Painting a Picture of Your Child's Development

Amy, fjecc executive director - visiting the Faroe Islands

jess, director of teaching + learning - watching the northern lights in Gloucester, MA

Misty, Blue Room teacher - capturing the northern Lights in Reykjavik, Iceland

Misty, Blue Room teacher - watching the northern Lights in Reykjavik, Iceland

jess, director of teaching + learning - watching the northern lights in Gloucester, MA

Dear FJECC Families,

Almost exactly six years ago, I spent a few days in the Faroe Islands (a stark and beautiful place that I highly recommend adding to your travel bucket list). Located in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Scotland, it is known to be an excellent place to view the northern lights. One night, we drove up a very long, winding, and narrow road to a hilltop, sat on the hood of the rental car, and waited.  It was cold November, and we soon waited inside the car instead. Alas, it was not the right season nor the right weather for viewing and we saw no aurora display. 

This past week I saw many posts on social media capturing the light display that made its appearance in our area. Again, I missed it. However, I am struck by the thought that something one normally assumes is unattainable can, in fact, happen. In the case of the aurora borealis appearing locally, the happening is due to atmospheric conditions over which we have no control. In other cases, such as making major life decisions like a new job or a new home, change is sometimes fueled by power or motivation we did not previously realize we had. 

When we observe children through the lens of development, it can seem as if growth moves at a glacial pace - when will my child separate more easily, when will my child sleep through the night, when will my child "fill in the blank."  And then, seemingly all of a sudden, a skill is mastered, a child's body is longer and leaner, emotions are less volatile.

As we near the time when we schedule parent/teacher conferences (longer than the check-in calls, these conversations will focus more on skills and growth), we are all beginning to take more detailed note of each child's developmental path. When children play, when they interact with materials, with each other, and with the adults in their world, they are hard at work experimenting with, reacting to, and acting upon their environments. This near-constant process is much like the movement of any other phenomenon in nature, slow, sometimes erratic and unpredictable, and often mysterious. Growth is not static, it is ever-changing. 

This is our way of tracking weather patterns, if you will, so that we can paint a picture of your child's development in ways that articulate growth, elevate learning, and make visible the seemingly invisible process of learning and growing - something, by the way, the we are all always doing as well. 

Shalom, 
Amy

Reflecting on the Past to Ground Us in the Present

Dear FJECC Families,

Let's take a moment and pause as we ride the incredible energy of our first full week of school, which started on Monday.

In the Jewish faith, we have a built-in commitment to looking back even as we stand in a moment preparing to move forward. Reflection on the past helps ground us in the present and that helps us understand our intentions for the future in deeper ways. “Future” in this instance means as soon as tomorrow, as far away as next year and everything in between. As we get closer to the Jewish New Year (which falls in early October this year), I’ll write more about what observance of that holiday season looks and feels (and tastes) like. In the meantime, let’s momentarily honor some summer moments before they become very distant memories.

One of my highlights of the summer was finally having the opportunity to swim in the Charles River. Yes, with the sounds of the Standells’ “Dirty Water” in my head, I joined a group of folks who registered for this summer’s City Splash event. The Charles River Conservancy sponsors the city splash and it is their mission “to make the Charles River and its parks a well-maintained network of natural urban places that invite and engage all in their use and stewardship.” I am proud that FJECC - and particularly the Blue Room - have been deemed stewards of the Muddy River (an integral part of the Charles River parks system). This came about via our connection with Caroline Reeves and her recognition of our weekly trips to the Muddy River and the children’s growing awareness of its beauty, as well as their desire to learn more about this amazing natural resource just steps from our school.

Another highlight of the summer was the opportunity to send Misty O’Brien (Blue Room teacher) to the Nature Explore Leadership Institute in Nebraska in July. Misty returned from the institute armed with renewed commitment for helping lead FJECC as we rededicate ourselves to creating rich learning experiences for children in the outdoor classroom. You will hear so much more about our efforts in the coming weeks and months!

Allow me one more summer moment: one morning in July I was sitting in my kayak on a pond in Western Massachusetts. All was quiet and still around me with just a bit of mist coming up off the water. Then I heard a loud thwack. I turned in the direction of the sound, but could not determine the source. I began to paddle away and then heard it again. Determined to find out what had made the noise, I sat in my kayak, held my paddle still and waited. I waited longer and with more patience than I had felt in a very long time. Finally, I heard the noise again and saw a large flat tail reach up out of the water and come down - splat! - very hard on the surface. A head popped up and I realized I was watching a beaver playing in the water. All by itself, in the quiet ease of a summer pond, this animal was swimming and playing and being its best beaver self. This was the moment in a long and sometimes challenging summer in which my attitude and attention shifted from the burdens I was carrying towards the hope and renewal I knew awaited me in September.

And here we are.

