This fall JAWC students undertook two Mitzvah projects. The first project was a canned food drive for Jewish Family Services. First they each brought in non-perishable food from home. They counted the classroom tzedakah and took a portion of the money to Kroger, where they each chose two additional non-perishable items. Taking the children to Kroger on Thanksgiving week to buy food for families that need some help is becoming a tradition at JAWC, as this is the second year they have done this. Shopping for basic items to give to people in need reinforces to the children that they have much to be thankful for, and that something as basic food is not to be taken for granted. The kids love doing the self check-out. In the end three boxes of food were given to Jewish Family Services.
For the second Mitzvah project, right before winter break, the students packed and shipped boxes filled with hygiene products, snacks, and candy to deployed servicemen. Their teacher, Erin Scoggins, has a brother serving in Afghanistan who advised her on the items the soldiers need. Some of the students gave names and addresses of people in the military that they know. Our next door neighbor is a Chaplain in Iraq so a package was sent to him. S. and her family had spent Shabbat with a Rabbi and his family at Camp Legune so she felt connected to this mitzvah project, having spent a weekend with military families and soldiers on a base. In addition to needed items, each box contained a class photo, with all of the children dressed in red, white and blue, in front of the American and Israeli flags. Some of the children wrote notes to the soldiers. Even though the packages will arrive well after the holidays, as the holidays were fresh on the kid’s minds, I did see “Happy Hanukkah, I love you” written on one card and heard some discussion between the kids on whether or not it makes sense to write “Merry Christmas” on another. Eleven boxes were sent.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
JAWC Hosts Jewish Children’s Book Author Dina Rosenfeld
This is the full version of the article I'm writing for the Raleigh/Cary Jewish Federation's paper. The paper's version will be much shorter.
It was a cold and snowy day, the first day of winter vacation, yet the Jewish Academy of Wake County was warm and full of happy children. Dina Rosenfeld, author of many Jewish Children’s books, was sitting in a little green chair, teaching an enwrapped audience of twenty children and many adults how to write a children’s book.
She used as an example her book “Peanut Butter and Jelly for Shabbos”. It started on a sheet of yellow lined paper that is covered with sentences and paragraphs all written in different directions, generated through brainstorming. One sentence was circled, the idea behind “Peanut Butter and Jelly for Shabbos.” She then showed the editing process, where the story is refined from a handwritten pages with many corrections to a typed pages with corrections to a finished story that is then put into an envelope and sent to the illustrator. Rosenfeld says “In a picture book, if you talk about something you have to show it.” She showed the illustrator’s process from pencil drawings to full color images and the changes they made along the way to clarify the message of the illustrations. She showed the finished book in its hard cardboard binding.
Next she showed two books in their original form that she had illustrated herself, and how professional illustrators and book designers had continued her work. In one example, the illustrator did something completely different than what she had originally drawn. She said that it’s interesting how two people can interpret a story in two completely different ways. She then showed an original layout of a book where she had created collages of colored paper for the illustrations. In that example the illustrator had used her illustrations as the inspiration for his paintings.
Mrs. Rosenfeld also held up the book “A Kind Hearted Rivka”, translated into many languages, and read the title in all of the different languages. She showed them the same book in Braille, and explained how the Jewish Heritage for the Blind prints books in Braille so that blind adults can read stories to the children in their lives.
The final message of the story “Peanut Butter for Shabbos” is “You’ll only succeed if you’re willing to try.” The children at JAWC had made their own books during the last few weeks, each one fully illustrated with a cover and a story with a beginning, middle, and end. The childen were very proud to share their books with Dina Rosenfeld who said “Everyone can be an artist and make up stories.”
It was a cold and snowy day, the first day of winter vacation, yet the Jewish Academy of Wake County was warm and full of happy children. Dina Rosenfeld, author of many Jewish Children’s books, was sitting in a little green chair, teaching an enwrapped audience of twenty children and many adults how to write a children’s book.
She used as an example her book “Peanut Butter and Jelly for Shabbos”. It started on a sheet of yellow lined paper that is covered with sentences and paragraphs all written in different directions, generated through brainstorming. One sentence was circled, the idea behind “Peanut Butter and Jelly for Shabbos.” She then showed the editing process, where the story is refined from a handwritten pages with many corrections to a typed pages with corrections to a finished story that is then put into an envelope and sent to the illustrator. Rosenfeld says “In a picture book, if you talk about something you have to show it.” She showed the illustrator’s process from pencil drawings to full color images and the changes they made along the way to clarify the message of the illustrations. She showed the finished book in its hard cardboard binding.
