Several students and a few teachers from Richmond Jewish Day School were invited to appear on Variety’s Show of Hearts telethon. (photo from RJDS)
The Richmond Jewish Day School (RJDS) is a school that loves to donate to charity. The school currently donates to several organizations, including the Regional Animal Protection Society, the Jewish Food Bank and Variety – The Children’s Charity.
RJDS students raised $1,150 for Variety – The Children’s Charity. (photo from RJDS)
A total of $1,150 was raised this school year for Variety, through flower sales, bake sales and non-uniform days (where students donate a dollar for the privilege of not wearing a uniform). As a result, RJDS received an invitation to be on the Variety Show of Hearts telethon on Feb. 11 to formally donate the money that the student council raised. Several students and a few teachers went on TV and everyone was so excited to be part of such a great experience.
For me, the telethon was very inspiring in many ways. There were many people there whose stories were told, and they made me and the rest of student council even more pleased that we could donate. There were many other donations given, as well as ours, that I am sure will make a big difference in some lives. It was amazing to see how much Variety impacts the lives of children and how happy it can make them.
Haylee Toppis a Grade 7 student at Richmond Jewish Day School.
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Editor’s note: This year’s Variety Show of Hearts raised almost $5.5 million, which will benefit children with special needs and their families. Also appearing on the telethon was ShowStoppers, a group founded by Perry Ehrlich and Simon Isherwood that started out as Sound Sensation; the group’s first performance was on the telethon 25 years ago. Those who missed this year’s Show of Hearts can still make a donation online at variety.bc.ca, by calling 604-310-KIDS or by texting “KIDS” to 45678 to make an automatic $20 contribution.
Mamatefet’s first Mom and Babe Circle. (photo from Mamatefet)
Meirav Galili and her husband Itai moved to Vancouver with their two children from Israel five years ago. When their third child was born here, the family received lots of support from friends, something that helped make up for the fact that they have no extended family here.
When she heard about a plan to create a network of Israeli moms and moms-to-be, she was one of the first to sign up with Mamatefet.
Mamatefet, which has grown exponentially almost exclusively through word of mouth, is a mash-up of “mama” with the Hebrew word “maatefet,” which is a wraparound or embrace. The group welcomes those who want to be an otefet, an embracer, or a ne’etefet, an embracee. Except, the terms are not mutually exclusive.
“Sometimes it’s our turn to give and sometimes it’s our turn to get some help,” said Galili, adding that the success of the group surprised all involved.
“It was amazing because many, many people said, ‘me, me, me, me, me,’ and quickly we established something,” she said. Understanding the added burden of having and raising children without parents, aunts, sisters-in-law or other family around inspired many women to step forward.
Thanks to Mamatefet, one phone call or a WhatsApp message can put a team into action.
“The woman doesn’t need to ask even,” Galili said. “Everything is being done for her. She just needs to tell a friend, ‘My child is sick with me’ or ‘I have to stay at the hospital for tonight,’ and we’ll take it from there, and when they get home they have everything. It’s a very strong, warm feeling that we are not alone and we have this supportiveness.”
That is exactly what Rotem Regev had in mind when she and four friends conceived of Mamatefet in late 2016.
“It was one of those nights,” Regev recalled, “a few friends got together sitting around the coffee table chatting, recounting their individual – which we then realized were quite collective – stories of transition, to Vancouver, to motherhood, and how that intersected. What became really crystal clear to all of us is that we were feeling quite a bit of loneliness at that time, whenever that transition was, coming to Vancouver either pregnant or with a very little one, when there is not a school yet or any sort of structure to fit into…. To top that off, you would also be facing an extra challenge being away from your family and friends in a country that doesn’t yet quite feel like home and a language that doesn’t quite feel like home and a healthcare system that feels very, very different.
“We didn’t want any woman to feel the loneliness that we felt,” she said.
Mamatefet offers moms like Osher Cohen support, including the occasional homemade meal, and friendship. (photo by Lior Noyman)
When they decided to share their idea, they thought maybe five more women would join, perhaps seven. A few months later, they had 70 embracers and more than 40 embracees.
“The word spread out like wildfire really, because I think the need was so great,” said Regev, who is a clinical psychologist. There are a couple of similar groups in Israel and something sort of like Mamatefet in San Francisco and another in New Jersey, but, considering the evident need, it is a surprisingly rare initiative.