Welcome to the new school year.
Shalom, 
Amy

Neighborhood Villages Emerging Leaders

Last month Arielle Frangipane and Jess Jarvis, two veteran FJECC teachers, were part of the first graduating class of Early Childhood Registered Apprentices in the nation. Supported by Neighborhood Villages and The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD), this year-long program targeted emerging leaders in the field of Early Childhood Education to receive free training and support in Leadership, Family Outreach, Instruction + Curriculum, Child Care Administration, Business Practices and Technology Assistance. (1) 

Frangipane reflected on the experience, saying, “I’m so glad to have been a part of Neighborhood Villages’ Emerging Leaders program training. The mentorship model was so supportive and inspiring. Neighborhood Villages is doing very important work in making leadership training available to people who otherwise might not have had the opportunity and I am so grateful that it has been part of my early childhood education journey.”

A recent article from Mass.gov toted the apprenticeship model as a ‘key part of strengthening the early education and care profession – supporting people to earn while they learn. “We have been working with the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and early childhood leaders across the state over the past year to promote and expand apprenticeship opportunities as a key strategy to build the pipeline of new staff joining the field,” said Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw.’ (2)

L-R: Arielle Frangipane, Mentor Linda Echt, Jess Jarvis

When asked about her experience with Neighborhood Villages, Jarvis commented on the variety of support that was received. “It was interesting to gain a deeper scope of the business of Early Childhood Education, and what it means to be a leader in the field. Gaining clarity in observation, feedback, teacher empowerment and professional development, I feel supported in doing the work that supports teachers.” 

With the guidance of mentor Linda Echt, who’s independent consulting firm works with leaders by “Helping Your Leadership Grow: Vision and Heart,” Frangipane and Jarvis navigated opportunities and challenges. They explored deeply the value and necessity of building trust as a foundation of effective and impactful leadership. There are the day to day tasks that leaders are responsible for and there is vision, relationship building and creating community that has its organization’s mission at the core. Through the lens of a fresh perspective, they worked to challenge assumptions as well as to get constructive feedback to aid in personal and professional growth. Mentors can help leaders develop key skills such as communication, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence, ultimately enhancing their leadership capacity. By having a mentor, leaders can also build a strong support system, gain access to valuable networks, and increase their self-awareness, leading to greater success in their roles.

Echt said, “To be working with Jess and Arielle is a gift. When two people work with such intention, the possibilities are endless. Although there were defined benchmarks to work on as set by Neighborhood Villages and EEC, we took advantage of our time together to dive deep into what it means to take on leadership roles and what it means to be a leader– or more accurately, what it means to be in positions to empower others to do their best work.” 

Amy Bolotin, FJECC Executive Director says, “FJECC is so proud of Jess and Arielle's work! As a Director, it is comforting and exciting to know my staff has access to professional training and support outside of what we can provide. Neighborhood Villages' work to lift up emerging leaders is the key to the future of our field. The most important beneficiaries of this will be the children and families served by programs.”

Nominations for the next cohort of Early Childhood Emerging Leaders opens in Summer 2024 on the Neighborhood Villages website. 

Sources: 

1. https://www.neighborhoodvillages.org/administrator-apprenticeship

2. https://www.mass.gov/news/the-healey-driscoll-administration-announces-5-million-in-apprenticeship-expansion-and-opportunity-grants

L-R: Jess Jarvis, Neighborhood Villages co-founder and former FJECC parent Sarah Muncey, Arielle Frangipane

Perspective is Everything

Dear FJECC Families,

Recently at Shabbat Sing, Rabbi Slipakoff told one of our favorite stories - The Crowded Noisy House. He recounted the tale of the man who complained to his rabbi that nobody was getting enough sleep in his house because of the snoring grandmother and the crying baby, and the Rabbi's seemingly ridiculous solution was to bring one noisy animal after another into the house until the man could no longer take the chaotic cacophony of animal sounds. Seeing the man at his wit’s end, the Rabbi instructs him to remove all the animals from the house and return them to the barn. Once the chickens, goats, cows and all are returned to their proper abodes, the man and his family revel in the quiet house with just the gentle snores of grandma to lull them all to sleep.

The moral of the story? Perspective is everything. As bad as you think things are, they could be much worse. Or, in the language of Social Thinking curriculum: is this a big problem or a small problem? Hearing the story of the noisy crowded house always makes me think about classrooms and the very noisy moments that happen in them - specifically the noisy moments when a child is having some very big feelings and everyone around them is feeling unsettled, too.

The process of navigating problems can be difficult and challenging. When the human doing the navigation has only been around for 2, 3 or 4 years, disruption, disappointment, and frustration can seem monumental and insurmountable. As adults trying to support those small humans, it can feel like nothing short of talmudic scholarship will work! What parent hasn’t felt out of their league when faced with the tormented tragedy of a young child who feels they have been wronged.

Social Thinking is one of the many items in the emotional regulation toolbox that we employ in classrooms. Sometimes making our body small and soft, using a quiet voice and capturing a child’s attention that way works. Sometimes not. Occasionally, stepping away and disengaging (and yet remaining close) is the only thing we can manage. Sometimes - oftentimes - simply being with a child, physically and psychically present and in that way acknowledging that, yes, this is very hard, is the way through. Navigating the emotional landscape of early childhood is a bit like going on a bear hunt. You can’t go over it. You can’t go under it. You have to go through it.