Next she showed two books in their original form that she had illustrated herself, and how professional illustrators and book designers had continued her work. In one example, the illustrator did something completely different than what she had originally drawn. She said that it’s interesting how two people can interpret a story in two completely different ways. She then showed an original layout of a book where she had created collages of colored paper for the illustrations. In that example the illustrator had used her illustrations as the inspiration for his paintings.
Mrs. Rosenfeld also held up the book “A Kind Hearted Rivka”, translated into many languages, and read the title in all of the different languages. She showed them the same book in Braille, and explained how the Jewish Heritage for the Blind prints books in Braille so that blind adults can read stories to the children in their lives.
The final message of the story “Peanut Butter for Shabbos” is “You’ll only succeed if you’re willing to try.” The children at JAWC had made their own books during the last few weeks, each one fully illustrated with a cover and a story with a beginning, middle, and end. The childen were very proud to share their books with Dina Rosenfeld who said “Everyone can be an artist and make up stories.”
Friday, October 23, 2009
Overscheduled?
I was talking to a mother about JAWC the other day. “The public magnate school offers electives.” she said. Ok, so we don’t have electives, but every day in addition to general studies the children study modern Hebrew and Judaics. The children at JAWC do not need to enroll in religious or Hebrew school through their synagogues until they are in middle school, so they have much more time after school and on weekends to register in whatever extra-curricular activities they and their parents choose. R. is on a competitive swim team that practices twice a week and has weekend meets once a month, sometimes both days of the weekend. She doesn’t have religious school on Sunday morning to interfere with swim meets. She is also a girl scout and takes piano lessons. With all of these activities, R. still has two completely free afternoons each week. Unless there is a swim meet, every Saturday and every other Sunday are also completely free. Synagogue religious schools have a very important role in the community, but enrolling a child in a Jewish day school, like JAWC, can help keep the child from becoming overscheduled, providing them the time to pursue their interests.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Discussing Size
I often find myself in conversations with parents about how great JAWC has been for my kid. Generally the other parent tells me why they didn’t send their child to JAWC. Often that reason is size related, but usually the fellow parent never looked at the school or talked to Rabbi Aaron about it.
Many parents say “The school is to small" based on conversations they have had with other families who have not sent their children to JAWC. Instead, if the same parents would actually take a good look at what the school has to offer, they may discover something promising. If they then talk about it with fellow parents, a portion of them will also look and some will enroll their kids. The school would no longer be considered “too small”.
The second size related reason is “Socially, my child needs more kids in a class.” I have an extremely social child. Socially, she is perfectly happy in her small class (10 children, k-2). She is friends with every girl in the class. (Boys are almost a different species from the six year old girl’s perspective.) I know that any of those girls can come to my home after school and play quite happily with my daughter, and I’m happy to send her to any of her classmate’s homes. Besides her classmates, she has also maintained friendships from preschool and developed new friendships through extracurricular activities. She has plenty of friends. In a class of 25 kids, how many children is one child really friends with?
I’m not criticizing people for choosing to send their children to other schools after looking at all their options, and some parents do exhaustive research. I am frustrated by the tendancy that some parents have to exclude JAWC from that research because of its size. The small size is not a problem for the children, and if more parents enroll their children each year, it will grow.
Many parents say “The school is to small" based on conversations they have had with other families who have not sent their children to JAWC. Instead, if the same parents would actually take a good look at what the school has to offer, they may discover something promising. If they then talk about it with fellow parents, a portion of them will also look and some will enroll their kids. The school would no longer be considered “too small”.
The second size related reason is “Socially, my child needs more kids in a class.” I have an extremely social child. Socially, she is perfectly happy in her small class (10 children, k-2). She is friends with every girl in the class. (Boys are almost a different species from the six year old girl’s perspective.) I know that any of those girls can come to my home after school and play quite happily with my daughter, and I’m happy to send her to any of her classmate’s homes. Besides her classmates, she has also maintained friendships from preschool and developed new friendships through extracurricular activities. She has plenty of friends. In a class of 25 kids, how many children is one child really friends with?
