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| Preschool  We at Shomrei know full well how critical the first five years of every child’s life are to his or her development. As parents and educators, our preschool staff strives to recognize and cultivate our children’s inborn talents and their humanity in a way that is as loving as it is effective.
With classes for children ages 2 and up, Shomrei’s preschool focuses on meeting each child’s most important developmental needs – intellectual and academic, emotional, social, and religious and ethical – through a balanced learn-through-play approach.
The preschool encourages a positive sense of self, caring relationships with others, and a broader sense of community, while inculcating a positive sense of Jewish identity by teaching our young students about our traditions, holidays, and values, through storytelling, songs, blessings, and frequent visits by and interaction with our rabbi. A typical day includes indoor imaginary play with puzzles, table toys or dolls, emphasizing sharing and independence; art work, encouraging individual expressiveness; singing, dancing, marching and playing musical instruments, helping children direct their energy and learn by repetition; presenting the central theme of the day in class time, among other ways; supervised free play outdoors, developing large-muscle coordination, strength and balance, and social skills; story time and drama, working on listening skills and instilling a love of reading and literature; and real-world experiences in safe, small-scale outings and field trips.
The preschool day also incorporates special sports, music, and gymnastics programming. Each week, children learn basic baseball, football and soccer skills like catching, throwing, kicking a ball, running the bases, and swinging a bat, while playing with a parachute and other games as a group. Our music teacher leads the children in singing, movement, and playing instruments, all the while teaching them about the variations in pitch, dynamics, tempo and rhythm. And our gymnastics teacher helps children learn the need to keep their bodies strong and limber, leading them in stretches and warm-ups, then moving on to forward rolls, balancing exercises, and obstacle courses in a setting where every child’s efforts are applauded.
All of our teachers are caring, well-prepared, focused, fundamentally committed to the personal development of each student, and freed to give individualized attention to students thanks to our exceptionally low student-teacher ratio. Our physical setting is both nurturing and stimulating, helping children develop mastery and autonomy while quenching their natural curiosity about the world. And we offer opportunities for academic and community learning beyond the standard school day, with after-school enrichment classes in arts and crafts, visual arts, science, and geography. Yet our students’ growth depends even more upon their families. So we keep parents up to date and informed on their children’s development with weekly newsletters and invitations to take turns serving as Shabbat parents. And we bring families into the preschool for Friday Shabbaton dinners, reinforcing traditions and sharing in the fun of storytelling and community building.
Information: Elynn Finston, shomreipreschooldirector@gmail.com or (973) 746-5031, ext. 4
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