Discovery. Direction. Growth
Preschool of the Arts offers children from birth to five years old a child-centered, hands-on, social learning experience that emphasizes Jewish values, traditions and the arts. Our infant program is influenced by the RIE (Resources for Infant Educarers) approach that focuses on respectful care of babies, creating loving routines of sleeping, feeding, diapering and exploring. The preschool program, which serves children two to five years old, takes inspiration from the Reggio Emilia approach that honors children’s interests and ideas through emergent curriculum and sees documentation as a window onto the learning. We value children’s play and expression through the arts as a window onto their deepest selves.
For the past twenty years, Preschool of the Arts has offered families in Lower Manhattan a home away from home and an extended community of families raising children side by side. Together, we help children build a disposition for learning that prepares them for a successful and happy future.
In classrooms that embrace co-constructed learning, children actively participate in the teaching and learning process. Skilled teachers seize upon children’s innate curiosity and sense of wonder through careful observation and documentation of their play.
Infants learn through their interactions with adults and the world around them. Feeding times, diaper changes and other moments of care are viewed as valuable opportunities to nurture infant development. Our infant educators are trained in the RIE approach;
Our children learn the customs, traditions, and moral values of Judaism. These lessons are woven naturally through all of our disciplines so that they become both a meaningful and treasured part of each child’s personal milieu.
A Reggio curriculum is fluid and organic. The curriculum emerges from the interests of children. Since teachers are careful observers of children, they are very familiar with topics that excite their curiosity.
