January 27, 2015 was Multicultural Children’s Book Day. It seems like good timing to share some thoughts on diversity within Jewish children’s literature. Sylvia Rouss, Mira Reisberg, Joni Sussman and Ann Stampler spoke at the 2014 Association of Jewish Libraries conference on a panel responding to the Pew study “A Portrait of…
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Ways to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with Young Children
[quote text_size=”small” author=”From Fun With Jewish Holiday Rhymes by Sylvia Rouss, UAHC Press, 1992″] Rosh Hashanah will soon be here. It’s the beginning of the year.We go to temple and listen to the shofar’s sound. We eat a special challah –its shape is round.We eat apples dipped in honey sweet. They…
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A Baht Brit Naming Ceremony
The birth of my fourth grandchild, a girl, gave our family the opportunity to repeat a naming ceremony we first used almost 37 years ago when our second daughter was born. Influenced by the 60’s “do it yourself” The First Jewish Catalog and not yet members of a congregation, my husband…
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PJ Library Conference
I had the most wonderful experience last week at the PJ Library Conference in Baltimore. Almost 200 PJ Library professionals assembled for work shops and team building activities. Camaraderie and enthusiasm marked each and every session. Especially meaningful for me was meeting my writing colleagues and we were told that…
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Thank You Bernice
My educational philosophy has developed over time. I have taught for over 20 years. I began my career as an assistant nursery school teacher when I graduated from college. My head teacher, Bernice Lieberman, was my mentor. She knew how to engage children with her story telling. She also managed…
Read MoreAllowing Teachers to be part of the Process
When I spoke at the the National Jewish Early Childhood Network conference in November, I asked rhetorically, “How do we inspire our staff to develop Jewish literacy so that the children and families we teach, not only receive the best education, but the best Jewish education? How can a teacher…
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