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Home Education Gan Ilan Preschool

Gan Ilan Preschool

Gan Ilan Enrollment Schedule for Summer 2023 and School Year 2023-2024
We are full for summer 2023 and the 2023-2024 School Year and keeping a waitlist. Please e-mail the preschool office if you would like to join the waitlist.

Welcome to our loving preschool community!

Gan Ilan or “Garden of the Trees” is Temple Isaiah’s preschool founded in 1999, serving children ages 2 years old to Pre-K. The program is open to the community with priority given to members of Temple Isaiah.  At Gan, children learn through active exploration and interaction with adults, with other children, and with the environment around them. We provide children with the opportunity to explore, question, practice and pretend in order to discover the world around them. We see the child as curious, competent, and able to build theories and discover as their teachers support them by observing, documenting and further extending the learning process.

We believe that each child is a unique person who possesses an individual pattern of timing for their own growth and development. We accept and respect each child’s individuality, development, and learning style, and we design our curriculum to reflect these differing abilities. Our play-based curriculum is relevant, emergent and intertwined with Jewish life and practice.

We encourage you to explore our philosophy and curriculum, to contact us with any questions, and to set up a visit so we may share our program with you. Your child is more than welcome to join you on your visit to Gan Ilan.

Early Childhood Education

Our early childhood education programs offer an integrated family experience that connects the child, the family, the school and the Temple Isaiah community. We provide children with the opportunity for cognitive, social, emotional and spiritual growth in a safe, nurturing environment that encourages love of learning and fosters independence.

Our programs are designed to encourage imagination and curiosity and to help develop self-esteem and respectful social relationships through curricula that are rich in opportunities for exploration and discovery.

We place particular emphasis on the beauty of Jewish tradition. Through music and art, holiday celebrations, and class rituals, we share with children and their families the joy of Jewish life. Jewish content is woven into the daily structure, providing children a meaningful experience of Jewish values.

We believe that our children are a part of a web of interconnected relationships, and we encourage open dialogue between families, teachers, Temple clergy and community members.

Contact Us

Gan Ilan is located in Temple Isaiah’s Chaiken Family Talmud Torah Center at 945 Risa Road, Lafayette, CA 94549

Courtney Ludlow, Director of Early Childhood Education
(925) 284-8453
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)














Vera Gordon, ECE Administrative Coordinator
(925) 284-8453
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)














Gan Ilan Preschool is made possible in part by support from:

Schedule A Tour

We’d love to meet you! Please call the preschool office at (925) 284-8453 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to schedule a tour.

Preschool tours are for adults only, to give you the time to focus on the classrooms and program philosophy with the director and discuss any questions you may have regarding our school.

Philosophy

Learning Through Play and Nature

Children learn everywhere and all the time. They see, hear, smell, and touch things all at the same time. At Gan Ilan, we believe developmentally appropriate play is instrumental in each child’s development. Play fosters communication, expression, and reasoning. Play brings children into contact with multiple stimuli that strengthen their development of categorization, generalization, and conceptual acquisition skills. Children develop relationships with playmates and learn to gain mutual understanding and trust. They learn to identify their own feelings and those of others, explore reality and fantasy, and develop self- confidence.

What do our students really do and learn outdoors? They observe, ask questions, figure things out, explore, discover, and play. They practice balancing, build and construct, use their imagination, take risks, learn about science, nature, and more. Choosing to hang from a tree branch, plant seeds in the garden, jump over a log, dig in the sand, squish in the mud, or follow the garden path - the children learn about themselves, their decisions, and what to do in new settings. As their activities and interests evolve and change, the children develop a sense of ownership and responsibility of their space inside our classrooms and outdoor on our patios, playground, and garden, as the children make discoveries, express themselves, and learn and prefect new skills, their love for learning deepens.

A Jewish Curriculum

How does a Jewish curriculum fit in with the play based approach of our preschool? Because the Jewish holidays are based on the ebb and flow of the natural world, Judaism forms the basis for our explorations and is a springboard for ideas. The Jewish calendar can be seen as a parade of holidays, one after the other. Our approach will reflect the natural flow and rhythm of days and weeks that our tradition is based on. We might look out the window and observe the changes that take place in the Fall. While learning the blessings for apples and honey, we would compare the kinds of apples, the colors, the sizes, the names; we could take a trip to pick apples from the trees, and write a book about that, complete with children’s illustrations and quotes. Each week we will bake our own challah and delight in the warm smell of baking bread. We will learn the blessing over the grape juice and then perhaps study fruits that grow on vines. We root our days, our weeks with the blessings and songs of our faith, and from there grow our own ideas and expressions of who we are.