Now repeat after me: “It’s a beautiful day. We’re not scared!”

Shalom,
Amy

Block Area = Fertile Ground

Dear FJECC Families,

By this time you have received your child’s first progress report of the year. When reading through the early drafts of reports, I noticed how often teachers cited observations of children building with blocks as evidence of a skill. What was really interesting to me is that the skills mentioned were varied and covered every domain of learning which we write about in our reports. Blocks are a classic, central tool for teaching and learning in early childhood centers. Often, we take for granted the real estate that a block area takes up in a classroom. Some years, a class may have need for a larger dedicated area for blocks and some years may call for a slightly smaller area. But there will always be a block area. And the blocks must be of good quality, solid, differentially shaped and sized, with a clear, organized plan for stacking and storing (this is very important - the pedagogy of block building was a serious thing in my graduate program!).

You’ll notice in the photo above of the Yellow Room, the children are standing on the large hollow blocks. They’re supposed to! They are meant to be carried and stacked and climbed on. And the hollow invites one to hide cars or animals or any special treasure inside (as well as making them easy to carry). Unit blocks, the standard square, rectangle, double rectangle, triangle blocks you find in the preschool classrooms, are specifically designed to inspire increasingly complex structural design. From a set of simple shapes comes infinite worlds of imagination and inspiration.

Block building supports STEM learning, of course. Block building also supports social and emotional learning, fine and gross motor learning and, perhaps most importantly, it supports and facilitates collaborative pretend play - the jewel of early childhood development. A group of toddlers builds next to each other, slowly sharing space and materials, accepting that another person could maybe use the same toys. Preschoolers begin to accept that another’s ideas might be similar to theirs and maybe together we make a zoo and hey I’ll bring the animals over.

Pre-k learners may be inclined to spread out beyond a block area, creating worlds in which each child has a role and together they create a plan and implement their ideas, sustaining a theme over days or even weeks.

Never underestimate the power of the block area. It is fertile ground. And the children playing there are doing very important work.

Shalom,
Amy

Sustaining The Light

Dear FJECC Families,

It was late - almost 9:00 - when I lit my Chanukiah (menorah) on Thursday night, but I would not have missed this final night. With all nine candles blazing the flames were vibrant and alive. The 8th - and final - night of Chanukah is bittersweet. There is such joy in the intense light of all those candles burning. And there is a sadness that the holiday is over and we'll wait another full year until the next Chanukah celebration.

I have not been on social media much lately but on an impulse shared a photo of my fully lit Chanukiah. And then I noticed many others in my circle also posting photos of theirs. The sight of menorah after menorah blazing with the bright, dancing candle flames moved me, deeply and profoundly filling me with a sense of connection, of belonging, and of hope.

And I am left wondering, after watching our students so magically bring Chanukah to life in the past 3 weeks in our classrooms, how can we sustain that light well into the upcoming weeks of dark and cold?

How, indeed. As teachers and students begin shifting to other topics of study, and as teachers focus more intentionally on collating information for progress reports, growth is the theme of the next few weeks - noting it, tracking it and facilitating it. Each week I can see that children are getting taller, that faces are changing, that movements and actions are more graceful and confident. The never-ending process of growth and development (which is rarely linear or predictable) keeps us focused on the children, on meeting their needs, and keeping up with their ideas and their energy. That is both exhausting and exhilarating. And it is what will help sustain us.

Also - the winter solstice is next week, after which the hours of sunlight increase just a tiny bit each day. More light; that is always good.

Shalom,
Amy

Paradigm Project 2023

Dear FJECC Families,

Most of you know (and love!) Jess Jarvis -- former Green Room teacher and current FJECC Director of Teaching and Learning. Jess came back from the Paradigm Project conference last week (it’s the BEST for Jewish early childhood professionals) and when I asked for a quick take-away she said, “Ah! I have a question: what do we hang our hat on and how do we show it?”

Such a good question! I love questions. So we chatted for a bit. What is our jam at FJECC? What do we do best and what is the juice that fuels us and the truth that we work toward? What is the single driving force around which we build everything else?

This was a very quick although animated exchange and here is where we landed: FJECC hangs our hat on relationships and on quality teachers. Our mission is to nurture the love of learning for each child in a way that allows each child to thrive, to grow, to take risks, to explore with confidence and joy, and the ability to ask for help when needed. All learning happens in the context of relationships and this is as true for educators and for parents as it is for children.

And how do we show what we hang our hat on?

If you’ve been to Shabbat Sing this year, you will have noticed that when we invite the week’s Shabbat helpers down to the front we now have each child be a Shabbat light (instead of a challah). One of the reasons we made this change is because we believe each child is a light and our work is to help that light shine in the best way it can - whether bright and bold, warm and loving, sharp and focused, and/or fast and twinkly. One simple illustration of how we try to make sure the what and the how of our work aligns with the why.