I’m not criticizing people for choosing to send their children to other schools after looking at all their options, and some parents do exhaustive research. I am frustrated by the tendancy that some parents have to exclude JAWC from that research because of its size. The small size is not a problem for the children, and if more parents enroll their children each year, it will grow.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
She is learning something!
Sometimes while watching R. (6 yrs old) at, for instance, a childrens service at synagogue, I wonder, is she really internalizing all of this information about Judaism that is taught at school? She's not the kid who raises her hand to answer the questions that Rabbi Solomon or Amy Ripps ask during those services. I think she knows the answers and has something to say, but are they at the tip of her tongue?
Finally I saw a sign. R. reported that at practice for a sport she participates in, the coach commented that she didn't see her on Monday. "We have A LOT of holidays." R. said. The coached asked "Rosh Hashana?" Yes, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and then next week we have Sukkot." The coach had never heard of Sukkot, so R. explained. "When the Israelites were in the desert, they didn't have houses or restaurants or grocery stores. They had to build sukkahs." "What's a sukkah?" R. answered "A hut. So we build a hut in our yard for Sukkot, like the Israelites had in the dessert." And then she said "Mommy, she didn't know what a sukkah was, so I had to use the word "hut".
A simple answer. It was right at the tip of her tongue, she felt comfortable answering the question, and was confident in her answer.
Finally I saw a sign. R. reported that at practice for a sport she participates in, the coach commented that she didn't see her on Monday. "We have A LOT of holidays." R. said. The coached asked "Rosh Hashana?" Yes, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and then next week we have Sukkot." The coach had never heard of Sukkot, so R. explained. "When the Israelites were in the desert, they didn't have houses or restaurants or grocery stores. They had to build sukkahs." "What's a sukkah?" R. answered "A hut. So we build a hut in our yard for Sukkot, like the Israelites had in the dessert." And then she said "Mommy, she didn't know what a sukkah was, so I had to use the word "hut".
A simple answer. It was right at the tip of her tongue, she felt comfortable answering the question, and was confident in her answer.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
First Day of School
School started today. Drop-off was a little crowded with all of the parents hanging out while their kids got settled, but there were smiles all around. Everyone was happy to say hello and shmooze a bit after the long summer break, but we couldn't hang out and turn the classroom into a coffee klatch. Morah (teacher) Erin had worksheets ready on the returning students' desks, so that they could jump right back into study. There were new kindergarteners who needed to be shown the ropes. We grown-ups had to get on with our days.
I didn't give school one moment's thought all day. I knew she was in good hands and was probably having a great day. When we went to pick her up she ran out smiling and gave us big hugs. I saw other kids doing the same thing. One K student told his Mom excitedly about a story the Morah Leah had read during Judaics about Bagels. They had read Bagels from Benny by Aubrey Davis. We had recieved this book from the PJ Library program and it's a really good one. One of R's favorites.
R. said when she got home that 1st grade is really different than kindergarten. There is much less playing and no rest period. She was a little annoyed that the new kindergarteners don't have to suffer through rest time like her class did but I'm guessing she'll get over that. It sounded like R. really enjoyed having the new kindergarteners in the mix. I asked if the 1st graders included them during free time and she promised me that they had.
I asked R what she did today that she liked. She said the best part of the day was making three different kinds of playdough, and she described to me the different recipes. When I got home, Morah Erin completed the playdough story with her email reporting on the first day. They made three very different types of playdough for their first science lab, which are being stored till tomorrow when the kids will compare and contrast.
Morah Erin's email also had photos of the kids involved in some of their first day activities. It was nice that she made sure that every kid in the class was in at least one of the photos.
I didn't give school one moment's thought all day. I knew she was in good hands and was probably having a great day. When we went to pick her up she ran out smiling and gave us big hugs. I saw other kids doing the same thing. One K student told his Mom excitedly about a story the Morah Leah had read during Judaics about Bagels. They had read Bagels from Benny by Aubrey Davis. We had recieved this book from the PJ Library program and it's a really good one. One of R's favorites.
R. said when she got home that 1st grade is really different than kindergarten. There is much less playing and no rest period. She was a little annoyed that the new kindergarteners don't have to suffer through rest time like her class did but I'm guessing she'll get over that. It sounded like R. really enjoyed having the new kindergarteners in the mix. I asked if the 1st graders included them during free time and she promised me that they had.
