text:
In Their Own Words:
Responses to Constructivist Online Teacher Education in
the Area of
Spirituality, Ritual, and Prayer in the Jewish Early
Childhood Classroom
Miller, M.A.Ed., M.A.J.Ed., M.S.Ed.
for the
International Research Group
Jewish Education in the Early Years
Center for Jewish Education, University
of Haifa
International Forum on Jewish Education,
Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
"We teachers become the model and our faith the
template. No matter what stage or state we are in spiritually, our kindness and
goodness create the raw material for the children in our care. We become the
touchstone for "grace said before meals"; we become "the family experience".
Our Hamotsie, Shabbat, Sh'ma, Havdallah, talk about Mitzvot, our stories from the Torah, and
our everyday reactions to life, (the visible faith of significant adults)
become the medium in which young children get to experience their
faith"(Student, Session 5, 2010).
Many teachers in Jewish early childhood
programs do not have an adequate background in either Judaic knowledge or
up-to-date information about theories and practices in the field of Jewish
early childhood education (Beck, 2002; Vogelstein, 2002). Teachers, who can
come from a variety of Jewish and non-Jewish backgrounds, also do not often
have the opportunity to engage in self-reflection and awareness of their own
reactions to the material that they may be asked to convey (Vogelstein, 2008;
Padva, 2008). The Online Certificate in Jewish Early Childhood Education
at Gratz College was developed to help meet the needs of teachers in
Jewish early childhood programs in terms of 1)awareness of fields of Jewish
study and how these areas relate to foundational concepts in early childhood
education, 2)current thinking in the field of early childhood education at
large and 3)a safe place in which to explore their own attitudes, values, and
beliefs regarding topics essential to Jewish early childhood education.
This paper presents the writings of a cohort
of teachers who decided to engage in further study of Judaism and their role in
the lives of young children in the Certificate program. In this process, they
also unhesitatingly plunged into a deep examination of their own beliefs,
values and attitudes. This paper, necessarily limited in what the author has
learned from this group during the course "Spirituality, Ritual, and Prayer in
the Jewish Early Childhood Classroom," attempts to describe aspects of their
learning process using their own words, with an overlay of the structural
elements that were used in the facilitation of their explorations.
In the Literature
Several studies have indicated that
most teachers in Jewish programs for young children have a low level of Judaic
knowledge and/or are not aware of appropriate ways to integrate Jewish learning
into the daily lives of their classroom children (Beck, 2002; Vogelstein, 2002,
Miller, 2005 ). The educators (both directors and teachers) also have not had
sufficient training in engaging parents, or in creating a Jewish community
within the school (Hendler, 2002; Vogelstein, 2002; Miller, 2005). The
institutions housing these programs frequently do not support the professional
development necessary to optimize the opportunities that they can provide nor
sufficiently reward teachers who pursue advancing their knowledge and skills.
In the area of prayer, specifically, research on the effectiveness of
developing classroom practice by working with educators is difficult to find.
There are materials for assisting adults in creating prayer experiences for
young children that invite adults to examine their own approaches to
(Feldstein, 2010; Miller, 1991), but not research on what happens as the result
of an intensive course on Jewish concepts to both teachers and their classroom
There does exist a burgeoning area of
research on the use of social constructivist learning theory to develop
techniques in early childhood education that promote the development of meaning
as well as the acquisition of knowledge (Beck & Kosnick, 2006). A review of
constructivist learning theory is not within the purview of this paper, but
information about techniques that are derived from this approach will be found
in the Methodology and Data sections below. These techniques were used in the
development of this college course.
It must also be noted that the work undertaken
by the International Research Group on Jewish Education in the Early Years for
the University of Haifa and the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute represents an
important step in moving the state of serious study in the field of Jewish
early childhood education forward. It is hoped that, with the establishment of
this group, the serious research lacunae in our field will be addressed.
Research Questions
What are the apparent effects of a constructivist
theory-based distance learning course about spirituality, ritual and prayer in
the Jewish early childhood classroom on teacher attitudes, values, and beliefs,
and classroom practices as revealed by journal writing? What reasons might be
hypothesized for the appearance or non-appearance of these effects and changes?
In order to understand the responses of the
teachers in context, it is necessary to review the philosophical and structural
components of the course that provoked and facilitated these responses.
Social constructivist learning theory was
used to present traditional Jewish perspectives, values, rituals, and concepts
in the course content. As stated in Beck and Kosnick (2006),
"At the school level, social constructivism implies a
form of learning in which students are fully engaged, find the process
meaningful, and relate ideas to the real world to a considerable extent. Only
in this way can they participate in constructing their knowledge and acquire the
habits that make them lifelong learners. The teacher fosters a culture in the
classroom that supports critical and productive inquiry. There is a strong
sense of community and much collaborative learning...This...ensures the depth of
understanding and experience needed for knowledge construction" (p.2)
Throughout the learning experience, students
were encouraged to follow their own interests within the general areas of
study, to use and share their particular learning gifts, and to apply their
learning directly to the classroom. Reflection, productive disagreement,
experimentation, and sustaining disequilibrium while learning were also
promoted as essential to the learning process (Beck and Kosnick, 2006). The
specific skills sets were derived from constructivist learning theory that
applied to this study included (DeBries, et al, 2002):
Observation of the learners to create a negotiated curriculum
Building on previous knowledge
Engaging the interests of the learner
Encouraging questions
Relying on holistic experience
Using small and large groups for sharing knowledge
Obviously, several elements that are
important to this theory were not included due to time and space requirements,
such as the role of collegiality and the impact of the physical environment. These
elements certainly played a role in the experiences of the students and the
instructor, but will not be reported here.
Course Structure
The course structure reflects the interaction
between Judaism and social constructivism. The course title was Spirituality,
Ritual and Prayer in the Jewish Early Childhood Classroom:
Daily Practices and Shabbat. The
course description and a list of titles can be found in Appendix A.
Description of Students
General characteristics only will be included
in order to protect the identity of the students. It should be noted that
aliases have been ascribed to individuals for this same purpose, and permission
to use students' work was obtained in writing.
The ten students in this course were all
women, were of Jewish or other faiths, and ranged in age from 30 to 56. Those
that were Jewish had a variety of backgrounds and levels of practice. Some were born Jewish, others were Jews by
choice. The institutions at which they worked were Conservative or Reform
synagogues or JCCs. While the distribution of these characteristics in the
group studied may not statistically reflect the group of Jewish early childhood
educators in North America, they appear to be representative of the
professionals in the field in general.
Several factors, however, may have made this
group unique. First, each educator had to apply to the Online Certificate in
Jewish Early Childhood Education, which included filling out an application and
submitting to an interview. The members thus selected agreed to meet once a
month, and also to attend several one or two day retreats during the course of
the Certificate program. By the time they took this course, these students had
already experienced two semesters of work together. The sequence of coursework
already undertaken by this group of educators, and their becoming accustomed to
the social constructivist approach of the overall program, must be considered when
reviewing the results of this particular course.
The journal entries and final projects of
teachers (henceforward referred to as students) for a course on teaching prayer
to young children were first subjected to selective coding based on the
categories below. These categories relate to the specific research question.
Personal beliefs and attitudes toward spirituality, ritual and prayer
Discoveries about Jewish perspectives about spirituality and God
Awareness of the spiritual development of young children
Development of classroom
practices based on constructivist learning theory that can be used to support
the development of spirituality, ritual, and prayer
The first three categories will be reviewed
as they relate to the first five sessions of the course, which focused on the
topics involved. The final category will primarily be explored using entries
from the remaining sessions, which were concerned with continuing learning as
it was rendered into practice. Finally, a hypothesis was developed in an
attempt to explain the interactions between personal beliefs, values,
attitudes, and classroom practices based on the data points discovered in the
coding(Creswell, 2007).
Session 1 Spirituality
The comments in this session,
which focused on the meaning of spirituality to the students, related primarily
to their initial beliefs and attitudes toward spirituality, ritual and prayer.
The following topics emerged out of the coding process.
Many students expressed
surprise at their own reactions to being asked to describe what spirituality
meant to them. In the process, they discovered feelings and ideas of which they
were unaware, and that they then used to reinterpret themselves.
"I guess I have never really
reflected much on spirituality although I usually label myself as in the
"not religious, but spiritual" category. I was struck with the many
ways there are to live a spiritual existence. The working towards social
justice feels like how my own spirituality plays out most of the time. I'm
working to do good things in my life and help others. ...this bringing me a
sense of my own inner peace."
role of spirituality in making meaning out of life was also a recurrent theme:
"Humans are constantly trying
to connect to something larger - it's so hard to think these brief years we
have to live all are there are, we want our short time on this Earth to mean
something. Thus, our need for
meaning-making - to make some kind of sense out of it all, perhaps our need to
create order from chaos (another attempt at meaning-making). The elements of mystery and awe make our
attempts compelling, joyful, beautiful - in short, are what make us continue
seeking the answer to the question 'what is it to be human?'"
The use of the everyday world
to reach transcendence was marked in the students' responses:
To reach a higher plane of
transcendence or immanence ..., we often have to practice more mundane and
practical forms to get to the more ephemeral outcome of spiritual fulfillment...
We all must find our own spiritual paths, mine happens to be one rooted in
concrete details but through the medium of prayer, art, music and human
connections. Through these, I am able to
experience God and bring the sacred into my life.
This is an important