Regev and her Mamatefet co-founders Tamara Halamish, Yael Pilo Raz, Yael Mayer and Matti Feigelstock, have now seen their project expand from Vancouver to teams in Richmond, Ladner, Surrey, North Vancouver and East Vancouver-Burnaby, with a new team gearing up in Langley and the Tri-Cities.
In general, Mamatefet volunteers will deliver food, often including a Shabbat meal. There are regular meet-up groups for pregnant women and another for new moms. They are also on call in case of a crisis, like a miscarriage or a stillbirth.
But it’s the informal friendships that organically develop that are as important, said Marina Ingel. Being able to arrange play dates, exchange kids’ clothes, have a coffee with other new moms – this is an important outcome too, she said.
One of the reassuring things is talking to other moms about how the medical system in Canada differs from that in Israel.
“Here it’s totally different. Everything,” said Ingel. “In Israel, every time you’re going to the doctor, you’re doing an ultrasound. Here, you have maybe two the whole pregnancy. A bunch of things that they’re checking in Israel, they’re not doing this at all. But then you realize it’s fine and, if you have any problem, they will check it. Everything is OK, but the thing is that you’re worried about it, because it’s new to you.”
For Galili, cooking is both a hobby and a way to support other new moms.
“They send a message saying there is a woman who is about to come home with a baby and [asking] who is willing to participate,” she said. “I thought, OK, I need to prepare something anyway so I’ll just prepare something extra.”
Baking, homemade granola and yogurt, soups and a main dish, comfort food like chicken and rice, are the sorts of things she preps for new moms.
“If her mother were here, this is what she would probably make for her,” said Galili.
The Vancouver Jewish Community Centre doing a children’s baking program, Jan. 18, 1974. (photo from JWB fonds, JMABC L.11635)
If you know someone in this photo, please help the JI fill the gaps of its predecessor’s (the Jewish Western Bulletin’s) collection at the Jewish Museum and Archives of B.C. by contacting [email protected] or 604-257-5199. To find out who has been identified in the photos, visit jewishmuseum.ca/blog.
Rosh Hashanah is a time to take stock of the previous year and prepare yourself spiritually for the year ahead. But for those of us with busy families, it can be hard to squeeze time for reflection into the round of Yom Tov preparations. It seems that, once you have children, the holiday focus goes from attending shul to tending to your children and, as rewarding as parenting can be, it leaves little time for focusing on spiritual growth. Yet, one of our most important jobs as parents is to teach our children the concepts of teshuvah (repentance), tefilah (prayer) and tzedakah (charity/justice). How are you supposed to teach these values to your children when you may not have time to connect to them yourself?
Child education expert Moshe Beller has found that the answer lies within the very task at hand – by watching your children.
As director of Beit Metzudot School at Seeach Sod, an Israeli organization for kids and adults with special needs, Beller must often answer tough questions about how to teach children these important values. His answer – emunah (faith/belief) – in them, yourself and, ultimately, in Hashem.
“Here at Seeach Sod, we work with children of all ages and abilities. When we approach educating a child, we look at every detail, from the diagnosis, available therapies and interventions, family circumstances and more. Then we calculate it all to find a solution that best serves the individual child. Though I cannot tell you one therapy that works for every situation, I can say that, at the core of every treatment, is believing that your child can succeed – there is no greater intervention than that!”
Sounds good, but how can we tap into that elusive ideal? If you haven’t guessed it already, it’s our children who can teach us that as well.
Children have a profound ability to trust their parents to lead them. Even if they don’t always follow what you say, they trust you with their life essentials. They trust you will keep them safe, fed, clothed, etc. This level of emunah is one we should allow ourselves to tap into when it comes to grappling with G-d. Mirror what your child displays regularly – let go of the worries that hold you back and know that everything is being taken care of for your benefit.
As for teshuvah, an essential element of teshuvah is believing you can start anew, that you can learn from your mistakes without your ego holding you back. Children display this to us with their ability to live in the moment. They don’t condemn their past actions or the past actions of others like adults do. They’re excited to learn and grow without fear of admitting they don’t know it all.
With respect to tefilah, a key to heartful prayer is awe. A sense of G-d’s greatness and the miracles that surround us each day opens possibilities to so much more. Children have the ability to be wowed by things we take for granted. As adults, we become jaded and forget that the simple pleasures surrounding us are in fact miraculous. Learn from your children and find wonder in the simple creations.
Finally, tzedakah. Have you ever seen how a child lights up when you tell them you need their help? At the core of generosity is the understanding that, no matter what your financial situation is, we all have something we can offer to another. Children take much pride in being able to help, whether or not being of genuine assistance is within their capabilities. We, too, can take the same joy in giving tzedakah and doing acts of chesed (loving-kindness).
