TBD religious school takes pride in offering a preschool program, specifically designed to meet the needs of toddlers as young as 2 years old. Studies also show that students starting religious school at an early age, are more prone to continue their religious school and Jewish communual dedication towards later years. Children grow up together, learn together, become a community together, and make a
Jewishly Warm and Relevant difference together.
Our pilot toddler class this year, and hopefully for many years moving forward, will be taught by
Miriam Beltran, a full time preschool teacher and outdoor specialist at B’nai Simcha preschool. Miriam, in fact, is B’nai’s best teacher, according to the preschool’s director
Jen Leonard.
I asked Miriam what was the first thing that comes to her mind that would grasp our community’s attention. She proudly mentioned that she has 7 children ranging from 20-34 years of age, and 12 grandchildren ranging from 3 months to 16 years! Wow! Her personal experience however, is not her only credential that proves her excellence in taking care of children. Miriam comes to TBD with an impressive resume:
Miriam is certified through the
Outdoor Classroom Project, an acclaimed Early Childhood Program at the
Child Educational Center. This is an educational philosophy which Miriam will bring to our youngest of Religious School learners, and share also with the pre Kindergarteners and Kindergarteners in Morah Shoshana's, or
Susan Grodsky's class. The philosophy focuses on bringing the outdoors, to enrich every child’s playtime experiences, providing the same opportunities outside, as inside. This will be possible also with our upcoming playground, as the playground too, has elements from this philosophy.
With her teacher credential from California State, and senior year studying for administration in early childhood education, Miriam has a passion also for
Reggio Emilia’s 100 languages of children, that same discipline of our toddler class. Miriam embraces multiple talents of students, to create projects with little hands. At B’nai Simcha, and previously at Adat Ariel’s
preschool, Miriam has made tamborines for Purim parades, Stone soup for Passover meals, paper mache apples for Rosh HaShana, and painted rocks for building the Kotel.
Other credentials Miriam holds include CPR certification, AED certified for infants, children and adults, she is a certified translator in Spanish-English, and is also taking a minor in child psychology. She in addition is a behavior therapist for children with learning disabilities, has worked for the department of social services in Kern county as an eligibility worker, and is a caretaker for some of Adat Ariel’s Jewish children on weekends. Miriam has worked for the DPSS- Department of Child Social Services where she was a parent partner working with families with trauma.
Miriam says she will be bringing new ideas, and assimilating those into our Jewish, and religious environment, while integrating the
Reggio Emilia philosophy of learning. One of the most rewarding moments for her when working with children, is that moment of “aha!” or “ooohhhhh!” when something clicks in a child's path of learning!
Wishing you Shabbat Shalom in the meantime, with many of those and more "aha" moments!
Gal Kessler Rohs, Education Director
