Have you ever stopped to notice that children are in perpetual motion? They learn by doing, observing, tasting, and touching. They sing a song hours after you have tried to get them to sing along with you, when they are playing alone in their room. They notice a letter from their name on a cereal box, as they ride along in the shopping cart. A child’s mind is constantly processing, and early childhood experts will tell you a child’s brain requires movement to help them learn. Did you know that?
As such, we often practice moving and learning at the same time in preschool. For example, we might ask children to form the ABC’s by twisting their bodies into the right shape. Or, another room might choose to build a tower out of blocks and discover how strong their structure is before it topples.
It is truly wonderful how so many families have embraced motion as an important component in their child’s early years of learning. Imagine what would happen if we applied this same inertia and enthusiasm for learning when we explore Judaism and issues of Jewish identity with our children?
I will never forget the following scene: It was a drizzly, gray Saturday morning at our house. We were having a lazy morning at home, with everyone still wearing their pajamas. I was cozy on the couch, reading a great book, with no intention of leaving the house. My son came up to me, out of the blue, and said, “Can we go to shul today?”
Of course, I answered yes. After all, on a typical Shabbat, you can usually find my family in synagogue. I did not want my desire for a lazy, cozy morning, to stifle my son’s inertia to do something Jewish that morning. We all quickly donned our Shabbat finest and set out for shul.
We are fortunate. Jewish life is filled with ways to be active. We pray with our bodies, swaying and bending. We visit with the sick and the elderly. We pick up trash in our neighborhoods, plant trees in local parks, and literally help make the world a better place every time we recycle a can or cardboard box. The word mitzvah, literally means commandment. As a Jewish people, we are commanded to “do.”
Imagine how rich our children’s lives would be if we made Judaism come to life in the same, natural way our children learn about the world. Imagine if each parent took his/her job seriously to “do Jewish,” whether a small or large act, so that their children could experience the full beauty of the Jewish world, the cycle of the holidays, or the rhythm of Jewish life. Let us help our children learn by doing. No step is too small.
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