Summer Kibitzer July 5, 2017

Josie draws her version of a public sculpture.

Preschool Summer Program

A Study of Public Art and Sculptures

by Carla Goldberg

Preschool Director

As we return from the 4th of July holiday, I'd like to give you a glimpse of what's been happening at Akiba-Schechter this summer. The preschool summer program has been diving deeply into the study of public art and sculptures. We have been exploring materials, creating three-dimensional art, and visiting sculptures in the community. We created our experiences according to the children's ages and interests.

The younger children are exploring all types of materials. They have used clay, model magic and play dough to learn about three-dimensional art and how to create art with these materials. We have taken blocks, cardboard tubes, shells, rocks and other recycled materials to create transient art and sculptures that can stay up for a few days and then are taken apart for future use. We have been asking children questions such as "Tell me about what you created?" - "How does it make you feel?" - "What does it make you think about?"

The older students have participated in a paper-making workshop with our resident artist and teacher, Susan Carton. Next week they will work on turning the recycled paper they made into paper sculptures. We also visited the Japanese Garden, Wooded Island and the Yoko Ono Sculpture, located south of the Museum of Science and Industry. This was an incredible adventure for our children ages 3 1/2 to 6 years. They loved exploring the woods, rolling down the hills at the Yoko Ono sculpture and wandering through the Japanese Garden. Each group spent time drawing and sketching different parts of their adventure. It was incredible to watch them and experience these special spaces through their eyes.

After returning from this field trip, the teachers and children were so excited about their adventure that they decided to create replicas of the Yoko Ono sculpture "Sky Landing," using different materials. The children figured out how to make the replicas three-dimensional. It was a very inspiring day for everyone. I am amazed how the children and teachers have embraced this study of sculptures and taken it to depths I didn't know were possible. This is a wonderful example of our Reggio-inspired approach to diving deeply into a topic and studying something the children can visit and experience in the community.

On Thursday, July 27th from 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. we will be hosting the Akiba Summer Gallery Opening. Families, friends and community members will be invited to view all of the sculptures we have been creating this summer.

Of course there's a lot more going on at Akiba, including visit from exotic animals, a drumming workshop, water fun, field trips, cooking, swimming, and so on.

Field trip to Wooded Island

Learning to Sculpt

Learning to Sculpt

The children in the Green Room and Ready!Set!Go! have been learning how to sculpt. They began with play dough and talked about how it felt and the different ways they could manipulate it (rolling, flattening, stretching, pinching, etc.). They then told a story about a ball of play dough that wanted to be something else. As the class talked about it becoming a snake, pancake, taco, and other things, the teachers shaped the play dough into those forms so the children could begin to understand how sculpting works. They practiced with play dough for a few days, and then moved on to clay. It turns out that clay was too difficult for their little hands, so we tried model magic. Its softer texture enabled the children to focus on the what they wanted to make, rather than on how difficult it was to manipulate. They created many unique sculptures including goldfish, a hot air balloon, and a mom!

Farewell, Mrs. Schiller!

Last Friday, the whole preschool hosted Mrs. Schiller as a special guest and celebrated Shabbat with her as she retired from 29 years of serving as Akiba-Schechter's principal! All the best, Mrs. Schiller!

The Chicago Teacher's Project

(hosted by the CFJE/JUF in conjunction with a certificate program from the Erikson Institute)

Hosting Teaching Fellows Next Year

by Carla Goldberg

Preschool Director

Akiba-Schechter is one of five schools in the Chicagoland area that were chosen to participate in the Chicago Teacher's Project. This new initiative involves having fellows in our schools for the next two years. It is coordinated by the Erikson Institute, where the fellows will receive a certificate in early childhood education.

In preparation for participating in this program, I attended the Boulder Journey Conference in Colorado along with ten other Jewish early childhood directors and two people from JUF/CFJE. We traveled as a cohort to strengthen our relationships as a team as we embark on this project together. We discussed the impact that this program could have on Jewish early childhood education, and the roles we would play in making that happen. The Boulder Journey School is affiliated with a Master Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder. They have interns for a year, who receive a Masters in Early Childhood when they have finished the program. We were able to ask questions about how to best integrate these interns/fellows into our existing programs, the potential for the roles they could play, and the studies that could happen with them. We learned about the roles that cooperating teachers would play, and what mentors and directors do for these types of programs.

We discussed the potential and the "What ifs" for the Chicago Jewish early childhood community and considered how we could strengthen this together. We were able to closely observe the environment at the Boulder Journey School, and the effect it has on the adult and child. One of my travel companions remarked, "If I had a classroom like this, I would be a better teacher." We noted how the school's environment affected how we felt by creating a sense of calm, wonder and inquiry. We looked deeply at the work they were doing with students and discussed the work we do in our own programs, and how we continually strive to deepen that work to make it more meaningful and thoughtful.

With this trip we created a cohort that will learn and grow together as well as continue to elevate our schools in Chicago. We even tossed around ideas on how we could make Chicago a destination for a conference that would showcase the "best practices" in early childhood education.

It was a very powerful journey. I returned feeling immensely proud of the work we do at Akiba-Schechter, and tremendously excited about the possibilities for the future. I feel a strong sense of responsibility in having a fellow and shaping a young teacher at Akiba next year. I am honored that Akiba was chosen for this project, and I am confident that we are up to this challenge--we all will grow and learn through this project together.