I asked R what she did today that she liked. She said the best part of the day was making three different kinds of playdough, and she described to me the different recipes. When I got home, Morah Erin completed the playdough story with her email reporting on the first day. They made three very different types of playdough for their first science lab, which are being stored till tomorrow when the kids will compare and contrast.
Morah Erin's email also had photos of the kids involved in some of their first day activities. It was nice that she made sure that every kid in the class was in at least one of the photos.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
The Month of May
It's been a whole month since I've posted and the year is coming to a close in a few weeks. We had another guest Rabbi this month. Rabbi Jurovics from Temple Beth Or came to Shabbat circle and told the children a story. Unfortunately I couldn't be there that day, but I just wanted to make a note that each Raleigh synagogue, Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox, has had a Rabbi participate in Shabbat circle at least once this year.
This last month has been really fun. The kids have gone on lots of field trips. They went to the Waste Management recycling facility, the N.C. Museum of Art, a farm with animals, the public library (where they each got their own card) and Strawberry picking.
I organized and led the trip to the art museum and was very pleased by the level of interest and good behavior the kids maintained for the entire visit. We went through all of the galleries currenty open plus hiked through the park to see some of the large outdoor installations. The children made wonderful observations about the artwork they encountered. One of my favorite moments was when we all sat in a circle in a room that had three huge but very different paintings hung, a Keifer, a Stella, and a Katz and the children discussed which one they liked best. The class was split in three, and each group gave a compelling k-1 level reason for liking their first choice. The other thing I noticed was that each child chose the painting that most resembled their own artistic approach!
A cute moment was in front of a painting showing the worship of the golden calf. One child stood their and found all sorts of inconsistencies with her understanding of the story. The museum guard listening to the conversation was both impressed and amused. "Mt. Sinai isn't a big mountain like that, it is a humble mountain. The Israelites wouldn't have dressed like that, etc, etc."
We also had our a school fundraiser this month, a barbeque at one parent's home. It was pouring rain that day and we worried that people wouldn't come. My husband said to me "Why are you so worried. A group of people who like eachother and are getting together to support an organization they care about." Almost everyone who had RSVPed came, and there were a few welcome extras that just showed up. All of the parents helped to make the event happen, and it was such a success.
This last month has been really fun. The kids have gone on lots of field trips. They went to the Waste Management recycling facility, the N.C. Museum of Art, a farm with animals, the public library (where they each got their own card) and Strawberry picking.
I organized and led the trip to the art museum and was very pleased by the level of interest and good behavior the kids maintained for the entire visit. We went through all of the galleries currenty open plus hiked through the park to see some of the large outdoor installations. The children made wonderful observations about the artwork they encountered. One of my favorite moments was when we all sat in a circle in a room that had three huge but very different paintings hung, a Keifer, a Stella, and a Katz and the children discussed which one they liked best. The class was split in three, and each group gave a compelling k-1 level reason for liking their first choice. The other thing I noticed was that each child chose the painting that most resembled their own artistic approach!
A cute moment was in front of a painting showing the worship of the golden calf. One child stood their and found all sorts of inconsistencies with her understanding of the story. The museum guard listening to the conversation was both impressed and amused. "Mt. Sinai isn't a big mountain like that, it is a humble mountain. The Israelites wouldn't have dressed like that, etc, etc."
We also had our a school fundraiser this month, a barbeque at one parent's home. It was pouring rain that day and we worried that people wouldn't come. My husband said to me "Why are you so worried. A group of people who like eachother and are getting together to support an organization they care about." Almost everyone who had RSVPed came, and there were a few welcome extras that just showed up. All of the parents helped to make the event happen, and it was such a success.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Pesach
This year at the Passover seder we got to see our tuition dollars at work. R. was so well prepared for Pesach we were rather blown away.
The day before Pesach bread R. brought home a Hadagadah that she had made in school. Each page was simple. It had the name of one part of the seder written in Hebrew on the top of the page. The pages were printouts, but one each page she had added the vowels into title words that didn't have them, added printouts of prayers or visual clues to the page, or drawn and colored on it. It was obvious that a lot of work had gone into this. It was nicely bound with plastic rings and the cover was laminated. I had a look, complimented her work and stuck it into the bag we were taking out of town. At that time I didn't really expect it to be used at the seder.