perception for teachers of young children who rely on sensory experience to
discover spirituality.
Students also struggled with
their perceptions of the conflict between spirituality and religion, and their
worry that approaching prayer and ritual would limit rather than support
spiritual development:
"Spirituality, to me, is a moment of clarity, uncomplicated,
when we are as in touch with the wonder, the magic, the beauty of the animating
force in the world as a child. Religion attempts to get us there, sadly too
often with resounding failure. Approaching spirituality through "acquiring
knowledge, constructing knowledge" (Tisdale), or through proscribed
prayer, ritual, study, even meditation (Arthur Green) for many of us only
serves to intimidate us, distance us; gets in the way of a natural aptitude for
d'vekut, (cleaving to god). Sonsino (Jewish Lights Spirituality Handbook, p.9)
quotes Dr. Martin Cohen that spirituality is "the effort... to attune to the
impulses and rhythms of the universe..." .... A child, unencumbered, seems to
have an affinity for God without making any effort at all."
This category of interest
continued to surface during the class, with changes in attitude.
Session 2 God concepts
comments in this session, which presented Jewish perspectives on God and
spirituality, fell primarily into the following category of discoveries about
Jewish perspectives about spirituality and God. This was clearly a very
challenging topic for the students. They were required only to read, listen,
talk, and ask questions, and not necessarily to express a belief system. They
were forthright about their personal struggles with concepts about God:
In the last ten years I have
had times when I felt very close to God. Other times I have felt as far away as
possible. It is a struggle to maintain a balance in the relationship. The pendulum
swings in both directions. As my faith grows I then become complacent, and
suddenly I cannot relate to G-d, I wonder if it is all for naught. Then when
I'm feeling dried up and distant, a warmth, a light, a sense of mystery and
wonder wash over me and I find myself again on the journey to experience the
I find that I constantly have to mentally
"translate" writing about "G*d" into writings about god!
There is so much that is anthropomorphic and otherwise outside of my direct
experience that I feel like a stranger in this milieu. But I have my own ideas
and feelings about god, and feel confident talking to children about my
excitement and joy about all that "god" is.
Concerns about talking about
God were not limited to personal beliefs. There were many comments indicating
worry about constraining children's spiritual development and affecting their
relationships with God:
I think I have had a
difficult time in the past talking to children about God because of my 'hang
ups' about trying to explain something that is not really explainable. I have
also wanted to avoid personifying God in anyway, so as not to confuse the
children. As a young child, I definitely believed that God was an invisible man
capable of being everywhere all the time. As an adult I of course no longer
believe that, and I don't think that this 'force' or 'source' we say is God is
at all judging or 'watching' me. So, the
challenge for me in talking about God with young children would be to be able
to explain such an abstract concept in a way that helps them to relate.
Through the reading and
coursework, the students began to feel that they could address their concerns
by using Jewish frameworks about God (such as Torah stories), and by
facilitating questions and discussions:
I want the children I work
with, as well as my own children to question... What is God? How can God be
everywhere? How can nothing look like God? If I am made in God's Image does God
look like me? Does God have a body? Is God a boy or a girl or both?
using these frameworks presented challenges, however:
When I'm with young children,
I feel stuck in my relationship to God. I falter at bringing what I feel deep
inside me to the external environment of the classroom. Intellectually, I know
that by bringing my own inner spiritual realm to the children I may be in fact
opening a door for them in their own spiritual development. The God that can not be defined, the God that
is as Lawrence Kushner says in his children's book, everywhere, can not be reconciled with the same concept of God
that appears in the Torah flooding the earth, speaking to Moses, etc. For me at least, this is the struggle of
bringing the concept of God to the
children with whom I work.
also recognize the intuitive abilities of the children to reach out to God in
ways that can be illuminating for adults:
When I asked one of my
students last year, "What is the light on Yom Rishon? The light that we
know the sun and the stars were not created until Yom Revi'i. She replied
"Oh... that light, that was just God himself."
Ultimately, the task we face
is that of inspiration, not just rote learning. In the process, the children,
again, can facilitate the spiritual experience of the adults:
All this
being said, I think that getting children to talk about God is easy, getting
them to perform religious traditions is also easy, but getting them to have
spiritual awareness is challenging. To experience transcendence in a
conscious way is something that I don't think that young children are capable
of - transcendence on a subconscious level is something they do more
intuitively than adults - spontaneously dancing when they hear a Sukkot song on
a guitar or seeing God as being everywhere - it is the act of teaching
spirituality which is difficult - feeling spirituality is something they do
already, something that we can't teach, only inspire.
Inspiring requires a careful
self-examination of the teacher as a model for children and their families,
however. This is a role that is challenging for these students, who believe in
a constructivist approach. How does one provide both structure that is needed
for guidance, and the openness necessary for finding one's own path? This, of
course, is one of the ultimate challenges of using a constructivist model for
teaching tradition:
In a
play/experience-based learning environment, one "inspired" by Reggio
ideas and methods promoting a Jewish agenda seems a fundamental contradiction.
I understand that the Reggio philosophy takes children where and who they are, within
a socio-cultural context, to deepen their understanding and participation
within that environment - and that is where the Jewish element comes into play
in our schools. However, for so many
families, embarking on a Jewish education for their very young children is also
a first step in their own (re-)connection to Judaism. So which perspective does a preschool teacher
take regarding God and spirituality?
Ultimately, the teacher's point of view, emphasis or interests often
becomes the de facto standard in the classroom - no matter how objective,
inclusive or non-judgmental the teacher seeks to appear.
The self-awareness and
knowledge that the students were investigating appears to be necessary work for
Jewish early childhood educators in constructivist classrooms.
Session 3 Ritual
In this session, the purpose
was to have the students think about what the term ritual denotes, and how
rituals, either Jewish or personal carry meaning for them. The overall category
was: personal beliefs and attitudes toward spirituality, ritual and prayer. According
to the students' responses, ritual included general characteristics, as well as
specific content.
The opportunity to reflect on
ritual allowed the students to realize the power of repeated, meaningful acts
in their own lives, whether connected to Jewish practice or not.
My ritual of sitting in the back yard each
morning is life-affirming, and brings me closer to the Divine, although I would
not necessarily call it religious. It's my way of greeting the life around me,
and giving thanks for being a part of it.
A number of
students related to ritual through the routines that they engage in with family
members. In their work, it became apparent that the rituals were not mindlessly
performed, but carried a lot of intentional connection with family members. The
routines themselves eventually symbolized these connections.
In the
morning my daughter always comes into our room and gets into bed with us. We
cuddle and enjoy the brief moment of calm and togetherness before getting ready
for our day at work and school. At night we have a bedtime routine that
involves reading books, writing down her favorite part of her day in her
journal, singing songs, then tucking her into bed. We also eat breakfast as a
family every morning...It's almost like a dance how when we are out of bed, we
automatically flow into our breakfast/morning ritual/routine.
Food, care, and ritual go
together even when families have older children:
My husband
said his mother always made him breakfast and put together his lunch... So I gave it some thought, and decided this
would be my gift to my children - a memory of care and support and love - all
wrapped up in a recyclable brown paper bag ... and a reusable tote...
Interestingly, physical
exercise was described as a ritual by a number of students:
I have
used my ritual of dance to organize my thoughts and to prove to myself that I
can attempt just about anything. Building strength in my body has strengthened
my conviction. It has given me confidence to make changes, take chances and to
become more in touch with what I want, what I can do and who I want to be. I
truly value my time in the studio when I reach that special place between the
music the moves and my mind. When I finish dancing I feel refreshed, and at
peace. Life seems a little less chaotic.
Each of the students indicated that they felt that ritual
was indeed important to them, while not all of the rituals were connected
specifically with Jewish life. However, there was a recognition that rituals
allow humans to stop and reflect on what is of significance to them, to
recenter themselves and to connect to others. As such, adults need to provide
children with the opportunity to develop the disposition to engage in rituals:
children about ritual is important, but more important is practicing this kind
of higher seeking with them; giving them the foundation, the inclination, the
provocations and their responses, and embedding these into their very selves...
As someone who has been informed by another kind of practice, and who cherishes
the foundation that my parents established in me, I am convinced of the value
of instilling in my own children, and in the children in my classroom, this
gift of a certain propensity to seek higher meaning.
The students saw ritual as being of significant
importance, even if they weren't yet all convinced of the efficacy of religious
Session 4 Prayer
as an adult experience
this session, students dealt with challenging issues involved in prayer, which
included the categories of personal
beliefs and attitudes toward spirituality, ritual and prayer, discoveries about Jewish
perspectives about spirituality and God, and discoveries about Jewish prayer
and ritual
instructor felt that it was necessary for the adult students to take one more
look at how they and others in their contexts related to prayer as an adult
experience before attempting to explore how they might engage children in both
ritual and prayer. The resulting comments indicated a wide range of responses
to both the challenges and benefits of prayer. This topic also gave us another
chance to review concepts and feelings about God.
students did not find traditional prayer to be useful for themselves, although
they understood how they "worked" for others:
Personally speaking, I often struggle with
prayer as a practice in my spiritual life, and struggle even more with prayer
as it is recited collectively during the services. There are times when I do feel like the
prayers I'm chanting are taking me inward, into a heightened sense of intimacy
with what I would describe as my soul... As has been the case with me, I think
for many adults the prayers in the traditional siddur that are always said the same
way, in the same cadence, there is no moving beyond the words. For some, collective recitation becomes dry,
and feels tedious and becomes laborious.
