Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide

• Make holiday celebrations as joyful and engaging as possible.
• Send home explanations frequently of what children are doing and learning
Jewishly.
• Familiarize children with their Hebrew names.
High-impact strategies:
• Discuss as a staff the school’s vision of the kind of Jewish identity it wants for its
children. How does this school define Jewish identity? What elements does it
include? What are some experiences that the school might create for the children
in order to foster this identity?
• Teachers have getting-to-know you conversations with parents about their
children, and ask about parents’ Jewish (or other) identities, and what they hope
for their children.
• Enable children to recognize their own actions as Jewish behaviors by labeling
them. (“You just did a mitzvah!”)
• Make God-talk safe in the classroom by mentioning God. (“We can thank God for
this beautiful tree.”)
• Convey such abstract concepts as mitzvot, spirituality and Israel through
developmentally appropriate practices, including songs, stories, rituals, and
hands-on experiences.
• Address children’s questions and concerns sensitively and responsively.
Integration
Jewish practice does not exist in a vacuum. We cannot portion out a section of our day
for Jewish curriculum. It is our obligation to live as Jews and make our Judaism a part of
every aspect of our developmentally appropriate curriculum. Our mission is to find ways
to integrate Jewish values, concepts, and vocabulary into our everyday school experience
and curriculum. Every facet of our programs – the physical environment, curriculum and
family relationships – must be used to enable our children to live Jewishly. As Jewish
educators, we must make our classrooms, curricula, and connections to our families
reflect that we are Jewish all the time and everywhere. It is who we are.
While our classroom environment reflects our Jewish values and curriculum, we would
not be fulfilling our obligations as Jewish educators unless we take care to actively find
ways to help our children expand their knowledge and incorporate our Jewish values into
their daily life. We must help our children build Jewish connections through interactive
play, and by basing new learning experiences on previous ones. Jewish life and learning
must be integrated into all aspects of the program. Children are not tourists in the Jewish
world; we must help them to really live there. The curriculum should be related to the
Jewish calendar and Jewish values, incorporating a strong sense of community.
Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide
USCJ Department of Education
Maxine Handelman
Handelman@uscj.org
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