Washington Hebrew Congregation's ECCs and Camp Keetov

We are ready to jump into summer! ☀️😎⛱️⛲️🏝️
Tomorrow is our last day of school and we are ready for a summer of fun with !!

All week long our talented chefs in the Teva Class have been hard at work preparing to make Matzah Ball Soup to share with our community! From making the grocery list to designing an RSVP system, creating signs and flyers, advertising around Temple, chopping vegetables, rolling matzah balls, and warmly inviting our guests – the children poured their hearts into bringing their culinary vision to life! Today we were thrilled to welcome staff members to join us for a special lunchtime tasting. Wishing everyone a Happy Passover and Shabbat Shalom!

Calling all Alum- come join us for Tot Shabbat tomorrow at JBSC!
We love seeing our old (now older 🤩) friends celebrating Shabbat with our young families.
Additionally- tomorrow is a special opportunity to buy and create a handprint tile to add to the walls of our ECC ✋👐🤚 and support our WHC ECC Family Committee! Come by starting at 4:30pm to make yours.

We finish up the with Family Friday- the perfect way to welcome in Shabbat.
Nurturing and celebrating family connections is such an important part of early childhood education! As children are developing their sense of self, learning to navigate relationships and their growing understanding of the world around them, we emphasize their family connections and try to integrate them into our learning.
We invite families in to learn, celebrate and engage with our classrooms, recognizing that we are teaching the whole child- family included! Our families bring a wealth and diversity of knowledge and experiences and we greatly appreciate all that they share with us. So as we enter into Shabbat- we hope you all take a moment to connect with your family!

Today we celebrate the with Artsy Thursday! 🎨🖌️🧑‍🎨🖼️
Art empowers children to express themselves in a multitude of languages while providing a process that is itself a form of expression. Process art in particular, invites children to revel in the sensory experience of the materials and grow comfortable using a variety of techniques and mediums.
Take some time today for artistic expression- don’t worry about what your making and focus on the feeling of creating!

On Working Together Wednesday we are focusing on collaboration! 👐🤝🙏
During these early years, children are learning to connect, communicate and collaborate! Through play, they have the opportunity to observe and learn from other children while developing their first friendships. As they grow older, they learn how to navigate play with others- how to plan together and solve problems together- developing these foundational social skills.

We continue celebrating the with Tasty Tuesday! 🍝🌮🥞🍣🧁🧃
We use food to connect, care, celebrate and discover! Food connects us to our homes, our cultures and that of others. It allows us to take care of others or feel cared for ourselves. Food is a part of our celebrations, whether it is birthday cake, Shabbat challah or a favorite holiday food. And it is a constant source of discovery, as we learn about new foods, taste new combinations and watch ingredients transform to create something new.
Whether you are taste-testing a new fruit from the market, mixing up some banana muffins or simply playing at preparing and feeding others, there are so many ways for young children to explore with food and so much for them to learn from the experience!

It’s Book Week !! 📚📖📓
We have been busy celebrating early literacy all week long:
- Acting out Torah stories with clergy
- Celebrating bedtime stories and connecting through reading
- Bringing books to life as we dress as our favorite characters
- Enjoying special guest readers and engaging in story telling ourselves!

We have been engaging with books and stories in all kinds of way, helping strengthen a love of reading and integrating a new generation into our traditions of story telling.

Special thanks to our partners , our special guest reader from .recruitment and our amazing community of parents!

Have you heard? The RJWECC is opening a new program for children 12-17 months, starting this fall!
Following our values and educational approach, this program will give your young one-year olds a safe and loving environment in which to explore, connect and flourish. Low ratios, professional educators and a beautiful facility, make our infants program the best choice for your child! Join the community and come see what our have to offer!
Reach out to schedule a tour and learn more!

Connecting to our larger community is such an important part of the early childhood experience
On L’Dor V’Dor Day, we invite in special visitors and nurture these intergenerational relationships through play! This year, we celebrated Shabbat together, singing & dancing, making challah, and more!
Thank you to the Women of Washington Hebrew for sponsoring this year’s event 🙏🏽

We are a community of lifelong learners- modeling a love of learning and recognizing the value of continued growth! Today, our team of educators is engaged in a day of learning, featuring a session with our pedagogical consultant Sandy Lane’s of
 
As we are learning today, we want to share an opportunity for you as well!
This Sunday we are hosting a panel discussion on Transitioning to Kindergarten.
 
