Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide

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Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide USCJ Department of Education Maxine Handelman Handelman@uscj.org 3
Introduction Early childhood education is the gateway to Jewish life. Early childhood programs affiliated with Conservative synagogues seek not only to introduce families to the joys of Judaism, but also to bring families into the community of the synagogue and the practices and traditions of Conservative Judaism. Too often this goal is out of reach for members of the early childhood staff, which may consist of a director or teachers who do not have a strong Jewish background. Even educators who have a strong Jewish knowledge-base may not have an understanding of Conservative Judaism. Conveying a sense of Jewish life from a Conservative perspective can be a challenge. When issues arise, the early childhood director may not know the right questions to ask to be able to get answers from the rabbi, who is the synagogue’s mara d’atra (religious authority). Without guidance, the school may be unable to fulfill the goal of bringing a Conservative Jewish experience to the children and families. The Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs seeks to address this challenge. A group of early childhood educators and lay leaders from across the country spent two years seeking, questioning and writing this vision in order to help directors and teachers understand what it means to teach in a Conservative early childhood program. This requires understanding of the Conservative perspective on God and spirituality, ethical behavior, ritual observances, and the place of Jewish learning in early childhood. The guide is designed to help early childhood educators in Conservative settings grapple with daily issues of ritual such as kashrut and wearing kipot, bring Jewish values into the classroom, envision what daily tefillah might look like in a Conservative early childhood classroom, and in general ask the right questions. The journey guide also will help lay leaders and parents understand what a Conservative early childhood program should include. How to Use this Vision The Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Some schools may find the suggestions in this guide overwhelming; other schools may find themselves saying “We do that.” Jewish life is a journey, and the path will look different in every community and in every school. It is the authors’ hope that the information contained in this guide will serve to inform, enrich, and deepen the Jewish experience of every director, teacher, child, and parent who is touched by a Conservative early childhood school. Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide USCJ Department of Education Maxine Handelman Handelman@uscj.org 4
Page 1 and 2: Vision for Conservative Early Child
Page 3: Vision for Conservative Early Child
Page 7 and 8: clergy and other synagogue professi
Page 9 and 10: Ethical Behavior “Justice, justic
Page 11 and 12: How to Use This Section Jewish valu
Page 13 and 14: “I would like to have a drink of
Page 15 and 16: they shared the wheat equally each
Page 17 and 18: For class discussion: 1. How could
Page 19 and 20: Then one day, Jacob was walking nea
Page 21 and 22: Dima ben Netina and the Ruby: A Sto
Page 23 and 24: Made with Love: A Story of Ma’ach
Page 25 and 26: Aaron and the fighting friends: A S
Page 27 and 28: That night, when the sun disappeare
Page 29 and 30: The next morning King Solomon woke
Page 31 and 32: So Abba and Ima went back to their
Page 33 and 34: All the other parts of the body lau
Page 35 and 36: For class discussion: 1. Why couldn
Page 37 and 38: Impatient Abraham: A Story of Teshu
Page 39 and 40: Stone Soup: A Story of Tikkun Olam
Page 41 and 42: Rabbi Zusya and the Birds Who Would
Page 43 and 44: The Holy Miser - a story of Tzedaka
Page 45 and 46: “Almost perfect?” questioned th
Page 47 and 48: Jules, Jacqueline, The Hardest Word
Page 49 and 50: Values by story - grid 1 continued
Page 51 and 52: God and Spirituality Among the most
Page 53 and 54: Preparing Yourself for Wrestling wi
Page 55 and 56:
their questions. Do not avoid the c
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• Celebrate and acknowledge life-
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5. We are thankful for God’s gift
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• Morning Brachot The rabbis tell
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• Shabbat Tefillot Fridays are an
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Barchu Barchu et Adonai ha-m’vora
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Informal Ways to Invite God into th
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Bibliography and References Coles,
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Jewish Learning Raise up a child in
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Children’s Learning The goals for
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Low-impact strategies: • Post pho
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Expanding Knowledge The literature
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Low-impact strategies: • Suggest
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what we teach in class with real li
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Low-impact strategies: • Offer ti
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Low-impact strategies: • Provide
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Continuity The most valuable early
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Ritual Observance and Halachah Ritu
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Kipot A kipah, also known in Yiddis
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There are many ways to explain the
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Kashrut - Dietary Laws The dietary
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Netilat Yada’yim -Ritual Hand Was
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Food Blessings In the words of the
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Cakes , Crackers And Cookies - Bore
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Birkat ha’Mazon- the Blessing aft
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Bringing Shabbat into the Early Chi
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Challah On Shabbat, we put two loav
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Havdalah Havdalah is the second sid
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3. Spices We lift the spice box and
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Rosh Chodesh - The New Month Young
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Bibliography and Resources Dosick,
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Appendix A - More Kashrut Details B
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Appendix B - Sample Letter from the
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Staff Handbook one example Our scho
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Working With Clergy (and Other Key
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Rabbi Jonathan Lubliner of the Jack
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Creating a Jewish Environment The e
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• Hebrew labels transform a print
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Conclusion In the summer of 2007, e
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