It has been a busy back-to-school time at HEA for both Preschool and HEART.
At a recent directors’ meeting, I suggested Amanda and I co-author this week’s Heartbeat, focusing on the similar approaches we take to meaningfully educating children.
As a preschool, we take a play-based approach to early education, where children explore their world with natural curiosity and sensory experiences. With Rosh Hashanah just around the corner, preschoolers will crunch juicy apples dipped in sticky, sweet honey. Their small arms will knead dough, the play kind, to create round challah. They will hear the loud blast of the Shofar and peaceful Shabbat melodies. When we bring tangible Jewish practice to young children, we leave memories that will last them beyond their preschool years. Last Sunday before the picnic, I found joy in seeing our preschool “graduates” in new HEART classrooms, curious about the new ramp wall in the hallway, making new connections, and being ambassadors in our building.
When children graduate from preschool, you may ask yourself, what’s next? How do I continue my child’s or grandchild’s Jewish education and continue growing their sense of Jewish community? At HEArt Religious School, we are the bridge that takes up where preschool left off. We welcome students into our laboratory of Jewish learning experiences to continue exploring their Jewish identity while building on friendships from preschool. With a focus on experiential learning and value-based programming, students will deepen their understanding of Judaism while finding joy in it and with each other.
How do we do this? We immerse students in an Israeli shuk to taste different foods from the area. We explore prayer through an interactive scavenger hunt from the Torah to the garden. Our middle school students not only learn about concepts of tzedakah and tikkun olam but also put them into practice by volunteering at a local organization. Through chugim (electives), we offer students the opportunity to explore different topics of art, music, and movement, all through a Jewish lens. In our upcoming year, we are framing a Sukkot program with a social justice theme that explores the topic of “what is a home” that is applicable to a child’s everyday life. On Simchat Torah, we will be dancing our Torah down the street to celebrate and learn with students from Sinai Temple. And this is just to name a few!
HEA’s Preschool and Religious School work in partnership to ease the transition for children as they move into Elementary School. While kids move to different schools and can experience the anxiety of change, we want them to know they always have a home and family at HEA.
If you are interested in our programs, please reach out.
Shabbat Shalom!
