The Summer Program

You know when sum­mer has arrived at the Early Child­hood Learn­ing Cen­ter when chil­dren are skim­ming down the water slide, mak­ing sand muffins in the sand area and scream­ing in delight in the sprin­klers. Our sum­mer pro­gram is messy and busy and runs some­what dif­fer­ently from the rest of the school year. We base our cur­ricu­lum on a theme a week and keep the day less struc­tured, with lots of out­door water play, cook­ing and art. The weekly themes include Shab­bat Week, Lit­er­a­ture Week and Dinosaur Week. We learn about fire fight­ers and police offi­cers dur­ing Com­mu­nity Helper Week and cre­ate culi­nary delights dur­ing Cook­ing Week. The chil­dren explore dif­fer­ent art media such as print-making, mar­bleiz­ing, clay sculpt­ing and col­lage dur­ing Art Museum Week. Water Days are on Wednes­days, when the chil­dren are in their swim suits, play­ing at the bub­ble and water tables, enjoy­ing home-made pop­si­cles and staff our preschool “car wash.”

The sum­mer pro­gram is divided into three 3-week ses­sions and is a great camp expe­ri­ence for young children.