Early Childhood Centers

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Welcome to the Board of Jewish Education of Metropolitan Chicago’s progressive concept in early childhood education; where children grow intellectually and socially in a loving Jewish environment. As a lab school, The BJE Early Childhood Centers’ (BJEECC’s) curriculum is based on the most current research findings in the field of child development, early childhood education, family education, and Judaica.

The BJEECC’s have been developing and providing quality Jewish preschool education since 1972. Our experienced educators are highly trained in both secular and Jewish early childhood education. Our preschool curriculum has been recognized nationwide for its content, materials, and scope. In our quest to be current with the latest in early childhood educational innovations, we have incorporated the Reggio Emilia system of learning into our progressive concept of Jewish early childhood education.

The Reggio Emilia philosophy is based on recognizing that the young child has many ways of expressing himself. Our teachers tap into these ways to actively engage the child in learning. Project work, where the teachers and children are involved in extensive interactive, thought provoking discussions, stimulates the children to learn and problem solve in a group setting. This method of learning respects each individual child’s ideas and is key to involving each child in the larger group experience. This process encourages dramatic growth in the child’s ability to express himself verbally and artistically, as well as solve problems independently and in group settings. We have found that this in-depth approach to projects has resulted in a stronger sense of Jewish identity and positive self-esteem in children. We actively embrace the Reggio Emilia approach as we continue to integrate all the best educational theories of Piaget, Erikson, Dewey and Vygotsky.

There are currently over four-hundred children in our BJE Early Childhood Centers. The BJE Early Childhood Centers are located in synagogues serving Buffalo Grove / Long Grove, Deerfield, Wilmette, Northbrook, and Vernon Hills.