The students' relationship with God could strongly
affect the prayer experience:
I think for some people,
traditional prayer is what suits them... I on the other hand do not necessarily
feel that this suits me. I believe in mindfulness, and intention. I do not feel
the power behind the prayers I was raised in synagogue with...I just personally
do not find them powerful for me. I tend to be a spontaneous pray-er. I pray in
the moment when I am moved to do so. Perhaps this has something to do with the
fact that I don't use the word 'God' when I think of praying, or giving thanks.
found that communal prayer did speak to them. In fact, for some, the traditional structures provided
the necessary support for adults to have a spiritual experience:
readings suggest (as does my personal experience) that for adults prayer is
work... We follow a script which is based on spiritual talk. We don't
talk to God through our personal petitions, but through the repetition of the
script which is prayer... For so many of us adults who are able to have
internal dialogue about whether God exists, etc., we need something which is a
ladder to bridge our skepticism - a ritual or routine which keeps us grounded
so that we can get ungrounded. Spirituality is work, but work which
ultimately is about letting go - a contradiction in itself.
Some students found that particular settings released
the power of prayer:
Being in nature had a great
impact on how I connected with God and my community. I first connected with the
melodies of the prayers. The music set the mood of the prayers. The words and
their meaning came later. I became aware of my emotions when I recited these
prayers and how they evoked these feelings. Sometimes I will find myself
humming one of the melodies when I am feeling wonder or awe. It is during these
times that I am unable to verbalize what I am feeling but the melody just fits
the moment. I guess that could also be prayer.
Ideas about God abounded in their writings, from
clear statements of connection to further musings about God's nature and their
own relationship with God:
I am struck by the concept
in our reading of prayer as a way of learning how to identify with god [sic]. I
also think adults who find prayer meaningful use it as a way to feel not alone...I
would call that feeling loved. For some people, I think there is a lack of
trust about allowing themselves to feel loved like that, comforted by a
presence, and I suspect that has a lot to do with a distrust of all the
messages we receive regarding some judging guy in the sky either liking you or
Several note that one's engagement with prayer changes as
one develops, a topic that will be covered more thoroughly in the next session
on the spiritual development of children:
I know that recently for me
during prayers at high holidays or when I go for Shabbat has become more
meaningful. The songs have had more meaning for me even though the words
haven't changed just because of personal life experiences...With each personal
significant event whether good or bad, I think prayer becomes more gratifying
for me.
One student wrote
particularly eloquently about why prayer did NOT have meaning for her, or for
most of the people that she knows. At the end of her entry, however, she
But even
those of us who are not as "natural" at it come to the idea that
putting something in place in life, a placeholder - to save a time (like
Shabbat) in which you pause to regain contact with the higher part of
life, to remind you not to just endlessly trundle along, but that there is
something else, that you are something else, that others seek
this too, that you can seek it together, simultaneously, that this very seeking
is the thing you're seeking - is worthwhile. For us, prayer is a mysterious,
beckoning part of this seeking, a possibility to try out.
One of the goals of this course was to have
students reach the conclusion that prayer held these possibilities, but they
needed to discover this potential for themselves. Another goal was for students
to realize their importance in conveying the capacities of prayer to families. One student wrote:
families come together for their children's sake over Jewish preschool
ceremonies, they might discover the surprising satisfaction of participating in
ancient rituals and adopt elements from the liturgy's framework (sometimes
unknowingly) as part of their own mealtime, bedtime or playtime habits.
Children, with their innate spirituality and natural sense of awe, might just
lead their significant adults in "taking the first step toward God..."
This examples are but a few of the musings of the
students on their relationships to prayer. Through their work and interaction,
it seemed that they were beginning to see that prayer, while challenging, might
be rendered meaningful in the classroom. In the next session, the students
learned more about how prayer, ritual, and ideas about God could be made
accessible to the children that they taught.
Session 5 Spiritual development in
the early years
Comments and observations in this section
focus on the category of the awareness of the spiritual development of young
Based on
their comments, until they had enrolled in the Online Certificate of Jewish
Early Childhood Education, the students had not been aware of this area of
study. Although the basic concepts had been studied in an earlier class, the
topics of this course gave us the opportunity to go more in depth in terms of
how young children of particular ages respond to ideas about God, to the use of
sensory experiences, and being a member of a group. In addition, students began
to pay closer attention to ideas of ultimate meaning and value that young
children were exploring. Examples follow.
looked at ways to both encourage questions and explore expressions of ideas
about God:
I want the
children in my care to feel safe in their exploration with spiritual ideas and
images of God. I want to support them on their journey and also let them know
it is okay to ask questions. I want them to know there is more than one way to
interpret events and their ideas are valid and important... I often ask the
children "what do you think?", or "why do you think this
happened or is this way?" I like to give them the power to work things out
with their words and minds. I want them to ask questions too. By asking the
questions it lets them discover new things and challenges me to discover new
things as well. I often discover that a child opens my mind to a new way of
thinking about something.
The implications for the classroom environment in
terms of the sensory experiences that were available were noticed:
inspired me to make our classroom setting more magical and mystical. I also
want to bring in more nature and reflect more on God's creations with the
The connection between
beauty and spirituality mentioned in session one was made more explicit:
I want to be mindful too of "awareness
sensing" - how I can stimulate the mysteries of a child's world with
Students were already using "circle time" to
create the sense of a group; now they could see that the feelings of connection
ran even deeper:
Knowing that the children teach can form their own
spiritual identity based on the mutual experience of a group, gives me a lot of
optimism that all the time and effort we put into circles that include prayers
and songs like Thank You God, are creating a valuable spiritual experience for
the children, not just planting seeds for the future.
There was
true respect developing for the seriousness of the spiritual seeking of the
young child:
I already intuitively knew that children have mystery
sensing, the feeling of awe they so often express, but I did not realize how
seriously their search for values and deeper meaning can be.
As students became more comfortable with the
concepts of spiritual development, they also became more relaxed in talking
about spirituality, prayer, ritual, and God:
This is
the first year I have felt comfortable reading books to the children that
contain G-d. Where I was hesitant
before, I realize now that emphasizing my own rational way of viewing the world
may have hindered earlier class's potential to wonder and feel that sense of
awe that can lead to spiritual experience.
Now I strive to provide the space for the entire classroom community,
including myself.
Thinking about the
children's development allows the adults to reflect on their own growth. It
appears that the work of the students also may be having an effect on other
adults in the school, and even school culture:
As I reviewed the reading
material for this session I realized that I have a deeper spiritual connection
to the daily classroom experience. This includes the teaching team, the
curriculum, and above all the children. [In the past, we] shied away from
everything that had to do with G-d, except for Shabbat, and that was rushed and
by rote...what resonated most with me was the section dealing with culture and
'what must be provided' in order to foster spiritual development and
awareness. How we respond to children's
questions, how we create a space for children, their families, and ourselves to
ask questions and share sacred moments sets the tone and provides a safe
environment for discovery.
Sessions 6-15 Transition
to practice
In these sessions, students focused on specific Jewish
practices in the areas of ritual and prayer. Techniques and approaches that are
used in constructivist-based programs were discussed in terms of selecting and
designing experiences to engage children in these practices ( DeVries, et al,
2002; Ismat, 1998; Fosnot, 2006). The following processes will be noted
in the creation of classroom experiences:
Building on previous knowledge
Engaging the interests of the learner
Relying on holistic experience vs. cognition only
Using small and large groups for sharing knowledge
article will cite a few examples of the use of the concepts explored above and
their infusion into the learning and practices of the students in their
classrooms. Also very relevant to this study was the use of the techniques
above in engaging children in specific Jewish content. In particular,
the students attempted to:
Deepen the meaning of blessings
Add daily morning blessings and prayers
Extend the weekly Shabbat experience
Include families in Jewish experiences
Advocate for more Jewish spiritual content in their institutions
Process and content interacted in ways that enhanced
each area.
Students, as in common among
early childhood educators, tended at first to report what they did specifically
and what the children did in general. The instructor continued to ask the
students to describe the children's actions and words as precisely as possible.
Students were often surprised by what they discovered, and made decisions to
change practices. The importance of observation in general appears to have been
I'm always watching and
noticing how the children and parents are reacting, participating, looking
content or uncomfortable - simply to gauge how their connections to the rituals
is developing, if they're understanding the process, if the children's
attention span is waning (and anticipating what I can leave out, substitute or
speed through),
and if the group as a whole is hanging together. Purposefully observing (as best I could while
leading the blessings), however, caused me to take more specific mental notes.
following discovery lead directly to a change in practice:
I asked the children at our end of day Shalom circle if they know why we say
the Sh'ma. One answered, "So we know it's the end of the day." Many
others just didn't know. So, it is obvious to me that we need to spend some
more time with this prayer; talking about what it means, and saying it twice
during the day rather than once.
were specifically asked to observe what happened in classrooms during the
saying of Brakhot. One student responded that the children in one group were
giggling, wiggling, and saying the blessing before snack very loudly. The
student observer noted that this large group performance did not seem to have
much internal meaning. However, later that same day, she watched a child
correctly saying and acting out all of the blessings for Shabbat in the
dramatic play area, smiling and paying careful attention, all on her own! This
student planned on paying a lot more attention to snack time in the future.
