Leaha Widrowicz Perl

My daughter was so proud of herself catching a lizard for the first time by herself.
She felt incredibly connected to this lizard and didn’t want to let it go. Not only that, the lizard felt the same connection and didn’t want to leave her side. We discussed together what is appropriate to keep and leave in nature. She shared with me that nature is love to her.

This is a wonderful opportunity to teach about lizards, their habitats, conservation, and how to be an environmental stewards for these beautiful reptiles.

I thought we were going to get in trouble at the park 🌿
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Instead, a park ranger thanked us
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She said most families just walk
they don’t stop to explore
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That day, she had only seen a few children actually interacting with nature
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When she saw us searching for tadpoles
it reminded her why she became a ranger
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That hit me
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We’re not losing nature
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We’re just forgetting how to engage with it
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If you want to experience this with your family this Thursday at 4pm
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DM “SPRING” 🌿

Today, watching the children with flowers, something clicked for me…

They were observing so closely — the petals, the colors, the tiny details 🌸

No rushing. No pressure. Just being with it.

And it reminded me of something I learned yesterday in a Torah class…

The Jewish people were in slavery for 215 years.
And when it was time to leave, only a small percentage chose freedom.

Most stayed.

And I keep thinking about that…

How often do we stay stuck — not because we have to, but because it’s familiar?

And then today, through the flowers, I saw another layer:

🌿 You can’t rush growth
🌿 You can’t force something to bloom before it’s ready.

But we live in a world that moves so fast —
answers, results, even learning.

And sometimes we expect ourselves (and our children) to grow at that same speed.

But real growth doesn’t work like that

As we get closer to Passover, I’m sitting with this:
Maybe part of freedom is allowing things to unfold in their own time

Not rushing
Not forcing

Just taking one small step forward, naturally

I’ve worn a lot of hats in my life.

Psychology student. Dolphin-assisted therapist. Math teacher. Sustainability educator. Mom.

But it wasn’t until I got really sick that everything changed.

That year forced me to slow down and I started questioning everything — how we eat, how we live, and how disconnected we’ve become from the earth.

When I started teaching sustainability I had an epiphany: teaching kids to protect the earth won’t work unless they’re connected to it first.

Connection comes before conservation.

When my daughter was born I wanted a school for her that was Jewish, nature-based, creative, and full of love. I couldn’t find it. So I helped create it.

That’s why I do this work. And that’s why I created Gan Eden Educators.

If you’re a Jewish early childhood educator who wants to bring nature into your classroom — you’re in the right place.