We will be thinking about light again as Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Light, begins on Thursday, December 7. We introduce Chanukah into the classrooms by telling the story of this holiday - the destruction of the Temple, the battle that the Maccabees fought to regain access to the Temple, and the miracle of the oil that lasted long enough for the Israelites to make more. As we tell the story, I have asked our staff to think about light and to ask ourselves and the children a question: how will you bring light to your classroom, to the school, to others? What does it mean to be a light for others? What will the light of others offer you? (Ok, that’s three questions).

Surely if there was ever a time when we needed to look for light around us, it is now. We will literally bring light to the classrooms to explore and to investigate. We will also, I know, discover ways to be light. I’m eager to see how these questions unfold, to see what the children shine their light upon, and to see how doing this work together teaches us all.

Shalom,
Amy

Massachusetts Attendees, l-r
Ellen DIetrick, jess Jarvis, lynn kaminski, Kendra rouse

Hanoch Piven

#FixChildCare

From WBUR Here & Now

'The math is pretty simple'
Advocates testify for child care assistance in Massachusetts

October 18, 2023

Parents, teachers and advocates are sharing their support for legislation in Massachusetts that would help make child care more affordable for families — and increase pay for early childhood educators in the state. They shared their personal stories for hours on Tuesday before the legislature’s joint committee on education. This comes as much of the pandemic-era aid that kept the industry afloat has ended.

Here & Now’s Deepa Fernandes shares some of the testimony.
This segment aired on October 18, 2023.

Opportunities of Stewardship

Dear FJECC Families,

At FJECC, as in most Jewish early childhood programs, it is customary to introduce the idea of “tzedakah,” or giving, to children by having them bring coins to school on Friday and placing those coins in a tzedakah box. At the end of the year, the children and teachers vote on what charitable cause(s) should receive the collected coins. I’ve long thought that we could do more to help children connect in deeper, meaningful ways to the impact of their giving. And last spring, an opportunity presented itself to do just that.

One of the things we are ever grateful for at FJECC is our proximity to the Muddy River. Our school is located in a busy, urban environment. On the cusp of the Longwood Medical Area and bordered by the busy Riverway, we are fortunate that our outdoor classroom is an oasis in the midst of the neighborhood. And across that busy Riverway is the Muddy River, a section of the Emerald Necklace - also an urban oasis.

It has long been an FJECC tradition to take classroom groups to the Muddy River. In fact, the Blue Room goes every week. Their visits are spent exploring the paths that wind along the river and on the banks of the river itself. Last spring, the children learned that the water and mud of the “Muddy” river was polluted. To learn more about this issue, Rabbi Slipakoff, who has been guiding Temple Israel’s work to support environmental justice, connected us with some folks at the Muddy Water Initiative. The children learned about the history of the River and the Emerald Necklace, including more recent efforts to clean up the river (in which Temple Israel members regularly participate) and to ensure this natural treasure remains viable as an urban waterway. The Blue Room children then made the decision at the end of the year to direct their collected tzedakah funds to the Muddy Water Initiative. Co-founder Caroline Reeves came to FJECC to receive the donation and presented the Blue Room with a certificate honoring them as “stewards of the Muddy River.” And thus a relationship is born that plants seeds of compassion, justice and philanthropy - the very meaning of tzedakah. Throughout the school, and the school year, we will continue to look for more opportunities of stewardship.

Shabbat Shalom, 

Amy

Embrace Rosh Hashanah With Childlike Wonder via JewishBoston.com

FJECC Director, Amy Bolotin, writing for JewishBoston.com

As the director of the Frances Jacobson Early Childhood Center at Temple Israel (FJECC), I have the privilege of experiencing the first day of school every year and am now going on something like my 30th first day. The anticipation of meeting new people and the excitement of familiar routines and rituals combine to create a comforting blend of new and old, known and unknown, one of many reasons teachers choose this profession. While this is true in any early childhood setting, it is particularly profound in a Jewish school, as the start of the school year aligns perfectly with the Jewish New Year.

Whether it is tasting apples dipped in honey, hearing (and seeing and touching) the shofar, or gathering the annual crop of crabapples on our playground, the delight and wonder that grace children’s faces as they experience our shared customs serve as a poignant reminder about the potential for fresh starts and new beginnings in the upcoming year. We treasure witnessing the remarkable phenomenon of children encountering age-old traditions for the first time.

We adults are caught in the throes of routine and become blinded to the beauty of beginnings. But what is life if not a series of beginnings? This is one of the essential messages of Rosh Hashanah, which marks a period of reflection, renewal, and new opportunities. It is a time to let go of past missteps, embrace fresh perspectives, and welcome the unknown with open arms. The same is true for new parents and grandparents. As new life unfolds, we are carried along on children’s journeys, offering us a bit of a redo on life.

Children barrel into the clean slate of their future with unwavering curiosity and resilience, delighting in the simplest things along the way. It is sweet grace to relive a bevy of “firsts.” As witnesses to children’s joy, we co-navigate uncharted territory and discoveries alongside them, offering the umami of our wisdom to flavor their sampling of new tastes.

