Behrman House Blog

Last week I had the privilege of visiting several schools in the Los Angeles area as an extension of the National Jewish Early Childhood Network conference. Along with several dozen educators, I toured indoor and outdoor classrooms on a sunny ninety-degree day (in November!).

What I saw reminded me how much the classroom environment is a key factor in how young children learn. From cozy book corners to welcoming outdoor gardens, from creative use of recycled materials to cheerful displays of children’s words and artwork, a well-thought-out classroom is an important part of creating an inviting, stimulating environment.

As educators we can get caught up in the day-to-day routines of lessons and logistics. How nice to take a break from our own worlds to spend time visiting someone else’s.

Here are some ideas for enhancing your classroom environment:

• Exchange school visits with educators from other schools in your area, to gather ideas for your classroom.
• Look for ideas in teacher resources you find online, or from books like Jewish Every Day, by Maxine Handelman.
• Fill your bookshelves with your favorite Jewish picture books and storybooks, like It's Too Crowded in Here!, classic Jewish folktales retold by Vicki Weber.
• Check out Jewish children’s book lists and reviews from sites like kveller.com and challahcrumbs.com.
• Rotate your posters periodically to stimulate children’s interest and questions. For a holiday focus, try Jewish and Me Posters: I Can Celebrate Jewish Holidays. For an Israel focus, try Modern Israel in Focus.
• Enrich the atmosphere with child-friendly Jewish music such as Craig Taubman’s new CD recording, How Good: Songs for Siddur Mah Tov.

Although we may not all have access to the kind of year-round outdoor classrooms I saw in Southern California, there is much we can learn from visiting other schools and using the resources available to gather ideas for enhancing our own classroom spaces.

Shabbat shalom,

Dena Neusner

Senior Editor, Behrman House