"This New Month" - JCC Association's Early Childhood Curriculum Initiative

This site provides information related to the Jewish months and encourages JCC early childhood educators to exchange ideas about teaching techniques, curriculum development and related monthly themes. A team of early childhood educators and Jewish education specialists provides information about each month and insight into early childhood education practices and theories. The site also features songs, activities, recipes, an d and early childhood message board.

Alliance for Jewish Early Education

Alliance for Jewish Early Education is a network of state and national organizations, institutions and philanthropies that are currently addressing issues related to the Jewish education of young children and their families.  Website offers resources and toolkits for parents, teachers, and program directors, as well as relevant research papers.

An Ethical Start

An Ethical Start™ is based on the book “Pirkei Avot - Ethics of the Fathers”. It is an educational program developed to teach Jewish ethics and values to preschoolers. An Ethical Start™ was developed by the Jewish Community Center Association, which was funded in part by the Steven Spielberg Righteous Persons Foundation.
The program is developed through exploration of the text, “Ethics of Our Fathers,” environmental enhancements, multi-media exploration through music, books, Peer K doll and the emergent curriculum.  It is implemented in various JCCA preschools nationwide.

This innovative program enhances and deepens family commitment to the learning and practice of ethics and values. The six areas of focus consist of the following values: responsibility, dignity, kindness, community, tradition and respect. An Ethical Start& ...

CAJE Jewish Early Childhood Resources

A collection of resources from the Early Childhood Department at the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE).

Connecting Post Early Childhood Families to Next Steps: The 4's

This publication is shared on the Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life/MetroWest's Early Childhood page. One measure of success in early childhood programs is when a parent chooses the next step for their child's Jewish education upon completing the 4's early childhood program.

To learn more about programs that work, incentives, and a quiz to see how your program measures up, click on the link at the top of this page. You may also click on the link to the Early Childhood page to browse through their other offerings.

Creating a Day School-Early Childhood Pipeline: Building the Relationship

The purpose of this document, published by the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE), is to examine the strategies for building a strong and mutually valuable relationship between early childhood education (ECE) programs and day schools.
 Creating a Day School-Early Childhood Pipeline: Building the Relationship (Link)

Defining Excellence in Early Childhood Jewish Education

The goal of this project was to develop a set of quality indicators, anchored in relevant theory and research, for describing excellence in early childhood Jewish education programs.  The report includes a literature review and a preliminary list of quality indicators.
Defining Excellence in Early Childhood Jewish Education (56.79 kB)

Early Childhood Community of Practice: Lessons Shared

This publication is shared on the Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life/MetroWest's Early Childhood page. This handbook focuses on factors that impact on engaging families: who are our parents of today? What programs really work? What has lasting impact? Read rich reflections from the directors of myriad Early Childhood programs who participated in this Community of Practice.

Click on the url given at the top of this page to go directly to the handbook; or click on the Early Childhood page to browse through their other offerings.

Early Childhood Education and United Synagogue - The Gateway to Jewish Life

Maxine Segal Handelman, the USCJ's consultant for early childhood education, discusses the unique role of Jewish Early Childhood Education. In this article, she also outlines a few features of a successful relationship between an early childhood program and its host synagogue.

Early Childhood Institute at Shoolman Graduate School of Jewish Education, Hebrew College

Hebrew College's EARLY CHILDHOOD INSTITUTE (ECI) integrates the study of Judaism with early childhood education, presenting developmentally appropriate methods for teaching young children about Jewish values, traditions and culture. Headed by founding Director Ina Regosin, Dean of Students, ECI provides support and guidance for teachers, furthering their Jewish knowledge and understanding of this foundational stage of Jewish education.

Early Jewish Engagement in New York: A Summary Report

Becoming a parent can be the most thrilling and the most challenging of times. And in the months and early years following that pivotal moment of new parenthood, mothers and fathers often discover a new openness to bringing Jewish experiences into their lives.

That's why UJA-Federation's Beginning Jewish Families Task Force, founded in 2008, commissioned a study to learn how to best reach out to young Jewish families. Now the task force, part of the Commission on Jewish Identity and Renewal (COJIR), has published the summary report, Jewish Early Engagement in New York.

The study researched five communities as potential pilot sites for enhanced Jewish programming for new parents: Downtown Manhattan, Brownstone Brooklyn, Southern Brooklyn, Northern Westchester, and Staten Island.

The report found that Jew ...

Growing Number of Non-Jews Teach the Aleph-Bet at Preschool

An article from interfaithfamily.com about the growing number of non-Jewish students and teachers at Jewish preschools.

Hebrew in America

Programs offered by the UJA Federation of Northern New Jersey.  Schools choose between three separate programs to teach Hebrew in their early childhood classrooms. All three programs advocate a strong Hebrew environment in the early childhood classroom and the use of Hebrew in classroom management.

In Appreciation of Early Childhood Jewish Education

A reflective article/blog post by Rabbi Gerald Skolnik, spiritual leader of the Forest Hills Jewish Center.

Israel in Jewish Early Childhood Education (Israel in Our Lives)

A volume from the series Israel in Our Lives. The goal of these guides is to:

• help introduce the idea of Israel into the lives of your constituents in an interesting and accessible manner; and, to
• suggest ways to help promote the idea of a visit to Israel - the Israel Experience - as a critical Jewish experience for every young Jew.

Download here:
Israel in Jewish Early Childhood Education (188.55 kB)

Jewish Early Childhood Association (JECA)

JECA is a professional organization, associated with the BJE-NY Early Childhood Department, of teachers and directors working in programs under Jewish auspices.  Participants include approximately 2,500 directors and teachers who pay annual dues.  JECA runs seminars, allocates grant money, and has underwritten curricular materials.

Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative (JECEI)

The Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative (JECEI) transforms preschools into Jewish early childhood centers that ignite a desire and commitment in families to continue Jewish learning and living beyond their preschool experience and inspires increasing numbers of new families to enroll in Jewish early childhood centers of the highest quality.

JECEI has been offering a new synergy of authentic and relevant Jewish values with the best in progressive education, as embodied particularly in the world renowned schools of Reggio Emilia in Italy.

Jewish Early Childhood Educators' Exchange

Bibliography of resources for teachers by topic such as shabbat, holidays, Bible stories, and lesson plan ideas and activities compiled by an early childhood educator; the site also includes a link to the Jewish Early Childhood Educators' Exchange, an interactive discussion board.

Jewish Preschools as Gateways to Jewish Life

A Survey of Jewish Preschool Parents in Three Cities, a Special Section on Findings Pertaining to Day School Enrollment.  The report aims to document the reasons Jewish parents enroll their children in Jewish early childhood programs, and the impact this experience has on the families. It records the decisions parents make regarding their child’s general and Jewish education subsequent to graduating from a Jewish preschool. Findings from this study demonstrate that not only do parents feel overwhelmingly positive about the Jewish preschool experience, but more importantly, that the majority of parents engage in more Jewish practices (i.e. celebrating Shabbat) as a result of their child’s Jewish preschool experience.