Curriculum

This course emphasizes knowledge and application of various techniques for observing and recording the behavior of young children in Jewish early childhood settings.  Exploration of both formal and informal ways of presenting information to parents is also covered.

Understand how children develop physically, cognitively, socially, emotionally, and culturally within a Jewish community; understand how children acquire language and creative expression; understand the links between development and learning; understand the roles and responsibilities of parents, educators, and caregivers; understand the environmental, biological, social and cultural influences on growth and development. Special attention will be given to development within a Jewish community and how religion, culture, second language and Torah guides our understanding of such.

This course is asynchronous and taken alongside EDU 300: Working with Infants and Toddlers. In this course, students will observe and work with infants or toddlers to practice implementing their learning from the infant and toddler development course. This includes the application of developmental theories of attachment and stages of development as they relate to Piaget, Erikson, Bowlby, Vygotsky, to name a few. Students will also put into practice choosing developmentally appropriate materials for the various infant and toddler environments.

This class covers program types, budget, management, regulations, laws, development and
implementation of policies and procedures. Examines administrative tools,
 philosophies and techniques needed to organize, open, and operate an early care and education program.

This course introduces students to various categories of disabilities, legal and historical foundations for special education services, as well as opportunities to identify, evaluate/assess and implement strategies for modifications or adaptations for exceptional children within a community of collaboration and inclusion. Focus will also be made on Jewish law and customs regarding inclusion of children and families in Jewish ritual and synagogue activities.

This course is asynchronous and taken alongside EDU 304: Collaborations and Adaptations for Special Needs in ECE. It will provide students with an opportunity to learn about the IEP process and to explore identification, diagnosis and treatment for a child with a special need. Students will help to plan, implement and evaluate strategies for modifications for a child as well as to assist in determining other activities and events that may require modifications. An emphasis will be placed on ensuring family inclusion.

This course will provide a critical examination of how to help children develop pre-reading and pre-writing skills, read and write, particularly in ELL contexts. During this course, students will have opportunities to examine a variety of issues related to teaching literacy to young children, including oral/written language development, emergent literacy/biliteracy, reading fluency, reading comprehension, phonics and vocabulary development, early writing acquisition, differentiation of instruction, children’s literature, assessment in early literacy, effective reading/writing strategies, parental involvement, and reading-writing connections. Course will cover both English and Hebrew language acquisition. Also, different theories and philosophies regarding children’s language/literacy development will be addressed. Developmentally appropriate practices will be also integrated throughout the course.

This course will address the importance of play in the growth and development of young children ages 0 to 5.  In addition, an overview of play theories as they apply to the total development of young children ages 0 to 5 will be discussed.  Special attention is given to organized play experiences through arranging and scheduling developmentally appropriate learning opportunities through play for young children in private and public care settings.

The goal of this course is to provide an understanding of how children’s thinking develops from infancy on. We will discuss the content of children’s knowledge across a variety of domains and evaluate the major theories and explanations for intellectual growth. We will review and evaluate both classic findings and state-of-the-art research on cognitive development.

This course is designed for early childhood educators and specialists. Through special topics, the course explores the development of math, engineering, physics, and science curiosity in young children. Emphasis is placed on STEM and STEAM in the early childhood classroom.

In this course, you will be practically applying the information you are learning from your EDU 314 and EDU 309 courses. Students will assess the need for curriculum in early childhood, look at how young children learn, and how early educators can best support young children’s development through curriculum planning.

An exploration of principles, methods, and materials for teaching children music, movement, visual arts, and dramatic play through process-oriented experiences to support divergent thinking. Creative activities will be planned and presented for all activity areas, including art, movement, music, language, science, mathematics and social studies, in addition to holiday and seasonal activities for young children. Emphasis is placed on appropriate use of all resources, including time, materials and facilities, as they apply to creative thinking.

This asynchronous practicum course will be taken alongside EDU 306: Language and Literacy Development. The course focuses on language and literacy with special attention given to creating a print-rich environment, creating lessons for speaking, listening, writing and reading in early childhood education. Students will work with children individually, in small groups and with full class to ensure that all children are developing mastery of print and other forms of language and literacy.

This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to work successfully with families, caregivers, community members and more both within a school setting as well as outside of the school walls.  The focus will be on strengthening adult-child relationships and parent staff relationships in home, school, and community settings. An awareness of strategies in developing positive and supportive relationships with families of young children with special needs, including the legal and philosophical basis for family participation; family-centered services; and strategies for working with socially, culturally, and linguistically diverse families will be included. Family involvement in early childhood programs and parent education will be stressed

This course will offer a broad perspective and exploration of early childhood environments, emphasizing the relationships between the children’s learning, adult engagement, and the environment. Students will expand their current views and ideas about children’s education by investigating and discussing the images of children in relation to our indoor/outdoor spaces; encountering when and how the environment acts as a teacher; building a curriculum in harmony with the surroundings; creating a sense of belonging; and discovering how to pay close attention to details in the environment in order to transform the way we live, think, interact, and learn together.

This course is designed to provide the student with an understanding of young children’s behavior.  The course will provide to the student underlying causes of problem behavior, foundations for developmentally appropriate child guidance, different care giving styles, specific positive discipline strategies and ways to manage the physical environment effectively.  Students will gain various suggestions/tips on managing specific types of behavior. Students will have opportunities to solve specific problems relating to theory as compared to real-life situations.

This course is a laboratory experience on the study of music, movement, and drama appropriate for young children through early elementary school.  Emphasis will be placed on the fundamentals of music and movement as well as the integration of aesthetic and creative experiences into the Jewish preschool curriculum.

This course is taken alongside EDU 311: Creative Experiences for Young Children and 307: Introduction to Working with Young Children; Curriculum, Play, and Pedagogy, and focuses on the skills a teacher needs to manage a classroom by themselves. With the guidance of their mentor teacher, students will assume a lead role in planning, implementing, and evaluating classroom design, curriculum, and activities.

This asynchronous course aligns with EDU 313: Partnering with Families and Community and EDU 315: Child Guidance and Positive Discipline courses. This fieldwork experience is designed to allow students to identify a need and then provide a parenting education activity that will help parents and caregivers of young children learn and develop skills to guide children’s growth and behavior more effectively. An emphasis will be placed on ensuring family inclusion.