Each “first day of school” and each Rosh Hashanah observance reminds us that we, too, can approach the upcoming year as if experiencing it for the first time. These moments in our calendar hold the heart of what we value and believe. To honor tradition, to repeat the familiar, is to say—we love this. This—life, children, joy, the promise of the new—is important to us. It binds our individual and collective commitment to compassion, the promise of healing, connection, and love.

Israel

Dear FJECC Families, 

In 2015, I had the opportunity to travel to Israel as a fellow in the third cohort of JECELI - the Jewish Early Childhood Education Leadership Initiative. Making our way across this remarkable place through the lens of early childhood education was a unique, inspiring and memorable experience.

We visited preschools at Moshav Gan Ner, Kibbutz S’de Eliyahu (birthplace of the JunkYard playground), Levinsky College (founded in 1912 and the first teachers college in Israel to teach in Hebrew), Kehilat Kol Haneshama (a reform congregation in Jerusalem) and so many other places that gave us glimpses into Israeli life in general, and to early childhood education specifically.

This trip - the third of three trips I have made to Israel - enhanced my understanding of Israeli culture, of its values, of the experiences of educators, and, of course, the lives of families with young children. As much as I learned about Israel, I learned more about myself. That trip cemented my own connection to Israel - as a place I am curious about, feel connected to, feel responsible for sustaining and to which I long to return.

This week Israel celebrated the 75th anniversary of its establishment as a Jewish State. Israel is a complex conversation, a vibrant and exciting journey, a mosaic of cultures and traditions, a volatile political experience. It is also a place where people live their daily lives much as we do. Parents are working and their children are in school. It was meaningful to visit and to observe the ways in which Israeli society supports that, the ways in which schools value children and their drive to learn, the ways in which teachers both teach and learn. Some things were very different (teacher/child ratios, universal access to state-funded education from age 3) and some things were very similar (the challenge of making learning accessible for diverse learners, managing different approaches to curriculum, etc.).

At FJECC, our learning about Israel is and will continue to be about finding ways to make a connection with the land and the people who live there. We will strive to understand what it looks, sounds, feels, smells and tastes like. In our hallway, we will post our questions about Israel and share what we know about Israel - and we invite you to, as well. 

Shabbat Shalom, 

Amy

What Might You Do?

“I tend to be drawn into stories that deal with very honest, real topics that allow parents and children to process the world together. Children live in the same world we live in, and I think they appreciate stories that include them in the conversation.”
~Christian Robinson

Dear FJECC Families, 

On Friday, March 17th the FJECC staff had a glorious day visiting the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. We experienced first-hand all that the museum offers - in particular a deep respect for the art of children’s books that is manifested throughout the building. By art I mean the illustrations, of course, and also the art of storytelling - whether in words or pictures or both. This was evident as we toured the gallery in which the illustrator Christian Robinson was on display, in an exhibit called, “What Might You Do?” It was evident as we sat in the art studio and used the materials there to make our own stationery. It was also evident as we participated in a 3-hour workshop on race and representation in children’s books.

All week long, I have been thinking about our day at the museum, why it was so meaningful - and the different ways in which we each made meaning of the experience. I cannot do justice in my own words to the impact of this experience on our staff. Teachers have expressed gratitude for the time to view art, for the respectful learning about race and literature, for the gift of choosing a book for the school’s library. I have tried to capture what we did and saw and heard and learned. Take a moment to look at the documentation on the bulletin boards in the school hallway. Look at the photos of your teachers learning - and your teacher’s learning. Ask your child’s teachers about what they took away from the day. Ask them about the book they chose for the library. Ask them what questions they have. Help us make this learning visible for each other, for the children. 

OH! And the weekend of art-making with Hanoch Piven! I'll save that for another day. 

Shabbat Shalom, 

Amy

Progress

Progress: forward or onward movement toward a destination

Dear Families,

This week you received your child's progress report. Each report is like a map of a child's life in the classroom. Each child has so much to offer their classroom community. The progress reports offer an individual perspective and, read as a whole, a sense of the collective classroom community. It is a powerful thing to watch a group of children all working towards similar destinations, but with individual strengths, challenges, passions and personalities.  

And now we’re hunkering down for weeks of winter weather and routine. I can't help notice how happy the children are to be back in school, with friends and with structure and routine that is now familiar and comforting. The adults reluctantly are settling back into routine but with a bit less enthusiasm as we know how much of winter lies ahead and the potential for the disruption of frigid air, snow, ice, slush and mush. 

But walking through classrooms it is so good to see how ready children are to dive deeply back into their play, how eager they are for new challenges and how open they are to all the learning that is available. The forward movement of developmental progress happens both slowly and at lightning speed. 

As we emerge from two years of pandemic-restrictions, life at FJECC is evolving and growing. As always, our mission is to provide exceptional education for young children that is a seamless blend of the secular and Judaic. At the intersection of the two is the belief that each child in our school is uniquely capable and has the right to play, learn and grow. In order to ensure more families can access all that we offer, we have expanded Toddler offerings for 2023-2024, including two, three or five day enrollment, as well as full day options for our youngest friends. Preschoolers also have the continued option to stay until 5:30 each day. 

