ORANIM EARLY - CHILDHOOD [seems to be closed as of 7.21]

Reviews (12)

• Review from the 2018/2019 PSP Daycare, Preschool, PreK, Kindergarten Survey

  November 2018

  Wonderful warm teachers. Great curriculum. Love the newsletter and photos shared with the parents. My son immediately bonded with the teachers. About the facility: Has outdoor space, Has afterschool options What would you change? Less closings for school/religious holidays.

• Review of Oranim pre school

  June 2017

  Our daughter started Oranim at age 20 months and right away upon the first visit, I knew it was going to be a great place for her to be and grow. The staff is incredibly warm, nurturing and welcoming. They celebrate the kids daily with their friendly nature, attentiveness to the children's needs and pure joy at being with kids. Our daughter was happy to go there every time it was her day and would run in an not even look back to give me a kiss! The director is a social worker and is knowledgeable and compassionate to child development. She is also responsive with emails and sends beautiful newsletter every month letting us know what the kids have been up to. Can't recommend this pre school highly enough!

• Recommendation--Oranim Early Childhood Day Care

  September 2016

  I unreservedly recommend Oranim Day Care, in Windsor Terrace (28 E. 4th Street). Our two older daughters have attended, and we are awaiting our third daughter to be of age to do so. Oranim provided a superb, nurturing environment. Its staff were fully engaged and attentive, and the size was not too large. On matters administrative and financial, Oranim was always flexible and accommodating. For those seeking as well the "Jewish" component (not only Jewish children attend), Oranim provides a good balance, exposing the children to Hebrew sounds and words, and Jewish/Israeli cultural events/calendar holidays, without doing so in an exaggerated manner.

• Oranim Daycare Review

  April 2016

  Two of our children have gone through Oranim, a lively, inviting, close-knit program with an emphasis on Jewish values and rituals from a non-denominational perspective. Both of kids were really happy and comfortable there, owing in large part to the teachers' loving and familial approach. While the age range is from barely walking to 4+ — and somehow, they all get along wonderfully — I would say the sweet spot is 2s and 3s. For a casually observant Jewish family, it was really nice to send our kids to a school where they could discover the magic in our own holidays instead of suffering early onset Christmas and Easter envy. Love this place!

• Review for oranim daycare/Playschool

  April 2016

  Oranim is such a sweet school and we couldn't be happier with it. All the teachers are so warm and loving and my daughter is so excited to go everyday. She comes home singing new songs daily- it's a great mix of Hebrew and English. My mom who is Israeli- says my daughter sings like a native Israeli! It's small and intimate- the teacher-to-student ratio is great. They do fun activities like cooking and yoga. They seem to get a good amount of outdoor time too. We are very pleased with it- highly recommend.

• Wonderful preschool - Oranim Daycare

  April 2016

  We had a wonderful experience with Oranim and cherished our daughter's time there. We were initially drawn to the program because of the Hebrew integration and extremely reasonable price, but the program is exceptional for a number of reasons. As a small, family-run operation, there is very little staff turnover, and most of the teachers have been there for years. Even better, the staff to student ratio is fantastic -- it was frequently 2:1 or even one-on-one early in the morning or later in the afternoon. That meant that my daughter was showered with love, attention, and affection. I visited over 10 preschools and daycares before choosing Oranim, and many of them felt institutional or frankly a little depressing, Oranim was distinct in how warm and homey it felt, as if I was leaving my child with a family member. My daughter positively thrived at Oranim and adored going there every day. Before she even turned two, the Oranim teachers had taught her to count in both Hebrew and in English, sing the ABCs, recite the days of the week, sing countless songs, and chatter about topics ranging from snow to dinosaurs. We loved the play-based curriculum and my husband and I joked that everything she knew was thanks to Oranim. I also loved that she came home saying "please," "thank you," "I'm sorry," and had a strong understanding of sharing, kindness, and friendship. The Jewish education was lovely and fit well with our Israeli/secular ideology. This experience was a welcome relief from our daughter's previous daycare in Manhattan where we paid over twice as much, the classrooms were chaotic, there was tremendous staff turnover, and my daughter came home covered in bite marks three times a week because the staff had no protocol for handling the issue. At Oranim, the teachers have decades of experience to create a structured, warm, and safe environment for the children. We only left Oranim because we moved away from Brooklyn, and one of the saddest parts of our decision included saying goodbye to Oranim -- we would have happily sent our daughter there for as long as possible. I highly recommend the Oranim program to anyone in the South Slope/Windsor Terrace/Kensington neighborhood.

