JCC Rockland begins enrollment for new early childhood program

The Deborah Koenig Early Childhood Center at JCC Rockland is now enrolling children for a new, full-day early childhood program opening on Sept. 1, 2014.

The program will be open for children 15 months as of September 1, 2014 and will be the first full-day early childhood program the JCC has offered since it was founded in 1988. Running from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. the program will meet the needs of working parents and those who desire a full day of care.

The program will use a “whole child” approach, focusing on strengthening children socially, intellectually, emotionally and physically, while providing warm, nurturing care. Staff members are professionals, who participate in ongoing training to keep abreast of the latest educational trends and developments.

The program is inclusive and values-oriented, providing play-based, child-directed learning in state-of-the-art classrooms. The decision to offer the program came after careful consideration of the community’s and the JCC’s needs.

“The JCC has been exploring providing this type of full-day option for parents for a while,” says Miriam Pedler, director of the JCC’s early childhood program. “We’ve done the homework and really see the need for an inclusive, full-day program suffused in Jewish values. There really isn’t anything else like it available in the county.”

The JCC is hoping to build on its success with Camp J-Land and enrichment programs like Mini-Soccer, Tiny Chefs and Shalom Yoga. Those programs clearly pointed to a need for professionally developed, creative programming aimed at the youngest children, Pedler says.

The new program will run 12 months, and tuition will include summer camp at the JCC’s Camp J-Land. That program includes full-day options and swimming instruction in an outdoor, in-ground pool. Its addition will bring the JCC, which moved to the Rockland Jewish Community Campus in West Nyack in 2005, closer to being a full-service JCC.

While most JCC’s around the country do include childcare or nursery programming, JCC Rockland has not in the past. However, after conducting a study and hearing feedback from young parents involved in the organization and the community, the JCC determined the program would fill a particular need that is not currently met.

For more information about the new program visit www.jccrockland.org or call Miriam Pedler at 845.352.4400, ext. 103 or email miriamp@jccrockland.org.