In short, while we grownups have been writing reports, working on enrollment and budgeting, eyes simultaneously on both now and next year, the children of FJECC are firmly, wonderfully, happily, fully standing in the present with joy and relish. 

Shalom, 

Amy

Giving, Gratitude and Tzedakah

"Once I traveled far above the earth. This beloved planet we call home was covered with an elastic web of light. I watched in awe as it shimmered, stretched, dimmed, and shined, shaped by the collective effort of all life within it. Dissonance attracted more dissonance. Harmony attracted harmony. I saw revolutions, droughts, famines, and the births of new nations.
The most humble kindnesses made the brightest lights. Nothing was wasted."

- Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave (2013)

Dear FJECC Families,

In this season, it has become de rigueur to give thanks by giving money. The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is now called “Giving Tuesday” and I imagine your actual and virtual mailboxes have been as inundated as mine with calls for donations. In fact, you will receive one of those emails from FJECC, in support of our Annual Fund campaign (and I am so very grateful for every donation).

In this season, as I hear and see the conversations about “giving” money and also “giving” thanks, I find myself searching for the thread that connects gratitude - offering thanks - and Tzedakah, the Hebrew word that has come to be associated with giving money.

In fact, Tzedakah is more literally translated as justice, righteousness, or compassion. The Hebrew scholar Maimonides (known as Rambam) described 8 levels of giving. In Rambam’s Ladder, the 8 levels range from begrudgingly giving just a little bit (the lowest form) to giving that enables someone to be self-sufficient (the highest form). The goal of giving in this approach is to create a just and equitable world in which everyone has access to the tools and resources they need to live independently.

Gratitude is our appreciation for and acknowledgement of that which is good and present in our lives. When we take the time to think about the presence of injustice and inequity in the world around us, each of us is compelled to acknowledge what we have. It is not that we should have less in order for someone else to have more, but that we are grateful for what we have and we desire that others have the opportunity to be grateful as well. The world is an imperfect place, it is our responsibility to shine a light on and right the imperfections around us - however small and humble the imperfection and however small and humble our gestures. “The most humble kindnesses made the brightest lights.”

This is the essence of Tzedakah. Making sure that everyone has access to what is fair, and good, and just, is a concept that children can wrap their minds and hearts around quite easily. As we head into “giving season,” we will begin a school-wide exploration of Tzedakah with the children - what does it mean to be “fair”? What does it mean when things are “not fair”? How can we help make things more fair for people around us? If we can shift our resources to support others, then surely we are working to ensure that “nothing is wasted.”

Every day at FJECC, I see around me so many small and humble gestures making a lot of bright light. For that I am very grateful. And I look forward to seeing the ways in which our children decide to make even more light. 

Shabbat Shalom,

Amy

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2022-2023 FJECC Annual Fund

The Annual Fund was created to cover the significant gap between tuition and the actual cost of an FJECC education. Money raised through this campaign helps to support the professional development of our incredible teaching staff, student scholarships, special projects, and facility operation and improvement – all of which contribute to our rich, warm and vibrant preschool community. 

Each year we strive for 100% participation from our current FJECC families and contributions at any level are greatly valued and appreciated. Gifts may be made via a check or as an online credit card donation through a secure page on our website. Every gift, whatever the size, is truly significant and brings us closer to our fundraising goals. We greatly appreciate your participation!

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Lively Minds!

When was the last time you challenged yourself to have a new perspective on something? Or put yourself in a position that shifted your orientation to make the familiar feel unfamiliar? Have you been upside down lately? Or stood still somewhere (preferably outside) and just looked up for a few minutes? I was once on a guided hike with someone who encouraged us to “look up.” I’ve been practicing this ever since.

Orientation and Perspective is one of the Eight Schemas that are outlined in Children’s Lively Minds; Schema Theory Made Visible - the book FJECC staff are reading this year. You may have noticed we’ve started documenting children’s learning using the language of these schemas. Take a look the next time you walk through the hallway of the school. You will see examples of children Transforming, Transporting, Positioning and Ordering, Enclosing and Enveloping, Connecting and Disconnecting, or experimenting with properties such as Rotation and Circularity, Trajectory or, as mentioned above and illustrated in the photos below, Orientation and Perspective.

Children push the boundaries of viewpoint and perspective daily. They constantly invite the new and different and unusual. And the information they collect in this process can help us better understand what they are learning and/or how they see the world.  An example: there is a child in the school who loves to bang on things. When we are on the playground, this child always has something in his hand that is an implement of noisemaking. He is often banging that implement on something else - or many other things. Sometimes I find this behavior distracting. Sometimes I'm worried things will get broken or someone will get hurt. And then I saw a video of this child on Kaymbu. He was sitting in front of a collection of pots and pans, banging on them with a couple of sticks. And he was making music. Really good and interesting music. I was captivated. And I knew then that what had seemed like random acts of banging and a great interest in sticks was much more. A potent reminder not to assume, to wait and observe  (something I am frequently coaching others to do) and to reflect on both the assumptions I may be making as well as the not so obvious work of play. 