Our Program

Gan Ilan’s program operates Monday through Friday from 8:00am until 5:00pm. We offer three schedules to meet various needs; part day 9am -1pm, extended day 8:30am-3:30pm, and full day 8am – 5pm. Every program includes a snack and lunch time with meals provided by parents. Those staying until 3:30pm or 5pm should pack an additional snack for the afternoon. Classrooms are separated by age and follow a flexible flow of the day that accommodates for the needs of each age group.

Oranim
The Oranim group spends their days exploring and discovering the enriched classroom and outdoor environments as our educators help each child adapt to the daily routines and rituals. The majority of the Oranim group will be two years old by December of the year they start school. Much of the focus of the Oranim program is on care routines like diaper changing, hand washing, meals, snacks, nap, and building independence around each of these activities. Nap time is included and required for those who stay until 3:30pm or 5pm.  Our twos program generally has close to a 1:6 teacher to student ratio with up to 14 children per classroom.

Arazim
The Arazim group explore an environment rich in sensory experiences and winding through the intricacies of social interaction with peers and adults. Most children in Arazim will turn 3 by December of the year they join the Arazim group. Much of the independence building and experience in the Oranim classes helps to prepare children for the more complex social interactions in Arazim like conflict management, sharing materials, and building friendships. While Gan Ilan does not have a potty-training requirement, many are potty trained or finishing the potty training process as they head into their Arazim year. In Arazim, nap time is included for children who stay until 3:30pm or 5pm to start the year, as the year progresses, some children no longer nap, in which case there would be a space to nap and a space for short resting with quiet activities for those who no longer take naps.

Alonim
The Alonim group focuses on project work that involves collaboration with peers and teachers, symbolic and graphic representation, bookmaking, art, science, and nature, all with the unifying themes of the Jewish holidays and stories. In Alonim, children are typically full potty trained and turn four by December of the year they join the program. In Alonim, a rest period is provided for those who stay until 3:30pm or 5pm, but most children transition away from a true nap. The Alonim group often shifts more focus to specific Jewish values, building on community, strengthening self-regulation skills and projects that come from the ideas of the children in the group. All of these activities build pre-academic skills that support readiness for entering elementary school. Through the stories and songs of our Cantor and Rabbis, the guidance of the Gan Ilan teachers and the helping hands of friends, Alonim continues to build the foundation for Jewish learning in the future.

Meet the Gan Ilan Staff!

Administration and Support Staff


Courtney Ludlow
Director of Early Childhood Education


Vera Gordon
Early Childhood Education Program Coordinator


Bridget Wellerstein
Director of Student Services

Whole School Teachers (All Classrooms)


Laura Adcock


Julie Rubensteink


Hadara Kohn


Maxine Malberg


Justin Griggs

photos taken by Sandbox photography

Summer Camp 2024 Enrollment Information

Enrollment for our program is now open for the summer sessions only. Summer tends to be more flexible and not as full as our school year, so we will open enrollment more generally. Our summer program is different than our general school year and has its own sign up as some friends join us for summer camp only.

Registration For Toddlers

Registration For Preschool

Mini Camp Registration


Gan Ilan Summer Camp Information
Session 1 (4 weeks): June 3rd or 4th- June 28th
Part Day $1,120; Extended Day $1,680; Full Day $2,520
Camp Closed June 12th and June 19th for Shavuot and Juneteenth Holidays

Session 2(3 weeks): July 1st - July 19th
Part Day $800; Extended Day $1,200; Full Day $1,800
Camp Closed Thursday July 4th and Friday July 5th for Independence Day Holidays


Gan Ilan Mini Camp (2 weeks inline with Kefli)
Gan Ilan Mini Camp is a special session running at the same time as Temple Isaiah’s Camp Kefli. Mini Camp is still licensed childcare with fully qualified preschool teachers, state licensing required ratios and regulations, and therefore different than Camp Kefli and only open to students who are younger than entering Kindergarten. For this session, members with siblings attending Kefli will be prioritized. Hours are shortened due to the availability of staff and smaller size of camp.