This year, instead of seeing your children as a distraction from the path to spiritual preparation for the High Holidays, look to them to guide you towards a year of growth.
This August, JCC Camp Shalom will also take place at Burquest Jewish Community Centre. (photo from JCC Camp Shalom)
The Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver’s JCC Camp Shalom for children and youth living in the Metro Vancouver area is coming to Burquest Jewish Community Centre Aug. 21 to Sept. 1.
Four years ago, a collaboration between JCC Camp Shalom and the Aleph in the Tri-Cities group began with the support of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver. This made it possible for children living in regional communities to attend JCC Camp Shalom in Vancouver.
This year, thanks to a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Vancouver, JCC Camp Shalom will venture into the Tri-Cities and run its first outreach session of the summer camp at the Burquest Jewish Community Centre.
This camp will look and feel just like JCC Camp Shalom: Jewish exploration and an Israel connection, while celebrating Canada 150; fieldtrips in nature and an overnight camping trip are included as well. The outreach camp also has free bus transportation and rates matching other camps in the area. Israeli and Jewish families living in Burnaby, New Westminster, the Tri-Cities (Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody) and beyond will be able to register their children ages 5-13 for one or two weeks of full-day camp. Registration opens May 5.
“This summer, we are finally going to have an outreach Camp
Shalom on our doorstep within our hometown!” said Yossi Dagan of the Aleph in the Tri-Cities group, who has been part of the project since its inception.
“As a community member living in the Tri-Cities, I am so excited to be able to send my children to a Jewish day camp so close to home,” said Tammy King, mother of three and program coordinator for Burquest. “For the first time, they will be able to participate in Jewish programming, learn about Israel and meet other Jewish kids their own age. This is definitely an exciting opportunity for Jewish families living outside of Vancouver.”
Inbal Len Nenner holds the attention of campers on Cypress Mountain during JCC Camp Shalom’s winter session last month. (photo from JCC Camp Shalom)
When Inbal Len Nenner arrived in Vancouver last year from Israel, she fell in love with the natural environment, as well as its people. “I met the nicest people in the world,” she said.
When JCC Camp Shalom met Nenner by chance at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, she spoke about her work with Israeli children, where she created a special program called Children’s Tribe. Inspired by ancient tribal traditions, it focuses on group-building activities for children and youth and connects them to nature.
Arts and crafts are a big part of JCC Camp Shalom, no matter what the season. (photo from JCC Camp Shalom)
This type of programming was of interest to Camp Shalom, as it has always focused on nature education and teaching values that foster appreciation and respect for the environment. So, during the two weeks of JCC Camp Shalom’s 2016 winter session, Nenner volunteered to work with all age groups.
During the winter camp, Nenner created many activities, including a quest for Big Foot at Cypress Mountain, where campers learned to follow tracks in the snow, and a “tribe day,” where the youth campers (grades 4-7) became the Spirit Eagle Tribe – each child had a role to fulfil, learned a job and shared with others. Meanwhile, with the younger campers (preschoolers), Nenner ran a Chanukah storytelling session, during which the children had the chance to dress up and play some of the roles in the story. The highlight of the week was a camp-wide celebration of Chanukah as in biblical times, which included booths and activities such as ceramics, dance and Olympic games.
Nenner’s goal in her work is to develop creative thinking in children and to show them the positive effect of making social connections in a group. This aligns exactly with JCC Camp Shalom’s values, so the camp could not have been more excited to give Nenner a chance to demonstrate her craft. During her time as a volunteer, the campers laughed and played, and created an environment that fostered positive self-image and growth.
“Inbal quickly became part of our Camp Shalom team and was loved by the campers and staff alike,” said Ben Horev, JCC Camp Shalom director.
Nenner has since returned to Israel, but JCC Camp Shalom is taking the necessary steps to ensure that she will return to the JCC in the spring. Not only did she enjoy her experience with the camp, but she was an amazing asset to the camp program, translating the camp’s values into meaningful activities from which the children grew and learned in an experiential way.
For more information about JCC Camp Shalom and its programming, contact Horev at [email protected].
The top three picks of B.C. teachers for elementary school students.
As part of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation’s 100th anniversary, the BCTF encouraged members to recommend their favorite kids books to celebrate literacy and lifelong learning. It asked teachers: “What are the books you believe every student should read before graduating?” The result is a list of 100 books each for elementary and secondary students with an accompanying online resource and poster set to promote the books and the love of reading.
