Activities
Fun & Creativity
Building Blocks
Block building integrates so many different areas of child development. Because blocks are units of measurement a child can develop such concepts as halves, fourths, twice the length of, thickness, thinness, balance, symmetry and stress. With blocks and their imaginations, children can build cities, highway systems or large and fanciful dwellings from other planets. Eventually children may not only develop original ideas by themselves, but also gain the cooperation of other children to help carry out those ideas. We believe that a child gains his or her first real understanding of mathematical concepts through building with blocks.
Art
Making art stimulates children’s natural curiosity, improves fine motor skills, encourages cooperation and helps them discover they can do many things. As in any kind of creative experience, the process, rather than the product, is what’s most important.
You may notice that your child’s art project isn’t perfectly representational or doesn’t look just like his or her classmate’s work. This is because we believe that art is a valuable form of self-expression for children. Our teachers provide opportunities for multi-sensory experiences and encourage children to enjoy the process and to feel satisfied with their creations, rather than meet adult expectations of how things should look.
Social Studies
Our early childhood curriculum emphasizes the skills of communication, cooperation, and just plain getting along in the world. It also provides opportunities for the study of cultural customs and historical events.
Our program extends the experiences of children and their families to include learning about those who share and work in the community. At BTEE, multicultural experiences include learning about foods, music, families and other experiences common to all cultures.
Preliteracy
Well-developed oral language is essential to the process of learning to read. Our children have the opportunity to tell stories in sequence, develop original stories, explain their observations, ask thoughtful questions, make adequate responses and draw logical conclusions. Talking and discussions are consistently encouraged. Children will also have opportunities to participate in dictation, book-making and charting. Children will begin to understand that reading is exciting and to see how letters make words which communicate thoughts to others.
Judaica & Hebrew
Judaica is a part of all our curriculum areas, and real-life experiences, such as singing blessings before meals, are also a regular part of our program. Our children are introduced to Judaism and Hebrew, through songs and prayers, holiday celebrations and life cycle events, and an emphasis on Jewish values such as family, caring, community, joy, celebration and tradition.
Dramatic Play
In the dramatic play area, children have the opportunity to "try on" the roles they observe around them. Social skills and imaginations expand in this safe setting.
Math
Children learn math by doing it. Our classrooms have a collection of “manipulatives” developed to enhance mathematics learning, and our curriculum emphasizes such concepts as matching, counting, sorting, one-to-one correspondence and simple addition and subtraction.
Music
Music is a fun way to allow children to move, sing, clap and use instruments. Music also promotes the development of math and language skills. Teachers incorporate music into the daily routine, and children learn to enjoy all kinds of music. Our in-house music specialist regularly brings beautiful music to our school.
Science
Children learn to appreciate science through observation and experimentation. In order to expand a child’s knowledge of how the world works, we encourage discussions and experiences with caring for animals, planting, watching things grow, sorting, classifying and logical record-keeping.