Message from Early Childhood Principal, Riana Sherman
Welcome to NAEYC-accredited Beth Yeshurun Day School’s Early Childhood program reaching out to children ages 15 months through Pre-Kindergarten age. Our classrooms provide a loving, engaging, and safe environment where our children may grow socially, emotionally, academically, spiritually, and physically. We have an open door policy and welcome all visitors to come explore our wonderful program.
Our teachers are experienced, enthusiastic professionals who provide a developmentally appropriate, play-based curriculum that allows children to learn at their own pace and challenges them to broaden their horizons. We offer a concrete curriculum that explores cognitive development as well as social and emotional growth while developing fine and gross motor skills.
Our loving environment meets the needs of every individual child while instilling Jewish values and traditions in their everyday lives. We rely on our partnership with parents and encourage constant communication between teachers, parents, and administration.
We invite you to read through the curriculum highlights and come visit our school. We are certain that you will realize that Beth Yeshurun Day School provides top-notch education in a safe and nurturing environment.
Sincerely,
Riana Sherman, Early Childhood Principal
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Overview
Literacy
(Two’s through Pre-K) based on the Classroom Storytelling Project from Rice University’s Center for Education. This program involves writing down children’s dictation, often in the form of Daily News, and then helping them dramatize these stories. This validates their words, familiarizes the children with the orthographic features of print (left to right, top to bottom), introduces beginning sight vocabulary, and exposes them to the alphabet and the sounds that the letters make. In addition, all children are immersed in a print-rich, literacy based environment in every classroom in an appropriate way for each age level.
Handwriting without Tears
(Pre-K) a developmentally based, flexible, multi-sensory and effective program to develop good handwriting skills and improve fine motor coordination.
Rhythms and Movement
(CDO through Pre-K) develops gross motor skills and a love of music. Taught by Adam Berry, each class attends several times during the week to learn songs, dances, creative movement, rhymes, motor skills, and Judaic music and rituals.
Numeracy
Mathematical concepts are integrated into all aspects of the curriculum in developmentally appropriate ways for all age levels. Through their play experiences, the children learn to count, recognize numerals, associate numerals with corresponding groups, understand one-to-one correspondence, and understand the “number line concept” which is the relationship of numbers to each other. We also present other mathematical concepts such as more and less; before and after; and heavier and lighter. These concepts are part of everything the children do — whether they realize it or not!
Project Approach
(Pre-K) devotes several weeks to the exploration of a topic chosen by the interests of the children. The chosen topic’s study involves all curriculum areas such as literacy, math, science, art and Judaic and culminates in an exhibition for the parents.
Hebrew
(Pre-K) utilizes the Chalav Udvash program, which is a Hebrew program specifically developed in Israel for young children living in the Diaspora.
Judaic
Is an integral part of our everyday experience for all of our children. They learn to see the world through Jewish eyes by celebrating Shabbat together each Friday morning, living by Jewish values, observing Jewish holidays, reciting blessings, singing songs, reading stories, and instilling a love of Judaism interwoven throughout our day.
In-House Field Trips
All children are exposed to curriculum enrichment by experiencing In-House Field Trips such as Arts Alive, Jump Bunch, Shofar Factory and the Olive Press throughout the year.