Wise School Early Childhood Center provides children from birth through five years with an innovative, educational experience tailored to the needs and expression of the whole child in an inclusive Jewish community. In each class and at every age, our approach to education is through the lens of a Constructivist philosophy, focusing on hands-on, experiential learning that sparks curiosity, fosters creativity and encourages children to think deeply, imaginatively and critically as they explore their classroom environment and unravel the challenges that arise through their work and their play. We give honor to the diversity of our families, and we celebrate the uniqueness in each one of us as well as the strength of our temple community.

We encourage a love of learning by enabling children to experience their own stage of development, helping them to feel success without pressure. Through dedicated concentration on emergent curriculum, we deliberately use the interests of the children as a natural springboard to launch opportunities of in-depth, integrated exploration and study across all academic disciplines, from language, math, social studies, Jewish studies, science, engineering, technology, music and fine arts. Small and large-group activities strengthen the children’s social skills, self-esteem, self-control and teamwork abilities. A balance of teacher-directed and child-directed activities serves to support and challenge the child in a setting in which his or her individuality is respected.

Throughout the school year, we focus on the celebration, history, culture and traditions of the Jewish people, combined with an emergent curriculum that includes academic readiness experiences in math, reading, social studies and science. Through our partnership with the USC Rossier School of Education, we have developed the Wise Learning Process. Through this program, we emphasize critical and creative thinking skills, with the purpose of helping children learn how to learn. Teachers build self-esteem in children by providing the language of critical thinking to help describe the interest and wonder they find in the world around them as well. We provide multiple points of entry through various media to captivate and sustain deep engagement for every child. The values of kindness, empathy, honesty, responsibility, integrity and teamwork are integrated throughout the learning process, and they are a part of our daily experience with your child.