Judaic Exploration with Stephanie Leen
Enduring goals:
- Create developmentally appropriate experiences which connect young children to Jewish holidays, values, stories, ideas and customs.
- Instill a sense of understanding around Jewish holidays and build on that understanding as learners move throughout the Early Childhood Education program.
- Provide scaffolding within the school in order to intentionally build the foundation of holiday knowledge our students gain year to year.
- Open up a community practice of engagement with Jewish holidays and culture in order to foster a love of Jewish tradition.
- Build and create a sense of Jewish identity, community and connection in the hearts of our learners through the Jewish Lenses.
This Judaic curriculum is a resource for educators and families. It is intended to inspire the creativity and individual choices inside and outside the JCC. It is a roadmap to help offer experiences for students around the Jewish holidays and Jewish lenses. The curricular materials are intended to value children and teachers as co-constructive members of their classroom and school environments and is meant to promote curiosity and inquiry, and to provide additional resources and suggestions so families can participate with their children at home, in school or with the JCC Community.
These guidelines were developed within the framework of the seven core elements of Sheva from the JCCs of North America Learning Framework:
1. Children as Constructivist Learners
2. Early Childhood Directors as Visionaries 3. Early Childhood Educators as Professional 4. Families as Engaged Partners 5. Environments as Inspiration for Inquiry 6. Taking Care of Our Bodies 7. Israel as source and resource
Trade your expectation for appreciation and the world changes instantly. Tony Robbins
