Join our Early Learning Center and make the J your home away from home
We serve ages 6 weeks through 5 years.
Our Early Learning Center (ELC) uses creative curriculum based on the academic and social interests of the children that is rooted in Massachusetts State Frameworks and guidelines to scaffold your child’s skills from one level of mastery to the next. We help children see themselves as changemakers in our community and the world and know that children learn best by being fully engaged in their own learning. This means that children, with the guidance of their teachers, construct their own path to discovery. We encourage children to ask “Why?” and provide hands-on opportunities to explore and find the answer.
We offer the children indoor and outdoor physical movement in our three outdoor playgrounds and the playscape in order to shape their gross motor skills. The children take weekly PE classes with a specialist. Our children ages 2.6 years and older also enjoy swim enrichment once a week.
All families are welcome at the J. All faiths are welcome – we celebrate Jewish culture in a fun, inclusive way. For example, on Fridays we celebrate Shabbat with the sharing of challah bread. What is Shabbat? Shabbat is when we gather as a class or as a school on Fridays. We light candles to “usher in” the Sabbath and set it apart from the weekday world. Immediately after lighting candles, we say a special blessing over the grape juice and the challah, and partake in a Shabbat-themed activity. Through our Shabbat celebration, our students learn that it is important to be thankful for their families.
The mission of the Springfield JCC’s ELC is to provide an exceptional academic and social environment where nurturing staff encourage children to be curious, creative, and socially conscientious all under a Jewish umbrella of values, ethics, and leadership.