Congregation Beth Shalom Early Childhood Center
The Beth Shalom Early Childhood Center is committed to providing excellent quality childcare for all young children in a safe, nurturing environment that is also rich in Jewish content. The ECC welcomes all children and their families, including those involved in Jewish life to varying degrees as well as non-Jewish families. We respect and value diversity, individuality and family culture. We strive to create a comfortable environment and be an extension of home. We value families for their strong bonds and commitment to their children and seek continuous communication. We integrate Judaism and Hebrew into our creative and child centered curriculum. Teachers plan curriculum based on the skills and interests of each individual group of children. We work to meet the needs of the whole child: socially, emotionally, physically, intellectually and spiritually.
Classroom and meeting times:
We offer year-round care for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old. We are open from 7:30-5:30 M-F, with full and part time options. We close early on Fridays in the fall and winter for the Sabbath.
A bit about our values and vision:
Emotionally responsive and respectful: In all of our interactions, we try to think carefully about the messages we send. We strive to relate with empathy and withhold judgment. We respect children as individuals who are learning and growing on their own path. We show respect for each child in all of our interactions. We alert children before we pick them up, change their diaper, ask that they help clean up, etc. We treat children as people with valid thoughts and feelings. We respect their individual needs and temperaments.
Jewish culture and Hebrew language: We view our classrooms through Jewish lenses. We immerse ourselves in Jewish culture. We celebrate Jewish holidays in a meaningful and developmentally appropriate way. Our school has families and teachers for whom Hebrew is a first language. Additionally, we have English speaking teachers who understand and speak some Hebrew. Children are exposed to both English and Hebrew every day in a very organic way.
Connected community: We value families and find that we do our best work with children when we understand them deeply. Teachers visit the homes of children early in the school year in order to form closer bonds and understanding. Families often provide food for a staff meeting or show support for the teachers in a variety of other ways.
Home-like environments: Our school has couches or comfortable chairs in the classrooms, so teachers, families and children can be comfortable together. We use real dishes and cutlery rather than paper plates. We want children to experience real life and learn to handle items carefully. Our classrooms have plants, pictures in frames, natural materials and are painted colors that feel home-like. We have framed family pictures in our classrooms to represent each child’s home life. We encourage communication from families to help us represent their child. We hang up pictures of children in their school life around the classrooms.
Emergent curriculum: We plan our curriculum based on the individual children in each class. We observe children’s play and behavior to help us know what activities and materials to provide. We think about skills, interests, challenges, temperament, and needs rather than using pre-made curriculum. We also include seasons and Jewish holidays in our curriculum.
Problem solving: We work to teach children how to communicate, collaborate and solve problems. We know that children can begin to be competent problem solvers at a young age. In our toddler classroom, you might hear a conversation that sounds like, “turn please?” “Two minutes”. In our preschool classroom, you might see children negotiating about taking turns and then go get a timer to help them enforce the plan they come up with.
Communication with families: We work hard to have regular, meaningful communication with families. We will always be honest and share any and all information with families. We know that in order to provide the best care for children, teachers must partner with their families. We take pictures of children engaged in activities at school to share with families. We work hard to minimize the disruptions to children as we take pictures and rarely, if ever, take posed or staged photographs. We know that is nice for parents to have a visual representation of their child’s time at school. We also make notes about each child’s development and keep a portfolio of his or her school experience.
Play based: We believe that children learn best through play. We value providing longs blocks of time for children to engage deeply in play. We provide many "real" materials for children to use in their play. We also think carefully about the environments we set up so that children have an opportunity to gain both academic and social skills through their play. We strongly value creativity and self-expression. We provide open ended materials for children to explore. We allow children to take time to explore freely and create with as few restrictions as possible. Our school is a place where children can take risks as they learn and grow. They know that they will not be shamed when they make a mistake. Teachers will provide support, encouragement and help children to think about their choices. We know that children feel safe and do well when there is a predictable structure and routine in their classroom. Our classrooms have predictable schedules and children know the rules and guidelines for their class. We balance this with flexibility.