Whether your child is headed to kindergarten next year or a few years down the road, this conversation will help you think about how you can best support your child through this transition, what we focus on in the early childhood years and what you should be looking for in a kindergarten program. 
 
Join us on Sunday from 9:45- 11am to discuss the social-emotional, cognitive and physical skills that will support your child as they transition into kindergarten! Our panel of experts includes:
- Jill Jerome of
- Lynn Klaiman, Educational Support Specialist
- Johanna Spath, MCPS Kindergarten Teacher
- Jenny Whichard, Head of Lower School

This event is open to the community! Register at the link in our story to join or go to our website and search “kindergarten”

PJ Library’s Refer-a-Friend program is back, and what a great way to celebrate our 18th birthday!

PJ Library families, look for a special sign-up link via email. Share it with a friend (or five, or ten) and for every qualified signup, PJ Library will send YOU a $5 gift card to say “thank you” for helping other Jewish families discover the magic of Jewish books delivered right to their door. Plus, you’ll be entered to win prizes, like an iPad Pro or a pair of AirPods Max. It’s that easy!

We can hardly believe it — registration is now open for Camp Keetov 2024!!!

Get ready for a summer of wonder, fun and friendship at Camp Keetov! Both our DC and MD camp programs offer water play, weekly specials and events, like concerts, foam parties and more!

Check out our website to see the summer calendars as well as our program options and hours.

☀️

Spread the news! Registration for the 2024-2025 school year is now open!
Looking for a program that honors the magic of childhood and the power of inquiry? Where your child can explore and wonder in a safe and loving environment?
As a part of , we offer a variety of options at both our E-T ECC in DC and our RJW ECC in MD.
Check out the link in our bio to learn more, schedule a tour, or register today!

Hope you all enjoyed your snow day as much as Stevie, our Shorashim Shabbat Dinosaur did!

Shabbat dinosaurs are just one of the many ways we connect with our families at home. Did you have a visit from the class dinosaur this weekend? Share photos of their adventures and tag us

Happy New Year! 🎊
We were all so excited to return to school and see our friends after winter break. The children jumped right back into the classroom, ready to play, explore and learn together, happily sharing stories from their week away.
It’s hard to believe we’re halfway through the school year and already preparing for the next one!
Registration for Camp Keetov and the 2024-25 school year open in the coming weeks!

#2024

It was such a joy to welcome our ECC families in this morning to celebrate the last day of Hanukkah with a very special Family Shabbat Sing! We’re so grateful for the light each child, family and educator brings to our ECCs and for these opportunities to come together in community with our wonderful clergy. May the light of these beautiful moments continue to be a source of light and strength through the darkness. Wishing everyone a peaceful Shabbat.

Our ECCs hosted a wonderful day of learning for our community yesterday, welcoming in the first night of Hanukkah with unity and curiosity.
Starting the morning with some awakening yoga, led by educator Sharon Goldrich, we were then joined by educators from Beth Shalom and Young Israel Shomrei Emunah ECCs for a training on neurodiversity led by Jill Jerome of
After a tour of our RJWECC, we finished off the day learning about the social emotional benefits of artistic mediums with Kfirah HaLevi, our RJW Director (and trained art therapist), before lighting candles for the first night of Hanukkah.

We appreciate being a part of a community that respects the professionalism of our early childhood educators and values continued learning and development.

As we head off to celebrate Thanksgiving, we have been thinking about Hoda’a (gratitude) and what we are grateful for
1. Opportunities to learn and connect in Jewish spaces and through Jewish values.
2. A community of caring, curious and creative children.
3. A team of educators that value children’s thinking, respect children’s agency and bring love and connection to their work.
4. Families who are engaged in our classrooms and advocating for our program.
5. The support of our congregation and the relationships built with our clergy.
6. The time and space to explore in nature with our children.
7. The opportunity to welcome in educators from around the country who want to learn from our program
8. Special visitors in our classroom like our Grandfriend Gigi, our speech specialist Allison Parker and our SEEDS specialist, Rachel Siegal
9. The safety and security of our schools, thanks to and
10. Having a community within our buildings, with employees, the and

Thank you all for being a part of our community! Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving 🍁

FIELD TRIP TIME!!

