My student Gwendolyn recently became a published author! She and I created a book of our own when we learned together for her Bat Mitzvah, the Jewish coming of age ceremony.

Gwendolyn and I created a picture symbol prayer book. We translated prayers from Hebrew to English to picture symbols to communicate their meaning. Our picture symbol prayer book created opportunities to verbally or nonverbally lead and participate in the service.

Gwendolyn and I explored her Torah portion using biblio-drama. We brough the Torah portion to life using her favorite High School Musical characters to role play the relationships, conflicts, and lessons she learned from her Torah portion.

Gwendolyn and I experienced Judaism through our senses as we created a sand art installation depicting Jewish themes and ritual objects.

On the Shabbat morning of her Bat Mitzvah, Gwendolyn and I proudly read from the Torah together, and she blessed our community with her wisdom and me with the opportunity to share it.

Gwendolyn is once again blessing us with her wisdom. She and her father Steve Friedman have written The Essential Guide for Families with Down Syndrome about supporting independence across the life span. You can learn more from Gwendolyn through her book on HERE.

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Rebecca A. Weiner, M.Ed. Is a dynamic educator who is passionate about helping young children with diverse abilities, their families, and their teachers connect, communicate, and learn with confidence. She specializes in play-based enrichment, parent coaching, developmental and inclusion support, and consulting in schools.