Winter Wonderland Workshop

This morning the girls had a Mommy &  Me workshop in their class.  Each child was able to bring a parent to school to see the class in action, do some projects, and schmooze with other mothers. The instructions we received were to bring your daughter(s) to school at 9:30.  We were a bit late (shocking!) due to the snow on the van, parking, and us just being the Trip'n Family. 

First on the agenda was davening, which was very cute. Each girl had a little siddur that they made with the different tefillot and songs that they sing each day.  The girls sat on the shatiach (carpet) where they have ma'agal (circle) time.  The parents formed a circle around the girls and had the choice to sit on the tiny little kindergarten chairs, kneel, or stand. Thank G-d we were late! Those chairs are awful and I was just as happy to stand. 

The girls' Morah is a wonderful, dynamic, and engaging teacher.  Even though she has years of experience, you can tell that having all these adults in the room throws her off her game just a bit.  My heart went out to her as she tried to get through the morning routine and keep the girls focused on impressing us. 

After that there were four stations set up for us to do projects with the girls.  

1. Snowman Station: Each girl got a little bag of Crayola Model Magic  to mold into a snowman.   This stuff has a really interesting texture.  It is not sticky and kind of spongy. Then there were all types of trimmings to decorate and dress him up. Beads, felt hats, mittens, scarves, little sticks for arms, red macaroni for mouths.  B put her macaroni in upside down, because her snowman was sad, and dressed him all in purple. 

2. Cookie Station: Pretty similar to the Snowman Station but with cookie dough and edible fixings.  Instructions were for the girls to do some sort of winter themed creation.  A made a butterfly, carefully considering the placement of each piece of candy and licorice rope.  B made an abstract piece with candy mashed into it.  When I asked her what it was, she said "A smiley face, Mommy. With a  lot of candy." I am sure that is why he was smiling. 

3. Snowflake Station: This one was a parent favorite (right!). On the table were a handful of dice and 9x13 tins of flour with foamie snowflakes hidden in them.  The instructions were for the girls to roll the dice, count the dots, and then sift through the flour to find that many snowflakes in the tin.  Let me tell you, I was REALLY happy that I didn't have to go to work after that!  (You could tell which mommies had to go straight to work, they stood a few feet back from the table.)  My girls really couldn't care about counting, they just wanted their hands in the flour.  

4. Matching Mittens: Each girl got a sheet of card stock with eight mittens on them.  Each mitten had a little snowflake type icon on it, make 4 pairs. The girls were supposed to cut out the mittens, match them, and color them.  Then they would have a cute little memory game to take home.  What was really interesting with my girls was the different ways they tackled this project.  A was more interested in cutting out the mittens and writing her initials on the back of each one. She didn't care about matching them or coloring them. B cut them out in pairs and then colored them so that the mittens matched EXACTLY. She has 4 perfect pairs. 

The there was what A called the 5th station: Refreshments! Chips, pretzels, corn pops, fruit, rugelach...quite the spread. 

I really do love the chance to see the girls in their classroom environment, schmooze with the teachers and other mothers. I can't wait to go back next week for their in class birthday party.