Temple Sholom Nursery School adds woodworking, robotics room … – Greenwich Time

Photo: Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media

Temple Sholom Nursery School adds woodworking, robotics room for toddlers

GREENWICH One by one, the preschoolers strapped on safety goggles and grabbed a saw. Back and forth, the children pushed the blades through a thin piece of wood tied with a red ribbon, their arms quaking from the effort.

This is tricky! said Jordan Rosenthal, 3, wielding a saw half her height.

Parents and teachers gathered round, watching many nervously and helping the children. When 4-year-old Oliver Halios saw broke through the skinny plank, the room erupted in cheers.

The ribbon sawing Thursday morning marked the opening of the new STEAM room at Temple Sholom Selma Maisel Nursery School.

When nursery school classes resume in September, 3-year-old and prekindergarten children will have access to the new room outfitted with knee-high wooden work benches, water tables, programmable robotic toys, ramps and a cannon-like wind tunnel made out of clear plastic.

When we stay on the cutting edge of early childhood education, our students reap the benefits, said David Cohen, director of the nursery school. We see public and private elementary schools investing in these programs and we want to ensure our students will arrive ready for the challenge.

Temple Sholom spent about $20,000 on the new STEAM room, Cohen said. The nursery school has been planning the new addition since January, when Cohen attended an early childhood STEM conference at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California.

The nursery schoolers will use the STEAM room on a weekly basis, receiving safety instruction and activity prompts but also with the freedom to experiment. The new space does not shy away from putting drills, screwdrivers, hammers and other tools into the hands of young children.

We dont play around with fake stuff, Cohen said. Woodworking is highly recommended for (young childrens) development and physical skills, but its something that a lot of people shy away from.

For an additional $5,000, the nursery school also added a new gymnastics room with pint-sized parallel bars, balance beams and mats next door to the STEAM room. The gymnastics room will be used as part of the schools physical education classes.

It will really do wonders for developing gross motor skills and building confidence, said Cohen.

The new additions are part of Selma Maisels efforts to offer forward-thinking early childhood education to children of all faiths and ethnicities, administrators said.

We are always looking to grow and enhance our program and see what will entice kids, said Eileen Robin, executive director of Temple Sholom.

emunson@greenwichtime.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson

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Temple Sholom Nursery School adds woodworking, robotics room ... - Greenwich Time