Unit Studies the Jewish way

This thematically based approach to teaching is a very versatile tool for educating in a home environment. It allows for integration of many disciplines and ideas. It can be adopted for students of various ages studying the same subject. By learning about something from many different angles and in depth it can create a greater impact on the student and lead to in depth understanding of the subject at hand. The possibilities are really infinite. One can use anything of interest as a starting point and branch out further and further in one's explorations. So one can pick a subject of interest and then relate it to art, math, science, history, etc. Our sages teach us that everything is in the Torah. It never ceases to delight me of how every possible subject can be taught and learned through the prism of the Torah. It's not surprising because Torah describes the essence of reality. So the Torah has something to say on medicine, ecology, music, mathematics, art, science, community and urban planning, psychology, history, geography, etc . So here is a great link to innernet with a myriad of articles on all these various subjects.

Do it with soul

Whatever one does in life is worth doing with soul. After all isn't it what we are here for? So here is a popular Carlbach niggun, unsurprisingly called Niggun Neshama (A soul Tune,)sung by Shlomo Katz. To soulful living, doing and singing!!! I dedicate this post to someone very much connected to my soul, you know who you are:) Enjoy!!!

A heir raising experience

A heir raising experience often involves many hair raisng ones. I read it attributed to the Steipler Gaon that the formula for success in chinuch (education of children) is 50% prayer and 50% shalom bayis (marital harmony and peace in the home). Rabbi Dan Roth in his book, Relevance, very aptly points out that we often get angry at our children, because after all we've done and are constantly doing for them, we expect to be able to control them. But ultimately we cannot control another person even our own spouse or child, we can however control our reactions and how we apply ourselves to personal growth. This idea is really very empowering. We don't have to feel totally helpless and at a loss. There is something concrete we can do. We should concentrate our efforts in the areas where we can do something to make things better and with that Hashem should bless our endeavors and we should merit to see much nachas from our children. We have to try to model to the best of our abilities the kind of people we would want our children to become. They won't necessarily turn out exactly like we envision in every detail, but as long as we've transmitted our values and set them firmly on the true path I think we can consider that a successful mission.

Here are a few of my favorite books on the subject of prayer and shalom bayis.
Prayer:
The Art of Jewish prayer by Rabbi Yitzchak Kirzner and Lisa Aiken
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on Siddur and Tehillim

Marriage and Shalom Bayis:
Dear Daughter By Rabbi Eliyahu Goldschmidt
Dear Son By Rabbi Eliyahu Goldschmidt
A Committed Marriage by Rebetzin Esther Jungreis
Woman to Woman by Rebetzin Esther Greenberg

How relevant!!!

Here is an amazing book I read recently by Rabbi Dan Roth, it's called Relevance -Pirkei Avos for the 21st century. It shows the real depth and breadth of Torah wisdom as demonstrated in Pirkei Avos (the Ethics of the Fathers) and how it applies to many facets of modern life. It covers among other things the significance of various life stages and the spiritual journey, human relationships, communication, the psychology of friendship and much, much more. There are enough lessons, mussar, psychology, interdisiplinary ideas, etc in there for a couple of lifetimes. The above link will take you to the book website with an excerpt, reviews, blurbs,etc. Enjoy!!!

A song in my heart

Here is a beautiful song from Yosef Karduner together with beautiful scenery too. My antidote to news. Hashem is the One watching over the Jewish people, just look at all the rain we've been getting here:) So don't let politics and international hostility get you down. Adar is a fortuitous and happy time for us. Chodesh Adar Tov, Kodesh, Mevorach V'Sameach!!!

Takes my breath away

The flowers are coming up here in Israel, especially after the last week's downpours. It is the harbinger of spring on its way. The sight of the green and flowering hills across from my home never ceases to move me and make my hear skip a beat . How wonderful it is to behold all this beauty. We can't overlook these moments of pure bliss, problems not withstanding. Even though everyone's existance is not always smooth sailing, life is still full of these bits of joy and sweetness, a reminder of G-d's love for us. Thanks you to Chaya Rivka Chimes and A7 picture archive for this stunning picture.

Which flavor will it be?

There are many different approaches to learning and each family will have to decide for themselves which approach they want to adopt. The choice will depend on the interests, learning styles, parenting style, time availability and learning needs of a particular family. But here is a standing on one foot guide to some of the options that I think can be adapted to work with Jewish home education and that fit with the Torah ideas about how to educate.

Montessori - based on work of Dr. Maria Montessori where a prepared environment and purposeful and sequential activities are used to allow the children to learn various skills and disciplines. Encourages independent learning and a respectful attitude to peers and environment. The teacher functions more like a facilitator and adviser. There is a lot of individual and interest based work. Dr. Montessori had many interesting and excellent ideas about how children learn and how to teach various subjects. My friend and local montessori expert, Miriam Eri, tells me that Montessori approach is as close as one can come to homeschooling type of a teaching model in a classroom setting.

Classical education- heavily book based, particularly Great Book based, very structured and well rounded approach to education. Relies heavily on the study of language, literature, history and logic. Follows the stages of intellectual development of a child from grammar to logic to rhetoric. It's quite rigorous in nature. The available curriculum for this approach needs to be adapted to jewish needs but the general idea of steady and disciplined learning appropriate to various stages of intellectual development works well with the Torah approach to education.

Charlotte Mason - a sort of toned down and gentler version of classical education, based on teaching good habits, using "living books" to ignite student interest and inspire love of learning, nature study, copywork and dictation, picture study, journaling. This is not too labor intensive in terms of preparation for the parent. It works very well in a family setting with children of various ages, abilities and interests, especially with the younger/ elementary aged children (those are the ones I have right now:) It is easily adaptable for jewish family needs.

Unit Studies - Theme approach to learning a subject or an interdisciplinary way to learn a subject in depth from many different angles. The main idea here is that the more connections one makes in one's mind with a particular subject from various vantage points the better one will know and understand it. This is a very versatile and exciting way to learn especially for people who appreciate a holistic type of thinking. One can also use a subject as a springboard for launching into related studies and ideas across numerous disciplines. The possibilities are really infinite. For example, one can use the weekly Torah portion as the starting point and then include various related math, science, history, music, art and practical projects that are germane to the topics mentioned. One can really do this with any subject.

Unschooling- child led education based on the child's interests. Less formal, using the world as the classroom kind of an approach.

Eclectic- while the purists and the devotees of a particular approach will be scandalized and flabbergasted, for the rest of us mortals using a little bit of everything depending of what works at a particular time and with a particular child is definitely a reasonable way to go
I hope to explore each of these more in depth in the future posts. The beauty of home education is that one can tailor it to individuals' needs. There is so much to learn, explore, teach, discover. One has to relish the process as well as the end results. Bon Voyage!!!