Play-based Philosophy: The JCC East Bay is a play-based institution, grounded in the belief that children are capable of developing foundational skills through rich, engaging play. Our team of educators approach play-based practice with intention, recognizing play as a critical and essential component of children’s lifelong learning. Play-based learning is learning—it extends far beyond unstructured free play or the presence of activity materials in the classroom. Our educators create yearly curriculum maps, weekly lesson plans, and learning objectives which all center around children’s unique, emerging interests.
Our teaching team thoughtfully designs and curates learning environments that reflect children’s curiosity and invite exploration, inquiry, and growth. By observing and intentionally scaffolding children’s play, we affirm that their ideas and creativity are valuable. For example, when children begin exploring concepts of movement and force, they may naturally build ramps or experiment with rolling objects. Teachers extend this learning by introducing new materials such as blocks, cars, or paper airplanes, as well as related library books, obstacle courses, and balance activities that encourage whole-body movement.
Reggio-Emilia Philosophy: The JCC of the East Bay is Reggio Emilia inspired in our approach to early childhood education. Reggio Emilia is an educational philosophy dedicated to child-led inquiry, inquisitive curiosity, and an admiration for the natural world. Following a child’s natural interests guides our teachers’ in their core classroom curriculum and plans. For example, an innate curiosity about snowflakes might guide teachers in their curriculum planning and play materials. When the interest arises, teachers can scaffold unique learning opportunities, such as studying the hexagonal shape in the middle and measuring length (mathematics), creating snowflake mixed-media creations (art), and even learning more about the ways dust will wrap around a single particle as to create each unique snowflake (science). Our educational team values this play-based learning, using these techniques to show how children learn to read, write, and count– academic skill development, while still keeping a love for learning and the magic of childhood at the center of their learning.
Identity Building and Inclusion:
We believe that each child is created b’tzelem Elohim (in the Divine image). With Jewish life and culture at the core, we provide unique opportunities for all students to explore their multilayered identities through a Jewish lens.
We celebrate the unique identity of each student and family, fostering a sense of community that nurtures and strengthens the nefesh (soul) of every individual. Early childhood is a critical time in building identity, developing relational skills, and nurturing social-emotional growth, and we approach this responsibility with great care and intention. Using the Jewish tradition as a backdrop, children are invited to explore their own identities, regardless of whether they are Jewish. On the Lunar New Year teachers can be found talking about how making bao (a traditional Chinese steamed bun) might feel similar to our challah baking each Friday. While some children practice weekly Shabbat, others share stories of rest and relaxation from their own homes and customs during classroom meeting times.
Our community is diverse at the JCC East Bay, and we aim to create space and belonging for all of our families through celebrations of different cultural holidays (Dia de los Muertos, Diwali, The Lunar New Year, etc.), our literature selections, inclusive language, and more.
Neurodiversity:
The JCC is proud to be an inclusive program, and we believe that high quality early childhood education should be accessible to all. We work collaboratively with inclusion specialists who support our staff in providing the highest quality of care to our diverse range of learners. We feel fortunate to have access to our sensory room, varying sensory tools, inclusive materials (visual schedules, educational plans, social stories, and more), ongoing professional development for our staff, and a commitment that the true foundation of early childhood education is seeing each child as unique.
Jewish life and culture: Being a part of the JCC East Bay community means that children have the opportunity to explore the many different ways of what it means to be Jewish in the world! We have devoted teachers from many walks of Jewish life who know there’s more than one way to be Jewish. Children engage with all different kinds of Jewish practices, tradition, and heritage such as making kosher challah (is there any blood in the eggs?!) or dancing with joy on Shabbat. We believe what makes Jewish life so fascinating is its plurality, and we hope to share this with the children in our program.
World Jewry: Here in the East Bay, we are committed to bringing the richness of world Jewry to our doors and reflecting the vibrant plurality of Jewish life both in the Bay Area and abroad. In every classroom, core Jewish holidays, such Chanukah and Sukkot, are honored and explored through diverse customs and educational explorations. You may join us for fresh mouflettot (Moroccan flatbread) as we celebrate Mimouna, a Morrocan-Jewish holiday celebrated at the end of Passover, or Sigd, an Ethiopian-Jewish celebration. We engage children with a wide range of Jewish traditions—Mizrahi, Latin-Jewish, Sephardic, Ashkenazi, Beta Israel, and more—and we’re proud to share a sense of Peoplehood with Jewish communities in Ethiopia, Israel, and across the globe.
Israel Education: We believe that learning about Israel is an integral component of Jewish education. Peoplehood is at the center of the JCC East Bay, and we strive to represent the plethora of different communities, weaving in the fabric of modern Israeli society: Jews, the Druze community, Palestinians, and more. We are proud to bring Israel to children in a way that represents the nation as a vibrant place full of culture. Our curriculum takes a balanced approach, engaging children in developmentally appropriate methods and conversations, and learning about how children and families live and work in our Jewish homeland.
Wilderness Torah: We are excited that Wilderness Torah will offer nature-connected Jewish programming activities as a part of our Preschool curriculum. For the 2025-2026 school year, Wilderness Torah will offer age-appropriate nature-connected Jewish programming on Mondays, and these programs are included within our preschool schedule. Click here to learn more about Wilderness Torah.
