Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide

• Provide CDs of modern Israeli musicians for the classrooms.
• Host a lunch for staff featuring typical Israeli foods.
• Start the day singing Hatikvah.
• Label items in the classroom in Hebrew and English.
• Send the Hebrew used in the classroom home for parents to learn and reinforce.
High-impact strategies:
• Ask the staff to incorporate appropriate, meaningful Hebrew vocabulary words
into the curriculum and their daily conversations. Phrases can include boker tov
(good morning), and todah rabbah (thank you very much), b’vakasha (please and
you’re welcome). When they count objects, they can sometimes do so in Hebrew.
• Insure that Hebrew songs and brachot are a daily part of the classroom routine.
• Invite Israeli parents to come to talk to the teachers about aspects of Israeli life.
• Encourage staff to research connections to Israel for every curriculum unit.
• Give teachers stipends for Hebrew classes.
• Organize a staff trip to Israel.
Community Support
The value of connections between clergy, members of the synagogue leadership,
educators, and families in the early childhood program cannot be overstated. A broad
support system including these community members promotes a partnership for Jewish
living and learning. Efforts should be made to bring these groups together in a variety of
settings.
Low-impact strategies:
• Invite the rabbi, the congregation’s president, and other appropriate professional
staff members and volunteers to parent orientations.
• Read the “Working With Clergy (and Other Key Community Members)” section
of the Vision.
High-impact strategies:
• Invite the rabbi and the president of the congregation to staff orientations and
planning sessions to help establish personal relationships, in order to help forge a
connection of shared interest in and responsibility for the education and welfare of
the families.
• Invite the rabbi to teach ongoing in-service sessions on a particular holiday or
Torah portion. This can be done with parents and staff together.
• Encourage the EC staff to go to the clergy to ask Jewish questions.
Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide
USCJ Department of Education
Maxine Handelman
Handelman@uscj.org
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