Alef-Bet Child Care Center

Our Program

Our Philosophy

Our basic philosophy is to care for children with warmth and guidance in an environment that allows them to develop and express their own personalities. The teachers take pleasure in helping children acquire the skills to separate from family members, to share and play with other children and to feel confident to per form a myriad of self-help skills. We appreciate that children have their own timetables for developing these skills. We keep in close communication with parents.

Our Mission

Our mission at Alef-Bet is to provide a warm and joyful introduction to Yiddishkeit, the practices and traditions of Judaism. As a Jewish school, Alef-Bet incorporates basic Jewish events and values into our curriculum. We celebrate Shabbat and holidays together as a family; articulate a love for the Land of Israel; teach Jewish middot (compassionate behavior) to the children in each classroom; and build a community together. By celebrating the Jewish holidays and learning about Jewish values and customs, we hope every child here will come to have a joyful and positive identification with this heritage. The families and staff reflect the broad spectrum of Jewish observance as well as those from other faiths. This diversity is well accepted at Alef-Bet Child Care.

Our Curriculum

Our curriculum arises out of the subjects which have always fascinated young children including: transportation, dinosaurs, animal life and families. A special talent or recent interest of a teacher, or a particular fascination of one or more of the children in class, may result in exploration into that area. Art, music, creative dramatics, science, storytelling and cooking are some of the many ways children learn. At the same time, we expose children to the beauty and excitement of Jewish life - they learn through celebration and instruction as well as by playing in an environment rich in Jewish traditions.

A music/movement instructor visits each class weekly. Throughout the year Alef-Bet Child Care enjoys the rich variety of resources our community offers; i.e. storytellers, musicians, the Audubon Ark and the New England Aquarium.

Materials and games are developmentally appropriate and the daily schedule is designed to balance active play and quiet rest, individual attention and group interaction, free choice and structured activities.

One of the unique elements of Alef-Bet is that it comes alive thanks to the natural interests and lives of the teachers. The teachers in each classroom work together over the course of each year to design a curriculum to meet the specific needs of the members of that class, creating a vibrant, interactive environment. The holidays provide the basic structure of the Judaic curriculum; teachers decide how best to engage their students in the exploration of Jewish life. Our teachers also work to scaffold the children's learning, so that general concepts introduced with the Alefs can be built upon in the Bet and Gimmel years.

Judaic Program

We see ourselves as cross-denominational, exposing our children to the wide spectrum of Jewish life, while assuming nothing about their lives at home; diversity is well accepted at Alef-Bet. Our teachers draw on their personal experiences and backgrounds to create a curriculum tailored to the interests of their students each year, allowing our children to experience the love, warmth and joy inherent in Judaism.

"And these words which I command you this day shall be in your heart. And you shall teach them diligently to your children." Deuteronomy 6: 6-7.

All our teachers take turns leading Shabbat and holiday circles so that our students have the opportunity to absorb and appreciate the different flavors of Jewish life. Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, Chanukah, Tu B' shvat, Purim, Pesach, Yom Ha' atzmaut, and Shavuot are each celebrated with stories, songs, food, art activities and reenactements.

Shabbat circles begin with giving tzedakah (charity); calling our friends who are sick; welcoming our guests; and singing and dancing. The circles continue with a Torah story, often times with children helping to tell the tale, and a chance for the children to take turns being the Ima (mom) and Abba (dad) who make the brachot (blessings) over the Shabbat candles and challah. We have created our own minhagim (customs) around traditional Jewish observance over the years, just as many families do.

Israel is also a presence at our Shabbat and holiday circles as we connect Jewish history to our daily life. As the Jewish State, Israel has a special relevance for Jews all around the world; we have our origins in that land, whether genetic or spiritual. We want our children to understand the fact that the existence of the State of Israel is extremely meaningful. Thus we give our students a connection to, and a sense of, Israel through food, history and celebrations throughout the year.

Children at this age often need the world to be concrete, so we teach middot through doing. Woven throughout daily experiences in the classroom, values are reaffirmed as children help and comfort each other; celebrate each other's and the group's accomplishments; care for their classroom, and create an environment welcoming to all. We ask our students to recite brachot before eating so that they can take a moment to appreciate everything that has gone into bringing them their food, and express thanks.

We emphasize klal yisrael, the connection between all Jews, a concept which helps us build our Alef-Bet family. Alef-Bet builds multiple and expanding senses of community: within Alef-Bet; within klal Israel; with our neighbors in Cambridge; and with our fellow humans around the globe. Examples of these include our celebrating holidays and birthdays together; and giving tzedakah, including encouraging children to plant trees in Israel, bestow holiday gifts to Cambridge families in need, and provide money for tsunami relief.