Welcome to the VBS ECC!
Now Accepting Applications for Fall 2021
Join us ON CAMPUS (ages 2-5 including TK)
Call 818.788.0567 for more information or email ecc@vbs.org
Click Here for our online application
Preparing Your Child to Return to School
2020-2021 Family Handbook & COVID-19 Protocols | Covid 19 Sick Policy (Updated Nov. 2020)
Summer Camp Shelanu 2021
Open to enrolled incoming Sprouts, Sprigs & Pre-K/TK Oaks only
Summer programming for incoming Acorns & Seedlings will be shared following Spring Break.
A few spots left in some age groups and sessions. Please contact Summer Camp Director Renee Kalmanson at rkalmanson@vbs.org to inquire about availability.
View the Camp Shelanu Brochure >
Please review important information regarding SUMMER CAMP:
- Camp for currently enrolled ECC students only
- All fees must be paid in full to register
- Must register for entire 3 week session
- No refunds after May 10, 2021
- No camp on Monday, July 5, 2021
- No refunds for illness or voluntary missed days
- Hot Lunch options available for purchase
- All current COVID-19 guidelines and protocols will be enforced, including possible student testing.
- Contact Renee Kalmanson rkalmanson@vbs.org
ECC Health Forms 2021-2022
Mandatory Health Forms for all incoming 2021-2022 ECC students are due Friday, May 28, 2021.
Click Here for ECC HEALTH FORMS
Learn About the VBS ECC
About VBS ECC | Infant-Toddler & Family Center (ITFC) | Preschool Program | 2 for Twos | FAQs | 2020-21 Calendar | 2021-22 Calendar | Health Forms | Administration | Application | 2020-2021 Family Handbook & COVID-19 Protocols | Covid 19 Sick Policy (Updated Jan. 2021) | VBS Schools & Staff Travel and Quarantine Policy (Updated April 7, 2021)
The Valley Beth Shalom Early Childhood Center welcomes children from birth through 5 years old. The ECC embraces a child’s natural way of learning and provides an environment that nurtures social, emotional and intellectual development.
Our mission is to love and encourage each child. Through Jewish tradition, wisdom, and values, and with respect and enthusiasm, we nurture and guide each child as an individual. We foster self-esteem, confidence and independence while encouraging inquiry, collaboration, and creativity and cultivating a love for learning.
We partner with families to provide a safe and supportive community. This is all to create a more just, enlightened and peaceful world.
About VBS ECC
At the VBS ECC, children learn to face the challenges of their generation collaboratively and creatively through Jewish values. We do this by providing curriculum that addresses the needs of the whole child, including strong thinking skills, compassion and Tikkun Olam (healing the world). We cultivate a passion for learning by engaging children in authentic and meaningful experiences. We embrace each child's unique and natural way of learning, value social responsibility as highly as personal responsibility, and prepare children with the foundational skills to be successful in school and in life.
Our ECC Directors have extensive experience supporting children, parents and teachers. Our roots are deep. Our expert teachers (2-3 per classroom) provide essential guidance, helping children discover passion and intrinsic motivation. We are inspired by the philosophy of Reggio-Emilia and create rich opportunities for inquiry-based learning. Children are encouraged and supported at their own pace by our teachers and educational specialists.
Collaborative, long-term projects and a curriculum that is responsive to children’s interest provide a meaningful context for discovery. As a result, learning becomes deeply integrated into children’s hearts and minds.
We have a dedicated full-time Outdoor Classroom specialist so that learning opportunities are expanded into the great outdoors through play and engagement via all five senses and the natural environment.
To learn more about the VBS ECC, please call (818) 788-0567 or email ecc@vbs.org.
Request More Info or Schedule a tour
Infant-Toddler & Family Center (ITFC)
The VBS ECC Infant-Toddler & Family Center (ITFC) offers programming for babies new to this world, toddlers getting ready for preschool, parents with children, and grandparents and their precious grandbabies (and more)! We embrace the uniqueness of each child and offer innovative programs that nurture and prepare our children for a lifelong journey of discovery and joy. Here you will enjoy classes and community in our newly-expanded beautiful space on the synagogue's lower level with warm and welcoming teachers and families.
Take a look at our registration forms linked below to discover a class that fits your family's interests and schedule. Nannies and other caregivers are welcome to bring your little ones to our music classes. We look forward to welcoming you to our Infant-Toddler and Family community!
ONGOING ROLLING ENROLLMENT - JOIN THE FUN, ANYTIME!
For more information, please contact Infant-Toddler & Family Center Director Molly Mills at mmills@vbs.org or at (818) 530-4031.
Thank your for an incredible year!
