Exploring innovative ways to incorporate Jewish values and themes into the daily life of the classroom.
To provide more accessible learning opportunities for all Bay Area early childhood educators, and offer a deeper dive into specific Jewish curricular topics, this program year we have planned three professional learning sessions in lieu of a single community-wide yom limmud.
Learn more about the topics and the facilitators for the fall, winter and spring below. You may register for one, two or all three sessions today!
Making Jewish Tradition Accessible to Preschoolers
Each of these learning opportunities will explore a variety of ways to make Jewish tradition more accessible to our youngest learners. They are ideal for teachers who are new to teaching in a Jewish early childhood setting or teachers who are looking for new ways of bringing Jewish values and ideas to life in the classroom, these three sessions are for you!
- Aimed at: All Bay Area Jewish early childhood educators.
- Structure: Three, in-person training sessions. Each session includes a visit at the host school, lunch, and learning with incredible Jewish educators.
2024-2025 Early Childhood Professional Learning Days
Fall: Weaving Jewish Values into the Fabric of Your Classroom
- Date: Thursday, November 14, 2024
- Time: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Location: Peninsula Jewish Community Center at 800 Foster City Blvd, Foster City, CA 94404
This session will focus on the ways in which an early childhood classroom in a Jewish setting, becomes “Jewish.” We will unpack values that are core to Judaism, explore how to make them accessible to all, and weave them into every aspect of your teaching. It’s more than the holidays!
Using hands-on materials and active exploration, this training will support you in growing your understanding, and personally connecting with Jewish values so that they can be embedded into the daily life of your classroom.
Facilitated by Judi Morosohk, Senior Pedagogy & Leadership Coach at the Efshar Project. She works coaching, mentoring, and training educators and directors in Jewish Early Childhood Centers across the nation. Learn more about Judi here.
Winter: Teaching Israel in Early Childhood Settings
- Date: Wednesday, February 26, 2025
- Time: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Location: Congregation Kol Shofar at 215 Blackfield Dr, Belvedere Tiburon, CA 94920
This session will consider the ways young children can make connections to the people of Israel, the land of Israel from Jewish tradition, and what makes up the modern state of Israel. This session will also be created with current events in mind.
Facilitated by Yafit Shriki-Megidish and Sabrina May. Yafit Shriki-Megidish is Senior Director of Jewish Learning at the JCC East Bay. Her areas of expertise include curriculum development, understanding by design, classroom management and teaching skills, visible thinking, inquiry-based learning and senior educational leadership training, community building, as well as Jewish and Israeli identity. Learn more about Yafit here. Sabrina May, MSc. Education Teaching and Learning at University of Oxford, and Assistant Director of the JCC East Bay Preschool.
Spring: Bringing Jewish Stories to Life Through Artistic Tools and Play
- Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2025
- Time: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Location: Jewish Community Center of the East Bay at 1414 Walnut St, Berkeley, CA 94709
This session will explore the ways in which early childhood educators can bring their classrooms to life through theater and play. The hands-on workshop will offer a range of techniques in the foundations of immersive theater, sensory storytelling, and imaginative play, while also unpacking how they can be utilized in Jewish early childhood classrooms. Together, we’ll explore how to make Jewish tradition more accessible and dynamic for young learners, and their families. This workshop will focus on the Passover story, as well as other stories from the Torah.
Facilitated by Jonathan Shmidt Chapman, award-winning artist, writer, and Jewish educator. As the founder of The K’ilu Company, Jonathan reimagines Jewish early childhood engagement through theater and play. His projects have reached thousands of families and classrooms across the country. Jonathan was named the Covenant Foundation’s inaugural Jewish Family Education Fellow in 2023. He is also the recipient of a Pomegranate Prize, the Jewish Education Project’s Young Pioneers Award, and the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America Medallion Award. Learn more about Jonathan here.
Registration
Cost: $36 per person, per session.
All trainings at Jewish LearningWorks are subsidized by our generous donors. If the cost is a barrier to your participation, do not hesitate to contact us to arrange an adjustment.
Sign up for one, two or all three sessions. No pre-requisites required. Registration is open until the sessions are full.
Questions
Please contact Ellen Lefkowitz, Senior Educator, at ellen@jewishlearning.works for any questions or more information.
