Welcome to the Congregation B'nai Israel
Early Childhood Center
A warm, nurturing environment for children from birth through age 5

2710 Park Avenue
Bridgeport, CT 06604
203-335-5058

Our Philosophy

At Congregation B'nai Israel Nursery School we believe children thrive in a nurturing and stimulating environment. Our Nursery School curriculum focuses on experiential learning that helps each child develop their physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual and social development.

Our teachers provide a warm, caring setting enriched by music, art, manipulative materials, cooking and outdoor play. Jewish life, culture and holidays are also an integral part of your child's experience.

Our school allows the opportunity for each child to develop at his/her own rate, and we encourage the development of each child's unique potential.

The opening of our Nursery School was encouraged in 1987 by B'nai Israel to support children in their earliest years of Jewish learning and to educate parents through their child's activities, thus enriching the family as a whole.

Nursery School News

Young children love to learn about nature, and it turns out that natural experiences develop many of their intelligences from imagination to concentration.

 We as early childhood educators already bring nature into our classrooms. We have walls covered with pictures of the changing seasons, we examine gourds that once hung in the congregational sukkah, we do leaf art, watch the insects and birds. We have a vegetable garden that we tend and harvest the crops. Nature becomes the means of teaching about the Jewish holidays. We plant parsley for Passover. The holiday of Tu B’shevat lends itself to the study of ecology and the need to take care of our planet. The bins in our halls are filled with items ready to be recycled. By doing all of this we develop in our students pride in their work and intellectual curiosity.  The real garden is the garden of early childhood education. The teachers are the gardeners and our students are nothing less then the seeds of the future. With our care these seeds will grow into eager Jewish learners.

Tu Bishvat Sprouting
Give your child a Ziploc bag, seeds and a piece of paper towel.  Wet the paper towel and put the seeds into it. Put the paper towel with the seeds into the Ziploc bag. Tape the bag to a window that receives light. Check the bag daily. In a few days the seeds will sprout and you can eat them or plant them in the soil. Seeds that work very well are: alfalfa, bean, lentil, radish and squash.

Gail Weinstein
Early Childhood Director

All About Our Preschool

I was asked by Amy Rich to share some information with the board about our preschool.  Before my presentation, I looked around the board and was so pleased to see many who began their affiliation by having their children attend our nursery school.

I began my explanation by explaining who we are as a preschool. Our goal is to help young children become more accepting of and comfortable with themselves, and others, their Judaism and to recognize their loving creative potential as individuals and a positive self image for each child.
               
Our program provides a nurturing and stimulating Jewish environment. The curriculum focuses on experiential learning through daily activities that contribute to a child’s physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual development. The staff provides a warm and caring setting enriched by music with Cantor, art, cooking, sand, water play and manipulative materials. Outdoor activities and field trips compliment our program. Jewish life, culture and holidays are an integral part of a child’s experience at B’nai.
   
Children attend independent of parent beginning at age 2. We offer varied programs with a number of options. This year we are extending our day for the 3’s and 4’s until 3 p.m.
     
The staff is certified in education and education related fields. We have a very active school committee. We have on going family programs that are coordinated by Elaine Chetrit and Rabbi Rachel.
   
The state is finally realizing the importance of early childhood education and has put together a framework of skills addressing the social, cognitive, physical and creative domains. Along with the framework are assessments to be applied to children 2-6 years old. I am happy to announce I was able to get a grant from the Bridgeport Public Schools Early Childhood Quality Enhancement Program and the entire staff is participating in 2 day professional development training for the Benchmarks. We plan to bring back and implement this program in our classrooms.
               
With the school year just beginning we look forward to a year where a Jewish foundation will be built serving the child throughout his/her life.

Gail Weinstein
Early Childhood Director