Finding the Balance: Jewish Holidays and Emergent Curriculum

Jennifer Carvajal is the Senior Educational Director of Teaching Beyond the Square and is on Board of Directors. Jennifer has a passion for literacy, emergent curriculum, and open-ended learning experiences. She has coached for Teaching Beyond the Square since 2013, leading professional development workshops and partnering with teachers and directors across the country as they strive to take a more progressive approach to education. She has partnered with The Jewish Education Project, The Paradigm Project, and ElevatED to lead special projects and cohorts, and she has presented at several conferences including the JCC Manhattan’s Come Learn with Us Conference, the Jewish Early Childhood Association's Long Island and Manhattan conferences, Miriam Beloglovsky’s Loose Parts Summit, and the National Art Education Association’s annual conference. Jennifer taught at Beginnings Nursery School from 2002 to 2009 and participated in a study group in Reggio Emilia, Italy in 2007. She received her B.S. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA and her M.S. in Education, with a concentration in Literacy, from Hunter College in New York, NY. When she's not chauffeuring her twin daughters around to basketball practice and voice lessons, Jennifer enjoys finding adventure in new places around the world and beating her family in competitive games of Slamwich.

Amy Martin is the Senior Manager of Early Childhood Education and Family Engagement at The Jewish Education Project.

Amy most recently served as the Family Engagement Director at Central Synagogue. Over the course of her career, Amy has experience as a teacher in day schools, early childhood, and congregational settings. Amy is passionate about supporting educators to be reflective practitioners and has served as a teacher mentor for day school, congregational school, and nursery school educators. She has participated as a Fellow in both the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute and M2: Institute of Experiential Jewish Education. Amy received her BA from Bryn Mawr College and her Masters in Jewish Education from Hebrew College and holds a Certificate of Advanced Studies from Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies.