Early Childhood Center
Temple Emanuel Early Childhood Center Growing Every Day in Every Way
Temple Emanuel’s Early Childhood Center offers an innovative, developmentally-sensitive curriculum. From the moment children enter our school, we present endless opportunities to develop positive self-esteem and creativity.
The Early Childhood Center provides each child with an environment created to stimulate curiosity, which in turn stimulates learning and imagination. Our curriculum helps to instill in each child a lifelong love of learning and community.
We offer a broad range of activities carefully designed for preschoolers, working closely with parents to maximize the unique potential of each child. Our director, staff, and clergy are committed to helping children understand Jewish values, customs, and traditions.
Philosophy
Play is a primary source for understanding oneself, others, and the environment. We consider play the real work of childhood.
Purposeful learning develops as a result of organized activities around child-directed play.
Our facility and programs are designed to promote curiosity and imagination while building self-esteem, independence, and creativity.
The Early Childhood Center recognizes that each child learns and develops according to his or her own pace and learning style. We promote a warm, stimulating atmosphere designed to nurture the unique intellectual, emotional, social, and physical needs of each child.
Our staff truly understands growth and development principles, individual differences, and the need to provide all children with time, space, and love.
Curriculum
We offer a wide variety of activities for all children to choose from, constantly designing activities centered around specific interests.
Structured activities are balanced with freedom to explore.
Children are challenged to take on responsibilities and learn to believe in themselves.
Creativity is nurtured and encouraged.
Our integrated curriculum approach includes science, art, math, language arts, dance, cooking, stories, and songs. Each day includes a variety of activities, including child-directed choices as well as fine and gross motor activities. Children are free to explore a variety of themed activity centers, including areas designated for science, art, dress-up, blocks, sensory stimulation, puzzles, and books. Our outdoor play yard has swings, slides, climbing structures, tricycles, balls, and sand toys, as well as easels for painting and an ever-changing selection of art supplies.
Child-directed play is balanced by group activities guided by our experienced staff. These include circle time, stories, cooking, songs, discussions, and creative projects which often center around holidays and our heritage. Our curriculum is further enriched by specialty programs in music and movement.
Judaica
Classes join together every Friday to welcome Shabbat.
Jewish holidays are celebrated through age-appropriate activities.
Children are introduced to the importance of mitzvot and helping the less fortunate by bringing tzedekah and food items for our Sova basket.
The Early Childhood Center’s program of Jewish education is integrated and offered at each child’s level. Our curriculum includes all the essential Jewish holidays and celebrations, such as Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Hanukkah, Tu B’shevat, Purim, Passover, Yom Ha’atzmaut, Lag Ba’Omer, and Shavuot. Play, stories, songs, music, art, and other activities foster and reflect basic knowledge of our Jewish heritage.
Designed specifically for young children and open to all family members, our weekly Shabbat festivities include lighting candles and blessing challah and grape juice. We then join a member of our clergy for a joyful service in our chapel which includes prayers, singing, and a special story.
Staff
Our teachers are specialists in early childhood education with unique talents and many years of experience. We have a low child/teacher ratio and a dedicated staff who are committed to the goals and philosophy of the ECC.
We place a strong emphasis on staff development, which includes membership in professional organizations and participation in training seminars, workshops, and conferences. Members of our ECC staff have been recipients of the Lainer Distinguished Educator Awards for Early Childhood Educators and of the Smotrich Family Foundation Award for Innovative Curriculum and Excellence in Curriculum.
Parent Involvement
One of the keys to our success is the ongoing communication between staff and parents. We welcome parent involvement and provide several opportunities for participation both in and out of the classroom.
Parents are welcome to participate in many different ways: Shabbat, class activities, Open House, picnics, holidays, conferences, and educational seminars. Parents are invited to come into their child’s classroom and may choose to share a special project with the entire class during parent participation days.
Additionally, parents are informed of classroom and school activities through bulletins and e-mails. We also post weekly lesson plans for parent viewing. This enables parents to discuss with their child the ongoing projects and activities that the class is experiencing.
Families are encouraged to speak with our director and teachers regarding any aspect of their child’s experience at the Early Childhood Center.
We invite you to take a tour of Temple Emanuel’s Early Childhood Center where creativity is nurtured and encouraged, where structured activities are balanced with freedom to explore, where children are challenged and learn responsibilities, where teachers love what they do, and where learning is full of exciting new adventures.
Accreditation
We are accredited by the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs and the Bureau of Jewish Education.
WHAT DOES ACCREDITATION MEAN?
The NAEYC administers the largest and most widely recognized national, voluntary, professionally-sponsored accreditation system for all types of early childhood schools and child care centers. NAEYC is the nation’s largest organization of early childhood educators.
Early childhood programs accredited by NAEYC’s accreditation department have voluntarily undergone a comprehensive process of internal self-study, invited external professional review to verify compliance with the Criteria for High-Quality Early Childhood Programs, and been found to be in substantial compliance with the Criteria.
The Bureau of Jewish Education (BJE) school accreditation is a highly-effective process for enhancing the quality of education by assessing educational programs in various settings and fostering excellence in school programming. The process reveals the degree to which schools achieve stated objectives within their existing programs and is instrumental in charting a course for improvement and growth. The BJE accreditation process provides public validation of the rationale and high achievements of Jewish schools.
PROGRAMS
All programs are Monday through Friday. Parents may choose from one of the following three program options:
Plan A 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon (Monday – Friday)
Plan B 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday)
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon (Tuesday and Friday)
Plan C 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (Monday – Friday)
AGE ELIGIBILITY
Children must be two years and six months by September to be eligible for admission to the ECC.
Please contact our Early Childhood Center Director Stacy Kesner (310) 276-9776 for more information or to arrange a tour of our facilities.