By Ellen Lefkowitz, Jewish LearningWorks’ Senior Educator

On February 16, 250 early childhood educators from 18 schools from across the Bay Area came together for Yom Limmud. This was a day of learning to reflect, connect, and be inspired. We had the opportunity to learn from two of our most important teachers in the field, Dr. Lyndall Miller and Dr. Rabbi Meir Muller. They shared with us the power and importance of telling the story of our work through documentation. Each and every day, children are growing and learning through exploration. Documentation captures the wonder of the engagement happening in our classrooms and tells the story of why this is important work for children.

“Lyndall and Meir are truly exceptional presenters. They are deeply knowledgeable in Jewish Early Childhood Education, engaging, funny, thoughtful and really model collaboration and teamwork. I also LOVED that the learning story we all worked on constructing together was focused on a young toddler.”

Other sessions focused on strengthening educators’ Jewish literacy through the values and themes of the Jewish holidays, examining our communication with children, building a healthy teaching team, and exploring new ways of utilizing loose parts. We are so deeply fortunate to have a wealth of knowledge and expertise in our local community. Thank you to our presenters Avril Landes, Denise Moyes-Schnur, Ellen Brosbe, Emma Schnur, Jane Simon, Jodi Gladstone, Judy Massarano, Mykenzie Busser, Jill Rosenthal, Jillian O’Reilly, Fatima Cuvi-Flores, and Yuli Altshuler for sharing their wisdom. We had an opportunity to network with colleagues, share ideas and resources, and apply new tools to our teaching practice.

“The shared experience of delving into the meaning and power of “telling the story” through documentation gave us a common viewpoint and vocabulary to do this important work!”

Our Jewish early childhood community is continually evolving and changing. The educators come from incredibly diverse backgrounds and many of our schools have welcomed in many educators new to the field in the last few years. Yom Limmud was an opportunity for colleagues to think about their school culture, connect their work to core values and best practices in the field, and engage in meaningful conversations with their teams. When we learn and collaborate together, we lift up and celebrate the work of Jewish early childhood education.