Preschool
Picassos

Temple Emanu-El's youngest students draw
their impressions of Israel.

DIANA LIEBERMAN Staff writer

KRISTA HUSA Staff photographer

A

WW,

2-year-old can't draw a circle or color within the
lines. But the families who attended Temple Emanu-
El's preschool art show saw every scribble, blob or
stick figure as a masterpiece.
The show, held May 8
at the Oak Park syna-
gogue, reflected the chil-
dren's hopes for the state
of Israel. Teacher Beth
Isaacs emphasized that
their classroom discus-
sions don't focus on the
idea of war or killing.
Instead, they talk about
how Jews and Arabs
need to get along with
each other.
"They don't really know what's going on in Israel, but they
deal with sharing and cooperation every day," she said. "It's part
of the socialization process."
In addition to their free-form pictures, the children created
accordion-fold art, in
the style of Israeli artist
Yaacov Agam. They cut
Top: Lauren Cohen, 3,. of
pictures of Jerusalem
Huntington Woods shows her
and of the Israeli flag
Israel painting to
into vertical strips. Then
her mother, Lauren, and
the strips were pasted
brother Aron, 7.
sequentially on folded
cardboard. "If you look
Above center:
at it one way, it's
Temple Emanu-El preschool
Jerusalem; if you look at
teacher Beth Isaacs and
it the other way, it's the
Jalen Raines, 6, of
Israeli flag," Isaacs
Huntington Woods
explained.
admire the accordion folded
Because the art show
art.
was held the week
before Mother's Day,
Left: Joey Berlin, 2, of
everybody's mom got to
Huntington Woods is
take home a gift — a
thrilled to see his painting.
colorful marigold. ❑

Inset: Mothers Day cards
and pots of marigolds wait for
preschool parents.

Far left: Fay and Jerry Jacobs
of Farmington Hills look at
their grandchildren's art.

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2002

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