The top three picks of B.C. teachers for secondary school students.
“The BCTF received thousands of submissions from teachers throughout the province to make these best books lists,” said BCTF president Glen Hansman. “Some teachers told us they chose books that inspire, books that resonate with their students, and books that stand the test of time. Other submissions were made based on the outstanding quality of writing or the compelling stories told. The list is by no means exhaustive or scientific, but it reflects the enthusiasm and passion teachers have for literacy and reading.”
BCTF has created a new web page called bctf.ca/100bestbooks, which has links to every book to help visitors access descriptions and the publishers’ information. The release of the two lists in September coincided with International Literacy Day, which was Sept. 8.
“I encourage all teachers and others who love a great read to explore these best book lists,” said Hansman. “There is some excellent diversity represented and it shows how rich the genres of children’s and young adult literature are. Thank you to all the authors out there creating such wonderful stories!”
Shalva founder Kalman Samuels, left, and Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat, centre, help youngsters cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the new Shalva National Children’s Centre. (photo from IMP)
Dozens of smiling preschool and kindergarten youngsters recently filed into a revolutionary new inclusion class, which integrates both special needs and other children in the same classroom environment. The opening of the inclusion class was attended by Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat, who has championed the needs of special education since he took office nearly eight years ago.
Housed in the new $55 million dollar Shalva National Children’s Centre – built on seven acres near Shaare Zedek Hospital – this class is part of the wider umbrella of services for the special needs community in Jerusalem. The new state-of-the-art National Children’s Centre provides services to the Israeli community, as well as serving as a research facility focusing on special needs.
Shalva has been the leading Israeli institution providing programs to children with special needs since it was founded by Canadian immigrant Kalman Samuels, along with his wife Malki, in 1990. The land on which the campus was built was donated by the municipality.
Barkat praised the Samuelses for their selfless dedication to the community.
“Shalva was a jewel when it originally opened in Har Nof. Now, it’s a bigger and more expensive jewel, but it’s worth every shekel and every dollar invested in this place,” said Barkat.
“It’s overwhelming. After 10 years getting the land, working to get all the permits, all the challenges we faced, the battles we had to fight to build this centre, the people that tried to stop us. It’s a complete miracle,” said Kalman Samuels, with tears welling up in his eyes, as the children and their parents filed into the building.
Sara Chana Wolff, the mother of Avraham, a 5-year-old child with special needs who will be participating in the educational program, was effusive.
“I just feel endless gratitude towards Shalva,” she said. “When they see that there is something else they can do to help the kids, they turn the world upside down to make it happen. It’s very humbling and inspiring when I look at what Shalva and the Samuels family has done for the community.”
Gal Katzir, whose 3.5-year-old son Sahar will be attending kindergarten classes at Shalva and helped cut the ribbon with Barkat, remarked, “We are so happy with our choice. We thought this would be a special opportunity for Sahar to get to know kids that are different from him. Also, they have so many resources that aren’t in any other kindergarten that we know Sahar will benefit from. Sahar was just great on his first day, he didn’t cry or anything, he just said, ‘Bye-bye, Mommy.’ I was the emotional one!”
Naomi Hazon’s daughter, Maayan Cohen, with the striped sleeves, has been attending Beth Tikvah’s Shalom Preschool for a year. The youngsters have supervised access to an outdoor play area and garden. (photo by Naomi Hazon)
Watching parents pick up their kids at Beth Tikvah Congregation’s Shalom Preschool and then touring the facility with teacher Esther Karasenty once the hallways had cleared, it is hard to believe that only a year ago, the program was in danger of closing for lack of enrolment. No such problem now, however, and parents wanting to check out the school for their 2.5- to 5-year-old should visit sooner rather than later.
Karasenty has been teaching at Shalom Preschool since 2008.
“Esther has the skills and training to work with children and a very natural ability to connect with children…. She’s able to build trust and make connections,” parent and schoolteacher Naomi Hazon told the Jewish Independent about Karasenty.
Karasenty is “the next best thing to when Mommy’s not around. I don’t feel worried, ever, when I leave my daughter here,” Hazon said.
In addition to her teacher credentials and extensive experience – in early childhood education and instruction, and in teaching special needs children – Karasenty also speaks five languages: English, Hebrew, Portuguese, Spanish and French. Yet, even with such a capable teacher, when Hazon went to register her daughter Maayan last year, she was told that the preschool was probably going to close within a year because of low enrolment.
