HOLIDAYS
FAMILY
HIGH HOLIDAY
PREPARATIONS
•
Preparing children for the High Holidays creates a
meaningful celebration
BARBARA PASH
Special to The Jewish News
ducators see a trend a-
mong parents to actively
involve their children in
the Jewish holidays. Al-
though parents of previous
generations were involved, the feeling
today seems to be that parents must
take the initiative rather than depend
on the community at large or even the
Jewish schools to prepare their
children for the holidays.
Educators have different opinions
on the reasons for increased parent in-
volvement. Rena Rotenberg, director
of early childhood and family educa-
tion, Baltimore Board of Jewish
E
5s
FRinAY SEPTEMBER 9.1988
Education, attributes it to a change
in educational theory. Around the
country, synagogues now have pre-
. school programs for toddler-age
children — usually 18- to 24-month
old children attending two half-days
per week. This has "inspired more
creativity in education," says
Rotenberg. "The goal is to devise
educational experiences appropriate
to their age level."
Young children "learn through
their senses," Rotenberg says, "so you
have to enable them to have their own
experiences. Telling them isn't
enough. They have to do it
themselves."
Certain Jewish holidays lend
themselves more readily to hands-on
experience than others. Passover has
seders, Succoth has sukkahs. True,
Rosh Hashanah has honey and apples
for a sweet new year, and Yom Kipur
has shofars, but the concepts behind
them, especially Yom Kippur, were
once considered "too intellectually
esoteric" for young children.
No longer, says Rotenberg, who
believes that parents can find ways to
make any of the holidays comprehen-
sible. Firstly, says Rotenberg,
"Parents have to educate themselves
about the holiday." And secondly,
"Parents have to understand their
own feelings for the holiday because
kids pick up on if you're doing this for
genuine reasons or you feel you have
to."
Rotenberg feels that nowadays,
parents are more interested in
holiday-related activities for the
home. In response to the demand,
there are a host of books, games,
records, and tapes for every holiday at
every age level.
"Because there are more children
in Jewish pre-schools, you find
children having more positive Jewish
experiences at a young age," says
Rotenberg. "So the parents try to give
the children a positive experience at
home?'
Rabbi Robert Abramson at-
tributes the involvement not to a
change in educational theory, but
change in the Jewish community.
Continued on Page 58