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Nurturing the spiritual development of young children and those who teach and love them.


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Sounds and shadows

Published by Deb Schein on September 25, 2013

Yesterday was our last day with the grandchildren. The older two, Ilan, age 5, and Talia, age 3, their Saba (grandfather) and I have been collecting pieces of nature all during our visit. We found rocks, sand, a few seashells, twigs, leaves, and, of all things, amazingly beautiful buckeyes, in Minneapolis. We picked raspberries and apples, petted the llama, goats, sheep, and braying donkey, and played on a playground made of recycled material. Finally it was time to make our Nattles (nature rattles). Ilan used the buckeyes we had found along Lake Calhoun. He carefully counted out five buckeyes to match his age, and then added grass and sand. When the Nattle was complete, we rolled it between us. It made a lovely sound as the buckeyes became buried in the sand and then reappeared.

Tali’s Nattle also had sand and rocks. Her rocks were black and showed up nicely against the white sand. She and I worked on this Nattle together. We decided to add a delicate branch with some drying flowers. The branch only showed up when the Nattle was held up at one end. When we shook the Nattle in reverse, the flowers would disappear in the sand. The sound from this Nattle was softer than Ilan’s.

After the children were in bed, I noticed that flowering branch in Talia’s Nattle produced a great shadow outside of the Nattle. These Nattles never fail to surprise me. I hope Talia notices the shadows. All during our visit, she talked about shadows. Maybe it was because of her interest that I actually noticed the shadow. We are all so interconnected. In ways we don’t always know.

Posted in Blog | Tagged Nattles, observing, wonder

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Clients say…

I want to thank you for sharing your very special wisdom and life experiences with our staff. Everyone enjoyed it tremendously. I look forward to more collaborations.
Lori L. BernsteinDirector of
Early Childhood & School Age Activities
Shaw JCC of Akron
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Deb is the first person I contact with any questions about how very young children learn concepts. Her in-depth knowledge and experience is always a source of guidance for me and my work in science education.
Marlene Hilkowitz, STEM Preservice Teacher Development
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We loved Deb Schein! Her sessions were well organized; she knows her subject deeply and facilitated a cross-cultural environment that encouraged everyone to learn and feel capable to implement their learning in the classroom.
Education director / workshop participant, 2014 Roots of Nature early childhood education conference
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I am 9 weeks away from finishing my music therapy internship. I still have the nature items I collected at that Shabbaton on my dresser – your workshop was so inspiring in helping me decide to go forward with this [career]. Music therapy is a good fit for me and I hope you are finding your work similarly rewarding.
Beth Friedman-Romell
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Thank you for your wonderful presentation at the BJE event. I enjoyed listening to you and felt incredibly inspired by you. I too believe that as teachers we are facilitators and the moment we understand that, we open an entire realm of possibilities for our children.
Farnaz Hazany, MS, MFTI
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Thank you Deb for your leadership and persistence in bringing our interest forums together and pioneering this nifty collaboration! It was your vision that made it happen. It is really a wonderfully colorful illustration of how folks and interest forums with varying perspectives can work together and share unifying moments, such as where science, play and spirituality flow together.
Walter, 2017 NAEYC conference participant
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I am so glad that you will be the Jewish support person for the JCC. Your passion and expertise will be so inspiring for the staff and children.
Jennifer SlatteryDirector of Early Childhood ProgramsBeth Shalom, Pittsburgh
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On my upcoming book, Inspiring Wonder, Awe, and Empathy – Spiritual Development for Young Children: Deb Schein has successfully unpacked the meaning of spirituality for young children in this incredibly compelling and well written treatise that will engage early childhood educators, parents, and leaders in the field. Through her personal narrative, which is skillfully woven throughout the text, this gifted educator takes the reader on a journey to explore the many facets of spiritual developmen… Read more
Dr. David Brody, Assistant Professor, Efrata College of Education, Jerusalem
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Very interesting and refreshing to learn about the developmental growth of children from a spiritual point of view. Thank you!
Attendee, 2015 BJE Early Childhood Institute
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I had been looking forward to your course since beginning my Master’s degree one year ago. Through thought-provoking questions, informative articles, and enlightening discussions, you’ve really challenged me to think about my position as an infant-toddler professional in new ways. And you’ve changed the way I see infant development and learning. Thank you so much for making this course such a valuable part of my education and of my ongoing work.  I will be reflecting on your guidance for a lon… Read more
Sandra, graduate student
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