Gan Eden preschool in flushing

amother

Mon, Dec 15 2014, 5:26 pm

My daughter is there. It's not in Kew Gardens, but it's not in the middle of KGH, which does make it hard for us to get to (we don't have a car), and that's probably our biggest complaint. She's in the 3 year old class and she loves going to school every day and learns a LOT. I can try to answer more specific questions if you have any, but I would recommend it overall to people looking into it.

amother

Mon, Dec 15 2014, 6:21 pm

amother wrote:

Op here.
I do have a question. My two kids speak hebrew with me at home. I know they'll be speaking/hearing english at school, but do any of the teachers actually speak some hebrew? do they teach them some hebrew as well? I just think it's important to continue with hebrew at an early age.

lizard8

Mon, Dec 15 2014, 6:31 pm

Its seems that you are Sefardi/bucharian, looking to send to an ashkenazi school. Correct me if I am wrong.
Most ashkenazi playgroups do not offer hebrew. They do the Alef Bais but the lessons are all in English. I sent to Gan Devorah 2 y.o one year and there was a kid who didn't know English. The teacher was very accommodating and spoke to the child in both English and Hebrew. Many of the teachers there spoke Hebrew. You can call Devorah @ 3474033400. You can go down there and see the class in action.

You do have school age hebrew options. I know that YCQ teaches a lot in hebrew in the younger grades.

amother

Mon, Dec 15 2014, 6:33 pm

Hi! The teachers in the 3s (I don't know anything about the 4s) all speak fluent Hebrew. I know they speak it to each other, and I'm not sure how much they speak it to the kids other than the standard "maagal, yeladim, etc." I don't know if it's part of the curriculum.So I'm not sure if that answers your question directly, but I know the teachers are more than capable of speaking Hebrew to the kids - I'm not sure more than that...
Hope that helped!

amother

Mon, Dec 15 2014, 6:38 pm

lizard8 wrote:

I'm not Bucharian but I'm half sefaradic. It's not about if I'm sefaradic or ashkenazi, I was born in Israel so I still want my kids to speak hebrew, it's just about the language. I know they'll be learning english at school, but I don't want them to not learn any hebrew at school as well. Sorry, but I think all jewish preschools should have a strong emphasis in hebrew from an early age. My oldest right now goes to a gan and the teachers are also israelis and also speak in hebrew. But I was looking at gan eden because the price would be a bit cheaper (for two kids) and it seems like they have a good program. I'm just concerned that the teachers wouldn't speak any hebrew to my kids. My youngest was never at a daycare and I think he would feel a bit more comfortable if the teacher would speak to him in hebrew for the first few days.

morah

Mon, Dec 15 2014, 7:01 pm

amother wrote:

I understand. My ILs are Israeli, so dh grew up speaking Hebrew at home. I went to a school that had a heavy emphasis on Hebrew language so my own Hebrew is pretty good (though not nearly as good as dh's; it's actually my third language). He speaks to them in Hebrew. Unfortunately, your school options are limited. The preschools don't really teach more than ritualistic Hebrew. YCQ teaches Hebrew, but you'll have to wait till 4 to send there. The frummer schools, forget it. It's annoying, but it is what it is. Keep up with it at home and it should be fine. My dad always spoke to me in French and I was only getting it at home, and my French is totally fluent, it's a very close second to my English. Unfortunately, I am pretty much illiterate in French. You won't get that with the Hebrew, because even in a school that doesn't emphasize the language so much still has to teach Tanach and Gemara, so there will be literacy involved. I wish schools were better about the language, but I'm realistic. They're not, so we have to make up for it at home. It's not the end of the world.

amother

Wed, Dec 17 2014, 8:19 am

mazri wrote:

Thanks. Are there any UPK programs run by frum people besides Judi's Nursery and Chabad in Bayside? I won't get into Judi's and Chabad is completely out of my way.

I was also looking for UPK programs, but in the end I'm going with a regular one. I looked in Keren Ohr daycare in fresh meadows. They're starting the first year of UPK next year. I was thinking about sending my kids over there, but I'm afraid my oldest one will look too big to the class. The UPK class starts from age 3.5 and my boy will be 4.5 years old. They have 4 year olds, but when I went there the kids just looked smaller than mine. But they seem to have a good program.