Our Early Childhood Curriculum
Learning, Growing & Belonging at the Katz JCC
At the Marjorie & Lewis Katz JCC Early Childhood Education Center, we believe the earliest years of a child’s life should be filled with discovery, meaningful relationships, creativity, and joy.
Our approach to early childhood education brings together the mission and values of the Katz JCC with The Creative Curriculum®, a research-based, whole-child approach to early learning.
Together, they create an educational experience that helps children develop the academic, social-emotional, physical, and cognitive skills they need for their next steps while encouraging them to become confident, curious, and caring members of their classroom and community.
Our JCC Mission in the Classroom
The mission of the Marjorie & Lewis Katz JCC is to foster an appreciation of Jewish identity, values, and culture; promote health, education, and welfare; strengthen family life; build community; and ensure Jewish continuity from generation to generation.
In our Early Childhood Education Center, that mission begins with our youngest learners.
Our classrooms are welcoming communities where children are encouraged to ask questions, explore their interests, build friendships, and discover the world around them. Jewish values are woven naturally into these experiences, helping children begin to understand concepts such as kindness, respect, gratitude, responsibility, community and caring for others.
Children and families of all backgrounds and traditions are welcomed and valued as part of our JCC community.
The Creative Curriculum®
The Katz JCC utilizes The Creative Curriculum®, a research-based, whole-child curriculum designed around the way young children learn best: through exploration, discovery, meaningful relationships, and play.
Rather than simply asking children to memorize information, Creative Curriculum encourages them to investigate, experiment, ask questions, solve problems, and make connections.
Teachers create purposeful learning experiences based on children’s developmental needs and interests, allowing learning to happen throughout the day, from a teacher-guided activity to building with blocks, creating art, listening to a story, or investigating something discovered outside.
The Creative Curriculum supports development and learning across important areas including:
- Social-emotional development
- Physical development
- Language and communication
- Cognitive development and critical thinking
- Literacy and early reading skills
- Mathematics
- Science and technology
- Social studies
- Creative arts
The result is an approach that balances intentional teaching with the power of purposeful play.
Learning Through Play
To a young child, play is fun. To an early childhood educator, it is also an extraordinary opportunity for learning.
When children build a tower together, they may be learning about balance and measurement while also practicing cooperation and problem-solving. When they pretend to run a restaurant, they are developing language, early math, and social skills. When they investigate leaves, water, shadows, or something else that captures their attention, they begin learning how to observe, question, predict and discover.
Our teachers intentionally create environments and experiences that encourage this kind of exploration.
Educating the Whole Child
Preparing a child for kindergarten, and for life, means looking beyond letters and numbers.
Our curriculum supports the whole child, recognizing that academic development is closely connected to a child’s confidence, relationships, communication skills, physical development, independence, and emotional well-being.
Throughout their time at the Katz JCC, children have opportunities to:
- Develop friendships and learn to be part of a community
- Express their thoughts, feelings and ideas
- Strengthen communication and language skills
- Practice independence and responsibility
- Explore early literacy and mathematical concepts
- Ask questions and develop critical-thinking skills
- Move, play and strengthen gross and fine motor skills
- Express themselves through art, music and imaginative play
- Develop confidence when trying something new
- Learn to solve problems and work through challenges
Jewish Values in Everyday Learning
Jewish learning at the Katz JCC is not limited to holidays and celebrations. Jewish values help shape the culture of our Early Childhood Education Center throughout the year.
Concepts such as kehillah (community), tzedakah (giving and helping others), chesed (kindness) and tikkun olam (helping repair the world) can become meaningful to young children through everyday experiences.
Sharing with a friend, welcoming someone new to the classroom, helping another person, caring for the environment, and contributing to a class project are simple ways children begin experiencing these values firsthand. Children also have opportunities to experience Jewish traditions, holidays, music, stories, and celebrations in developmentally appropriate and engaging ways.
Through these experiences, we help children understand an important lesson: they are part of something larger than themselves.
Following Each Child’s Individual Journey
Creative Curriculum gives our educators a framework for observing children’s development, recognizing individual strengths, and identifying opportunities for continued growth. Teachers can then adapt experiences and instruction to meet children where they are while helping them progress toward important developmental and learning goals.
This individualized approach allows children to grow at an appropriate pace while still being challenged, supported and encouraged.
We celebrate progress, not comparison.
Preparing Children for Kindergarten & Beyond
Kindergarten readiness is an important part of our program, particularly as children progress through our preschool and PreK classrooms.
But being “ready” for kindergarten means much more than knowing the alphabet or counting to a certain number.
That means developing the confidence to ask a question, the persistence to try again, the independence to complete age-appropriate tasks, the ability to communicate with teachers and peers, and the curiosity to explore something they don’t yet understand.
Creative Curriculum supports daily development in language, literacy, mathematics, and other academic areas while simultaneously strengthening the social-emotional and cognitive skills children need to be successful learners. The curriculum is aligned with early learning guidelines across all 50 states and emphasizes kindergarten readiness through developmentally appropriate learning experiences.
Families Are Our Partners
The Katz JCC’s commitment to strengthening families is an important part of our approach to early childhood education.
Parents and caregivers know their children best, and our educators value the partnership between home and school. Ongoing communication helps teachers better understand each child while giving families meaningful insight into their child’s experiences, development, and accomplishments.
That partnership also allows learning to extend beyond the classroom and helps children experience consistency, encouragement, and support as they grow.
More Than a Preschool. A Community.
What makes early childhood education at the Katz JCC special isn’t one lesson, activity, or curriculum.
It’s how everything comes together.
We are helping children build the skills they need for kindergarten, but we are also helping them become curious learners, confident individuals, caring friends, and active members of a community.
Discover Early Childhood Education at the Katz JCC
Learn more about our programs for Infants, Toddlers, Two-Year-Olds, 3 and 4-Year-Old Preschool, or schedule a tour to experience our Early Childhood Education Center for yourself.