Community
aber
Ivritr
Adat Shalom Nursery School begins
Hebrew immersion program.
DIANA LIEBERMAN
Staff Writer
eventeen big-eyed 4-year-olds twist their fin-
gers in time to "Ha Eensy-Veensy Akavit"
("The Eensy-Weensy Spider"). They gather
around teacher Ronit Lipsky to enjoy a
Hebrew storybook, then answer questions asked
completely in
Hebrew about the
days of the week
and what the
weather is like.
This all takes
place at Adat
Shalom Nursery
School and
Kindergarten, only
two weeks after the
start of school.
Adat Shalom is
the Detroit-area
pilot for a Hebrew
immersion program
designed to give
Adat Shalom Hebrew teacher
children speaking
Ronit Lipsky teaches the new
mastery of the
Hebrew immersion class.
Hebrew language at
an age when they
can best absorb it. All classes in the school are
involved.
"Not only are younger children better able to
absorb a second language, but it gives them a greater
command of their native language and leads to a
higher IQ," says Dottie Levitsky, head of the syna-
gogue's nursery and kindergarten program.
Beginning a Hebrew immersion program for
preschoolers in synagogue schools was a key recom-
mendation in the recently published "Strategic
Vision" of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit's Alliance for Jewish Education.
"If they stick with it, these kids will have a work-
ing knowledge of oral Hebrew by the time they leave
preschool," said Harlene Appelman, Alliance direc-
to r.
Appelman said she would love to expand the pro-
gram to other schools.
But teachers like Lipsky, a native Hebrew speaker
with a wealth of teaching experience and a natural
aptitude for young children, are rare, Appelman said.
"We're scratching our heads," she said. "Where do
we get teachers?"
The difference between Hebrew immersion and
the curriculum of most Jewish preschools is that, in
fir
9/29
2000
R14
the immersion
program, chil-
dren spend all
or part of their
day in an all-
Hebrew envi-
ronment.
Previously,
Hebrew teach-
ing had been
conveyed by
translation of
easy Hebrew
vocabulary,
with
Conservative
preschools also
teaching
prayers.
In Hebrew immersion, a specially
trained teacher conveys the meaning of
words through props, movements, body
language, puppets, songs, dances and sto-
rybooks.
At Adat Shalom, the all-Hebrew sec-
tion began the first day of school with
about 20 minutes a day for 4- and 5-year-r)
olds. Levitsky plans to increase these ses-
sions later in the year.
The school's 2- and 3-year-olds use
songs, games and finger plays to start
learning their Hebrew vocabulary.
The Hebrew immersion program was
made possible by a Max M. Fisher Jewish
Community Foundation Grant. Lipsky,
Levitsky and Nira Lev, director of
Hebrew programs at the Agency For
Jewish Education of Metropolitan
Detroit, went to a five-day workshop on
Top, Teachers Lauren Blitz, Barbara Saltsman and Eileen Weiner
the program at the Jewish Theological
join students Josh Davis, Mac Bank and Max Gross, all of
Seminary of America last summer.
Bloomfield Hills, Michael Langwald of West Bloomfield, and other
"What has to be made clear about this
class members in a Hebrew version of "The Eensy-Weensy Spider"
program is that it's a real nursery school
Above, 4-year-olds Erin Weingarten of Bloomfield Hills, Spencer
curriculum, but we do it in Hebrew,"
Wolfe of West Bloomfield, Emily Scherrer and Emily Kurjan of
Levitsky explains.
Farmington Hills.
As the 4-year-olds continue their class,
Lipsky asks what kind of weather it is and
puts a "shemesh" (sun) on a big calendar.
Adat Shalom's Hebrew immersion program has a
At the end of each month, students will graph how
Hebrew component for parents, including audio
many days of each type we had in September.
tapes, videos, Hebrew-English picture dictionary and
A big colored-paper caterpillar represents how
classes.
many days the children had been in school. Each
But nobody expects the parents to learn quite as
day, they learn a new number and place it on the
fast. ❑
caterpillar. On the 100th day, they will have a 100-
day party.