student used observations to understand children's readiness to talk about God:
children have been bringing God up on their own during small group activities.
This was one reason I chose this book to read, as it would possibly build on
their curiosity and ideas about God. They enjoyed what pieces of the book I
read to them, and kept asking for ''one more page" before I left for my lunch
role of observation in changing classroom experiences will be made even more
obvious in the section below on specific approaches to Jewish content.
on previous knowledge
began to see, through their study of Jewish prayer and ritual, the confluence
of daily life and the creation of meaning from a Jewish perspective. For
example, children's natural interests provided a basis for B'rakhot, the very
noticing of details and the enjoyment of existence:
One of my
kids always brings me teeny tiny little things on the tips of her fingers.
"Look whadeye find," she tells me, right as I am trying to get that
darned snack on the table, or transitioning 12 kids through the halls to the
courtyard. Each little bead, or leaf, or sparkle, or sticker, or even a smushed
piece of dust, to [Elly] is a wonder "such as this in the world".
The student herself had been entranced by the blessing
that concludes "Who has such in His universe."
Another teacher who wanted to introduce morning blessings
based the introduction on everyone's experiences (teachers and children):
I have begun
to ask the children questions about what they do when they wake up in the
morning I have had some very interesting responses...Both myself and my co-
teacher have talked about what we do and see when we wake up in the morning
potential of prayer for expressing happiness and gratitude through song was
related directly to a classroom moment. One teacher asked the children:
We were
singing Jewish words that meant Let us have song to fill our mouths as full as
the sea and long ago the Jewish people sang this when they were so happy and
grateful. What happens in your life to
make you want to sing? I remember when [Brian]
was playing legos and sitting there singing while he played. Do you remember that?
also asked children to talk about other experiences they had had that were then
tied into the prayers and rituals that the students wanted to introduce.
Engaging the interests of the learner
Attention to preparation for ritual
and prayer continued established interest based on observation and experience. Spending
time getting ready for B'rakhot and Shabbat experiences seemed to make a big
difference to the involvement of the children:
At the morning circle I introduced
the idea by way of our pictorial schedule.
The children noticed the lunch card contained a smaller story card on
top. This was to show that a story would
happen during lunch, versus after, which is usually the case. This was the only
visual difference, but it gave me a way to introduce the idea of having a
Shabbat lunch together as one group, sitting at one table. We talked about how people gather on Friday
nights for Shabbat dinner in homes, and that since we are not together on
Friday nights, it would be fun to gather for a Friday lunch. The response was
one of enthusiasm.
Participating in changing the environment could be
particularly exciting!
The portion
of preparation that continues to be the most rewarding and exciting for the
children is moving the furniture together.
This entails them each taking an area on three of the four sides of the
long table with me at the head. I give instructions, and we move it together.
It is very serious, but now that we've done it three or four times I'm noticing
some group humor emerge during the process (this group loves humor, and they
enjoy experiencing it together).
Relying on holistic experience vs. cognition only
Words and cognition were used
to capture but not contain spiritual moments. Sensory experience, as noted earlier as
important for children's spiritual development, was often emphasized:
Because we promote
experiential learning through play, the environment is rich in potential. As is appropriate for toddlers' concrete
understandings and knowledge formation, the classroom includes many Jewish
ritual objects just begging for experimentation, new insights and traditional
blessings over food have a built in sensory component as well. One student
combined noticing what would be eaten with allowing children to dramatize the
source of the food (e.g., a tree for borai pri ha'adamah). Others have
had the children hold up the food that they are excited about before saying the
Shabbat provided many
opportunities for using the senses to engage with ritual and prayer. This
student focused on handwashing:
Washing hands in warm soapy
water is something kids love. It is sensory, comforting, warm and wet, smells
good, feels very good...I wanted to incorporate it into Shabbat preparation, and
perhaps find a much nicer vessel and pitcher than a plastic tub to do it in.
Both of these rituals, preparing the table and washing hands, have a narrative
content that assists children in thinking about Shabbat as a special ritual we
partake in that makes us happy and content. Additionally, children
participating in these rituals have a sense of the role they are to play to
contribute to the joy.
Some teachers went further in
exploring the kinesthetic potential of ritual and prayer, with an expectation
of significant results:
The V'ahavta
Deuteronomy 6:5-9 is a full body prayer in my opinion. It talks about loving God with all your mind
and body and strength. I would like to
physicalize it for young students - have them act out love, mind, body, etc...The
movements they came up with reflect the full body references of the prayer and
the love and enthusiasm that we are commanded to feel for God's words...It is
my hope that through this process they felt a little of the immanence of God's
presence in the world.
The importance of using a
holistic approach to ritual and prayer seemed to be well-accepted by the group.
For example, one student wrote:
From this course (and my own
teaching) I have learned how possible it is for young children to achieve real
spirituality. In some ways, it is easier
for them to merge their bodies and minds when they experience anything
including transcendence... the way we as educators introduce any new prayer or
ritual must be done in a way that makes it accessible to young children, not
just logical to us.
experience not only supports learning, but the expression of personal meaning
as well:
[We need to] support the
children's growing desire to participate in the blessings and rituals - not as
social performance, but as self-discovery and an expression of their own
connection to what is happening in the moment [such as] Shabbat.
therefore realized that ritual and prayer, and connecting to ideas about God,
did not depend on rote words and rituals. The children could engage in them in
a holistic way, with their "whole" beings.
The students appeared to
truly appreciate the invitation to both themselves and the children to ask
Today I was teaching my
kindergarten Hebrew school class and I was telling the story of God creating
Adam. I mentioned that God took the earth (Adamah) to form the first boy and
girl and then breathed life into them. One little girl asked," But how
could they be made of the earth we aren't made of the earth?" A boy
answered, "We really came from other animals." Another said.
"No, we came from clay and I have a book at home that tells how God did
it." We all wondered how it could be that we are bones and blood and skin
now and not earth. One little girl commented that "Maybe we just have a
bit of the earth in us so we will know we are part of it." Oh so very
insightful at age five! What could I say to that other than wow! You guys have
some great ideas. [The coursework] helped me just sit and listen to what they
wanted to know and what they needed to figure out. I did not feel that I need
to explain anything just give them the space to talk about it among themselves
with a little guidance to keep them on track.
They found that they as
adults needed to keep investigating their own thoughts and feelings in order
help the children develop their own:
Moreover, when adults are
asked to consider their own earliest joys, confusions and explanations for the
mysteries of life, they can recognize bits of their own spiritual evolution.
And, perhaps, they will begin to understand the importance of pulling back a
bit from telling-showing-giving every answer to every question - just enough
to encourage the blossoming of children's naturally developing spirituality in
a personally meaningful way. To support
and enrich, but not to prejudice.
Although children sometimes think we have all the answers, we don't -
THEY do. It is essential to give children their own thoughts and voices back.
course, questions continue to be an important part of the
observation-experimentation-evaluation-planning cycle for adults:
Together we'll ask questions
such as how can we bring in more joy?
More reflection? How can we engage our students in the beauty of Shabbat
aside from doing the blessings by rote, singing the same old songs, and trying
to maintain order on the carpet?
small and large groups for sharing knowledge
One of the sessions leading
up to the final projects emphasized the use of small groups for investigation
and then bringing the results to the large groups. At least two students used
this approach in a very deliberate way. In each instance, the students
facilitated a kinesthetic development of a blessing or prayer. In the first
instance, the children worked on HaMotzi:
Before lunch, the children who
made up the actions stood in front of the group and demonstrated the actions
and told of their classmates what the actions meant. We have done the blessing
this way many times. Sometimes the children will request to say the blessing
with the motions. While I was working for a co-teacher in our afternoon program
I witnessed one of the children from my class showing another child from
another class the motions that went along with the blessing. This was a moment
when I knew she understood the blessing because she was choosing to share her
knowledge with others.
student who worked on the Shema and V'Ahavta also started with a
small group:
Building on the success of our
sign language Shema - where movement helps children remember and understand
words in another language, I worked with a few of my students who are 4-5 years
olds to come up with their own physicalization for the prayer. They were
creating and expressing their own ideas, using some fundamental concepts that they
had already learned (such as, motions can represent ideas/words).
I think that teachers in
general would have more success with engagement in prayer with young children
if they promoted a small group approach. Often, the interest that the small
group is able to maintain attracts others, who, at that point, also become
genuinely involved.
The use of the interest of
small groups to provoke an investigation by the larger group is a basic
technique employed in schools informed by social constructivist learning theory
(Beck & Kosnick, 2006).
ideas about God
Students continued to work on
talking to children about God. Although
still careful and concerned about indoctrination, there was a sense of honoring
the ongoing efforts needed to encounter ideas about God:
As I began this process of
thinking about how to introduce more prayer, and God moments into my classroom
I was faced with some intense realizations about my own struggle with God talk.
I realized that I have not encouraged much exploration about God in the
classroom in the past. I did not discourage it, I just have not consciously
provided the space for it. It had always felt like a heavy topic, one that I
didn't feel equipped to handle. I also have my own issues about how God is
talked about, and I felt conflicted about perpetuating an idea that I didn't
agree with. Specifically, I do not think of God as a being, that hears or can
see me, or can punish me. However, I do believe that I am part of something
much bigger and mysterious, and that we all have a part to play. I experience
gratitude, awe, and amazement in the adventures I have within this reality.
