Dr. Aronoff will be the keynote presenter at this annual conference for Institute for Jewish Life. Featured presentations will include:

Know Children! Commonality, Individuality, and Context in Jewish Community

Would you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree? Young children (and their families) are sometimes judged in Jewish community with a similarly effective metric. Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) is an approach to teaching and learning in a way that nurtures the growth of relationships and holistic development. In this session, participants will explore the three core considerations of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP): commonality, individuality, and context and consider their implications for Jewish communities. 

Tiny Humans with Enormous Questions: Navigating and Nurturing Simple Conversations about Complicated Issues

This presentation is designed for adults who spend time with kids and/or have a history of childhood who wish to increase their ability to understand and support human growth and development. Participants will emerge with a refined understanding how children’s social, emotional, verbal and cognitive development inform their expressions and questions. It will not provide a script to answer children’s existential questions- rather, it will prepare participants to increase their intentionality and facilitate developmentally appropriate discussions in response to those queries.