see everything I did today!
3:15 p.m. – Pick up
Because I am in Gan, I finish school at 3:15 p.m. The other grades aren’t done until 3:30 p.m. Today I am staying for BASE, so I will go to the BASE room and have a snack there while I wait for the other kids to come. My BASE class today is cooking. Soon, I’ll know how to make my own delicious lunches! At 5:00, I’m going home, but some of my friends stay for extended day until 6:00 p.m.