day care ages 3 mos. - 5 yrs.

learning every day • loving every minute

SUFFOLK Y JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER THE MONTER FAMILY

74 Hauppauge Road, Commack, NY 11725-4443
631-462-9800 • www.suffolkyjcc.org EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER
The Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center is an agency of UJA-Federation and affiliated with J.C.C. Association. at the
Additional funding is provided by United Way of Long Island and the Townwide Fund of Huntington.
SUFFOLK Y JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER
thanks again!

We understand that selecting a Day Care is a big decision for

you. We thank you for considering the Suffolk Y JCC. Please
feel free to call or meet with us anytime to ask questions and
to help you sort through your options.

We look forward to celebrating your child’s future milestones

with you.

www.suffolkyjcc.org
Thank you for your interest in the
Monter Family Early Childhood
Center at the Suffolk Y JCC

As a parent considering full-day child care, you need to feel

confident that your child will be taken care of by people you
can trust like family. When you walk through our doors, your
family is invited into a welcoming, vibrant and contemporary
Jewish community where children are happy, have friends,
develop self-confidence and learn everything that is needed
to succeed in grade school.

For more than 28 years, we have worked together with parents

to help children acquire the skills, attitudes and habits needed
to excel in school and in life. Our day-care curriculum is rooted
in both Jewish and humanistic values that help guide and enrich
children. That's what truly sets us apart. And it's why we believe
teaching children how to be responsible, compassionate and
ethical goes hand-in-hand with learning reading, writing, math
and science skills. At the Suffolk Y JCC, we want your child to be
ready to enter kindergarten with every advantage – not only to
achieve, but to flourish!

This brochure provides some information about our day care

program. But the best way to see what's in store for your child is
to come in for a visit. Tour our facility, speak with the Director,
meet the teachers, and see first-hand why so many families
put their trust in the Suffolk Y JCC’s Day Care.
7 more reasons why families trust
the Suffolk Y JCC
Parents as Partners
At the Suffolk Y JCC, parents are welcome, informed and involved! To
keep you up to date about your child's progress, we distribute notes
about your child's day and bi-annual parent-teacher conferences. In
addition, our teachers and directors are always available to discuss
questions about your child or the classroom.

Cleanliness, Safety and Security

In addition to a secure building and classrooms, we provide a learning
environment where children can be safe and healthy, yet free to move
around, explore and experiment both inside and outside the classroom.
Our staff continually assesses conditions to prevent children from
injuring themselves and others, while following hygienic procedures to
prevent illness.

A Team of Experts Behind Every Teacher

Your classroom teachers are part of a multi-disciplinary team of
education experts and social service specialists who contribute to
your child's successful experience. This support team provides ongoing
professional development for teachers and regular reviews of the
curriculum to ensure that the program reflects the most state-of-the-
art approaches to early childhood education. When necessary, our
social workers work with families to meet the needs of children with
differing abilities.

Wonderful Directors
Each JCC Early Childhood Services Director is both an experienced,
professional educator with an academic degree in Early Childhood
Education or a related discipline, and a capable administrator able to
meet all of your family's needs.

Balanced, Healthy Meals and Snacks

Mealtimes lay the groundwork for good nutrition and healthy habits
for years to come. Each day, we serve delicious, dairy, kosher meals and
snacks that are specially prepared for young children.

Sleeping and Naptime

Each infant has a personal crib; and toddlers, two year-olds, three year-
olds, 4 year-olds, and 5-year olds have their own age-sized cots with a
personal space for sleeping and naptime. Sleeping and naptime give
your child needed rest during the active day at the Suffolk Y JCC. Even
if your child chooses not to sleep, quiet time may be spent listening to
soothing music, looking at books or simply resting.

A World of Opportunities
Families from all backgrounds come together to enjoy cultural,
recreational, social and educational programs throughout the year at
our full-service community center. As a Suffolk Y JCC Day Care family,
you will receive special invitations and information about the Y
community beyond the classroom as well as have the opportunity to
take advantage of the beautiful fitness, sports, and aquatics center and
summer day camps.
infant and toddler curriculum
(3 months-24 months)

Experts agree that children are born ready to learn. We believe its
never too early to begin developing your child’s identity.

Here's a sample of what your child will learn and experience.

Self-concept Development: Children learn about themselves,

feel valued and secure in their relationships, feel competent and
proud about what they can do, feel supported as they express
their independence

Emotional Development: Children learn about their feelings,

communicate a broad range of emotions through gestures,
sounds and over time, words

Social Development: Children learn about others, develop

trusting relationships with nurturing adults, show interest in
peers, demonstrate caring and cooperation, try roles and relation-
ships through imitation and play

Language Development: Children learn how to communicate,

express needs and thoughts without using words, respond to
verbal and nonverbal commands, and communicate through
language.

