Early Years

 

Early Years – PYP Programme

Age: 2 to 5 years

EtonHouse International School provides students in our Early Years department with educational experiences that develop a positive approach to learning. We provide a learning environment where students feel at home and are able to explore new concepts and ideas.

Our Early Years curriculum, as part of the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), acknowledges the uniqueness of each of our students. We see each of our students as intelligent, resourceful and creative individuals who grow, develop and learn at different rates. Lessons and activities provide an opportunity for our students to explore their environment and learn through play with peers, teachers, family and community members. Learning in our Early Years classes is a holistic learning experience for our students, and integrates socio-emotional, physical and cognitive development. EtonHouse Nanjing promotes inquiry based play, discovery and exploration in all our Early Years lessons and activities.

Our Early Years Programme

Our Early Years students follow an inquiry focused, play-based curriculum, that is student-centered and encourages independent learning in a warm, safe and caring environment. During our school year, students study four Units of Inquiry (in comparison to six Units of Inquiry for the Primary School classes). These units are transdisciplinary, which means they include the integration of different subjects. Our students also study Mathematics and Language Acquisition, and have specialist teachers for Music, Visual Arts, and Personal, Social and Physical Education (PSPE). Our curriculum is quite different from that of most national schools as there is not a detailed text book to study or follow. A variety of resources, books, materials and equipment from best practise internationally are used to enhance learning experiences of our students.

Early Years students at EtonHouse Nanjing are respected as competent thinkers and communicators, who are offered many opportunities to engage with a wide range of materials and resources to extend and challenge their thinking. Our curriculum invites children to explore, discover, hypothesise, predict, problem solve, construct and document their deepening understanding of the world in which we live. Our approach acknowledges the significance of socio-cultural theory in that our students learn via quality interactions and relationships with people, places and things.

We encourage our young Early Years students to explore their environment and express themselves using multiple languages, and which may include speaking, singing, movement, drawing, painting, writing, building, designing, collage, dramatic play, and music. Topics for our Units of Inquiry may be captured from student’s competencies, skills, ideas and theories; through family and community events; or current popular interests of our students.

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