The ECC provides children in the first five years of life with a warm Jewish environment and innovative, educational activities that stimulate exploration, creativity, and community. With focus on the “total child” and opportunities for development in emotional, social, physical, cognitive, spiritual, and Judaic areas, the ECC recognizes that the developmental process for each child is different.  

The teachers work as partners with children to initiate activities designed to support emerging interests. A project approach is used to provide the richest learning environment possible; one that is based on the student’s interests and that encourages questions, discussions, collaborations, experimentations and resolutions. Together, teacher and student provoke and initiate new thoughts on a variety of topics and themes. Creating hypothesis and testing their validity expose children to higher order thinking skills; these are valued and important throughout the educational experience. 

The ECC team of professionals believes that children reach their highest potential when school and family are partners in the educational process. Open communication between teacher and parent is critical. The ECC promotes and invites parent participation in every classroom especially around the celebration of Jewish Holidays and other special events. It also offers parent education classes in order to enhance parents’ understanding of child development, child rearing, and creating a Jewish home. 

Reggio Emilia Philosophy 

The Stephen S. Wise Temple Early Childhood Center is dedicated to providing a developmentally appropriate learning program for your child. The programs are inspired by the work of teachers and administrators in Reggio Emilia, Italy, and have incorporated many of these beliefs into the School curicculum. While not completely a “Reggio School”, you may wish to familiarize yourself with the philosophy behind this wonderful learning programas the ECC continues the training and practice in the style of these schools. 

The Reggio Emilia Approach to preschool education was started by the schools of the city of Reggio Emilia in Italy after World War II. There is much about Reggio Emilia's approach to child care and education that distinguishes it from other programs, both inside and outside of Italy. Its uniqueness has attracted worldwide attention. Of special interest is the emphasis on children's symbolic languages in the context of a project-oriented curriculum. These are the core values of the Reggio Emilia approach: 

• Community Support and Parent Involvement 
• Administrative Policies and Organizational Features 
• Teachers as Learners 
• The Role of the Environment 
• Long Term Projects as Vehicles of Learning 
• The Hundreds of Languages of Children 

The Stephen S. Wise Temple Early Childhood Center believes wholeheartedly in this developmental approach to educating young children, and is proud to incorporate these values into the program while including the Jewish Holidays which are the core of the program! A summary of these values have been included so that you better understand the ECC philosophy and begin to identify these practices in your child’s classroom. You can learn more about the Reggio Emilia approach, click here.