About that situation, Karasenty said, “The population around here changed a little bit. Young couples started selling their homes and moving away from Richmond, so we didn’t have a lot of new children that belonged to Beth Tikvah itself,” and the preschool was previously “directed toward the community of Beth Tikvah.”
When Hazon found out that the preschool she herself had attended as a child might close, Karasenty said, “She just said no.” Hazon “worked really hard to bring it back to life. It was amazing,” said the teacher. When she joined forces with Beth Tikvah to open it up beyond the synagogue community, “she reached out to everybody and that made the difference,” said Karasenty.
“In the matter of a few months, we had several open houses,” said Hazon, as well as “families through in the evenings.”
Hazon also contacted Lissa Weinberger from Congregation Beth Israel, who sent an email to the Jewish children’s book mail-out program PJ Library, to build “community connections and get the word out.”
As well, Beth Tikvah hired a new program director, Hofit Indyk, who has worked with Hazon to advertise and market the preschool.
“We have updated our website and we advertise more on social media,” said Hazon.
Preschoolers whose families are not members of Beth Tikvah “just pay a slightly different fee for being non-members,” Hazon explained, “and members’ children are obviously welcome, and we are also open to non-Jewish families that are also in our community.”
This fall, five of the eight students will be Jewish. Other cultures represented include Japanese and Indian. “So, we have really mixed families,” said Hazon.
“Even within the Jewish families,” she added, “it’s often a place where families who have mixed marriages and maybe one parent hasn’t converted, they feel welcome here.”
Hazon shared the story of a family who recently moved here from Brazil. “Their child speaks barely any English and, by word of mouth, they hear that [Karasenty] speaks Portuguese, and [their son] is able to speak his first language with her and he was able to settle in right away.”
When Hazon was signing her daughter up for Shalom Preschool last year, the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver program for 2-year-olds had a lengthy waiting list. She describes Shalom Preschool as a “hidden gem” because it is providing Jewish education to her daughter “with an incredibly gifted and talented teacher in a small group setting and it’s local and, you know what, it’s affordable … and it’s inclusive.”
Karasenty explained her approach to teaching. “I see my position in the class as a facilitator. I facilitate the children’s interaction with the world around them. I facilitate their interaction with each other and I give them skills to communicate and to express their needs…. I respect children. I don’t lie to them, I always tell them the truth. I always see them as intelligent human beings. They may be short human beings, but they are human beings.”
Karasenty derives her approach from Maria Montessori who, explains Karasenty in Beth Tikvah’s December 2015 newsletter, “was an Italian physician, educator and innovator, acclaimed for her educational method that builds on the way children naturally learn. At Beth Tikvah Shalom Preschool, I follow those guidelines, creating an environment that will promote children’s development: offering them cognitive, physical and emotional experiences that will help them in becoming critical thinkers, human beings who will have the clarity of vision to direct and shape the future of our society.”
As the Jewish community becomes more dispersed – the latest figures cited by the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver show that 46% of Lower Mainland Jews now live outside of Vancouver – Hazon said, “It is important that people access what’s locally available to them and that you give back to your community to keep things going.”
“Beth Tikvah is here,” said Karasenty, “to keep on the feeling of community.”
Shalom Preschool runs Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-noon, with Shabbat-themed programming every Friday. The preschool is still accepting registration for the fall. For more information, visit btikvah.ca/learn/shalom-preschool or call 604-271-6262.
As children, most of us at least once created a space of our own built of cushions, sheets, cardboard, branches, tables, almost anything – a space of our own that mimicked the house in which or near which it was built. This is a cross-cultural phenomenon that serves to help children establish their identities, according to David Sobel.
Sobel is a faculty member in the education department at Antioch University in New England. The author of Children’s Special Places: Exploring the Role of Forts, Dens and Bush Houses in Middle Childhood, he teaches conceptual development in science education, a course called the Ecology of Imagination Childhood.
“I’m teaching upcoming teachers in a master’s program, so folks with undergrad degrees, most of whom have done other stuff and are coming back,” he said. “The first thing that is interesting [about kids building their own spaces] is that this is a fairly cross-cultural phenomenon. Not necessarily all children do it, but a lot of children do it in different cultures and settings around the world. They tend to do it between the ages of 6 and 12, therefore, it suggests this is some sort of genetically determined behavior that serves some kind of survival value.”