The seder night came. We went to my Sister's home were she had 23 people. R. sat down in her seat, ready to start, and the FOLLOWED THE SEDER with her Hagadah from school. When my Brother-in-law announced that we were moving from Kadesh to Urchatz to Karpas, etc, she found the page on her own , looked at her page, listened, and enjoyed feeling like she was a part of it all. Sometimes there was a little back and forth between her and my Brother-in-law or other people at the table..."Are we here yet? Isn't this next?" etc.
Then, she sang the Four Questions, solo. I needed to help briefly by reminding her the first syllable of a word her or there, but basically, she sang it by herself. They had practiced it once every day in school for a couple of weeks and had to practice at home each night. Although R. is not shy, she has stage fright and we did not expect her to pull this off completely.
I am not telling you all of this to brag about my child. Obviously I think my kid is great, but we all have great kids and they all achieve all sorts of things. I'm telling this story to show how well prepared she was for what, in the Jewish world, is an important yearly event. If she is able to enjoy and understand a Passover seder at this level in kindergarten, I really look forward to the depth of experience and understanding that she will have at the Passover seder in a few years, as she advances through the Jewish Academy of Wake County.
The day before Pesach bread R. brought home a Hadagadah that she had made in school. Each page was simple. It had the name of one part of the seder written in Hebrew on the top of the page. The pages were printouts, but one each page she had added the vowels into title words that didn't have them, added printouts of prayers or visual clues to the page, or drawn and colored on it. It was obvious that a lot of work had gone into this. It was nicely bound with plastic rings and the cover was laminated. I had a look, complimented her work and stuck it into the bag we were taking out of town. At that time I didn't really expect it to be used at the seder.
The seder night came. We went to my Sister's home were she had 23 people. R. sat down in her seat, ready to start, and the FOLLOWED THE SEDER with her Hagadah from school. When my Brother-in-law announced that we were moving from Kadesh to Urchatz to Karpas, etc, she found the page on her own , looked at her page, listened, and enjoyed feeling like she was a part of it all. Sometimes there was a little back and forth between her and my Brother-in-law or other people at the table..."Are we here yet? Isn't this next?" etc.
Then, she sang the Four Questions, solo. I needed to help briefly by reminding her the first syllable of a word her or there, but basically, she sang it by herself. They had practiced it once every day in school for a couple of weeks and had to practice at home each night. Although R. is not shy, she has stage fright and we did not expect her to pull this off completely.
I am not telling you all of this to brag about my child. Obviously I think my kid is great, but we all have great kids and they all achieve all sorts of things. I'm telling this story to show how well prepared she was for what, in the Jewish world, is an important yearly event. If she is able to enjoy and understand a Passover seder at this level in kindergarten, I really look forward to the depth of experience and understanding that she will have at the Passover seder in a few years, as she advances through the Jewish Academy of Wake County.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Rabbi Solomon visits Shabbat Circle
Rabbi Solomon from Beth Meyer synagogue was the visiting Rabbi at Shabbat circle on Friday.
When he walked in the door of the K-1 class the three girls that attend Beth Meyer (including my daughter) were so excited they surrounded him, jumping up and down and making lots of happy noise. We had been working on a greeting card project in art, so a few of the kids made cards to welcome him and all the kids had signed their names. Then, the class dragged him around giving a tour of their K-1 classroom. They were so proud to show off their classroom and so excited to have him visit.
At Shabbat circle he began to tell a story about Miriam being the first to brave that first step into the Red Sea. Rather than it being a story that he told, it turned into a lively exchange, as the kids were familiar with the story and wanted to give their two cents as well. With all of the hand raising and back and forth, he did manage to squeeze a good lesson in there about how when something is hard but is the right thing to do, you just need to have faith and take that step.
Then the teachers and kids did the usual Shabbat circle thing, sharing what they had learned and achieved over the week. The first graders showed off their cursive, a few of the kindergartners read a story, and the 2nd-3rd graders read one paragraph each of their social studies essays on the Stamp Act. They sang a fun repetitive chant of the order of the Pesach Seder and the first and last of The Four Questions.
Rabbi Solomon's visit made Friday and Shabbat circle very special for my child. I thank him for coming.
