The Early Childhood Center @ the J has been providing high quality early childhood care and education to the Ann Arbor community for over twenty-five years.
Our Mission:
The mission of the Early Childhood Center is to provide a safe, warm, child-centered Jewish learning community where children and adults explore ideas, develop skills, and gain knowledge together.
Our Philosophy:
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We believe that children are powerful, competent, and capable of solving problems and expressing intentions.
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We believe that children construct their own knowledge when they interact with people, concepts, and the world around them and by manipulating a diverse variety of materials.
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We believe that adults play a critical role in children’s learning, by supporting their efforts to explore ideas and solve problems, by scaffolding children’s ability to express their ideas and reflect on their experiences, and by establishing a positive climate for learning.
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We believe that learning is a social process, in which meaningful interactions among the adults and children in the classroom give children the opportunity to learn from the strengths and interests of their peers and teachers.
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We believe that early childhood education has a crucial role in developing the important values of a sense of justice, compassion, and caring about the welfare of others.
We work in partnership with the HighScope Educational Research Foundation and implement the HighScope curriculum across our program. The JCC Early Childhood Program is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and licensed by the state of Michigan. Click here to learn more
