GAN YELADIM
EARLY CHILDHOOD
PROGRAM
Serving families in Skokie, the
surrounding suburbs and North Chicago
Jewish Pre-school/Day Care
The Gerald Melton School of
Ezra Habonim, the Niles Township
Jewish Congregation
4500 Dempster St.
Skokie, IL 60076
ph: 847-675-4152
fax: 847-675-0327
betsy
Educational Philosphy
Educational Philosphy
Frequently Asked Questions
What do our children learn at Gan Yeladim?
As you know, we are a developmental early childhood program. We believe that children learn best through play and hands-on experiential activities. Children learn best when activities are meaningful and relevant, when they can make choices in the materials they will work with and how they will use them. These choices empower children to take control of their own learning.
Does this mean that children will learn less than academic programs or that they will not be "ready for kindergarten? The answer to this question is, "no". The difference is not, what the children learn, but how they learn.
Children at ages 3 and 4 learn by doing. They learn about literacy, letters and reading by being read to, by being in a "print rich" environment, where books, letters, numbers, crayons, markers and paper are readily available to them. They learn by drawing and dictating stories. Those who are ready and show an interest are helped to form their own letters, write their names and recognize words. In a "print rich" environment there is ample opportunity to read and recognize names, letters, numbers, job charts and calendar items. Children are taught how to grip a pencil and how to use scissors which prepares them for more formal writing down the road.
Math skills are also taught in a fun, play oriented manner. At this time of year we play dreidle and count the chips we win or loose. We count candles and play games of adding and subtracting candles. We have many table games that use and teach math concepts.
In our program children learn valuable skills they will need when they go to kindergarten. They learn to pay attention, to sit and to listen. They learn to conceptualize and articulate ideas. They learn to follow directions. They learn to express themselves and problem solve. They learn to get along with each other
When children learn and experience all of the above in a fun, play based, interactive environment, it becomes part of who there are and they own it. They can then go off to kindergarten and be well prepared for a more formal learning environment. They will have acquired all the basic skills and knowledge to be successful in kindergarten.
In addition to being prepared cognitively, socially and emotionally for the next step in their education, children in our program have the added advantage of a Jewish Early Childhood Program. Here Judaism permeates everything we do. They will develop a strong Jewish identity, gain knowledge of our traditions and be off to a good, strong start towards a life of Jewish learning and living.
We believe that in our program children have to best of all possible worlds, both a strong foundation for success when they begin their formal education and a strong Jewish identity. May our children go from strength to strength as they pursue their education at Gan Yeladim.
I thought you would be interested in exerts from an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal regarding the virtues of developmental, placed based early childhood programs and the pitfalls of the more academic programs. The article appeared in the "Work and Family" section and is written by Sue Shellenbarger.
What's Gotten Into Kids These Days?
January 17, 2008; Page D1
Glennette Scott was horrified when her daughter Brianna, 3 years old, started picking fights, throwing chairs and having emotional meltdowns in preschool. Anxious and upset, Ms. Scott searched the Internet and asked school officials for help with her daughter; she sometimes seemed like "a ticking time bomb," Ms. Scott says, because her outbursts were so sudden and unpredictable.
With more individual guidance and one-on-one time from teachers, Brianna is learning to control herself, and she's progressing well now in her Falls Church, Va., kindergarten. But Ms. Scott still worries about her.
Behavior problems among preschoolers are emerging as a national issue. In several studies released in the past month, researchers at Yale, Rutgers and Cornell universities, among others, are treating preschoolers' conduct as a challenge that calls for changes in school programs and classroom management. The problem has reached the point where researchers are recommending preschool teachers have access to mental-health consultants, like the psychologists who help out in higher grades.
All 3- through 5-year-olds are sometimes stubborn and irrational, of course. Some of what's regarded as bad behavior may actually be normal. But some experts say they are increasingly seeing behavior that is out of synch with expected development, such as kindergartners who engage in frequent fighting, aggression, tantrums or a persistent inability to cooperate with others.
The causes aren't clear. Some experts blame a government drive for accountability in schools that is intensifying emphasis on early skill-building in reading and math, frustrating kids who aren't ready. Others cite a variety of other factors, including parents' early use of child-care centers, family instability, poor prenatal care or an increased incidence of such learning difficulties as attention-deficit disorder.
Whatever the cause, the pattern suggests children entering preschool need social and emotional skills now more than ever, not only to keep their own act together, but to deal with other kids. Indeed, the academic achievement that parents covet, and that schools are so avidly seeking, can't be attained without good social and emotional skills as a foundation.
There are no long-term data to measure the problem. A 1998 study of 17,219 kindergarteners found 13% lacked the social and emotional skills needed to succeed in class. Separately, in a survey of 3,595 kindergarten teachers conducted around the same time, 20% to 30% said at least half their students lacked social skills or the ability to work in groups. Echoing a widely held view, Sara Rimm-Kaufman, an associate professor of education at the University of Virginia and lead author of the second study, says she believes behavior problems among children entering kindergarten have risen since then.
Lisa McCabe, associate director of Cornell University's early childhood program, says she increasingly sees kids refuse teachers' and classmates' requests, bully others and behave destructively.
Experts' recommendations contain wisdom for parents:
Avoid pushing your children to read, write and do math too soon, at the expense of social and emotional skills. Learning isn't a race; each child's developmental path is unique.
Research shows children who are in over their heads in class act out their frustrations. Emily Clark, New York, was dismayed when her normally amiable toddler started biting other kids in child care. "I was beside myself," Ms. Clark says. "She's not bad, she's not malicious, she's not from an aggressive household." She soon realized that because her daughter was younger than her classmates, she lacked verbal skills to express frustration, so she acted it out. Now that her language has caught up, she's doing fine.
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In the classroom, preschoolers usually shouldn't be expected to sit for more than 10 to 15 minutes at a time listening to teacher-directed, structured activities, says Ellen Frede, co-director of Rutgers University's National Institute for Early Education Research, which issued a policy brief last month on solving behavior problems. Scripted, rigidly paced curriculum and drills also may frustrate preschoolers.
Find classrooms well-equipped to handle behavior problems. Student-teacher ratios for 3- to 4-year-old children should be no more than 10 children per teacher. While large-group care is linked to behavior problems, it also can be a cure. Preschool is an excellent place to socialize children and teach them to control their behavior, Ms. Frede says. San Francisco attorney Rebecca Eisenberg, whose daughter, 4, and son, 2, have attended high-quality child-care centers, believes the experience has taught them to be cooperative and compassionate. When her daughter noticed at a party that a two-year-old child was sniffling alone in a corner, feeling left out, she hugged and comforted her, saying, 'It's OK,' Ms. Eisenberg says.
Registration for summer and fall, 2008, has begun. We hope that all non-graduating students will be returning. We know there will be many siblings who are turning two and will be joining us in the fall. It is exciting to see these children right after they are born, to watch them grow and to have them become part of our school. If you should have questions or issues to discuss about registration or placement please come and talk with me.
Wishing you a peaceful, restful Shabbat,
Betsy Rotberg, Director,
Gan Yeladim
4500 Dempster St.
Skokie, IL 60076
ph: 847-675-4152
fax: 847-675-0327
betsy
