Solomon Schechter's Early Childhood Program Project Benefits Students and the Local Community

The youngest students at the Solomon Schechter Day School of West Hartford have been engaged in the study of several meaningful topics through the school’s new investigation-based curriculum that incorporates a long term project into its Early Childhood curriculum.  This approach supports their unique three-strand curriculum model that integrates Judaic education with state learning standards and the Reggio Emilia philosophy of early childhood education.  The project work responds to student interest and includes research and interaction with the community to shape an extended exploration of a topic of interest.  Students respond to various educational “provocations” that capture children’s attention and have important skills and concepts embedded within them that are rooted in Judaic studies and Connecticut learning standards.  From there, long-term study begins.

A passion for food and cooking was evident in the three-year-old class as the teachers observed conversations at snack time and their eager anticipation of weekly cooking activities. A class restaurant was set up by the children to explore this interest. Research continued in the school's kitchen where they met with the cafeteria's chief culinary expert. Giving back to the community and integrating Jewish values were also key elements of the project and this class chose ma'achil r'ay-vim (feeding the hungry) by organizing a food drive for a local homeless shelter.

Schechter's two- year -olds explored their love of movement and learned about how their bodies move in a unit that included yoga and multicultural dance. 

In the four-year-old class, students constructed a pet store where they gained practical experience with reading and writing skills by creating boxes of food and labeling them for each kind of animal.  The project incorporated the Jewish value of tza'ar ba'alay cha' yim (being kind to animals) as the children decided to hold a bake sale to purchase a bed for a local humane society.  "It is projects like these – those which reflect a true spirit of teamwork and philanthropy - that make the biggest impact in the world", said Barbara DeBelllis Naugle, Director of Development at the CT Humane Society.  "We are grateful for the students' selfless ambition and their dedication to good works.  And we are ever so grateful that they chose to share their gifts and enthusiasm with the pets at Connecticut Humane Society."

"Long term projects invite students to be active participants in their learning," said Early Childhood Director, Michelle Fontaine.  "Many important Kindergarten readiness skills in language arts, mathematics and science are embedded in a project.  Group work also fosters life skills such as decision making, collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving which will prepare students in their careers later on. Children are invested in their learning, having fun with their peers, and giving back to the community, exactly what the goal of quality education should be."

Schechter's Early Childhood curriculum development project is supported by a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Hartford.