Written by Margie Pines
Founder & Director at Ta'am Teva
We live in a fast -paced hectic world where children are rushed from one activity to the next. They constantly hear phrases like “Hurry up, come on we’ll be late.” Or “not now, we need to go.” It has become rare for young children to have a place or time where they can slow down, observe their world and take a deep breath. It’s unfortunate because space and time are exactly what young children need to learn and grow into self- motivated engaged learners.
In Judaism there is a concept called Kedushah or holy spaces within our world. There are certain time periods such as Shabbat where we are asked to slow down and step away from our busy lives and reflect on our week. Shabbat gives us the opportunity for respite and contemplation. What if we gave young children the same “holy space” in time on a more regular basis? Instead of rushing them into all sorts of activities, just let them play and learn at their own pace. What if we let children learn about the ideas they are interested in, not just learn about material we think they should like. Recently, on a cold day in December I had planned to explore what animals do to get ready for winter. It was such a windy day that you felt like you might just blow away. As we started our time together one child mentioned it was the perfect day for kites. She was absolutely right!
We threw all ideas for exploring animals out the window and thought about what we needed to make a kite. Children worked for over an hour attaching sticks and fabric together. This child was so proud as she ran holding her homemade kite in the air watching it flutter. Observing her joy made me grateful that she had the time and space to explore her own ideas. It was indeed Kedushah a holy moment.
Written by Margie Pines
Founder & Director at Ta'am Teva
We live in a fast -paced hectic world where children are rushed from one activity to the next. They constantly hear phrases like “Hurry up, come on we’ll be late.” Or “not now, we need to go.” It has become rare for young children to have a place or time where they can slow down, observe their world and take a deep breath. It’s unfortunate because space and time are exactly what young children need to learn and grow into self- motivated engaged learners.
In Judaism there is a concept called Kedushah or holy spaces within our world. There are certain time periods such as Shabbat where we are asked to slow down and step away from our busy lives and reflect on our week. Shabbat gives us the opportunity for respite and contemplation. What if we gave young children the same “holy space” in time on a more regular basis? Instead of rushing them into all sorts of activities, just let them play and learn at their own pace. What if we let children learn about the ideas they are interested in, not just learn about material we think they should like. Recently, on a cold day in December I had planned to explore what animals do to get ready for winter. It was such a windy day that you felt like you might just blow away. As we started our time together one child mentioned it was the perfect day for kites. She was absolutely right!
We threw all ideas for exploring animals out the window and thought about what we needed to make a kite. Children worked for over an hour attaching sticks and fabric together. This child was so proud as she ran holding her homemade kite in the air watching it flutter. Observing her joy made me grateful that she had the time and space to explore her own ideas. It was indeed Kedushah a holy moment.