A portion of every day is conducted in Spanish in each and every grade. Exposure to a second language at an early age benefits both cognitive and social development. Children learn to see another’s point of view and children who have been exposed to a second language at an early age outperform their peers in both math and science.
Infancy is a crucial time of rapid development. Children are driven to observe, experiment and experience new sensations, as they build lifelong foundations as explorers and problem solvers! New discoveries are at the heart of every interaction our youngest children have with others and with their environment.
Our teachers create experiences and opportunities that invite exploration and support the important development that is occurring in a child’s first two years. The infant curriculum is designed to encourage confidence and develop cooperative relationships with both peers and adults, all in an atmosphere of inspiration and growth filled with joy, laughter, and developmental excellence.
A solid attachment to their teachers and parents enables children to understand that they can rely upon others and that they matter. We encourage parental involvement and strive to create meaningful relationships with our parents so that we are partners in their children’s education. The Infant Center at The J is a warm, loving and enriching environment -a second home where the children can grow, learn and discover!
Two-year-olds like to be independent! Favorite words are “Mine” and “No” and “Me do it!” A great deal of time is spent physically exploring their environment: pushing, pulling, filling, dumping, and touching. Two-year-olds also begin to show more interest in other children as they begin to understand that they are members of a larger community. At this age our program includes activities that encourage socialization skills and gives children the opportunity to engage their inner creativity while they engage with their peers.
While two year olds often like to try out new ideas and explore their surroundings, they will look to their parents and teachers to be a base of support and trust. At this age, children are making a bridge between a parent’s constant companionship to becoming independent enough to enter Preschool. Separation is easier if parents allow children to feel safe with their teachers, so we recommend that while parents are in the class with their child they sit on the side with a book or magazine and allow the teachers to take care of the needs of the child. Since each child separates differently, parents and teachers will work together to ensure a smooth transition process.
By two years of age, some children have learned to use the toilet. However, because maturation comes later for many youngsters, we expect most children to be wearing diapers. With the positive example of others in the class, your child will likely want to “graduate” to big underwear sometime during the year. Our teachers work together with the parents to help with “toilet learning” and make the process fun and exciting for the children, with stickers and “hoorays!”
For the three year old class, we combine both developmental and academic activities and experiences. The ratio between teacher and children is small to ensure individual attention as well as creative and joyful experiences for your children.
The three-year-old classroom has more clearly defined learning areas such as block play, dramatic play, art, manipulatives, math, science, and language arts than the toddler classroom. The curriculum is infused with language-rich activities and students have the opportunity to engage with the written and spoken word throughout the day. Students have opportunities to guide their own activity choices as well as participate in more structured time led by a teacher.
Children participate daily in story time, learning about Jewish holidays, cultural enrichment, music and movement, and small group activities. Students gain specific skills such as number recognition, matching, measurements, letter recognition, and other pre-academic skills.
We expose the children to the Alphabet and Aleph-Bet so that they begin to familiarize themselves with letters and sounds. All the learning is through exciting activities to foster a lifelong love for academics.
In our outdoor play area the children can enjoy large muscle movement activities. We have art, science, and sensory tables, in addition to, bicycles, balls, and climbing equipment.
Our 4-year-old class combines both developmental activities as well as academics in preparing our children for Kindergarten.
We introduce reading and literature, writing, verbal and non-verbal communication, social studies, math, and science. We expose these skills to our children through both center-based learning and teacher-based activities. When the children discover the information on their own, the information process leaves a stronger impression and fosters a love for continuing their quest of learning and discovery.
We offer an enriched, well-rounded education, which includes a combination of secular, Judaic Studies, and Spanish.
In Math, children learn to understand math qualities and patterns. We use visualization of quantities and provide visual and kinesthetic strategies for learning mathematics. We know that children learn best when they can manipulate objects and think about the inherent patters.
To build literacy, we teach letters in a developmental order. We teach capitals first, and then lowercase letters. All letters are taught in small groups of similar formation. Children master the easier letter groups, and then move to the more complex letters groups. Through this mastery, children are able to grasp and explore the building blocks of reading.
Our reading program is based on phonemic awareness, phonics, and word knowledge. Reading is primarily a visual skill, but is best taught when involving all the key avenues to the mind– hearing, saying aloud, writing, and seeing. By linking speaking, spelling, and writing with reading, we connect four different pathways to the brain, thereby paving the way for everyone to learn. Using the handwriting skills students gain, we integrate spelling into our reading program and enable children to form the words they are learning to read.
Children will leave Kindergarten armed with the reading, writing, and mathematics skills they will need to be successful first graders!
