Learning through the Jewish Lenses at the JCA By Beth Milograno Berry, Jewish Community Alliance
As the children and families in our community prepare to begin a new school year, the early childhood educators at Michele Block Gan Yeladim Preschool and Kindergarten are eagerly getting ready too. At the Jewish Community Alliance, we are excited and inspired as our teachers create unique lessons in an exceptional learning environment that will support your child’s intellectual and spiritual growth. “We teach through the Reggio Approach to learning at Michele Block Gan Yeladim Preschool and Kindergarten. This means our teachers observe children then apply those observations to nurture the child’s interests,” explains JCA Director of Early Childhood Education Natalia Fisher. “We use a constructivist learning approach in our classrooms, which corresponds with and is supported by the Jewish Lenses - or values we teach in our community.”
The Reggio Approach, from the Italian city Reggio Emilia, is known to foster the world’s “best preschools.” The 65-year-old teaching philosophy believes every child is “rich, strong and powerful,” and has the right to early childhood experiences that will help them develop potential while expanding their love of learning. In addition to Reggio Emilia’s reputation for educational excellence, the philosophic consistency of the historic schooling inspires learning and engaging through the Jewish Lenses - allowing us to emphasize how our religious values stimulate creativity within children. “The Jewish Lenses give our educators a foundation to create unique experiences while stimulating creative learning through discovery and play. We approach education a bit differently to create memorable learning experiences,” explains Natalia as she describes the enriching environment at Michele
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Block Gan Yeladim and how it allows our educators to deepen the Jacksonville community’s Jewish connection. “Our approach of discovery and learning through the Jewish Lenses, coupled with the popular enrichment programs like cooking, art, theatre and dance at the JCA, help drive our children’s passions while they grow and decide how they want to experience our world.” Created in 2011 for the Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative, educators often couple the Jewish Lenses with the Reggio Approach to strengthen and revitalize Jewish education among children and families. “The Reggio Approach is inquiry-driven instead of a themed curriculum. We are diligent to build off what our children want to learn and focus every lesson through the Lenses,” explains Natalia. “Through observation, we construct better learning environments and a framework of Jewish values. This structure allows us to provide customized experiences to the children in our community.” By using the Jewish Lenses for creative support and the educational excellence associated with the Reggio Approach, educators at the JCA have revitalized education for the children at Michele Block Gan Yeladim Preschool and Kindergarten. “This type of learning moves early childhood education away from the concept of being a ‘daycare’ and ‘out-of-the-box themed learning’ to instead be an environment where the curriculum is driven for children and responds to what they want to learn,” says Natalia. “It is extremely beneficial for children in their preschool and kindergarten years because it is the time when their brain is rapidly developing.”
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