Early Childhood
Our Early childhood program offers a warm and nurturing environment where each child is valued and respected. Our program offers a process-oriented, hands-on approach to learning, where developmentally appropriate curricula and materials allow each child to work according to their ability or skill level. As we help students develop habits of observation, questioning and listening, we hope to instill in each child a love for learning, a love for doing mitzvos, and a love for Eretz Yisroel.
Research has shown that the human brain grows as a result of learning and experience. During the first five years of a child’s life, trillions of synapses are formed in response to learning experiences. During these early years, children are most receptive to learning emotional control, forming relationships with others, and acquiring language skills. We capitalize on this critical time in a child’s development by providing him or her with a plethora of opportunities to explore, invent and investigate. As a stepping stone to reading and academic skills, a child must first gather meaning from the world and develop conceptual awareness. In order to gather meaning from the world, a child must have satisfying sensory and sensorimotor experiences. He and she must observe, touch, feel, and hear. Perceptual development follows. This is the process through which a young child learns.
Our curriculum identifies goals for our young children in five areas of development:
Social/Emotional – To help develop independence and competence as an individual, as well as learning to become a responsible member of a group: We help the children work toward achieving a sense of self, taking responsibility, and learning to be aware of others. Taking turns, sharing, showing empathy, exhibiting self-control, and building self-confidence are among the many areas of focus.
Physical – To help develop and strengthen our children’s fine motor and gross motor skills: Children work on skills such as running, jumping, balancing, catching, and throwing. They develop their small muscles to be able to button, string beads, cut, draw, and write. With more advanced physical development, children master increasingly sophisticated tasks integrating and mastering the use of technological tools and manipulatives.
Cognitive – To acquire thinking skills such as the ability to solve problems, ask questions, and think logically: As children observe events around them, they are encouraged to inquire, make predictions and test possible solutions. The children learn to compare, contrast, count, measure, and sort to organize information.
Language – To expand our children’s ability to express thoughts and communicate ideas with others: Through building word vocabulary and sentence structure, and modeling and encouraging meaningful interactions with adults and peers, we empower our children to become listeners and communicators. We lay the groundwork for literacy by implementing early-writing and early-reading techniques. Children learn to understand the purpose of print, recognize letters and words, and begin to write for a purpose.
Torah Values and Concepts – To have our students surrounded by the warmth and beauty of a Torah environment: This is created by our Morahs sharing the radiance of Shabbos, the excitement of a coming Yom Tov, and the importance of talking to Hashem through tefilla. We lay the groundwork for developing middos tovos and a love of Torah, mitzvos, Klal Yisrael, and Eretz Yisrael.
Using this student-centered, developmental approach, our dedicated and caring staff help each child grow and blossom in a caring, loving atmosphere. Each child is viewed as an individual with a unique set of strengths and abilities. Each student is encouraged and supported as they discover, \explore, and grow at their own developmentally appropriate pace.
Early Childhood Staff
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Mrs. Leah Mond
ECC Director
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Mrs. Raizy Hecht
Assistant Director
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Ms. Deena Kunken
EC2-A Morah
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Mrs. Randi Binson
EC2-B Morah
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Mrs. Shayna Rosenthal
EC2-C Morah
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Mrs. Stephanie Adelman
EC2-D Morah
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Mrs. Revi Essebag
EC3-A Morah
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Mrs. Ruthie Haibi
EC3-B Morah
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Mrs. Elizabeth Austein
EC3-C Morah
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Mrs. Miriam Rubinov
EC3-D Morah
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Mrs. Saralaya Rockford-Perl
PreK-A Morah
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Ms. Sharona Alkoubey
PreK-A/B GS Teacher
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Mrs. Terry Len
PreK-C Morah
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Mrs. Ricky Rivlin
PreK-D Morah
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Mrs. Leslie Tseytlin
PreKE Morah
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Mrs. Vicki Hercsky
Kindergarten A/B GS Teacher
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Mrs. Ruth Rabovsky
Kindergarten A/B
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Mrs. Rayna Deutsch
Kindergarten C Morah
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Mrs. Simona Roth
Kindergarten D Morah
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Mrs. Breindy Cinner
ECC Outdoor Classroom Teacher
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Mr. Maynu Peter
ECC Movement Teacher
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Mr. Picard Wisterband
Maintenance & Porter
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Mrs. Baila Berman
ECC Executive Assistant
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Mrs. Chana Glassner
ECC Admin Assistant
- Ms. Chaya Askotzky
- Mrs. Leah Amber
- Mrs. Esther Behar
- Ms. Racheli Benarroch
- Ms. Chelsea Crespo
- Mrs. Alyssa Caplan
- Ms. Tziona Dahari
- Ms. Nina Gross
- Mrs. Kiki Halpern
- Ms. Morielle Harari
- Ms. Natasha Harari
- Ms. Michelle Haziza
- Mrs. Erika Huapaya-Lizarraga
- Ms. Faith Joselin
- Mrs. Rhoda Lichtenstein
- Ms. Hadassah Lyons
- Ms. Yitty Nezri
- Ms. Jordann Ondo
- Ms. Yocheved Romanoff
- Mrs. Diane Rubenstein
- Mrs. Shira Schecter
- Ms. Robyn Sharove
- Mrs. Miriam Silber
- Ms. Tehila Wealcatch
- Mrs. Joyce Ziv
To email a member of our teaching staff, please use the first initial of the first name and complete last name followed by torahacademybr.org (i.e. jdoe@torahacademybr.org).