Written by Samantha Werb, Shya Redelman ELC Campus Co-ordinator

In our Early Learning Centre, we understand that literacy and numeracy are essential components of everyday life, beginning from a young age. For children in the Early Years, we integrate these foundational skills into our indoor and outdoor environments, ensuring that each learning space offers rich, play-based opportunities to explore language, numbers, and concepts. By embedding literacy and numeracy into daily routines and play, we are supporting essential academic skills as well as boosting the children’s confidence and curiosity.

Developing pre-literacy skills through play and storytelling

Across our Prachim and Tziporim classes, we are creating engaging, small-group experiences focused on pre-literacy. These activities are designed to foster comprehension, language development, and auditory processing—key areas that lay the groundwork for future reading and communication. Our experienced Early Childhood Teacher, a dedicated member of our centre for many years, collaborates closely with educators to bring these sessions to life.

Each session emphasises understanding story structure by identifying the beginning, middle, and end, helping children grasp a story’s main themes. Through interactive storytelling, we introduce key vocabulary and connect words to the children’s own experiences, building both language comprehension and a love for stories. The children learn to recognise that words come together to form sentences with unique structures and meanings. To reinforce this, we engage in a fun activity: clapping out sentences, which reinforces sentence awareness and helps expand vocabulary. Reflecting on each story supports memory, recall, and engagement, building a solid foundation for literacy in years to come.

Hands-on numeracy activities for foundational math skills

Numeracy is much more than recognising numbers; it involves understanding concepts like quantity, patterns, spatial relationships, measurement, and problem-solving. Through hands-on, play-based learning, young children in our centre explore these concepts by counting objects, sorting by size or colour, and identifying shapes in their surroundings.

In our small-group sessions, these experiences are designed to make math concepts engaging and meaningful, allowing children to develop a positive relationship with numbers and problem-solving early on. The children gain confidence as they recognise that math is all around them, sparking curiosity about numbers and patterns and helping them develop an enthusiastic approach to learning math as they grow.

Embedding Ivrit: Language and numeracy in a Jewish context

A unique aspect of our program is the integration of Ivrit (Hebrew), which we incorporate through weekly Ivrit lessons, Jewish learning, and daily routines. The children engage with Ivrit during structured lessons and everyday interactions: counting classmates, naming colours, and identifying common items in Hebrew. This immersion approach makes Ivrit part of their natural vocabulary and understanding, bridging cultural learning with language skills.

Through Ivrit, we also reinforce numeracy and literacy concepts. Counting in Hebrew, identifying numbers and letters, and recognising simple words help children develop bilingual awareness and cognitive flexibility. This exposure is especially valuable in a Jewish Early Learning Centre, where language learning reinforces cultural identity and connects children to their heritage.

Interactive tools and resources for a hands-on learning experience

To make these experiences as engaging and interactive as possible, we use a variety of resources like books, puzzles, games, and our Prowise screen. This technology adds a dynamic element to lessons, encouraging children to participate in hands-on activities that support their literacy and numeracy development. Inspired by Piaget’s theories, we recognise that children’s understanding of abstract concepts grows through concrete, hands-on learning experiences, building from foundational thoughts to more complex understandings.

By fostering pre-literacy and numeracy skills alongside Ivrit in a play-based and interactive environment, we’re setting a strong foundation for lifelong learning in our children. Through these thoughtfully designed experiences, we aim to support their growth, confidence, and love for learning within a culturally rich Jewish context.

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