It is hard to describe the beauty of Debbie’s farm and surroundings. Eating a farm fresh breakfast with views of miles and miles can’t be beaten.
Today we had the gorgeous California sunshine that we’d hoped for all week. The Oshman Family JCC, Leslie Family Preschool in Palo Alto, CA does not have indoor 
hallways between the classrooms since the mild climate does not require it. It was a pleasure to walk around outside with the sun shining down on us. We spent extended periods of time in a number of classrooms with children of different ages. Marika and Magda especially loved seeing all of the sensory tables and the different things that were in them. One had mud, another had sand, and another one had rocks and other materials. So many ideas to take back to Frajda!
We also watched a couple of videos about preschool environments which sparked lots of ideas of possibilities for the future. We talked about Jewish values that were practiced all around the school. Magda and Marika told us about the Jewish values that have been practiced at Frajda since our SOS visit to Poland in November. We were very happy to hear that our study sessions then had been helpful to them in working with the children on Jewish values.
In our debrief we also discussed an article that I had previously sent to the Morim about Reggio Emilia. They have been very open and excited about embracing these concepts.
This evening, SOS International sponsored a dinner. In attendance were JCC Executive Director, Zach Bodner; JCC COO, Sally Flinchbaugh; incoming preschool director, Lauren Berman; preschool assistant director, Mykenzie Busser; preschool curriculum specialist, Ilana Gelemovich; and our SOS Morim team. It was a lovely evening, full of 
laughter and exchange of information. We finished off the evening with an ice cream cake to celebrate Marika’s birthday, enjoyed by this new group of friends. ~ Fran