Physical Development: Children learn about moving and doing,

develop gross motor skills, develop fine motor skills, coordinate
eye and hand movements, develop self-help skills

Cognitive Development: Children acquire thinking skills, gain

an understanding of basic concepts and relationships, apply
knowledge to new situations, and develop strategies for solving
problems

Jewish Development: Children develop Jewish identity and

become part of a community, learn about Jewish people, objects,
holidays, values and practices
in the classroom
Foundations for a Lifetime
Recent studies have shown that many benefits exist for two,
three, four, and five year-olds who attend full-day programs, not
the least of which is greater school success in later years. Our full
day schedule allows children and teachers more time together
to explore topics and projects in-depth, provides for greater
continuity of day-to-day activities, and gives children more
opportunities for positive social interaction with their peers in
our classroom community.
Our teachers are involved with your child every moment of the
school day; instructing, interacting, guiding, observing and
assessing. They also take the time to discover what's unique and
special about each child, because we believe children need to
feel accepted and appreciated in order to thrive.
Our classrooms are communities for children of all backgrounds
set within the context of the calendar. Teachers establish a
structure for each day, including a daily schedule, because
young children depend upon routines to help them organize and
master a world full of new ideas, sensations and challenges.
As children begin to understand the rhythms of life at the JCC,
they take to the pleasures of routines as effortlessly as they take
to the taste of sweet grape juice and challah each Friday when
preparing for Shabbat in class.

The Learning Environment

The classroom itself is well-organized with labeled materials that
invite children to explore and discover. We know children learn
best when they are having a good time, so we've designed the
physical space of the classroom with clearly defined interest
areas where children can do what they like to do most-have fun!
Dramatic Play • Sand & Water • Computers • Blocks
Music & Movement • Library • Art • Math • Puzzles & Games
Language Arts/Writing • Science/Discovery • Outdoors
The interest areas subdivide the classroom into spaces that
accommodate a few children at a time where they can best
concentrate in a small-group setting. Children also have several
opportunities to work in large groups and independently. In
addition, each class spends time outdoors every day, weather
permitting, running, jumping, climbing, and playing because out-
door play is just as important as time spent in the classroom.
What's great fun is actually a carefully planned approach to
help your child develop the social, emotional, physical, and
academic skills so essential for school and for life.
inside the infant room
Your baby has a special place at the Suffolk Y JCC with a
personal crib and cubby along with age-appropriate toys, games,
books and music. We provide a rich sensory landscape with soft
spaces, low surfaces and colorful objects for safe and stimulating
exploration. Each room includes a rocking chair to create a
nurturing place for gentle interactions and a soothing area for
bottle-feeding. We also take frequent outdoor walks so your
baby can enjoy the natural world with all of his or her senses.

In the diaper area, teachers follow written sanitary procedures

including replacing the changing table liner after every change,
wearing fresh gloves and washing hands immediately before and
after diaper changes.

We are always attuned to your infant's needs; holding, feeding,

changing, cuddling, playing or talking with your baby-every
minute of the day. Our infant teachers truly enjoy babies, and
have the knowledge and experience to give your infant the
attention he or she needs. We will also give you daily reports
about your baby's day, and we welcome your involvement as well
as your insights on how we can best work together.

inside the toddler room

Your toddler will enjoy stories and books, dabble in art,
experiment with make believe, play with educational toys,
explore sand and water, have fun with music and movement,
and benefit from time outdoors. Throughout the day, our
nurturing teachers support each child's learning, ask open ended
questions, and extend the play as children grow and discover at
their own pace.

We begin character education with toddlers and continue to

promote positive behavior with children throughout the
preschool years. Our teachers build on the experiences your
toddler has at home, modeling and teaching values like kindness
and compassion, within the context of our classroom community
to help each child develop these attributes as they learn to relate
to others in positive ways.

Toddlers are encouraged to learn self help skills such as drinking

independently from a sippy cup, using utensils properly, and
helping in clean-up.
Our curriculum
(2-5 year-olds)

We have developed nine content areas to help children build the

knowledge and develop the skills and attitudes necessary for
kindergarten readiness and later school success.

Here's a sample of what your child will learn and experience.

Social and Emotional Development: Making friends, solving
problems, sharing, expressing feelings and thoughts, respecting others,
following routines.

Literacy: Vocabulary and language, phonological awareness, letters,

words, comprehension and books.

Mathematics: Numbers, patterns and relationships, geometry

and spatial awareness, measurement, data collection, organization,
and representation.

Science: The physical properties of objects, living things, and the earth
and the environment.

Social Studies: How people live, work, get along with others, shape
and are shaped by their surroundings.

The Arts: Dance, music, dramatic play, drawing, painting and visits from
a music professional.

Technology: Computers and their basic operations and uses.

Fitness and Well-Being: Healthy kosher snacks and lunch, weekly
group swimming lessons (for 3 year olds - 5 year olds), weekly gym time
with a fitness professional and time outdoors.

Jewish Learning: Jewish values and practices, holidays, Hebrew

vocabulary, Israel, Shabbat and Torah.
Our program for two through 5 year olds grows along with your child,
teaching essential skills and providing valuable age-appropriate
experiences in a logical, natural sequence that encourages children to
learn, step by step. In addition, our teachers use every learning
experience as an opportunity for expressing and imparting knowledge.
The day is filled with what we call "teachable moments," opportunities
to tease out a fact, practice a skill, encourage appreciation, or introduce
a new word. Connecting words, objects or values with your child's
natural curiosity is a simple extension of this process. As a result,
children gain a deeper sense of their identity and an awareness that they
belong to a diverse and dynamic community.