Please DO NOT sign up for Gan Ilan Mini Camp if you plan to attend Camp Kefli. You will need to use a separate registration to sign your child up and reserve a space for children who are entering Kindergarten or older.

Gan Ilan Mini Camp:
Session 1: July 22nd- July 26th
Session 2: July 29th- August 2nd

Hours: 8:30am-4pm M-Th; 8:30am-1:30pm Fridays
$650 per session or $1260 for both weeks

What’s special about Mini Camp?
· Pizza Lunch on Fridays included

· All Camp Shabbat session weekly

· Daily opening and closing circle with song sessions

· Weekly themed activities including special outdoor cooking, arts and crafts, and mini field trips!

Please note that this session will be much smaller and have a different registration link than Gan Ilan’s general summer program. We will keep a waitlist and if interest proves to be higher than anticipated, will work to open more spaces as needed.

Enrollment and Calendar

Upcoming Fall Enrollment Information
Fall enrollment dates will be released soon for the 2024 - 2025 year. Please note that members who confirm a Temple membership before February 1st will be included priority enrollment.

Gan Ilan is open to the community, with priority given to members of Temple Isaiah. We offer an integrated family experience that connects the child, the family, the school and the Isaiah community, because they believe that children are a part of a web of interconnected relationships, and we encourage open dialogue among families, teachers, the Isaiah staff and community members.

How to enroll:
Registration for the school year is available to both members and nonmembers of Temple Isaiah. Interested parents of new students should schedule a visit to meet the ECE director and to tour Gan Ilan.

Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis until classes are full. A non-refundable enrollment fee of $100 and a deposit (last month’s tuition) is due at the time of registration. The deposit reflects your membership status at the time the deposit is given. If you join Temple Isaiah, your tuition rate will change based on the month you have joined the temple, but your deposit will remain the same.

Calendar
Calendar For the 2023-2024 School Year

Our Teachers, Clergy and Specialists

Classroom Teachers
Our experienced and dedicated staff are caring and compassionate educators.  They create a warm and nurturing environment for the children as they encourage them to explore, learn, develop independence and friendships. Gan Ilan prides itself with low teacher/child ratios which allow the teachers to develop deep relationships with each child.  All of the Gan Ilan staff possess their undergraduate degrees as well as early childhood units.  Some teachers also have earned their masters degrees and/or teaching credentials.  Working collaboratively, the Gan Ilan staff strive to provide the best program possible for their students and their families.

Clergy
Gan Ilan is fortunate to have our wonderful Clergy integrated into our preschool. Classroom teams pair with a clergy person to set up special visits throughout the school year.

Outdoor Education and Gardening
All classes spend time in the garden with their teachers, working, playing, and enjoying our beautiful space. Using the garden as a teaching tool, the Jewish calendar is incorporated into the gardening classes and biblical crops are planted so they can be harvested for our Jewish holidays.

Music
Music is central to the learning in our school and each class meets with our music specialist once per week.

Shabbat, Holidays, Parent Involvment

Shabbat and Holidays

At the end of our morning on Fridays, we gather for Shabbat with the children in our classrooms.  Parents, family members, and caregivers join us at 12:30pm each Friday as we celebrate the end of the week and prepare for Shabbat with singing, blessings, and class made challah. 

We observe the Jewish Holidays together to provide a sense of community and belonging.  Regardless of which days your child attends school, everyone in our Gan Ilan community is invited to join us for Shabbat and our Jewish holiday celebrations: Sukkot, Chanukah, Tu B’Shevat, Purim, Passover, and Shavuot. Some of our events are celebrated during school hours while other events are scheduled during late afternoon or early evening hours.

Parents at Gan Ilan Preschool are considered our “mishpacha” (family), and we invite you to involve yourself in our program in any way you can. This may include sharing a skill, setting up for holiday celebrations, making playdough, or hosting a class party in your home.

Get Involved

The Parent Association (PA) is comprised of parents at the preschool who are dedicated to supporting the preschool director and the school.

The Gan Ilan Fundraiser is another wonderful way to get involved, and it requires the help of the entire parent body.

Parent Communication
Parents and staff can communicate regularly through the brightwheel app. Parents are encouraged to discuss any questions or concerns with teachers or the Director as they arise. Parents are welcome to set up an appointment with your child’s teachers or the Director at any time. Additional ways we communicate with each other are: the weekly newsletter, class parent bulletin board, hallway and door notices, and children’s mailboxes and/or cubbies.