This feeling of being connected to something larger, feeling special, and
consciously engaging in moments of awe is what I would love to experience with
the children in my classroom. Once I
became aware of what my own thoughts and hold ups were about God talk, I was
able to accept them, and move towards providing a safe space for the children
to go through their own process in beginning to think about God.
structures of Jewish practice and the meanings that had been explored for
prayers and blessings played a role in allowing teachers to become more
comfortable with talk about God:
I have felt that by beginning
our day with the Modeh/ah Ani, and the Sh'ma we are starting our day of
learning in a more grounded manner. It gives us a foundation for creating more
God talk in the classroom. I feel more comfortable now than I did at the start
of the semester, engaging in prayer with the children, and even mentioning God.
I hope to keep on being a supportive learner alongside the children as they
continue to grow and experience the awe of the wonders God created.
the entire group eventually became convinced that God-talk was necessary at
some level. For example:
After the readings however, I
am more aware of the need and responsibility to facilitate the space for
children to have their own experience developing their spirituality. I respect
and understand that part of my job as a teacher and a parent is to allow for
the opportunity to learn all that they can learn, to take in all that we expose
them to, in particular ways in understanding how amazing and wonderful the
universe and life are. I absolutely wish to help keep children's minds and
hearts wide open to possibilities and wonderment. In order to do this, I must
allow 'God talk' to happen naturally... I realize now that I don't have to
respond to [a child] in a way that gives her definitive answers or truths. I
just need to allow her the space to talk about it, and inquire, and for me to
respond with honesty and a tone that implies God is something worth talking
the meaning of blessings
appeared to be a part of every classroom in which the students worked before
they took part in the class. However, the nature of the experience of these
blessings seemed to change during the course of the semester. After a long
conversation at the snack table about when blessings were said, a student made
the following observation:
Some of the things I noticed
about this conversation are the children were able to connect blessings with
actions. Most of the answers the children gave during our conversation were
blessings that have an action associated with them; eating challah, lighting
candles, lighting the shamash. The children also recognized blessing as giving
thanks and sending good thoughts to our friends who are ill.
about blessings naturally led to more interest in God:
When we explore the blessing,
talk about what the words mean, and the reason for saying the blessing it
becomes real for the children. Children learn from imitating behaviors of those
around them. I found that almost all of the children knew the words to this
particular blessing but did not know why we were saying it or what the Hebrew
words meant in English. When we discussed the blessings the blessings became
more meaningful and we also explored our partnership with God. We talked about
God creating the wheat but humans need to take what God provided us with and
turn it into something else. Bread could not be made without either of the
partners. These discussions heightened our awareness of the wonder we
experience every day. It also illustrates how we all have a role in the
creation of our world.
It appeared that the children
were finding ways of making meaning through saying B'rakhot. One of the
students who had worked first with a small group and then with her class
While I was working for a
co-teacher in our afternoon program I witnessed one of the children from my
class showing another child from another class the motions that went along with
the blessing. This was a moment when I knew she understood the blessing because
she was choosing to share her knowledge with others. I feel most of the
children in my class have a solid grasp of what they are saying when they say
HaMotzi. The blessing has become a part of them.
observation supported the above assumption:
I started this project with a
different plan but what emerged in the process is a solid foundation for the
children to build on. I think the children understand what they are saying, are
more actively engaged in what they are doing and are more focused. They have
brought it from rote to real.
daily morning blessings and prayers
In addition to working on
blessings of appreciation for food and sensory experiences, many of the
students became very interested in including prayers with their morning circle
times. They related the use of these prayers to the children's own experiences,
as mentioned above, and to using those experiences positively:
...morning blessings afford an
opportunity to think about the day ahead, and thinking and planning at this age
are newly emergent skills we spend a great deal of time supporting so the
children can scaffold their knowledge.
Morning blessings in my experience are joyful, and while modah/eh ani
and elohai neshama are traditionally about gratitude that the breath or the
soul have returned, they are also about being grateful for oneself and I really
like the idea of teaching the children to be grateful for themselves as well as
other things in their lives... The children can imagine themselves waking up and
greeting themselves in the morning.
Morning prayers also gave
students the chance to think about how to connect what they have learned about
sensory engagement, young children, and spirituality:
I felt even though the
Modeh/ah Ani is traditionally said upon waking up in the morning in one's bed,
that it would be appropriate to say it at school, because in a way we are
'waking up' to a new day of learning at school. Upon arriving at school, we
engage our senses in a way that is particular to the environment. We open our
eyes to see what is put out for us to engage with, we touch the materials,
listen to the voices, and perhaps smell something yummy. While our senses
engage, we feel good inside. We are happy to be with our good friends. This is
a good moment to give thanks for being alive. Once we acknowledge our special
self, we can enter into the group.
An interesting realization
came out of the study of morning blessings that resulted in a reorientation of
prayers and B'rakhot throughout the day for the children:
We used to recite the Shema at
our afternoon circle just before singing Shalom Chaverim. I thought it may be a
good idea to say it in the morning when we are first coming together as a
group, and when it is traditionally said. This way we can begin the day as a
group, seeing our class as a whole family under one roof and under one God. I
see this prayer as a unifier. A prayer that not only brings us close to God,
but also closer together. As we go about our day following this prayer, we
continue to call attention to God's amazing gifts through mitzvot, saying the
Hamotzi, and possibly the Shehechianu.
the weekly Shabbat experience
Many students chose to focus
their classroom investigations on Shabbat. Although almost universally
celebrated in Jewish schools, Shabbat often devolved into "edutainment," rote
performances, or, at worst, a series of management issues. One student realized
that she wanted more for the children from the Shabbat experience in the
classroom. She preferred to work in small groups with the children before
Friday, and then continue into Shabbat in a way that would be accessible but
not rote:
[The] group needs to be
brought back to basics. Just acknowledging the group and knowing to take a
couple minutes yourself to just relax and think brings a great structure. The
class feels refreshed , not rushed. Children feel important and the teacher
feels good about what they have done. I want to have a basic discussion
starting with the candles and what saying the prayer means to them.
student observed:
[This] was a typical Children's
Shabbat for us. The children enjoy it, despite the chaos. We as teachers are
relatively OK with it, knowing it's Friday, and the week is almost over.
Everyone seems anxious to retire for the weekend. In my opinion, it does not
qualify as a prayerful or spiritual experience for anyone involved.
making changes in the Shabbat experience that she provided, this student noted:
Shabbat is more than a series
of prayers and blessings. In a sense it is a way of being with one's self and
others for a period of 25 hours...we have changed how we are having Shabbat in
the classroom. As we are making the
Shabbat experience the majority of what we do each Friday starting in the
morning, the children have begun internalizing the significance of the day in
its distinction from the previous days in the classroom. Shabbat preparations have become the focus of
the Friday curriculum.
Another student also aligned
the classroom Shabbat practices with the ideas that she had discovered in the
coursework. She developed a flow to her classroom Shabbat practice that
involved the children's direct participation, even to song-writing. After
reviewing the structure, she noted:
Making a transition from the
secular routine to the sacred act of communal prayer (for children, from playing/working
to a different kind of activity) moves to Kavvanah: directing one's heart to
god during prayer/contemplation of the meaning of each and every word spoken.
Following the rules gets us to the heartfelt.
It seems that the students
understood at this point that ritual does not mean rote, and that even young
children can sense the transcendent. In fact, in facilitating young children's
spirituality, we recognize our own.
families in Jewish experiences
fact, students indicated the importance of communicating what they had learned
about young children and spirituality to parents.
I am realizing more clearly my
responsibility to the families, not just the child. I can help support the
child outside of the classroom by communicating to the families what we are
learning together with their child at school. This happens through
documentation, conferences, and newsletters. We as teachers can bring the
parents' attention to the wonder and amazement their child is expressing to
various things. We can explain the meanings of what is happening for them, so
they as parents have a more clear understanding of the spiritual component of
development. We can also fill the gap between school and home, so the parents
feel part of the classroom community, and have opportunities to engage in the
wonder and excitement the children get to experience as well.
was feeling that parents were aware that "something" was happening in terms of
spirituality in the classrooms:
After the ritual is over, we
open our doors to let the parents come in. The change is evident to parents
when they look at their children: the children are clearly in a different
state, in a hush: it is palpable, and the parents can see it. This is
absolutely because of what this course has brought out of the Shabbat leader,
and how that permeates the children: How (to quote one of my colleagues),
"going back to basics, or creating a foundation, and then building it up little
by little as we explore our own spirituality and the background of prayers and
rituals, makes us really know what it is we are doing. And the kids know that
we know, and are transported."
for more Jewish spiritual content in their institutions
this point, the students became aware that more attention was needed in their
institutions regarding how to talk about spirituality, ritual, prayer, and God:
The only question that comes
up for me right now is - how do I - or do I - bring up god talk when the
families of the children are uncomfortable and would prefer I didn't?
This is consistent with the [institution] I work for, which seems conflicted
and does not bring up god [sic] except in reference about the holidays.
students, as mentioned above, decided to take an active role in enhancing the
spiritual life of their school communities.
God is a core concept in
Judaism and yet we've been washing over it for many many years. I look forward