Shabbat Shalom, 
Amy

Remarkable Teachers

What makes being a teacher at FJECC remarkable?

When we meet prospective teachers, part of the conversation is about what they might bring to FJECC. And then we also talk about what FJECC has to offer as a working environment for teachers. As I have met with, listened to and spoken with candidates, I’ve had to imagine how each person might fit in with our FJECC community. In turn, I’ve reflected on what it means to be a teacher at FJECC - an opportunity that many of us feel is, in itself, a remarkable experience. 

To teach is to commit oneself to being in relationship with others in a context that assumes there will be times of dysregulation, of unpredictable outcomes, of unease. Many of us who choose the field of early childhood education do so knowing - and maybe even looking for - the unpredictability of what each day will bring. We do not like to be bored. And yet we appreciate a sense of stability, comfort and safety. Much of teaching and classroom management is about building predictability and consistency into the physical and temporal environments - thereby creating space for change and growth, for risk, for adventure. Really good teachers are keepers of calm in the midst of apparent chaos. Really good teachers know how to find moments of stillness - moments of connection - for each child while at the same time remaining attuned to the needs of the whole group. Teaching is a balancing act of the highest order.

FJECC teachers care deeply about children, and they care deeply about the work that happens with children - including the tone and tenor of their classrooms. This is part of Helen Cohen’s legacy: she founded FJECC with a commitment to hiring and nurturing professional early childhood educators. She knew - in 1994 - that the quality of children’s experiences is directly tied to the quality of educator’s experiences in their work environment. It is a key principle of our school’s mission. It is part of what drew me here as a parent many years ago and it was very much a part of what brought me here as Director. I care deeply about ensuring teachers have the time, resources and support to do their work in the best way possible. This is fundamentally important to maintaining the quality of learning environment for which FJECC is known.

I listen for many things when speaking with a potential hire. I want to know that they respect and understand children, of course. I want to understand how they view parents and their approach to building relationships with them. I look for educators who have a sense of curiosity about the world and express wonder at the remarkable things that children do and say. One teacher, in response to the question ‘what is your favorite thing to do with children’ said: 'I just really love the process of getting to know each child, their interests, what challenges them, and looking for the opportunities to help them grow and learn.’ Yes! This is, not coincidentally, one of my favorite things about working with teachers. I look for opportunities to support educators’ growth. I know that the ways in which I bring teachers together in community will be mirrored in the classrooms and the ways in which they bring children together in community.  And as a team, we bring parents together in community - all together in this remarkable community. 

Shalom,
Amy

Are you an educator who is interested in joining this remarkable community?

Links of Time

How do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.

I came across my Red Room friends measuring the hallway last week. I could not help but connect their efforts to my thoughts about coming to the end of this school year. Over the past few weeks, I noticed how different all the children looked and acted, compared to when I first met them in September. Every morning during the last week while I announced their arrival at the playground gate I thought back to how anxious I was about remembering their names in the first few weeks of school. I remembered how tentatively a parent would approach me, always with the phrase, “I know you’re really busy, but…” I remembered the hesitation with which I hit ‘send’ on my first few Friday emails. I also remember the first feelings of familiarity and confidence that very surely began to take root and grow over the weeks and months of dealing with Covid, and all the other everyday things that come up in a preschool.

How DO you measure a year?
How about in multi-colored links?
How about in smiles, stories, laughs, and tears? And in friendships?

If so, I think the measure of the year that came to a close is that it was a hard one and it was ultimately a good one. In the most fundamental way, gratitude is what I feel today. At the end of a long and challenging year, there is much to be grateful for and so much to be excited for next year. I ask you to keep asking questions. Keep sending your concerns my way. This is how I know what needs to be addressed. This is how we – together – continue to grow and improve, to build relationships, and to experience community. None of us will do or say the right thing always. All of us have the opportunity to be heard, and all of us have the obligation to listen. I am already very much looking forward to next year. Let the planning begin!!

We hope you are having a wonderful summer. Remember to send photos to us from your summer lives.

Shabbat Shalom,
Amy

Change…Excitement…and Feelings!

There are so many big feelings in the air around FJECC this week! It happens every year, and every year it takes us by surprise even though we know it’s coming. The “it” is the seemingly sudden shift in behavior, the regression, the “senioritis,” if you will. Why is my child waking up in the middle of the night again? Why is my child having potty accidents? Why is my child hitting all of their friends? Why is my child crying at drop-off – in June?!?

