At Petachya’s aftercare clubhouse, children are given a hot, nutritious lunch and enjoy fun-filled activities that complement the therapies they receive throughout the school day, ensuring therapeutic continuity and effectiveness. The aftercare special-ed staff is regularly updated by the morning special-ed staff, with the aftercare program leveraging what has been accomplished in the morning and preparing the children for the next day as well.
While the mornings are generally focused on cognitive development, the aftercare program focuses on children’s functional ability. The afternoons are filled with enrichment activities such as gardening, sports, Gymboree, story time, arts ‘n crafts and more. Through freestyle and imaginative play, children are given life skills as well as social skills – how to play together, how to make themselves a sandwich or prepare a salad, how to put on their shoes, how to tidy up the toys, and many other daily tasks to help foster their independence and smooth integration and optimum functioning in the family setting outside of school and clubhouse hours.
The aftercare programs, which run even during Hanukah and Passover vacation and for most of the summer break, are a huge asset not only for the children with special needs but for their parents as well as their siblings. The longer clubhouse hours enable parents to spend quality time with the other children in the family during the busy afternoon hours, and in turn to be much more available to their special-needs child upon their return home at the end of the day.
The kindergarten staff works hand in hand with the supervision and guidance staff of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Social Welfare, consistently meeting their pedagogical and professional criteria and earning their trust and esteem.
