Program SearchOur program provides a learning experience to meet one or more of your child’s five areas of development:
- Social
- Emotional
- Cognitive
- Physical
- Cultural
Approach
Through creating a connection based on mutual respect and open communication, our teachers and parents are able to share observations and information about what is happening in the classroom and at home. This ongoing, two-way exchange creates a home-to-school partnership that achieves the best possible results for your child.
An Extension Of Home
The moment you step onto our campus and meet our director, Melissa Youngblood, you will realize that the ECLC is more than a school, it’s community. One. We are an extension of your home. We build learning from the children’s lives and experiences in ways that allow them to grow not only at school but at home with you as well. We, TOGETHER, are developing future leaders that will impact our future. This is a partnership we take very seriously and cherish greatly.
Image Of A Child
Every student in our school is viewed as a competent learner, capable of both achieving independence and actively participating in their own learning. Our teachers build learning from the children’s interests, igniting their curiosity and engendering a love of learning that lasts throughout life. Through this process our students establish both self-confidence and a strong sense of themselves as uniquely talented individuals. From learning to drink from a grown-up cup to potty training to getting dressed after swim lessons, we encourage children to become increasingly independent throughout their time at the ECLC.
Meeting Each Child Where They Are
Our curriculum model provides the flexibility of assessing each child’s current development across many different domains, including language and literacy, cognitive, scientific thinking, gross and fine motor skills, social skills, emotional regulation, and more. Our educators combine the children’s developmental levels with their interests to create dynamic, engaging learning opportunities throughout the classroom. These targeted educational experiences provide students with the intrinsic motivation to learn and grow in deeply meaningful ways on their journey to kindergarten readiness.
Natural Explorations
AT the ECLC we are creating more opportunities for outdoor learning. Learning outdoors is naturally engaging to children’s active, physical and sensory style of learning. Outdoor learning allows children to delve deeper into self-initiated activities, which promotes curiosity, inventiveness and resilience. Learning through nature allows for endless creative possibilities. Where will your child’s creativity lead?
Jewish Values are the foundation for our school
There’s nothing like sharing in happiness, kindness and respect for one another. We infuse Jewish values into everyday learning. Every Friday, our school celebrates Shabbat where we take a pause, reflect and recharge for the week ahead.
When you play you learn
Infants & Toddler Curriculum (2 mos – 23 mos)
Our award-winning, nationally accredited Dick and Dottie Appelbaum Infant & Toddler Center offers peace of mind that your child is in a safe, secure, and loving environment. We recognize the importance of your child’s first two years of life. In order to strengthen bonding and attachment, infants typically spend two years with at least one of their teachers. Infants and toddlers explore a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment, which strengthens the child’s quest for independence and self-confidence.
Our program offers the whole package (especially for the BUSY PARENT)
- Beautiful, carefully designed classrooms, equipped with kitchen set-ups, soft and natural lighting and an abundance of developmentally appropriate toys
- Low infant-to-teacher ratio
- Consistency of care
- Individualized lesson plans and schedules, so parents and teachers reinforce each other’s efforts
- “Whole baby” approach to childcare, seeing the infant as a human being whose physical, cognitive, emotional and social needs must all be addressed
- Developmentally appropriate curriculum offered by trained educators
- All children enjoy weekly specialists in Judaic values curriculum, foreign languages, music, gross motor skills, and sign language
- Physical education, emphasizing gross motor skills using our tot patio fully equipped with a safe resilient surface
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Respond to talking, smiling, touching
- Vocalize to gain attention
- Develop a positive self-concept
- Separate from parents without stress
- Use classroom materials properly
- Want to do things for self
- Become a participant in group activities
COGNITIVE AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
- Play Peek-a-boo
- Babble and practice sounds
- Find object hidden under a cover
- Know where familiar things are kept
- Show one body part
- Respond to own name
- Follow simple commands
- Stack rings
- Imitate words and actions of adults
- Match two simple objects
- Develop tactile awareness
- Use simple sentences
REFINE FINE MOTOR SKILLS BY
- Reaching and picking up objects
- Transferring objects from hand to hand
- Purposefully dropping items into a container
- Stacking blocks
- Completing simple puzzles
- Stringing large beads
- Using a crayon to make marks
REFINE GROSS MOTOR SKILL BY
- Tracking objects by moving head
- Holding up head when sitting supported
- Creeping backward and forward
- Crawling with regular movement
- Moving body in time to music
- Pushing and pulling toys
- Walking alone
- Catching a ball
LIFE SKILLS
- Reach for and hold bottle
- Feed finger foods to self
- Assist in undressing
- Wash hands
- Participate in clean-up
MUSIC
- Music specialist
- Fingerplays
- Listening skills
- Following directions
- Rhythm and beat
- Music appreciation
- Exploration of instruments
- Dance, sing and move to music
JEWISH CULTURE
- Judaic specialist
- Celebration of Jewish holidays
- Celebration of Kabbalat Shabbat
- Holiday and Bible stories
- Hebrew language and blessings
- Values, charity, respect for people and animals, helping at home, kindness
IMAGINATIVE & CONSTRUCTIVE PLAY
- Dramatic play with props, dolls, dress up, doctor’s kit, phone, and more.
- Transportation toys, airplanes, wooden trains, cars and mats
- Blocks and manipulative toys for building and creating scenarios
Preschoolers Curriculum (ages 2-5)
We believe that each child needs a superior program that meets all of your child’s needs equally: academic, social, emotional, creative and physical.
On a daily basis, our children approach learning as an adventure.
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Problem Solving and conflict resolution
- Self-expression and feelings
- Respect for peers and adults
- Friendships, cooperation and sharing
- Empathy Independence and self-help
- Character building
LANGUAGE ARTS
- Comprehension
- Auditory and visual discrimination
- Oral expression and vocabulary building
- Joy of books
- Print concepts and the written word
- Alphabet awareness and recognition
- Phonological awareness
- Children’s Library and specialist
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
- Introduction to Sign Language
- Hebrew Instruction Specialist
- Spanish Instruction Specialist
CREATIVE EXPRESSION
- Imaginative play and self-expression
- Artistic expression and exploration of multi-sensory mediums
- Art appreciation
- Music appreciation
- Identification and exploration of musical instruments
- Introduction to rhythms and beat
- Musical movement
- Weekly Music Specialist
SOCIAL STUDIES
- Anti-bias awareness and diversity
- Children around the world
- Geography
- Ecology
- Community helpers
- American and Florida History
MATHEMATICS
- Pre-computational readiness
- Counting, sorting, classifying
- Unit concept, simple addition and subtraction
- Shapes, patterns, graphs
- Number recognition and 1-1 correspondence
- Measuring, estimation and comparison
- Spatial awareness
- Temporal ordering
SCIENCE
- Cause and effect
- Experimentation
- Prediction, observation and conclusions
- Recycling
- Natural and physical environment
- Exploration of technology
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT AND MOTOR SKILLS
- Strength, coordination, balance, body and spatial awareness
- Healthy eating and physical exercise
- Eye-hand coordination and dexterity
- Development of pincer gri, and small muscle development for * writing
- Weekly Physical Education Specialist
JUDAIC STUDIES
- Daily integration of Judaic values: charity, respect, care of the earth, helping at home, kindness
- Introduction to folk and bible stories
- Celebrations of Jewish holidays
- Hebrew language and blessings
- Israel-Homeland
- Weekly Judaic Specialist
- Weekly Kabbalat Shabbat
LIFE SKILLS
- Playground safety
- Personal Safety: Unit of study “ Project Protect and Human Rights
- Personal hygiene
- Self-help and independence
- Responsibility
- Building a school community