Curriculum – Child Based Preschool - Palisades Jewish Early Childhood Center PJECC

Child-Based Curriculum

At PJECC children are active participants in their own learning experiences. When we capitalize on the children’s interests and empower them to take an active role, we find children are emotionally invested in their own learning. When children are emotionally invested, they are willing to explore in-depth and are able to reach deeper levels of understanding. Teachers are there to provide support and facilitate pedagogically appropriate learning.The curriculum is designed in a fashion to combine learning through self-discovery. Our teachers guide the children in identifying their interests and pursuing knowledge that helps them gain a new and exciting understanding of the world. Learning requires active thinking and experimenting to find out how things work, and to learn first hand about the world. We believe children are smart and capable and we treat them as such.Children are involved in meaningful work. They are given the opportunities to explore, using all their senses, and using real tools to try out their ideas about size, shape, color and the relationship that exists between things. By moving from the abstract to the concrete, play provides the foundation for academic learning.

We are cognizant of providing both a wide breath of experiences for children while at the same time being mindful to create a depth of learning over time. In this way, we are supporting opportunities for growth across all areas of development.

For children, child-based curriculum just feels like play!

Some of the objectives of our preschool: the fundamental skills that help determine success in adult life.

To provide a setting in which your child feels safe and happy
To help your child develop a love for learning; a love that is deep, wide, and ever-growing
To provide opportunities for your child to learn academic skills through day-to-day activities
To encourage your child’s love for books and foster the pre-reading skills appropriate to his/her stage of development
To provide opportunities for your child to make discoveries and to use them in learning, developing the building blocks for the study of science
To develop your child’s problem-solving abilities, developing the skills in the study of mathematics
To encourage your child’s creativity and artistic expression
To encourage your child to ask questions, which will be answered sincerely and honestly
To encourage your child to answer open ended questions to develop cognitive skills
To encourage cooperation to develop your child’s social skills, in both one-on-one and larger group settings
To encourage your child to work independently and with his or her peers
To encourage your child to work hard, to have persistence and feel accomplishment
To provide learning materials and equipment, as well caring and committed educators, that encourages your child to gain the positive experiences out of school and themselves
To create an environment where your child is surrounded by positive Jewish morals, values and experiences, discovering and celebrating holidays and Shabbat together, to build a strong Jewish foundation and identity
To help your child become independent and gain a strong, healthy self-esteem and sense of self
To help your child become a responsible citizen by respecting and caring forour school environment.