Preschool Educators Day brings deep dives to CBI

More than 90 early childhood educators and administrators gathered at The Jennifer Barnum Luria Early Childhood Center at Congregation Beth Israel for the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland's Third Annual Preschool Educators Day of Learning Wednesday, Aug. 20. Attendees heard a keynote about building relationships and their effects on child development from Mimi Wilhelm before breaking into small "deep dive" sessions on topics including volunteerism in early childhood education, the benefits of play planning for children and a popular "I've Got That Shabbat Feeling" workshop with CBI Education Director Ben Sandler and Cantor Reyna Green.  "Our preschool day of learning is always a wonderful opportunity to bring our area educators together in community and deep learning," Jewish Federation of Greater Portland Director of Educational Initiatives and Associate Director of Community Relations Rachel Nelson, who organized the event, said.