to sharing these concepts at a staff meeting.
I've been learning about what constitutes meaningful prayer experiences for
young children this semester, and the
criteria necessary for creating those kind of experiences, I began to examine
more closely where we have been falling short in both the classroom and
throughout the greater school.
The students themselves had
become advocates for spirituality, ritual, and prayer in the institution and
the early childhood program as well as the classroom.
Review of results
students had already proven their seriousness and commitment to professional
Jewish education through their performance in previous courses. This material,
however, was particularly challenging. Some students felt that they might be
spiritual but not religious, not spiritual OR religious, and that ritual might
be constraining rather than liberating. This was not true of all, and to the
credit of the group, they all supported each other's explorations during the
opportunities that they were together (not reported in this paper). Ultimately,
through her writing, each student seems to have constructed an approach to
spirituality, ritual, and prayer that was her own while being responsive to Jewish
tradition as well as the collegial work of the group. This is a narrative study
- in fact, most of the narration has been in the students' own words - and is
not statistically significant. However, this anecdotal evidence suggests a
hypothesis. Using (and modeling) constructivist theory by
starting with students' experience and reflection on that experience, engaging
them with particular kinds of questions, evoking feelings as well as ideas,
inviting all kinds of questions, supporting direct investigation and
encouraging continued learning all within the framework of authentic Jewish
study may have had profound results on these teachers' beliefs, values,
and attitudes - and classroom practices. These practices may have in turn
affected families and their school communities.
course, there is much we do not know. For instance, can these results be
repeated? If so, are there quantitative ways of measuring change and
development? What would be different if the class were offered face-to-face
rather than online? What actually happened in the classrooms that could have
been recorded? Are there measurable differences? Will the teachers want to
continue this kind of intensive learning for themselves and translating their
discoveries into classroom possibilities? And, ultimately, are these results
consistent with both constructivism and Judaism, and is such consistency
desirable? These are questions for future research.
spite of what still needs to be learned from the conjunction of constructivist
learning theory and Jewish early childhood education, some of the final
comments of the students indicate the potential that may exist in this
relationship. This paper will conclude with the voices of the students who so sincerely
gave of their time, their energy, and themselves to engage with the ideas that
were offered to them in the coursework:
In the end, having researched
and explored opportunities available from adding just two new prayers, I have
more confidence in my emerging abilities as a prayer leader and have hope that
families might begin to sense a something more deeply spiritual through the
Jewish ritual experiences I bring into the classroom. Instead of going through the motions, I am
now creating the service with kavanah.
What can a child use out of
it? What a child needs is a "right orientation" to life, to walk out the door
every day with the mindset/heartset to give and get the most out of every day,
to be protected from harm unknowingly or unwittingly or even intentionally for
whatever reason put out there by other people, by life: to make a child
resilient through religion in the broadest sense: a deeper connection that
can't be jostled, or if jostled, can be righted. I thought it was a connection
to god, but I'm thinking it's a connection to religion itself, the whole thing.
Reading through the services in "Pray Tell" shows me a way: running your life
like a service: preparing to be in a holy state, getting into a holy state,
coming down from it (to get some stuff done -- but actually, you get stuff done
better if you stay connected to god): doing this all the time throughout the
The course "Spirituality,
Ritual and Prayer in the Jewish Early Childhood Classroom" took us on a journey
through thirteen sections in which we studied children's spiritual development
and deconstructed Jewish ritual and prayer. Throughout, we were asked to
reflect deeply on our own spirituality, and in so doing, evolved as people and
as teachers. In the near future I would like to document our new Shabbat with
photos on boards that explain how it was, and how it is now. I will include a
paragraph on how I changed as a leader. Additionally, I can apply what I've learned
from this course is to other prayers: I look forward to deconstructing and
designing a children's Sh'ma and a Mezuzzot project.
In the end, all of this is
preparing little children for all of what it takes to be Jewish, for that
matter for what it takes to be a good human being later on. If this is done
right by teachers, we are laying the foundation so that the ongoing process of
building a Jewish identity has a strong base, and the process itself will feel
natural (not superimposed).
"I have learned much from my
teachers; from my colleagues more than from my teachers; and from my students
more than all." Ta'anit 7b
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McNiff, J., Lomax, P., and Whitehead, J. (2003) You
and your action research project, 2nd Ed. New York:
Miller, L. (2005) "Investing in Identity: Effects of
Jewish Early Childhood Programs on Family Engagement in Jewish Life." Melrose
Park: Auerbach Central Agency for Jewish Education.
Padva, P. (2008). "Informed and passionate dialogue:
transformative community change initiatives" in Goodman, R., Flexner, P., &
Bloomberg, L. (2008). What we now know about Jewish education.
California: Torah Aura Productions.
Richardson, V.
in Richardson, V., Ed. (1997). "Constructivist teaching and teacher
education: Theory and practice" in Constructivist teacher Education:
Building new understandings. Pennsylvania: The Falmer Press.
Saldana, J. (2009). The coding manual for qualitative
researchers. California: SAGE Publications Inc.
Vadeboncoeur, J. in Richardson, V., Ed. (1997). "Child
development and the purpose of education: A historical context for
constructivism in teacher education" in Constructivist teacher education:
Building new understandings. Pennsylvania: The Falmer Press.
Vogelstein, I. & Kaplan, D. (2002). "Untapped
potential." Maryland: Jewish Early Childhood Education Partnership.
Vogelstein, I. (2008). "Early childhood Jewish
education: 'If not now, when?' in Goodman, R., Flexner, P., & Bloomberg, L.
(2008). What we now know about Jewish education. California:
Torah Aura Productions.
Von Glasersfeld, E. in Fosnot, Ed. (2006). "Introduction: Aspects of constructivism" in Constructivism:
Theories, perspectives, and practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
Appendix A
Course Description
Spirituality, Ritual, and
Prayer in the Jewish Early Childhood Classroom
The search for spiritual
meaning begins in the earliest years of life. In this course, current theories
of faith and spiritual development will be discussed to provide essential
background knowledge for students who wish to facilitate this search for young
children, their families, for colleagues, and for themselves. The primary focus
will be on the expression of spirituality in Jewish life. As such, this
information will be descriptive rather than definitive, and will be used to
explore meaningful experiences in prayer and ritual, as well as maximizing the
spiritual content of daily life in the early childhood classroom. The daily
service will be examined for content and methods that are relevant to young
children. Criteria for evaluating ritual and prayer experiences for young
children in Jewish contexts will be developed, using the daily service as a platform.
As a culmination, the Shabbat experience will be explored in order to allow
students to synthesize their own prayer and ritual experiences for young
children. Throughout the course, we will discuss methods of addressing issues
that arise for adults (teachers and parents) when exploring spirituality,
ritual and prayer. Finally, spirituality, ritual and prayer will be considered
for their power in inspiring a sense of community within the early childhood
program setting for adults and children alike.
Topics were sequenced in an
attempt to maximize the interplay between the constructivist approach and
Jewish content:
• What IS spirituality, anyway? Can we define it, or
describe it? What does it mean to each of us? Is there a Jewish perspective on
• What are the connections between spirituality and God?
How do we consider God's role in our own lives? Is there a particularly Jewish
view of God?
• What does ritual have to do with spirituality? How does
ritual connect people to each other, and to God?
• How can prayer be spiritual? Do Jewish views of prayer
allow it to be a ritual that develops spirituality?
• What do studies and research tell us about how people
develop spiritually? How does this information fit with what we know about
Jewish concepts of spirituality, God, ritual practice, and prayer?
• What do we know about how young children usually think
about God? What should be our considerations and concerns, particularly in a
Jewish context? How can adults - parents and teachers - talk with them about
• What are b'rakhot (blessings)? How do we use them in
daily life?
• How can we truly celebrate the blessings of Shabbat
that we sing about in the early childhood classroom? What can Shabbat mean?
• With what we have learned about spiritual development,
the power of ritual and the relevance of prayer, how can we further facilitate
an engagement with Shabbat in a spiritually fulfilling way?
• What do we need to do to set up a group experience for
young children that is conducive to meaningful prayer? Can we use the Shabbat
experience as an example?
• Can the daily prayer service be made relevant to
concepts of faith and spiritual development in young children?
• The children may be ready for prayer - what about their
families? How do issues of spirituality, ritual, and prayer affect the sense of
community that can be created in the Jewish school environment?
• As we come to the end of this course, what do you think
should be the roles of spirituality, ritual and prayer in the Jewish early
childhood classroom? How do your ideas fit into the context of your
Information was presented to
students in the form of PowerPoint presentations that provided ideas while
suggesting provocations for further thinking, readings in texts that included
Judaic learning as well as child development and early childhood education, and
websites with contrasting viewpoints.
Ritual and prayer were
studied using a traditional מטבע תפילה (matbe'ah tefilah - format),
with a presentation of traditional meanings. At the same time, individual and
collaborative interpretations were strongly encouraged. Participants used their
own backgrounds and values for reference, and the context of their schools for
developing practice.
Students were asked to
respond to the material in several ways. Every week, a journal response was
required that was based on the current (or a closely associated) topic. In
addition, threaded discussions (asynchronous) took place during the week in
which students discussed a question posed by the instructor, usually
interacting with each other. Sometimes assignments included classroom
observations of children involved in prayer and/or ritual. The final project involved
choosing a prayer, a ritual, or a set of prayers/rituals to modify or introduce
to children. Students were required to follow a set format in presenting this
final project that follows the outline generally used in constructivist
classrooms for producing documentation displays (Carter & Curtis,
2000). In addition, this cohort of
students participated in meeting together as a community of practice (CoP) once
each month. Data for this paper was limited to journal entries and final


