Due to a growing need for well structured and meaningful Early Childhood education in Nadi, International School Nadi is expanding its Pre-school. The school now offers classes for children starting as young as two years old. There are four different programmes depending on the age of your child.
International School Nadi believes that the basic skills that children learn during their early childhood years are the foundation for all future learning and that children learn best when activities and materials are authentic, concrete and relevant to their lives. The Primary Years Progamme offered in the primary school at ISN is an excellent framework that gives support to active learners and inquirers, enabling them to construct meaning in what they do.
In the Early Childhood classes children are given opportunities to learn and develop through exploration, play and a variety of structured activities. Children are continually and consistently encouraged to grow and develop individually, honoring each child’s uniqueness. ISN believes that self esteem is central to a child’s growth. In a guided way, children are encouraged to make their own play choices and take control of their own learning.
In Playgroup (Friday mornings) and Headstart (three afternoons) activities include Music/movement and singing; imaginative play outdoor and free play; art and craft activities, language development and constructive/manipulative play. Children will participate in new experiences, develop and increase their social/emotional skills, learn sharing, cooperation and simple routines, interact with adults and children in a safe environment and enjoy learning more about their world.
In Early Childhood 1 (four mornings) the children do real work that allows them to demonstrate what they know. ISN takes great pride in offering young children a day full of delight in learning and being together at school. Children are encouraged to explore and problem solve with materials and diverse experiences; they are given opportunities to express their imagination and creativity within a structured environment. They are provided with opportunities to develop mathematical skills and are introduced to mathematical concepts such as quantity, time, order and shape and encouraged to use mathematical language as they talk about their findings. Through a range of math based activities, students will develop the ability to sort and classify shapes, size and colour, arrange things in order and tell the difference between different shapes and begin to understand numbers. They will become problem solvers. The reading readiness and language programme will provide opportunities for students to discuss pictures they see in story books and encourage them to begin to take an interest in reading and writing. Art, Music and Physical Education are also a central part of the programme.
In Early Childhood 2 (Four full days and one morning) there is a strong emphasis on preparing the child for formal schooling and at ISN, language is central to all learning. Students experience a variety of contextual and meaningful opportunities for reading, writing, speaking, viewing and presenting; for a range of purposes, situations and audiences. They will be encouraged to ask and answer questions, recall stories and events, concentrate and listen, recognize and identify letters. Through science-based activities within the inquiry topics, students will explore ways objects and living things function. They will explore and discuss the ways the world works and will show care and respect for themselves and other living things and the environment. Students will watch things grow, be inquisitive, curious and investigate and make connections between existing knowledge and new learning. They will extend their knowledge of mathematics and take part in Music, drama, Art and Physical Education with specialist teachers.
A lovely new playground has been built as a PTA (Parents, Teachers and Friends Association) initiative and another classroom is being specially set up for the new programme. The Principal, Dianne Korare (dkorare@isn.school.fj) and the Early Childhood staff will be available after the 14th January 2013 to personally meet with interested parents to discuss these exciting new programmes for children.
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