Wellesley, MA
Gan Elohim

Gan Elohim is Temple Beth Elohim?s garden, a loving and inclusive environment in which children and their families may learn and grow. Children learn about a variety of topics through stories, music, hands on projects and especially through play. Our professional staff provides a nurturing and enriching environment for independent inquiry and discovery. Each classroom is set up to encourage children?s explorations and to support their immersion into the learning process. Teachers facilitate this process through the wide range of materials they provide and by listening to the children and including their ideas into the curriculum. Positive self esteem and confidence, critical building blocks of development, are fostered as children are valued and made to feel secure as they grow both emotionally and academically. Parents and families are a key component of the program by assisting in the classrooms, attending Family Education and school functions, serving on committees and sharing their children with our staff over the years. Each of us, staff, families and children, bring our special gifts to create our wonderful garden ? Gan Elohim.

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The schedule for the classroom is planned to include a variety of materials, experiences and opportunities to learn. The day is structured to allow for individually chosen and group activities. A typical day is as follows:

8:50 AM ? Arrival

9:00-9:10 AM ? Brief meeting to introduce special
activities for the day such as art, cooking, science and discovery

9:10-10:10 AM ? Choice of special activities and/or play and block corner, housekeeping, water and sand tables, painting at easels and small motor activities such as Legos and puzzles

10:10-10:30 AM ? Cleanup and snack

10:30-11:00 AM ? Group Time for discussions, music, drama, movement and listening to a story

11:00-11:45 AM ? Outdoor play on the playground except in extreme weather when the children will have activities in the social hall or large motor play in the classroom

11:45 AM ? Dismissal

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