Because it’s June! We are in a transition period and change is hard – even when it is change we are looking forward to. I just had this conversation with my daughter; she called one evening last week in tears. She is moving back to New York, driving across the country, and can’t wait to be back. But, the packing, the long-distance apartment hunting, the roommate drama, the change – is so hard. When I offered this very thought her response was, “but I’m so excited to be back in New York!” (sob sob sob). Yes, well, we can have all the feelings all at once. This is the stuff of life. We are all excited for summer, we are excited about adventures to come, and we are sad at the things we lose in order to have the things we want. How we make our way through these transition times reflects the core of our personalities. Some people experience all the stress, worry, and angst in anticipation of change. Some sail through change with excitement, wonder, and curiosity – and then fall apart afterward. Some do a little of both. The one thing I know for sure is that we all have big feelings around change and that we all will experience a lot of changes in our lifetimes. And there are things we can to do to buffer the impact of change.

Our older classes have been talking about the end of the year since children are visiting their next schools. Younger classes began a visual countdown on Monday. We remind children that people feel big feelings when they know something is changing and invite them to talk about what they are excited or worried about. We explain that their new school starts after a lot of summer days...and, most importantly, we tell them that FJECC will always be a place to come visit and that we can't wait to see them when they do!

For the adults who are trying to grasp the end of the year details, I'll remind you that Friday, June 10th, we will have Shabbat Sing all together in the garden at 9:30. Please join us as this is our chance to say a collective goodbye to some very important members of our staff who are leaving. 

Following Shabbat Sing, the Blue and Green Room children and families will then shift to Levi Auditorium to celebrate students from those two classrooms who are moving on in their educational journeys. 

FJECC will close at 1:00 on June 10. And summer will officially begin.

Shabbat Shalom, 
Amy 

A Good Place

I wonder how many of you have noticed the nesting geese in front of the Temple? Have you been chased across the street by an assertively defensive Poppa Goose? Has Momma Goose stood up as you walked by to reveal the eggs (and a bagel) that sit in the nest? I, for one, have been fascinated by this urban fowl family. When the geese first nestled in on that parched piece of dirt in the middle of our busy neighborhood, I wondered what on earth they were thinking to set up household here?

One of my earliest literary memories is reading Make Way for Ducklings with my grandmother. I cannot help but think that my fascination with the goslings can be attributed to my memories of the Robert McCloskey duck family. Grandma would often take my brothers and me on trips to the Public Garden, which usually included a ride on the swan boats. Those languid paddles around the lagoon, the towering weeping willows, the respite of a walk around the Gardens in the middle of a hot, busy, smelly city – all of these sensations are imbedded in memory with the fictional ducks and their search for a safe place to build a nest and all the characters they meet and misadventures they have along the way. Isn’t it remarkable to think about how fictional characters and images can be woven so intimately into our own memories that they become a part of what we hold and feel?

How did you decide where to live? Or where to work (and did that determine where you live)? What makes a place “good” for your family? So many of our families are from other places and choose to settle here in the Boston area. How do we create new connections to a place that make it home? Many of our current FJECC families are getting ready to say goodbye to this place that has been a home for their family for the past few years. At the pre-Shabbat sing coffee this morning, parents were talking about their upcoming transition from the FJECC “bubble” to the world of elementary school. I like to think there are many memories (for children and for adults) that have been woven with our stories and songs and rituals that will accompany them as they venture into the next phase of their “home” life.

Shabbat Shalom, 
Amy 

P.S. The goslings hatched this morning! 

Small Moments

Thank you to everyone who helped kick off my birthday weekend in true FJECC/Temple Israel style! It has felt very much like birthday season this week as many children are also celebrating theirs. Earlier in the week, one Green Room child and I were able to get over the hump of a grumpy morning (for both of us) by realizing that our birthdays are a day apart and we have continued to chat about this wondrous fact all week. Sometimes it feels as though adults and children speak different languages, we often have very different agendas and priorities and, for sure, children and adults experience the world in divergent ways. But - birthdays. It is a unifying theme throughout life. An adult having a birthday is something every child can understand (even if the ways in which birthdays are observed differ).

At Shabbat Sing this morning, as I obediently sat on the birthday “throne” and answered questions from Rabbi Suzie and then the children, I was a bit overwhelmed by the attention. And then Rabbi Suzie asked me, “what is your favorite thing about being Jewish?” It’s a big question! The answer came swiftly. One of my favorite things about being Jewish is the many wonderful ways Judaism has of honoring moments in our lives. Rituals, blessings, traditions, stories, songs, prayers; living life Jewishly means living life with intention and with attention to the small moments in each day that cumulatively help us make meaning of the world around us. On a daily basis, our teachers bring the same approach to their classrooms and to learning. It is an essential element of what makes our classrooms thrive. Today, I had the privilege of experiencing that same spirit of intentionality. Throughout the day, a voice would come through the walkie talkie summoning me to a classroom. Each time I assumed it was to help out through a transition, take a look at an injured child or to answer a question. But no! Each classroom called me to share in their particular birthday ritual (or something akin to it). Again, I was initially a little overwhelmed by the attention but at one point I realized it is not about me – and I was able to feel the joy in the children’s excitement about helping me celebrate. There was joy in the questions and true child-like curiosity and interest in hearing about my plans. I look forward to asking my Green Room friend about his birthday weekend when we are together again on Monday morning. This will certainly make the after-party let-down easier.

Shabbat Shalom, 
Amy