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CSUEB hooper Gabe Kindred was the first honoree of the 2013-14 season for the CCAA. (Photo: Kelley Cox, KLCFotos.com)
Cal State East Bay's Gabe Kindred has been named the Wilson/California Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Basketball Player of the Week He's the first honoree of the 2013-14 season for the CCAA.
Kindred was East Bay's leading scorer during the 2012-13 season, topping the 20-point mark three times. He's the first CSUEB men's basketball player to win CCAA Player of the Week since teammate Mark Samuels during the 2011-12 season.
Way to go, Gabe!
--Yasmine Alfakey

subset: commoncrawl


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Miranda Lambert Recalls 'Working For' Her Mom [AUDIO]
With Mother's Day just a few days away, it's nice to hear how stars interact with their moms.
When Miranda Lambert started out, she wasn't even old enough to drink in bars. So her parents were (and still are) a huge part of her success. Not only did they travel with her to be at her shows, but they were the ones who booked them!
Miranda's mom is now in charge of her fan club, but there was a time that she was also her manager and booking agent. There were times that she hated it, but they all found a way to make up.


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Alley Cat Kitten Cat Street Pet
A great picture you can use for free for many different purposes: commercial products, publishing, printing, wallpaper ... etc. License use Creative Commons Zero - CC0. A referral link to Max Pixel (not required).
If it is helpful to you, please share with your friends. Our team was selected carefully before show at here. In addition, you can also thank for them by inviting them one cup of Coffee.
The maximum size of photo 3449×2285 pixels, you can download with JPEG format. This image was shooting by Nikon D7000 camera with shooting mode 200.0mm · ƒ/11.0 · 10/3200s · ISO 400. Stored in the category "Animals" and our moderator was tagged: Cat, Kitten, Alley Cat, Pet, Street.
Our AI system selective and propose some pictures related. Hope you like it.
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text: George's Marvellous Medicine, by Roald Dahl, is adapted by Stuart Paterson and directed by Graeme Messer. This amazing story is about a young boy who makes a marvellous new medicine to cure his Grandmother of her terrifying temper. But when Grandma drinks the special new potion, the most incredible things start to happen - and George's adventure has just begun!


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Saturday, November 19, 2011
MAC Miss Piggy for MAC
From the MAC website, "To celebrate the supremely talented Miss Piggy's return to the silver screen, she and MAC have created a limited edition, online exclusive collection for Eyes featuring Miss Piggy Pink Eye Shadow, Penultimate Eye Liner in Rapidblack, and 36 Lash." This collection is online only so it will never hit any of the counters and I won't even be able to play with the eye shadow unless I order it now. So disappointing...
Miss Piggy for MAC collection...
Eye Shadow - Known for her bedazzling blue eyes, silky blond hair, and sensationally shapely measurements, Miss Piggy was kind enough to collaborate with MAC on the universe's most perfectly pink eye shadow.
- Miss Piggy Pink - midtone blue pink
36 Lash - Originally launched as Sultress Lashes, Full Lash, creates a naturally dramatic look: MAC Lashes are handmade to exact specifications. Each pattern and design is perfectly shaped and arranged to give a striking effect, whether the look is natural or dramatic. Available in a variety of shapes and densities. If properly cared for, lashes can be reshaped or adornedc if desired.
Penultimate Eye Liner - A liquid pen-style liner that provides the ultimate precise, bold line in a rich, deep carbon black shade. Goes on fluidly, in one steady stroke, to style any fashion of eye line.
What is the point of this collection?! The eye shadow shade that was released for this collection is lovely and I would like to buy it but I don't see the point of the rest of the products. I was at leat hoping that they would be in a special packaging, since I already love Penultimate I would buy another tube of it in a special Miss Piggy packaging. However the permanent products in this collection are nothing different that the normal products that MAC sells all the time.
This could have been such a great color collection but what was released is just such a disappointment to me...
photo courtesy of MAC
Posted by queenisabelle29 at 12:04 PM
Labels: Holiday 2011, MAC
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File Sharing Has No Impact on CD Sales
GUARDIAN – Despite the industry's belief that file sharing is anathema to record sales, a recent study has shown that it may not be so clear cut. "Downloads have an effect on sales that is statistically indistinguishable from zero," the controversial report claims, even going so far as to suggest that for popular albums, "the impact of file sharing on sales is likely to be positive".
The study, by Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Associate Professor in the strategy unit at Harvard Business School, and Koleman Strumpf, Associate Professor in the economics department at the University of North Carolina, analyses sales and download data, and its conclusions contradict the established music industry line. During the last quarter of 2002, the pair gathered data from two peer-to-peer file sharing servers on the Open Nap network and matched individual downloads to the weekly sales figures of 680 chart albums.
"Our hypothesis was that if downloads are killing music, then albums that are downloaded more intensively should sell less," says Strumpf. But, after adjusting for the effects of popularity, they discovered that file sharing has "no statistically significant effect" on sales. . .
So, if downloading hasn't caused the slump in sales, what has? There are several factors that could be involved, but the easiest explanation is the popularity of DVDs. "Over the period 1999 to 2003, DVD prices fell by 25% and the price of players fell in the US from over $1,000 to almost nothing," says Strumpf. "At the same time, CD prices went up by 10%. Combined DVD and VHS tape sales went up by 500m, while CD sales fell by 200m, so a possible explanation is that people were spending on DVDs instead of CDs."
Prior to Oberholzer-Gee and Strumpf's report, there were no empirical studies based on actual file sharing behaviour, and the music industries in the US and the UK have based their policies on, at best, incomplete research. At worst, the surveys and analyses they quote are misleading and inaccurate. Yet still the RIAA has sued its customers - an action Strumpf calls "one of the stupidest things in the world to do". The BPI has stated it is "prepared to go that route if forced".
Some even question whether the fall in sales the RIAA quotes is real, or a product of a creative redefinition of the word "sale". Even if it is real, there is one final fly in the ointment that can't easily be explained away: during the past nine months, CD sales in America have increased by 7%, despite continued growth in file sharing. As Strumpf says: "If file sharing is killing record sales, why are records starting to sell better?"


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Sections: Scott County, Minnesota
- Author:
- Scott County Information Technology
- Description:
- This dataset contains Public Land Survey System sections within Scott County. Attributes include Township, Range, and Section. This data is maintained by the Scott County Survey Department.
- Collections:
- ArcGIS Open Data and Minnesota Counties
- Places:
- Scott County, Minnesota, United States and Minnesota, United States
- Subject:
- Society
- Contributed by:
- Minnesota
- More details at
- https://opendata.gis.co.scott.mn.us/datasets/26659cd8ba5949abbf9faf973584fc9b_0
|Click on map to inspect values


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- Rachel Dien
When I was first starting out with my plaster casts I wanted to see if anyone else had done something similar, so I could see if there was a particular way of taking casts of plants that was most effective. Rachel Dien presses the plants and flowers she uses into clay first and then pours the plaster over the top. I didn't have any access to clay while I was making my plaster blocks, but I found that just pressing the plants into the surface of the plaster while it was still wet worked well. Dien gets very clear imprints of the plants she casts though, though she has a lot more experience in casting methods then I do. I'd never worked much with plaster before this project, so I was learning what worked well as I went along.
- Margaret Mee
Margaret Mee was the artist whose work I had intended to go to Kew Gardens to see. Botanical illustration has always interested me, horticulture in general has been a main focus in my life as I've been growing up. I'm sad we ran out of time at Kew, so I didn't get a chance to go and see these illustrations in real life. I love the detail that is put into botanical illustrations. I kind of ended up seeing my plaster casts of plants as botanical illustrations but in plaster, as the nature of the material is that it picks up a lot of the detail from the cast object.
- Fossil Casts
When I was growing up, my mum was friends with an archaeologist who gave me and my sister boxes of plaster casts of fossils, which we then decided to paint in really disgusting colours. That's been a very solid memory for me though, and I've still got several of the painted fossil casts at home. I had that memory in mind for this project. The plaster cast is an interesting thing because in the case of my work, you don't see the object that is cast, you just see the space it left behind. With the casts of fossils, the cast is of the space the fossil left behind.