When he walked in the door of the K-1 class the three girls that attend Beth Meyer (including my daughter) were so excited they surrounded him, jumping up and down and making lots of happy noise. We had been working on a greeting card project in art, so a few of the kids made cards to welcome him and all the kids had signed their names. Then, the class dragged him around giving a tour of their K-1 classroom. They were so proud to show off their classroom and so excited to have him visit.
At Shabbat circle he began to tell a story about Miriam being the first to brave that first step into the Red Sea. Rather than it being a story that he told, it turned into a lively exchange, as the kids were familiar with the story and wanted to give their two cents as well. With all of the hand raising and back and forth, he did manage to squeeze a good lesson in there about how when something is hard but is the right thing to do, you just need to have faith and take that step.
Then the teachers and kids did the usual Shabbat circle thing, sharing what they had learned and achieved over the week. The first graders showed off their cursive, a few of the kindergartners read a story, and the 2nd-3rd graders read one paragraph each of their social studies essays on the Stamp Act. They sang a fun repetitive chant of the order of the Pesach Seder and the first and last of The Four Questions.
Rabbi Solomon's visit made Friday and Shabbat circle very special for my child. I thank him for coming.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Morah Erin
I thought I'd write a few words about our K-1 general studies teacher, Morah Erin.
First, Morah Erin has boundless energy. She is a self-starter and is not afraid to dive headfirst into a project involving lots of steps, mess, and effort. Our upcoming Purim carnival is an example. She came up with the idea to host a Purim event for rising Kindergartners and immediately started enlisting help to carry it through. It is an event that is mostly going to be run by the kids. They are working hard making games for the preschoolers to play. I do hope a nice group of the little ones come because I think they'll have a good time playing with the big kids.
Erin is not Jewish, but she has worked as an educator in local Jewish schools for many years. This year she has decided that she will learn to read Hebrew with her K class. When I asked her "Why do you teach at this school?", she said, "Well, for instance, the kids are helping me learn to read Hebrew. I couldn't get that anywhere else." In the parking lot, I heard her thanking a child for helping her read Hebrew today. She made him feel very special. I could see by the smile.
She also said that she likes the fact that she can spend time every day, teaching every child individually. When I asked her this afternoon what she would want me to write about her, she said that this is very important to her. It's her favorite thing about teaching a small class. R. doesn't talk about general studies at school. When I ask her what she did in school that day she usually talks about P.E., recess, and lunch. Yet I see what an improvement there has been in R.'s reading, writing, and math skills. I have noticed that she suddenly has all sorts of information that I didn't teach her.
Erin is not stern. Her classroom is full of laughter and chatter, but there is also discipline. She speaks to the kids and to us very honestly and without mincing words. I remember at the beginning of the year R. was very unhappy that there was a 20 minute rest time every afternoon. I went in with R. to ask Erin what could be done about my child's terribly unhappiness during rest time. Erin, without pause, looked directly at R. and said "Kindergartners have a short rest time every afternoon. That is a time for you to rest quietly on your mat. We don't play or read during that time." R. accepted this as the way things were going to be and hasn't mentioned it again.
While she maintains discipline Erin distributes pounds of goodwill, and encouragement to the kids. She can be sort of cheerleader-like. She's very perky. She is also a very serious teacher and is doing a wonderful job teaching my child. R. has woken up every morning happy to go to school.
First, Morah Erin has boundless energy. She is a self-starter and is not afraid to dive headfirst into a project involving lots of steps, mess, and effort. Our upcoming Purim carnival is an example. She came up with the idea to host a Purim event for rising Kindergartners and immediately started enlisting help to carry it through. It is an event that is mostly going to be run by the kids. They are working hard making games for the preschoolers to play. I do hope a nice group of the little ones come because I think they'll have a good time playing with the big kids.
Erin is not Jewish, but she has worked as an educator in local Jewish schools for many years. This year she has decided that she will learn to read Hebrew with her K class. When I asked her "Why do you teach at this school?", she said, "Well, for instance, the kids are helping me learn to read Hebrew. I couldn't get that anywhere else." In the parking lot, I heard her thanking a child for helping her read Hebrew today. She made him feel very special. I could see by the smile.
