117 Cutter Mill Road • Great Neck, NY 11021 • 516-466-8522

http://www.shagn.org/

At Silverstein Hebrew Academy we endeavor to

• Encourage your child to make choices, with respect towards him/herself, others and his/her surroundings.  This helps develop your child’s self esteem, self-efficacy and belief in him/herself.
• Nourish your child’s heart and mind, as we develop cognitive, social, emotional and physical skills, so that your child will be a well-rounded person capable of solving problems and adapting to new situations.
• Educate your child in a creative, supportive, and warm Jewish environment, so that your child will not only learn about life as a Jew, but will learn to love it too!

Silverstein Hebrew Academy seeks to create a stimulating and enriching educational environment for each and every child. The school is devoted to helping children learn socialization skills, building their self-confidence and teaching them the preliminary skills to explore and experience the world independently from their parents. Our goal is to provide children with the early foundation and framework to prepare them for the transition to elementary school. In addition, we seek to ignite a spark in each child to lay claim to his Jewish heritage and commit him or her to a lifetime passion for learning.

NURSERY – 2 year olds

Our Pre-Nursery Program is reserved for children moving up from our Infant Program when they reach 18 months.

The focus is on five key developmental areas: 

Sensory and perceptual development
Self-help skills
Physical and motor skills
Social and emotional growth

The first few years of your child’s life are crucial to the development of personality and intellect.  This is a period during which learning takes place at an accelerated pace.  We provide the sense of security and loving care that toddlers need to thrive during this stage of intense learning.

Since toddlers are especially committed to achieving independence, our teachers provide responsive individual attention as your child deals with positive experiences as well as frustration.  Our curriculum takes advantage of the rapid growth of gross and fine motor skills at this stage of development.

Nursery and Kindergarten Programs – 3 and 4 year olds 

Our Nursery and Kindergarten Programs emphasise on Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, and Mathematics.We also incorporate art, music, and cultural activities.

Practical Life

The child is attracted to activities that give him independence and control of his own life. One of the most important needs of a young child is to develop his muscles and coordinate his movements. This need is addressed through practical life exercises such as sweeping, polishing, carrying and pouring water, and other common activities. Special materials enable the child to practice tying, buttoning, snapping, and the use of many other fastening devices. The purpose of these exercises is to develop concentration, the ability to pay attention to details as the child follows a regular sequence of actions and learns good working habits. These activities provide the very foundation on which the child approaches more intricate academic exercises.

Sensorial

Sensorial materials in the classroom are designed to sharpen the senses of the young child and enable the child to understand the many impressions he receives through them.  Each of the sensorial materials isolates one defining quality such as color, weight, shape, texture, size, sound, or smell. The sensorial materials help the child to distinguish, categorize, and relate new information to what he already knows.

Language

The child begins reading when he is ready and proceeds at his own pace. His experiences in Practical Life and Sensorial education serve as a preparation for this. With cut-out letters, the child builds his own words on a mat. The materials free him from the fatigue of his still developing writing skills, and yet still gives him the opportunity to pursue his interest in words. These activities serve as a preparation for the time when the child assimilates what he knows and begins writing.

Mathematics

The materials for mathematics introduce the concept of quantity and its symbols, the numbers 0 through 9. The quantity is introduced by a series of rods which the child can count and compare. He matches sets of symbol cards with the rods. Using a variety of beads and symbol cards, the child becomes familiar with the numbers as a decimal system, including concrete experiences with the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. These exercises not only teach the child to calculate, but they provide a deep understanding of how numbers function.