Makom Community NEWS

What Does Soccer Have to Do With Shabbat?

Over the course of the past few weeks, the “other duties as needed” section of my job description at Makom has expanded to include the following: soccer-ball-blower-upper, World Cup-playlist-creator, and amateur agility course builder.  Reader, you may be wondering: what does listening to World Cup music, kicking around a soccer ball, and running through kid-created obstacle courses have to do…

0 comments

What Do a Teahouse & Purim Have in Common?

What do a teahouse and the story of Purim have in common? I had no idea until I walked into the Nitzanim (3rd-4th grade) classroom after Beverly, our Executive Director and Founder, transformed it into a makeshift teahouse. Why did they do this, and what does it have to do with Purim? As a Jewish Placemaking Resident, I was excited…

0 comments

Well-Resourced for Winter and Every Season!

Winter is a challenging time in learning environments! Holiday schedules and weather-related disruptions all interrupt routines and affect learners’ readiness to engage. Supporting children in becoming – and remaining – regulated enough to learn is a challenge! At Makom Community, we place particular emphasis on meeting learners where they are and making learning accessible. Since regulation challenges often intensify during…

0 comments

A Letter from our Executive Director & Founder

Beverly Socher-Lerner

Beverly Socher-Lerner

Dear Families and Jewish Educators,

Thank you for visiting Makom Community online! We are a makom (place) where kiddos and their families experience a joyful community that embraces them and their whole family for exactly who they are! We envision a future where Jewish Education is joyful and accessible for all who want to partake. In Jewish tradition, a makom is the kind of place where someone grows into who they CAN be. We hope our makom will be that kind of place for your whole family.

You can expect warm, personal, and playful experiences for your child or grandchild at Makom Community. Makom Community is a living laboratory for a new model of Jewish Education. We strive to create high-quality experiences for urban families who are on a shared adventure that prioritizes empathy and connection in a durable way and brings Jewish learning into our lives.

At Makom Community, our educators are guided by our unique pedagogy, Jewish Placemaking. Jewish Placemaking encourages learners to ask mind-boggling questions, co-create an environment with their educators and friends that invites questions and meaning-making from Jewish wisdom, and welcomes families as interpreters of Jewish wisdom, regardless of the way they came to be a part of the Jewish community. Our learning is focused on the social-emotional skills our tradition teaches, which we live each day in our community.

Our work is not limited within the space of our Learning Lab and family-centered community. We are constantly researching, enhancing, and expanding tools to support our pedagogy. We then take these lessons and provide professional development and support to educators across the country who are also doing the holy work of adding children and their families’ voices to generations of Torah. We call this Makom Making.

We warmly invite you to explore all that Makom has to offer and we look forward to forming relationships with you that will help shape Makom Community for years to come!

Warmly,
Beverly