• Fantastic Jewish Preschool

  February 2016

  The Oranim program is a wonderful early-childhood experience, and I highly recommend it. My family and I, originally from Florida, were thrilled to learn of a traditional Jewish preschool experience conveniently located in our South Slope/Windsor Terrace neighborhood. The teachers provide a very stimulating day, that is pre-school oriented, offering great activities during the week. They were incredibly accommodating to our needs, were always available to discuss our child's progress, and were instrumentally helpful in helping ease his transition to a full day school facility, upon entering. We loved the year-round Jewish songs, holiday celebrations and Tot-Shabbat ceremonies, as well as the ongoing Hebrew integration in the class. Communication with the teachers was always welcomed by staff. Also, newsletters, highlighting the learning, projects and upcoming events were provided to us regularly. Our son entered at the age of 2.5, and by time he left at age 4, he was well versed in letters, math concepts, traditional Jewish themes and a whole lot of Hebrew that he uses to speak with his cousins in Israel. We highly recommend the Oranim Early-Childhood Program.

• Review submitted via the 2014-2015 daycare/preschool survey

  July 2015

  This member has reviewed this facility in a prior year Length of time: FT 5 days Child’s Age: 2-3 years Type of facility: Private, small daycare/playschool experience run out of a person's home with a very small number of childrenThere is little/no parental involvement with the administration or running of the facility. REVIEW: Oranim is a dual-language program, with both Hebrew and English spoken. They accept about 15 kids, I believe, ages 18months-preK. They seemed fluid with the groups, in a good way -- our child's birth month put her in the younger grouping, but they took the initiative to have her engage more with the older kids, which our child needed. The staff are loving and warm toward the kids, and it's all about fun. That said, our child clearly learned a lot, and I love that the exposure to a new language. Also the price is more in line with Kensington than PS, so for those of us who work FT and struggle to afford $25,000/year in childcare, we appreciated this. That said, communication was a massive issue. We received almost no feedback from the staff aside from small talk, and few details about the kids' day. If there's procedures for discipline or injuries, we never saw it, and we felt that when issues did arise, they were dismissed. "Oh don't worry about," we were told. There seemed to be little interest in working with parents on issues. Our child has thrived there, is happy, and learned so much, and it's one of the few full-day options we found for the 2/3 year that wouldn't have our child be the oldest in a day care. But the communication and policy issues are enough that we didn't give a second thought to going elsewhere next year (though an easier commute, and very well-regarded program, was also part of the equation.) Would you recommend? Recommend with reservations Would you send your child again? Absolutely not

• 2014 Daycare/Preschool PSP review

  November 2014

  Length of Time: Full Child's Age: 2-3 years Review: We like the teachers and the program. However, we feel there is barely any communication with parents, there are no procedures in place when issues arise (at least that are communicated to parents) and there is some defensiveness when questions are asked about a child. Our child is thriving and learning, looks forward to every morning, and we trust the staff, but we really need them to step up their contact, inclusiveness, and communication with parents. We've had zero feedback on progress aside from assurances that our child is doing well. Recommend (Hi/Rec/DoNot) Recommend with reservations Would you send your child again? Probably not

• Back Jewish Preschool advice

  February 2014

  They're more of a daycare than a preschool but you may want to call Oranim Early Childhood in Kensington.

• (no subject)

  August 2012

  Review Date 2012 Length of TIme: Part-time: 3 half days each week Child's Age: 2-3 years Review: Very positive and nurturing environment. Teachers are very involved and loving with the children; also provide age-appropriate discipline. Very thoughtful program w/ singing, dancing, free-play, story telling, art projects, etc. The facility is warm, welcoming, nicely maintained; the teachers are kind and patient, but also are not pushovers. The head teach has many years experience as a Nurse in Israel. Do you recommend? (Hi/Rec/DoNot) Highly recommend

• October, 2010

  October 2010

  We couldn't have been happier with Oranim. My husband is a native Israeli who speaks to our son Adar in Hebrew but Adar is more comfortable in English. Dalia made sure to speak to Adar in Hebrew and to support our efforts to make him fully bilingual. She also almost singlehandedly potty-trained Adar. And, of course and most importantly, Adar loved his time spent at Oranim. We highly recommend Oranim Day Care.