Using jobs to build community

The Haifa kids are now experts at each of the various jobs on their job board. They can read their own names and the names of their classmates to determine who has been assigned to each of the various tasks. And most importantly, they work together as a kehillah, a community, to complete the jobs, embodying this Jewish value. Maria Montessori, namesake of today's Montessori schools and an innovative thinker in early childhood education in 19th century Italy, believed that children build who they become by using their hands, heart, and will. In the case of jobs, by doing the job, by wanting to do the job, and by wanting to do it well, children grow in their own personal understanding of what it means to be part of a community. As our Haifa kehillah grows, so does each child's skill and feeling of belonging.