In my classroom the curriculum comes from the children. That being said, the curriculum is anchored around the Jewish holidays. Each year I try to focus on the central value represented in the holiday, rather than on the project associated with the holiday. For example, during Chanukah, we help the children think about how they would feel if someone came into the classroom and broke our materials, table and chairs, as King Antiochus' soldiers did in the Jewish temple. Like Macabee's we pretend to pick up chairs, clean floors, and mend our toys. We even pick up our pretend menorah and wonder aloud what to do about the spilt oil.
While most parents understand the value of having their child "own" the story and the struggles of the Jewish people, there is always the question about when the projects will start coming home. Parents want to see a menorah, a seder plate, or a challah cover. And while these are important tools for helping to celebrate, far too often they become the focus of the holiday. I've been thinking about how to make "Jewish Values" present every day, rather than just during holidays. I've wondered how to help parents and other staff members understand the importance of shifting the focus from projects to the process of a child understanding their "Jewish Identity."
-How do you accomplish these goals?
-Do you begin thinking about values before the holiday starts?
-Do you continue working on them after the holiday ends?
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Great post Dana! I think books and stories are a great way to spark these values discussions. What about letting the kids take turns bringing home a book to read with their parents and then coming back with some related question their family discussed?
ReplyDeleteAnd, I think making the menorah, etc to bring home is also really critical to bringing Jewish practice into the home. It can't stop there, but it also shouldn't be skipped.
We present the Chanukah story to the children multiple times to figure out what is interesting to the children in the story and what values in the story we should focus on. This year, the Chanukah story led us into discussions about King Antiochus wanting to be the boss of everybody and how we are all the boss of ourselves and cannot be the boss of everyone. Other discussions have surrounded around why King Antiochus wanted everyone to pray just like him and the idea that it is okay to be different. It's okay for people to pray in different ways, for people to look different ways, for people to do things in different ways. All of these discussions that come from the Chanukah story are parts of our discussions and curriculum throughout the year, it is just that the Chanukah story brings us an opportunity to highlight these values in a stronger way.
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