Our Washington Hebrew Congregation's ECCs and Camp Keetov kiddos love visiting our Director of Engineeting, Mohan!

This week’s topic — how to count money!!

It’s honestly hard to tell who is having more fun, Mr. Mohan or the kids!!

We are so excited for our Washington Hebrew Congregation ECC Fall Playground Playdate at Newark Park this Sunday, November 5th from 10am-11am! Join our ET ECC community and Growing Minds partners for treats, crafts and other fall explorations while getting to know other families with young children! This event is free and open to the community, so we invite you to bring your friends! Please RSVP so that we know how many families to expect:

https://www.whctemple.org/event/ecc-playground-playdate/

Mazal Tov to our RJW ECC educator Nazia Saeed, who received the Montgomery County Early Care & Education Excellence Award this afternoon!
Nazia lovingly supports our youngest students and is an integral part of our educational team. As one parent shared: “Her loving and nurturing persona shines the moment students walk into the classroom. They are eager to greet her and she welcomes them with open arms.”
Well done Nazia!

What a beautiful day for our annual ECC Fall Festival🍁🌻🍂
We danced, played, painted and connected with our amazing community this morning, at this wonderful event planned by our WHC ECC Family Committee!
Thank you to our parent volunteers, and for helping make this morning so fun!

Our Mapal Class, who have been thinking about welcoming and exploring the value of Hachnasat Orchim (Bringing in Guests) are excited to invite the community to join us for a special Tot Shabbat, hosted by their class!
Join us as we celebrate Shabbat with music, stories and gathering as a community, followed by a family-style dinner. RSVP at the link in our story!

Last night both of our ECCs welcomed parents into our schools and classrooms for our Back to School Night. We were so grateful for the opportunity to be together in community with the presence of our wonderful clergy. Our evening was focused on Kedusha — holiness; the holiness of early childhood and the ways that we can embrace and elevate the sacred moments happening with young children each day.

Both of our ECCs have began the year focusing on Shabbat; exploring the rituals around it with intention and engaging the children in making Shabbat a time and space that is holy and intentional. We invited parents to create beautiful Shabbat placemats using alcohol inks and write a blessing for their children on them with the intention of having family’s presence with us each week during our school Shabbat celebrations.

We were also grateful to have our partners from present with us to share more about the resources, services and support available to our WHC ECC families.

Thank you to all of the family’s who were able to join us last night. We are looking forward to a year of continued partnership, growth and, most of all, community.

Happy Sukkot! חג סוכות שמח!
We have had so much fun exploring this holiday this week!
Whether we were shaking the lulav, smelling the etrog, or spending time in the Sukkah, the children have loved celebrating this special holiday.
We have been especially excited about the value of Hachnasat Orchim- welcoming in guests. The Anafim and Shorashim class hosted their snacks in the Sukkah this week while the Teva class invited their parents in to join them! The Mapal class built their own Sukkah, inviting in their friends and toys, while the Nahar class was invited to join Rabbi Shankman at her Sukkah!
We hope you have all had a week full of joy and friends and are ready to celebrate Simchat Torah tomorrow! Join at Temple for a special Simchat Torah Tot Shabbat tomorrow at 5pm!

Last chance to register for our new Kesher class, which starts next week!
Join our RJW ECC Director, Kfirah HaLevi and registered speech pathologist, Allison Parker, for this unique opportunity. For children 12-24 months and their caregivers, this class builds connections and supports developing communication skills while exploring ideas around Shabbat.
The Kesher class meets Tuesdays from 10-11 for 8 weeks starting next week, October 3!
Registration closes on Thursday, so sign up today to join us! Link is in the bio or go to our website and search “Kesher”

The RJW ECC is excited to introduce our new Speech & Language specialist, Allison Parker!
Allison is a speech pathologist who visits our youngest classes to work on their language development through story, music and play.
Allison will also be leading a special new program with our RJW ECC Director, Kfirah HaLevi!
The Kesher Class is focused on building connection and developing communication between young toddlers and their caregivers. Starting in October, we will meet once a week for 8 weeks to play, connect and learn together. Learn more here: https://www.whctemple.org/event/kesher-class/2023-10-03/