Each day the children are provided with opportunities to respond to simple questions, share ideas and engage in classroom discussion. During their time at Alef Bet, students will develop an awareness of letters and the connection between oral language and written language.

Reading Workshop: As the children progress from Alef to Daled, they will develop letter recognition & learn to produce letter sounds using Zoo phonics! Zoo phonics teaches all aspects of language arts and reaches children of every age. The children will also learn how to make inferences based on story content and illustrations. Some of the children will be able to read two and three letter words before leaving for Kindergarten!

Handwriting: The children in class Gimmel & Daled, will learn how to write capital letters using the Handwriting without Tears Program. The letters are learned “out of order” based on letter formation. Each week we will introduce one new letter. The handwriting program teaches children to form a letter from the top to the bottom.

Lending Library: The children will be able to visit our school library every Thursday! Our library offers a variety of books that the children can choose from and bring home for the week. At the end of each week, the children will return their books to the library and properly place their books back on the library’s’ shelves. The lending library provides the children with an opportunity to read books by their favorite authors as well as “class published” books and is meant to foster a sense of responsibility.

Journals: Journals have become another important element of our curriculum. Each week, the children will create an illustration in response to a question posed by a teacher. During open journals the children have an opportunity to illustrate a picture of their choice. When they are finished with their drawing, they dictate their answers to their Morahs. This exercise demonstrates that their words have meaning and that their thoughts are valued. Their journals will also provide an important record of your child’s progress, development, and experiences over the course of their stay at Alef Bet.