God's Paintbrush Teacher's Guide: A Guide for Jewish and Christian Educators and Parents

By Jeffrey Schein

Multicultural, Nondenominational, Nonsectarian

Includes steps for exploring the book's theological foundations with students from kindergarten through Grade 4 and above. Lesson plans, classroom activities and more.

Contributors: Renée Frank Holtz, Elizabeth McMahon Jeep, Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, Rabbi Jeffrey L. Schein, Alice Weinstein.

About God’s Paintbrush
Through fantasy, involvement and the imagination, God’s Paintbrush invites children of all faiths and backgrounds to encounter God openly through moments in their own lives—and helps the adults who love them to be a part of that interactive encounter. This book provides a gift of images that nurture and encourage children in making meaning of their world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jewish Lights
• Release date: Feb 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781683367314

Book preview

God’s Paintbrush

TEACHER’S GUIDE

A Guide for Jewish and Christian

Educators and Parents

Edited by Rabbi Jeffrey L. Schein & Rabbi Joseph M. Blair

Contributors:

Renée Frank Holtz

Elizabeth McMahon Jeep

Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso

Rabbi Jeffrey L. Schein

Alice Weinstein

God’s Paintbrush Teacher’s Guide:

A Guide for Jewish and Christian Educators and Parents

2001 Third Printing

1997 Second Printing

1996 First Printing

© 1996 by Jewish Lights Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing form the publisher.

For information regarding permission to reprint material from this book, please mail or fax your request in writing to Jewish Lights Publishing, Permissions Department, at the address/fax number listed below.

First Edition

Manufactured in the United States of America

Design by Maria O’Donnell

For People of All Faiths, All Backgrounds

Published by Jewish Lights Publishing

www.jewishlights.com

Contents

Preface

Rabbi Jeffrey L. Schein

Introduction: The Author’s Intent

Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso

The Theological Foundations of God’s Paintbrush

Rabbi Jeffrey L. Schein

Using God’s Paintbrush Creatively and Flexibly

Rabbi Jeffrey L. Schein

Teaching Suggestions for Jewish Educators

Alice Weinstein

Teaching Suggestions for Christian Educators

Elizabeth McMahon Jeep

God’s Paintbrush and Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World): A Family Program

Rabbi Jeffrey L. Schein & Renée Frank Holtz

Suggestions for Further Reading

Rabbi Jeffrey L. Schein & Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso

About the Contributors

About Jewish Lights

Preface

Rabbi Jeffrey L. Schein

This teacher’s guide is a result of several versions of a course entitled Theological Quests and Developmental Questions taught by Dr. Jeffrey Schein and Roberta Louis Goodman. Two of these courses were sponsored by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and the Federation of Reconstructionist Congregations and Havurot (FRCH). The third was sponsored by the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies and the Cleveland Fellows Program.

Within each of these courses, a significant amount of time was devoted to exploring Go?s Paintbrush as a way of presenting God to children. Participants watched teachers read and explore Go?s Paintbrush with children between the ages of 7 and 10. Alice Weinstein’s list of ways to extend the learning came out of her observations of this teaching. The suggestions in the sections on Varying the Learning by Jeffrey Schein reflect the discussion and analysis of several dozen teachers who also commented on what they observed about the response of children to the book. The Family Program was initiated by Renée Frank Holtz under the guidance of Dr. Sherri Blumberg, Professor of Education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

Because God’s Paintbrush is a book for people of all faiths we have included in