GAN TZIPORIM SKATING RINK

An ice skating rink? In school?

No way! Unless you are part of the most creative, innovative and inventive class: Gan Tziporim! It began with a book “Snowmen at Night” which turned into an idea – an ice skating rink in school?! First we brainstormed together to figure out what we would need to make this work: ice, skates, railing, people watching, a zamboni, and more. A deal was made, the Morot would take care of the “ice” but the children had to do the rest. And so, from everything from snacks to signs to the zamboni, the children took the lead. They cut out skates, wrote out signs, painted and created incredible snacks for the snack bar and came up with an ingenious way to build a zamboni!

It took a few days of preparation but we finally had our grand opening this week! There is a cashier who sells the skating passes, a shoe rental office, an attendant to supervise the skating, a snack bar staffed with a cashier, popcorn scooper and a waiter. The children don’t even realize that through this exciting process they are building math, literacy, social and gross motor skills. They sort the skates by size, measure feet, read labels, menus and signs, write snack orders, counting and adding money, figuring out change, and more! The snack bar or kiosk is run completely in Hebrew. The children have learned snack bar vocabulary and are working on their conversational skills as they take orders, add up money and ask questions.