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The Victorian Society New York sponsors a series of lectures at The Church of the Holy Trinity, 316 East 88th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues in Manhattan. No reservations are required for the free lectures. Attendees are invited to meet the speakers at pre-lecture receptions.
Victorian Society New York Free Lecture Series is made possible by a generous donation from Christopher Broadwell and Lewis I. Haber and dues from Chapter members. Join today!
- This event has passed.
Beyond the Grid: Manhattan's Audubon Park Neighborhood
October 21, 2017 @ 2:00 pm$25 – $40
Beyond the Grid: Manhattan's Audubon Park Neighborhood
From 1841-1864, the 21 acres north of 155th street were the farmstead of John James Audubon, who is remembered for his paintings of America's birds. Audubon Park Alliance Director Matthew Spady will lead a tour of this historic district focusing on such architectural gems as the American Academy of Arts and Letters, streets of 19th century row houses and Trinity Cemetery.
The tour will conclude with a reception in the grand lobby of the Grinnell Apartments.
This walking tour is limited to 30 participants.
Fees: $25 for Victorian Society New York members, $40 for nonmembers
Paid reservations must be received by Monday, October 16


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I have been reflecting on my learning in this course EC&I 831 and trying to fit it into a theoretical framework. I love to learn, always have and always will–a real NERD, according to my kids. My research for my Masters degree was on how managers in Nunavut learn and I am still trying to understand "adult learning". There are a lot of theories and frameworks that describe the construct of learning: we can position ourselves on a scale of understanding that runs from behaviourism to constructivism to connectivism; or adhere to the theories of pedagogy, andragogy or heutagogy, to name a few. In my struggle to understand how people learn I think I have been guilty of "either/or" kind of thinking; of trying to find a one size fits all theory that tidily answers my favourite question, "How do people learn?" Dr. John Bransford et al suggest in their paper, Learning Theories and Education: Toward a Decade of Synergy, that each of these theories or frameworks depend on the focus of the research and the setting in which learning takes place. They propose that to understand learning we need to integrate the insights that emerge from all the theories to develop a synergistic framework for understanding how people learn, not to develop a "grand theory" of learning but to use each theoretical perspective to inform the others. Now that makes sense to me and helps me move forward in my reflection on learning in eci831.
I am going to start this week with asking, "What are some of the key elements in this course that have made it a positive learning experience for me?" If you have been reading my blog posts you'll know that I have struggled to learn how to learn in the Web 2.0 world, and that this has not been a comfortable or easy process for me, however last week I posted that "EC&I 831 has demonstrated for me the effectiveness of an open, student-centred classroom. I have never learned so much so fast and been so engaged in the process. The fact that our classroom is a virtual one and that we have been connecting with classmates and our professor on-line has enriched the learning process not diminished it. I have been challenged to process and gather information in a different way, encouraged to make meaning from my on-line research and connections. As a result I have become a more capable learner".
Because I love theoretical frameworks I am going to go a little deeper into my observations of last week and place my analysis into a framework suggested by Terry Anderson in Towards a Theory of Online Learning. Building on the work of Bransford et al, he suggests that effective online learning environments can be placed in a framework of 4 contexts: community-centred, knowledge-centred, learner-centred and assessment-centred contexts. So does eci831 fit into these contexts?
Community-centred: asynchronous and synchronous collaboration through use of Elluminate classes and student blogs; open to people outside of for-credit students, network of mentors, connected to online community of educators with a passion for open learning and use of technology to support learning.
Learner-centred: support for individual learning; encouraged to focus on what interests you and apply your learning to your own contexts; content changes and emerges to respond to individual and group interests and needs; teacher shares decision making power and encourages students to lead.
Knowledge-centred: direct access to vast volumes of information on web in a variety of formats and from a variety of disciplinary perspectives; learner and teacher referrals for selecting, personalizing and reusing content; use of social media to augment and bookmark information through connection to a large community of experts; the learning network shares, filters and qualifies information, hence Alec's promotion of Twitter and bookmarking sites.
Assessment-centred: clear description of assessment process describe for-credit students; multiple opportunities for formative and summative assessment by self, peers, mentors and teacher; "just-in-time" feedback provided.
So what? How is my new found knowedge, skills and attitudes going to impact on my life and work? That has the making of another post, doesn't it? See you next week.


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Develop [login to view URL] clone
Bajet $30-250 USD
[url removed, login to view]
Want a version of this but with our own content. Essentially people can submit character-limited posts for inclusion on what is a group micro-blog or moderated bulletin board. We'd like one up and running soon so let me know! Thanks.


text:
Florida Pest Solutions, Inc. 2 ReviewsPest Control Service
Having used Kipp's Pest Control for many years we find the service levels to be of the highest standard with nothing too much trouble, as a consequence we would recommend Kipp's Pest Control to anyone - small or large.
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I had roaches for years and finally switched to A1 and after one time I know do not have any more roaches!
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Having a pest control contract with Riverside Pest Control, Inc. was a smart move for my school. We get fast service and free call outs as we need them!
Drake Lawn & Pest Control 9 ReviewsBest in Town
I have had pest service with Drake for over 6 years without any complaints. I would highly recommend this company for anyone looking for a reliable, highly efficient pest control service.
Drake Termite & Pest Control 2 ReviewsThe best pest control company
Finally found a pest control company that delivers results! they showed up on time and solved my problem. The bug guy was polite and a real professional. I tried other companies and haven't found one like this.


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No job is more stressful, dangerous or exhilarating than those of the Firefighters, Rescue Squad and Paramedics of Chicago Firehouse 51. These are the courageous men and women who forge headfirst into danger when everyone else is running the other way. But the enormous responsibilities of the job also take a personal toll.
|One More Shot
With everyone's support, Dawson makes final preparations to retake the fireman's exam, but a call to the field may throw a major wrench into her plans. Elsewhere, Lt. Casey has an important matter to discuss with Antonio. Meanwhile, Lt. Severide and the firehouse welcome Rick Newhouse , the latest addition to the squad, Shay gets an uninvited surprise guest and Chief Boden makes a bold move.
|A Heavy Weight
A suicide note is delivered to a surprised Dawson and Lt. Severide digs deeper into Bloom's dark past. Elsewhere, Chief Boden learns shocking news, and with the help of Shay, Lt. Casey goes on the search for a life-changing item.
|Until Your Feet Leave the Ground
Lt. Severide sticks his neck out for Dave Bloom, a fellow firefighter from Denver who is troubled by addiction. Elsewhere, Dawson and Shay leave town for a "girl's weekend" at a cabin in the woods. Meanwhile Jones struggles with the knowledge that her father is pressuring Chief Boden about her career path and Mouch's internet dating profile gets an upgrade with the help of Mills and the guys.
|When Things Got Rough
Lt. Severide is reminded of his own past by a man he saves from a car accident and feels compelled to help him. Elsewhere, Lt. Casey and Chief Boden grapple with how to dock Jones per her father's orders. Meanwhile, Mouch and Dawson have troubles with the opposite sex and an emotional call to duty creates ripples throughout Firehouse 51.
|A Rocket Blasting Off
Lt. Severide hits the top of the list as Det. Lindsay starts calling in suspects with the clearest motives to make the guy who kidnapped Katie disappear. Meanwhile, Jones is still having trouble fitting in as word of her disruptions reach the fire department's headquarters. Elsewhere, Herrmann celebrates his twentieth anniversary with his wife, but no one supports his idea on the gift he intends to give.


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Day four back at the gym! I didn't get a chance to post yesterday but I did the workout and that is what really matters.
Today's workout time: 6:40-7:20am at Gym
Workout: Elliptical 30 mins, ab raise 10 mins
Energy before: 2.5
Energy after: 3.5
Comments: Nothing particular stands out about this workout, energy was better than yesterday and I was not feeling much in the way of cold symptoms so it must have been a false alarm. It felt good to be there every morning that week. Fridays they open later so it is not an option to go there before work.
Nothing before workout again, I am just not ready to eat that early. I will have to think harder about plans to get something into me before a workout to see how it affects my performance.
Breakfast 7:45 am at work: Vega Energizing Smoothie half natural half berry with spirulina
Lunch 1pm: 2 mini bagels with organic cream cheese and Med hot chocolate from Tim Hortons
Dinner 5:30pm – Low on groceries so I just munched on a variety of things, and had Mr Noodles. Not the best day eating wise.
Snacks – Not the best day for snacking, I didn't eat my almonds and then a coworker brought in chocolate so I had some.
Drinks: Diluted coconut water during my workout, water and spiced chai with no sugar at work, coconut water and 1oz of brandy after work
Not the best day food wise, but not the worst either. Today is payday so I will be able to get healthy groceries and also I am getting chocolate vega powder, mmm!


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03 Nov 2010 Humanistic Values Bound Mercy Relief and SSA
Posted at 13:26h in Humanitarian Efforts, Uncategorized
Two distinguished guests from humanitarian organisation Mercy Relief joined the joyous occasion of the 80th Anniversary Meeting commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Soka Gakkai's founding, held on 17 November 2010 at the SSA Headquarters. In his congratulatory speech, Mercy Relief Company Secretary Satwant Singh praised SSA members for their vigorous display of love and commitment. Mercy Relief Chairman T K Udairam then presented a "Token of True Friendship" from Mercy Relief to SSA, which was received by SSA General Director Ong Bon Chai.


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Beautiful blonde, huge tits, and HUGE meat curtains. She had a fantastic body one that you could pound for days on end, and then she shows her tiny vagina all wrapped up in these huge meat curtains, so large it resembled a slightly smaller than average flaccid penis it was kind of disturbing… Regardless how large her lips were, I would of smashed it all night long and possibly wouldnt have been such a asshole in the morning when it came to how well done my bacon was, "I like it a little crispy but NOT burnt".
Enjoy this wonderful cam girl
Find your own Webcam Star here


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We are Celebrating Womanhood this month in our Special way.
Week 1 – Healing Meeting with Pastor Missy Beik. USA (1 March 15)
Week 2 – Women's day celebration and Special Message by Pastor Anjali ( 8th March 15 )
Week 3 – Women's retreat by Mrs.Jaya Abraham (13th &14th March) and special message by Mrs.Jaya Abraham in our Sunday Service (15th March 15).
Join us to experience the Fellowship, Blessing and Transformation.