BIO: I was born in Russia, grew up in Israel, and moved to America at the age of 12. This is my fifth year teaching in Mazel and 11th year overall working as a preschool teacher in both English and Hebrew-speaking classrooms. I received my early childhood training through University of Phoenix.
I became a teacher because… As an immigrant of two countries I did not enjoy my school years. It’s when I became a mother that I did everything in my power to teach my three amazing boys to love school. I was fortunate and blessed to be a full-time mom and Morah for eight years. I was proud to guide them in building a strong foundation to their education. That’s when I started to love teaching children. I love being challenged with different children and bringing out the best in each one in a special way; to find the strength in every child and help them grow and flourish to their fullest potential. I love to see their eyes sparkle with excitement when they learn and discover something new or when they go home and say “I love you Morah Leah”. I am honored and privileged to teach Jewish holidays, our heritage, Hebrew language, and instilling the love for Judaism in every child.
My vision for our children is… To help every child develop their social emotional skills, to be expressive and shine in a their unique positive way. With the right structure, routine, balance, and love I can motivate and encourage good behavior so they can influence the friends around them.
I joined Mazel because… Mazel is my second home and family; a warm, friendly environment, with a strong team of teachers and caring parents that work together to build a special unique community. Mazel is a place teaching Jewish education in a loving way where we cater to each family on their personal level.
My most favorite memory from being a student is… Growing up in the 80s I did not have many toys, so my favorite memory as a student was to come home and play pretend to mimic my Morah’s. Today I can proudly say that my dream came true.
The difficult part of teaching is… when children are struggling to be expressive and their shyness limits them to show their abilities to a full potential. I believe that each child is a unique special individual. I treat each one as if they are my own and I try to work harder with children that need that extra support to blossom in achieving their goals.
My best advice to parents is... to enjoy and treasure every moment when your children in the preschool years. They grow up too fast. This is your biggest chance to be good role models and to help them build a strong foundation to love learning, be respectful, be grateful, to climb up, to achieve their goals in school and life.
If I could teach my students only one thing, it would be... Derech Eretz and good middot (character traits); to teach them to be kind and respectful. By this we can make a world a better place.
If I would not have become a teacher I would... I love designing organizing and creating gift baskets for different occasions. If I would not become a teacher I would be a gift shop owner.
A trick I use in the classroom is... I love to sing and singing is my number one method to teach children. Through music it helps them memorize and interact. I like using a lot of props and hands on materials when I’m teaching my lessons. It helps children stay focused active and engaged.
Outside of school I like to... go shopping, spend time with family and friends. My hobbies are to do needlepoint and to listen to music in different languages.