Competency of Children: We view children as competent. We recognize that children are constantly learning and growing and we work to support them in that growth. We do not rush in and do things for children that they can do for themselves. Although it takes a lot of time and patience, we do not want to deprive children of the sense of pride that comes from doing things they are capable of doing. We understand the value of helping children take responsibility for their environment and their choices as they grow into members of our community.
For more information, please contact:
Leah Lemchen, Early Childhood Director
206.985.2517
[email protected]
Congregation Beth Shalom ECC website
Classroom and meeting times:
We offer year-round care for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old. We are open from 7:30-5:30 M-F, with full and part time options. We close early on Fridays in the fall and winter for the Sabbath.
A bit about our values and vision:
Emotionally responsive and respectful: In all of our interactions, we try to think carefully about the messages we send. We strive to relate with empathy and withhold judgment. We respect children as individuals who are learning and growing on their own path. We show respect for each child in all of our interactions. We alert children before we pick them up, change their diaper, ask that they help clean up, etc. We treat children as people with valid thoughts and feelings. We respect their individual needs and temperaments.
Jewish culture and Hebrew language: We view our classrooms through Jewish lenses. We immerse ourselves in Jewish culture. We celebrate Jewish holidays in a meaningful and developmentally appropriate way. Our school has families and teachers for whom Hebrew is a first language. Additionally, we have English speaking teachers who understand and speak some Hebrew. Children are exposed to both English and Hebrew every day in a very organic way.
Connected community: We value families and find that we do our best work with children when we understand them deeply. Teachers visit the homes of children early in the school year in order to form closer bonds and understanding. Families often provide food for a staff meeting or show support for the teachers in a variety of other ways.
Home-like environments: Our school has couches or comfortable chairs in the classrooms, so teachers, families and children can be comfortable together. We use real dishes and cutlery rather than paper plates. We want children to experience real life and learn to handle items carefully. Our classrooms have plants, pictures in frames, natural materials and are painted colors that feel home-like. We have framed family pictures in our classrooms to represent each child’s home life. We encourage communication from families to help us represent their child. We hang up pictures of children in their school life around the classrooms.
Emergent curriculum: We plan our curriculum based on the individual children in each class. We observe children’s play and behavior to help us know what activities and materials to provide. We think about skills, interests, challenges, temperament, and needs rather than using pre-made curriculum. We also include seasons and Jewish holidays in our curriculum.
Problem solving: We work to teach children how to communicate, collaborate and solve problems. We know that children can begin to be competent problem solvers at a young age. In our toddler classroom, you might hear a conversation that sounds like, “turn please?” “Two minutes”. In our preschool classroom, you might see children negotiating about taking turns and then go get a timer to help them enforce the plan they come up with.
Communication with families: We work hard to have regular, meaningful communication with families. We will always be honest and share any and all information with families. We know that in order to provide the best care for children, teachers must partner with their families. We take pictures of children engaged in activities at school to share with families. We work hard to minimize the disruptions to children as we take pictures and rarely, if ever, take posed or staged photographs. We know that is nice for parents to have a visual representation of their child’s time at school. We also make notes about each child’s development and keep a portfolio of his or her school experience.
Play based: We believe that children learn best through play. We value providing longs blocks of time for children to engage deeply in play. We provide many "real" materials for children to use in their play. We also think carefully about the environments we set up so that children have an opportunity to gain both academic and social skills through their play. We strongly value creativity and self-expression. We provide open ended materials for children to explore. We allow children to take time to explore freely and create with as few restrictions as possible. Our school is a place where children can take risks as they learn and grow. They know that they will not be shamed when they make a mistake. Teachers will provide support, encouragement and help children to think about their choices. We know that children feel safe and do well when there is a predictable structure and routine in their classroom. Our classrooms have predictable schedules and children know the rules and guidelines for their class. We balance this with flexibility.
Competency of Children: We view children as competent. We recognize that children are constantly learning and growing and we work to support them in that growth. We do not rush in and do things for children that they can do for themselves. Although it takes a lot of time and patience, we do not want to deprive children of the sense of pride that comes from doing things they are capable of doing. We understand the value of helping children take responsibility for their environment and their choices as they grow into members of our community.
For more information, please contact:
Leah Lemchen, Early Childhood Director
206.985.2517
[email protected]
Congregation Beth Shalom ECC website