Schedule:
The 2025-2026 school year runs from:
The core Preschool program runs 5 days/week:
We also offer 3- or 4-day options for full day program hours (9:00am-3:30pm), or a half day option (9:00am-1:00pm).
Fees:
Click here to view the fees for our 2026-2027 school year on the new Rockridge campus.
The JCC East Bay recognizes that all families have different needs, and we want to support all families the best we can. In our process of selecting families to whom we provide financial aid, you will complete our Financial Aid “short form.” The “short form” can be found here.
To learn about eligibility, submission dates, requirements, and more, please contact us using the ‘Contact Us’ section below.
The deadline for Financial Aid applications is always the first Friday in April.
We accept enrollment applications on a rolling basis. Please click here to apply.
Sabrina May
Preschool Director
sabrina.may@jcceastbay.org
Ruby Fox
Educational Assistant, Preschool
ruby.fox@jcceastbay.org
The JCC East Bay is renowned for its early childhood education, and we know this is only possible because of our talented team of educators. We strive for a diverse teaching staff, representing a diversity of religions, gender identities, orientations, educational backgrounds, races, and more. Teacher retention is one of our top priorities, and we proudly offer competitive salaries, fully covered health insurance, professional development stipends, paid vacation, and additional benefits. We believe that investing in our teachers is a meaningful, long-term commitment to our children and families, and we see our teaching team as essential members of our community.
All of our classrooms are guided by our shared educational vision outlined above. Our approach centers on children’s emerging interests, Jewish traditions—such as weekly Shabbat, Havdalah celebrations and challah baking— as well as social-emotional development, and a nature-based learning philosophy.
We strive for children to experience a sense of continuity as they move through our program, creating an “invisible string” that connects each classroom. Our teaching team collaborates closely to design curriculum and educational plans that build upon one another, offering distinct learning objectives at each stage while maintaining a shared purpose and cohesive approach.
Our infant classroom, Kitat Kohavim (stars), is thoughtfully designed for children ages 6 months and older. This is our newest addition to the early childhood center, created in response to the needs of our growing community. We understand that the first place you entrust with your child should feel like a gentle transition from home, and the JCC is committed to providing a nurturing and supportive environment for both you and your family. Kitat Kohavim maintains a strong connection to home life through frequent daily updates and photos, regular walks and outdoor time, and a safe, comforting space for rest. We strive to be the next best thing to being with you, and we opened this program with the confidence that we can provide just that.
The Yareach classroom serves young toddlers at JCC East Bay. Welcoming children, beginning at 18 months, Yareach supports our little learners as they begin to explore the changing world around them. This classroom celebrates important developmental milestones, encouraging curiosity and discovery in a safe, nurturing environment. Our team of educators create a balanced day of open exploration and structured learning to support children in developing their social-emotional skills and ease into school life in an environment rich with Jewish culture and values.
The Shemesh (sun) classroom supports toddlers as they first enter the preschool world. For many children, this classroom is where Jewish time and ritual become trackable. The excitement for Shabbat grows, and the interest as to when Friday will come heightens. Children in this classroom are at the beginning stages of independent play that starts to include others, and teachers support them with modeling important strategies for prosocial behavior. In addition to this, the Shemesh classroom is where independence skills flourish, often centered on self-soothing practices, self-care skills, and how to advocate for yourself in a group setting.
When children turn three, they often begin to develop the first of their meaningful lifelong friendships. The Shamayim (sky) classroom gives children the opportunity to explore these connections in tandem with their conflict-resolution skills. Teachers in this classroom have a greater focus on assisting children in this social emotional growth during this crucial year, and they can often be seen supporting children as they learn to advocate for themselves and others. Children in this classroom are also encouraged to begin holding Jewish practice in their classroom, often leading Shabbat for their classroom, or picking-up our local challah for noshing.
Studies show that children at the age of 3 are in their most successful year of language development and learning. Our Hebrew language classroom, Kitat Yam, is modeled off of dual language learning schools in Israel known as Yad B’Yad, who maintain one teacher for each language in the classroom. Kitat Yam will have two teachers who each speak Hebrew and English, but who each represent one language for the classroom environment. This model allows children coming from Israel to feel supported while learning English, while also supporting children who might be new to Hebrew acquisition. Kitat Yam is designed as a dip into the pool of Hebrew language, and it is not exclusively an immersion classroom. Our hope is to ease children into language acquisition without overwhelm or frustration.
Adamah means “earth” or “soil” in Hebrew, and the Adamah classroom represents the rich foundation that supports students as they complete this important bridge year between preschool and their transition into elementary school.
This classroom was intentionally designed to nurture Jewish identity and a sense of belonging, to keep Transitional Kindergarten (TK) rooted in early childhood practice, and to thoughtfully integrate a play-based philosophy with a more structured academic curriculum. Kitat Adamah offers meaningful learning experiences that support students in reaching academic milestones beyond those of a typical early childhood setting, thoughtfully adapted from the California Common Core.
Grounded in the Reggio Emilia approach, Adamah students explore early literacy, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), history and culture, and more through hands-on exploration, play, and inquiry-based learning. For families seeking a TK experience that remains firmly grounded in early childhood values, Kitat Adamah offers a developmentally appropriate and enriching option.
All classroom artwork has been created by Ilana Diamond for the JCC East Bay.
