Enrichment nurtures the curiosity, creativity, and social emotional development of our youngest learners as they wonder, explore, experiment and problem solve.

Music and Movement

Every week, all of our classes enjoy music and movement classes. Manager of Family Engagement Music & Central Tots Shira Kobren Wasserman plays the guitar and teaches children songs, rhymes, and fingerplays that complement the curriculum in each class throughout the year, as well as songs and stories about each of the Jewish holidays that we study and celebrate. Shira also leads Shabbat Central services for families with young children, which are part of Central Synagogue's Family Engagement programming.

Our classes also enjoy weekly movement sessions. Our movement specialist’s enthusiasm inspires our children to move in joyful and creative ways as they develop age-appropriate awareness, coordination, and control over their bodies, along with relaxation, mindfulness, yoga, and breathing techniques.

Science

Our science teacher extends the science experience for our older classes with a weekly visit during which children learn about the many ways that one can be a scientist. Highlights include making erupting volcanoes, digging in the dirt for worms, studying rocks, and learning how birds fly. 

Library

Pre-literacy is an integral part of our children's experience in school every day. Our library program plays an important role in instilling a love for reading in our children, introducing them to a wide range of genres and helping develop their pre-literacy skills. Drawing from the wide-ranging book collection in the Barbara Brooks Children's Library, we read wonderful books to the children and collaborate with the teachers to integrate the library experience with each classroom's curriculum. Each class visits the library every week to hear a story, after which the children look at books selected for them by our librarian based on their interests and the current curriculum in each class, and choose a book to check out. It is a cozy and inviting place to settle in with a good book! 

Blocks

Building with wooden unit blocks is a pivotal part of the preschool experience. When children build with blocks, they learn across a range of critically important subjects: language, literacy, social studies, math, and science. They also develop skills that will positively impact their approach to learning throughout their lives: collaboration with others, determination and focus, experimentation, problem-solving, and resilience. Throughout our school, in classrooms, outdoor spaces, and indoor playrooms, children build with unit blocks, large and toddler-sized wooden hollow blocks, large outdoor blocks, and Imagination Playground blocks.

Gardening

The children in our school have the opportunity to create and sustain “learning gardens” on both our second-floor terrace and roof. Throughout the year, children plant, tend, harvest, collect and sow seeds, cook, and discover the connections that exist among Jewish holidays, values, and the life cycle of living things. The community gardens that all the children in the school create and tend provide rich opportunities for “wondering” about the natural world and a hands-on connection to tikkun olam, as the children learn firsthand about where fruit, vegetables, and herbs come from.