An ECC Video Premier: "Working on Our Tiny Garden" Produced by Jen Pugsley, ECC Outdoor Classroom Specialist
An exploration in gardening - our tiny gardens at school
Call us today for a tour! 818.788.0567
Watch our "2 FOR TWOS" video series
highlighting our newest program for 2-year-olds
Click here for more
We proudly participate in The First 36 Project, a ground-breaking pilot program developed by the Simms/Mann Institute, BJE (Builders for Jewish Education) and The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. Created to provide Parent & Me facilitators with an exclusive professional development opportunity, The First 36 Project incorporates 21st century approaches to parenting. Parent & Me facilitators receive one-on-one coaching and consultation, including class visits, observation and feedback. Our school is one of a select group of Los Angeles area early childhood centers chosen to participate in The First 36 Project. Learn more >
Preschool Program
VBS ECC Preschool is a warm, nurturing Jewish Environment where children feel safe and secure. Our teachers are gifted, highly trained educators of young children and early Jewish education. We work closely with families and value parents as an integral part of the education process. The ECC is dedicated to encouraging your children to:
- Develop self-esteem, to know that they are loved and have a special place in the world.
- Respect all people and embrace our differences.
- Create a strong identification with Judaism and the Jewish community at VBS.
We cannot accomplish these goals without YOU. Our enthusiastic VBS ECC parents and grandparents are partners with the school in the education of our children. A child’s early years are filled with growth, exploration and wonderful discoveries. Our Preschool provides a rich learning environment that stimulates curiosity and the joy of being Jewish. Every child receives personal attention that recognizes their individuality. The Preschool program is for children ages 2 to 5 years. Classes meet 5 days a week.The focus of the first years is socialization, separation and developing language skills.
- The focus of the first years is socialization, separation and developing language skills.
ACORNS (2 - 3 yr. olds) Half Day: 9:30am–1:00pm or Full Day: 9:30am–3:00pm
SEEDLINGS (21/2 - 3 yr. olds) Half Day: 9:30am–1:00pm or Full Day: 9:30am–3:00pm - Children explore a more complex classroom in which learning centers are presented. Making friends, being a friend and learning to be a part of a group are key skills taught at this stage.
SPROUTS (3 - 31/2 yr. olds) Half Day: 9:00am–1:00pm or Full Day: 9:00am–3:00pm
SPRIGS (31/2 - 4 yr. olds) Half Day: 9:00am–1:00pm or Full Day: 9:00am–3:00pm - Early math and writing experiences are introduced, along with music, art, body movement and self-esteem skills. As we prepare for Kindergarten, creative learning with math, science, reading and writing are explored.
PRE-K (4 - 5 yr. olds) & TK (Transitional Kindergarten) (41/2 - 5 yr. olds) OAKS 8:30am–2:30pm
Hebrew learning is an integral part of our program.
Prospective Families
Welcome to the VBS ECC! VBS is renowned for our warm, caring community. The ECC family includes education experts, experienced teachers and rabbinic staff specializing in early childhood education, and our families who play an active role in many aspects of our school.
We welcome children from birth to 5 years old. Since this is your family’s first educational setting outside the home, we ensure an experience that nurtures a deep love for learning. Creative play is essential to learning. Having fun triggers curiosity and cultivates a lifelong love of learning both in and out of the classroom.
At the ECC, children learn pre-literacy and math skills, ensuring a seamless transition from preschool to kindergarten. Our children are also introduced to conversational Hebrew, songs, and prayers. Learning Hebrew in the classroom connects children deeply to the Jewish heritage and culture and prepares them to participate in the Jewish community forever.
Curriculum
VBS Preschool is a developmental program inspired by the principles of High Scope and Reggio Emilia. Our approach is based on the following principles: emergent curriculum, project work, documentation, collaboration and exploration. In the learning environment of our school, children are taught in small classroom groups to insure a sense of belonging in the first step outside the family. A high ratio of adults to children insures that children receive responsive attention and support. Daily activities include a balanced program of indoor/outdoor, quiet/active, collaborative teacher/child-directed experiences. Classrooms are filled with abundant hands-on materials, encouraging exploration, creativity, building, fantasy and communication. Our program includes involvement from parents, rabbis along with music, body movement and gymnastic specialists.
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For a list of commonly asked inquiries, see our FAQs.
2021-2022 Schedule and Tuition
Administration
Abby Andiman Mars, Early Childhood Center Director
Phone: (818) 530-4050
Email: amars@vbs.org
Renee Kalmanson, Assistant Director
Phone: (818) 530-4021
Email: rkalmanson@vbs.org
Molly Mills, Infant-Toddler & Family Center Director
Phone: (818) 530-4031
Email: mmills@vbs.org
Aimee Sesar, Enrollment & Special Projects Coordinator
Phone: (818) 530-4051
Email: asesar@vbs.org
Sat, June 19 2021
9 Tammuz 5781
Thank You!
Sponsorships & Donations
Our families sustain our community
Nourish and help sustain our ECC community by sponsoring Challah For All - a Shabbat Challah distributed to each ECC Family and Staff on a Friday afternoon. Sponsor (or co-sponsor!) in honor or memory of someone special, to mark an important occasion or milestone, or as a simple act of gratitude. A Shabbat message and your sponsorship information is artfully designed on a Shabbat Shalom tag affixed to each challah and included in our Weekly Friday Family Newsletter. For more information or to schedule your Challah For All date, please email ECC Director, Abby Mars at amars@vsb.org. We thank you for your generosity!
Access ECC Resources for Days at Home
View ECC Brochure
