On Sunday December 12th, from 5-7pm, Boulder Jewish Day School (BJDS) presents the latest in a series of parent educational seminars entitled Laying the Foundations. The series is open to the entire community but will be especially appealing to families with children preparing to enter Kindergarten in the fall or who are currently in the primary grades.

The seminar will provide practical information for parents who are preparing their children for Kindergarten and the primary grades. In addition, the seminar will provide a venue for families to explore their own vision of their children’s Jewish future. The seminar will consist of a lecture and a workshop, a light dinner, which will be made by the school’s 4th and 5th grade class, dessert as well as educational opportunities fair.

The first session, What to expect as you prepare your child for Kindergarten, is a lecture designed to help parents ease their child’s transition into grade school and will be based on Stanley Greenspan’s book Playground Politics. This session will be a brief overview of the emotional, physical, and psychological changes that children will face during this transition, and it will prepare them for issues that will inevitably arise such as peer and adult relationships, competition, friendship, etc. Parents of older children may also benefit from additional insights or tools regarding their child’s development.

The second session, Envisioning your family’s goals for lifelong learning, is based on the adage; the best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. In this practical workshop, we will offer parents the opportunity to think about what they would like their children’s attitudes towards Jewish traditions and learning to look like 5 or 10 years from now and help create their family’s vision for getting there.

The seminar will conclude with an informal dessert and Educational Opportunities Fair, where community organizations will provide information regarding their programs and services and will be on-hand to answer questions. Sessions will be led by BJDS faculty. Tours of the school will also be available upon request. Each family will go home with a gift-bag including Greenspan’s book and some other BJDS goodies.

The cost of the event is $10 per family. Child care will be provided and RSVP is required by 12/9 to rsvp@bjds.org.

Organizations wishing to co-sponsor the event are invited to contact the school at bjds@bjds.org and will be sent Co-Sponsorship information.

The Boulder Jewish Day School (BJDS) is an independent accredited community day school serving Boulder, Broomfield, Longmont and North Metro Denver. The school offers an Early Childhood Program (2.5 to 5 years) as well as an Elementary program – Kindergarten though Fifth Grade and aftercare. BJDS provides child-centered, integrated learning in a supportive environment with a low teacher-student ratio. Critical thinking skills are stressed and a strong secular academic standards-based program is integrated with second language learning, Jewish studies, art, music, community building and physical education. BJDS is a pluralistic environment that welcomes students and families from all backgrounds dedicated to growing the next generation of community leaders. Financial aid is available. For more information about BJDS or to schedule a tour, please contact us at 303.449.5569 or bjds@bjds.org or check out our website at www.bjds.org.