She also said that she likes the fact that she can spend time every day, teaching every child individually. When I asked her this afternoon what she would want me to write about her, she said that this is very important to her. It's her favorite thing about teaching a small class. R. doesn't talk about general studies at school. When I ask her what she did in school that day she usually talks about P.E., recess, and lunch. Yet I see what an improvement there has been in R.'s reading, writing, and math skills. I have noticed that she suddenly has all sorts of information that I didn't teach her.
Erin is not stern. Her classroom is full of laughter and chatter, but there is also discipline. She speaks to the kids and to us very honestly and without mincing words. I remember at the beginning of the year R. was very unhappy that there was a 20 minute rest time every afternoon. I went in with R. to ask Erin what could be done about my child's terribly unhappiness during rest time. Erin, without pause, looked directly at R. and said "Kindergartners have a short rest time every afternoon. That is a time for you to rest quietly on your mat. We don't play or read during that time." R. accepted this as the way things were going to be and hasn't mentioned it again.
While she maintains discipline Erin distributes pounds of goodwill, and encouragement to the kids. She can be sort of cheerleader-like. She's very perky. She is also a very serious teacher and is doing a wonderful job teaching my child. R. has woken up every morning happy to go to school.
Monday, March 2, 2009
What the parents like about the Jewish Academy
I've been asked "What do you like about the Jewish Academy?"
There are so many things that I like, that I'm just going to choose my favorite, and then encourage other parents to comment and add their own favorites.
My favorite thing about the Jewish Academy is the atmosphere of happiness. The kids are loved and nurtured. The faculty is warm and approachable. The kids love each other. Everyone is very nice to one another. The teachers and volunteers really care about the total well-being of each child.
I'll give one example that I saw while setting up for art class. A kindergartner had fallen asleep during rest time on a Friday afternoon. The K class rests for 20 minutes every afternoon. The rest of the class got up to go to Hebrew but Morah Erin decided to let this one child sleep. The child was obviously very tired and needed the nap. Rabbi Aaron came into the room and saw that there was a child still asleep on a mat instead of in Hebrew. He stood there looking at the kid for a minute, smiling, and then said something like "Kindergartners are so small. They are still our babies." (paraphrased) Maybe this doesn't speak to all parents, but it speaks to me.
It shows that while the school teaches the kids all of the things they are supposed to learn for their perspective grade, plus Hebrew, Judaics, P.E. and Music, they feel that for a kid to really achieve they must be nurtured, loved and healthy.
There are so many things that I like, that I'm just going to choose my favorite, and then encourage other parents to comment and add their own favorites.
My favorite thing about the Jewish Academy is the atmosphere of happiness. The kids are loved and nurtured. The faculty is warm and approachable. The kids love each other. Everyone is very nice to one another. The teachers and volunteers really care about the total well-being of each child.
I'll give one example that I saw while setting up for art class. A kindergartner had fallen asleep during rest time on a Friday afternoon. The K class rests for 20 minutes every afternoon. The rest of the class got up to go to Hebrew but Morah Erin decided to let this one child sleep. The child was obviously very tired and needed the nap. Rabbi Aaron came into the room and saw that there was a child still asleep on a mat instead of in Hebrew. He stood there looking at the kid for a minute, smiling, and then said something like "Kindergartners are so small. They are still our babies." (paraphrased) Maybe this doesn't speak to all parents, but it speaks to me.
It shows that while the school teaches the kids all of the things they are supposed to learn for their perspective grade, plus Hebrew, Judaics, P.E. and Music, they feel that for a kid to really achieve they must be nurtured, loved and healthy.
It's a common question "Are you still happy with the school?" Yes! We are still happy, and more importantly, R. is still happy. She is very, very happy and loves school. She never complains about getting up and going in the morning.
The kindergarten class is doing great. They are all reading at some level by now. They have all moved into the 1st grade math and 1st grade spelling books. They are all learning to read Hebrew and are each moving along at their own speed.
They are planning a Purim carnival for any rising K kids that want to come. I really hope that some of the preschool parents bring their kids to the JCC on the afternoon it is planned, because our kids are working really hard at making the games for them to play.
The kindergarten class is doing great. They are all reading at some level by now. They have all moved into the 1st grade math and 1st grade spelling books. They are all learning to read Hebrew and are each moving along at their own speed.
They are planning a Purim carnival for any rising K kids that want to come. I really hope that some of the preschool parents bring their kids to the JCC on the afternoon it is planned, because our kids are working really hard at making the games for them to play.
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