According to Sobel, there are a couple of different goals achieved through this practice. One is that they are creating another world or a home away from home. Young kids will do this inside the house. As they get to the ages of 5, 6 or 7, they start to do it outside, but near the house.
“They will gradually do it further away from the house, as a home they’ve created rather than that their parents have created, and it’s a way for them to establish themselves as unique individuals out in the world,” he said. “So, it has the function of identity creation … a special place or den, as a chrysalis out of which a butterfly will emerge. The butterfly is the self of the child that will emerge around the ages of 12 or 13.”
Sobel believes the behavior is instinctual, not a culturally transmitted one, though he admitted he has not yet unequivocally eliminated cultural influence as a variable in the cases he has observed. The behavior, Sobel thinks, is a mechanism to increase bonding with the natural or physical world.
“The theoretical model of Joseph Chilton Pearce, who wrote about the magical child, says that children are moving around [age] 6 or 7 from the family matrix, from being bound and held in the family, to moving out to the earth matrix, the physical world matrix,” he explained. “Kids are establishing a relationship with the natural world. It’s becoming a safe place for them, a source of energy, from the perspective of developing a healthy relationship with the natural world, eventually an environmental citizenship. Creating a home in the world that’s often made of natural materials gives them a sense of safety in a place that can feel a little scary or dangerous.”
Sobel contends that, in many cases, kids are discouraged from creating this sort of space or are not given access to the appropriate materials to do so, making it into less of a phenomenon and more of a function of parental and cultural permission or restriction.
“It’s good for parents to recognize it as a healthy behavior,” he said. “So, if kids show the impulse, it’s good to encourage it rather than discourage it. Also, in the natural play areas, there’s the theory of loose parts, which essentially says that what children want in a play landscape is a variety of loose parts or pieces that they can disassemble and assemble to create their own places.
“It’s great for parents to provide loose parts or for city parks to provide loose parts, so kids can construct things – branches, sand, stone and cardboard boxes – to encourage the creation of kid places.”
Sobel understands the hesitation of parents and public stewards to provide such tools, seeing them as accidents waiting to happen, but he thinks it is appropriate to allow a moderate amount of risk while also eliminating the most dangerous hazards.
“You want to encourage safe tool use,” he said. “So, if kids are going to be using pocket knives, make sure they know how to use them correctly, and you take them away when they don’t abide by those rules. With my son, as an example, when he was 7 or 8, I came home and found little fire scars on the concrete floor in the barn, which is our garage. He was interested in building little fires. In the barn, this was not a good idea, so I constructed a fire ring for him and made him a fire kit with matches and appropriate things. I told him he could build fires if he wanted to, but only here … that he has to respect the impulse, but also limit [it] … giving it some structure.”
Sobel suggested reading children’s literature that includes stories about the creation of such spaces as a great way to lead to positive building behavior.
He added that, while the impulse is fine indoors at the beginning, it eventually wants to be outdoors. When doing it outdoors, he advised becoming aware of the city’s zoning laws, as there will be areas in which the construction of subsidiary or outlying sheds, buildings or forts is not permitted. Another modern-day complication, he added, is “the digitalization of kids lives.” The time “not just for fort building, but any kind of natural play experiences outside, is getting eroded because of the lure of digital entertainment. But also, parents feel like digital entertainment is safer than the woods or exploring the neighborhood.
“With all this digitalization, kids are less likely to have an interior sense of balance, they are more overweight and they are having more vision problems as a function of not exercising certain kinds of motor development in their eyes,” he said. “The sedentary lifestyle is unhealthy for children.
“Place creation is part and parcel with having kids with more physically active lifestyles. It’s important for kids to understand the motor diversity of outdoor natural play, as opposed to just having them involved in a sport, which tends to limit motor skills to certain kinds of behaviors.”
According to Sobel, there is a vein of Jewish theology that can be drawn upon which supports nurturing our relationship with the natural world. He is helping organize a conference of Jewish early childhood programs in the New York area, where topics such as nature preschools and forest kindergartens for the Jewish early childhood community will be discussed.
He also said that there is a vibrant nature-based education community in Victoria and Vancouver, giving the example of educator Dr. Enid Elliot at Camosun College in Victoria.
“They will gradually do it further away from the house, as a home they’ve created rather than that their parents have created, and it’s a way for them to establish themselves as unique individuals out in the world,” he said. “So, it has the function of identity creation … a special place or den, as a chrysalis out of which a butterfly will emerge. The butterfly is the self of the child that will emerge around the ages of 12 or 13.”