Nursery and Pre-K Science The science curriculum is designed to enable students to make sense of the world around them. The topics are chosen so children may see the relevance of science in their own lives. Children are encouraged to develop an attitude of respect for nature and the environment. Children order, categorize, generalize, discuss and make predictions based on their observations of the natural environment and natural materials. They also explore transformation, cause and effect relationships and the relationship between form and function. The exploration of natural materials including sand, clay and water leads to a basic understanding of their properties. The children also engage in simple cooking and planting and care for animals. They begin to learn about the human body. The children take trips to parks and collect natural materials. They observe the weather and the changes between night and day. Social Studies The world of the Nursery and Pre-K child centers on the child's self. An important objective of the Nursery and Pre-K curriculum is to help them understand boundaries between themselves and other people, how to share, how to cooperate, how to work together and how to play together. The social studies program for Nursery and Pre-K is about cooperation and collaboration; it is not necessarily about a specific unit of study. First, the children learn about themselves and then that they are part of a family as well as part of a classroom and part of a school with other children and other adults. The classes also look at jobs in the neighborhood and discuss different parents' jobs. The children visit a fire station and a post-office, and then they play those roles out in the classroom. Music Nursery and Pre-K children devote a large amount of time to singing and dancing together. In a friendly and musical atmosphere, children learn how to prepare to start and stop their play, take turns and wait. The Nursery and Pre-K classes practice group singing, sound singing and solo singing on a voluntary basis. Many activities emerge from song including rhythmic games with bodies and on non-pitched percussion instruments, movement, improvisation, playing party games, singing games and listening games. Art The primary goal of the art program is to enable children to use materials to communicate through visual means, since each medium has its own unique potential for expression and communication quite apart from that which can be said in word. Nursery and Pre-K children take great pleasure in their work and gain confidence in their abilities. For young children, the materials are the motivation. With paint, crayons, play-dough, paste, paper-scissors, boxes and string children can represent things they've done, seen and imagined. As they mix, stir, roll, cut, punch, twist, bend and fold materials pre-schoolers learn to generate and observe changes, fit things together, take them apart, arrange, combine and transform them. Not all children use art area materials the same way. Some will be more interested in exploring them, in learning how they work and what can be done with them. Their main interest is in the process of experimentation rather than in the result of their experimentation. Other children, already familiar with some art media, may concentrate more on using raw materials to make something. Physical Development The physical activities that are part of the Nursery and Pre-K curriculum give children an opportunity to explore and expand their physical capacity, and learn how to control their bodies. They develop their motor coordination, and engage in activities that require using their gross and fine motor skills. The Nursery and Pre-K classes take advantage of two rooftop play areas and an indoor gymnasium. The physical education program strongly emphasizes learning to play well together before children learn to play well against each other in competitive activities. By postponing the experiences of winning and losing, the program helps children learn to be more relaxed and more willing to take risks and more focused on learning strategies. Children are also taught to use their bodies to express themselves imaginatively through pantomime, dance, imitating movements in nature and acting out themes in areas of the curriculum. Woven throughout the curriculum is information about how the body works. Also, throughout the day, children are taught basic health and cleanliness habits. Nursery A and B Overview | Intellectual Development through Active Learning Social and Emotional Development | Judaic Studies Language Development | Logical Reasoning, Measurement and Spatial Relations | Science | Social Studies | Music | Art Physical Development prev
Nursery A and B Overview | Intellectual Development through Active Learning Social and Emotional Development | Judaic Studies Language Development | Logical Reasoning, Measurement and Spatial Relations | Science | Social Studies | Music | Art Physical Development
Nursery and Pre-K children devote a large amount of time to singing and dancing together. In a friendly and musical atmosphere, children learn how to prepare to start and stop their play, take turns and wait. The
Nursery and Pre-K
classes practice group singing, sound singing and solo singing on a voluntary basis. Many activities emerge from song including rhythmic games with bodies and on non-pitched percussion instruments, movement, improvisation, playing party games, singing games and listening games.
The physical activities that are part of the
Nursery and Pre-K
curriculum give children an opportunity to explore and expand their physical capacity, and learn how to control their bodies. They develop their motor coordination, and engage in activities that require using their gross and fine motor skills. The
Nursery and Pre-K
classes take advantage of two rooftop play areas and an indoor gymnasium. The physical education program strongly emphasizes learning to play well together before children learn to play well against each other in competitive activities. By postponing the experiences of winning and losing, the program helps children learn to be more relaxed and more willing to take risks and more focused on learning strategies.
