School Curriculum
Why The Doon Little World
A holistic approach to education helps to develop the child’s unique gifts and talents while strengthening all intelligence areas. Opportunities for children to grow emotionally, physically and intellectually are facilitated through the daily classroom experience. Classroom environments envelope the practice of thoughtful, “learning through living” approaches, empowering children to be confident problem solvers.
At The Doon Little World we strive to provide an ideal early childhood experience for preschool aged children from 18 months to below 6 years. Our unique, holistic program nurtures with compassion and balances toward wholeness, both with principles and curriculum. In addition to loving and trained experienced teachers who teach with an understanding of the growing child, our centre features a natural, home-like environment for children to experience the world at their own pace and learn through their senses. We invite you to visit our school and learn more about our approach to protecting the wonder of childhood, while cultivating the young child’s healthy physical, emotional and cognitive development.
Lessons are planned in progression over the various age levels from Playgroup to Kindergarten. This facilitates continuous learning because each lesson is built upon the previous lesson and the children’s prior knowledge. Our teachers are guided and trained to use the prescribed lessons to ensure that the quality of the curriculum is delivered.
Years spent in an early childhood education setting are some of the most critical in your child’s development and we celebrate this extraordinary time in their educational journey. Our ultimate goal is to inspire a love of learning and lay the educational foundations for later success. At The Doon Little World, children emerge as confident and purposeful learner
Our View of the whole child:
- Physical Needs- Children must always feel safe and secure. We plan our physical environment to promote a sense of belonging and where children feel happy and comfortable. We also provide children a range of healthy nutritious meal. We have also in place standard procedures for the maintenance of hygiene in our Centre as well as prevention of spread of diseases.
- Intrinsically capable- Children are active participants in their own learning. They build their knowledge through experience and interaction with their physical and social environment. We facilitate children’s knowledge by providing experiences and engaging them in solving real problems.
- Different intelligences- We celebrate and embrace the different ways our children excel. We provide numerous experiences where children can strengthen their areas of developmental domains.
- Love to play & Learn through play- All children love to play. Play is a natural, spontaneous and therapy. Play promotes interaction, play provides for holistic development, play breeds success and we use play as a tool for teaching and learning
We use Thematic Integrated approach integrating the following learning areas in the core curriculum:
- Language and Literacy.
- Environmental Awareness.
- Self and Social Awareness.
- Motor skills.
- Numeracy.
- Aesthetics and Creative Expressions.
- Visual Arts.
OUR LEARNING APPROACH
It allows learning to be more natural and less fragmented than the way, where a Centre day is time divided into different subject areas and whereby children practice exercises frequently related to nothing other than what the teacher thinks up, as he or she writes them.
It allows literacy to grow progressively, with vocabulary linked and with spelling and sentence writing being frequently, yet smoothly, reinforced. It guides connected ideas to follow on easily.
It is, after all, how we, as adults, learn new things. Don’t we start at a point of interest and branch out from it like ripples from a stone thrown in the water?
Our Curriculum is divided into 3 levels, each catering to the unique set of needs and developmental characteristics of the different age groups: Playgroup, Nursery and Kindergarten.
As most Playgroup children would be going through their first school experience, this curriculum serves to launch them into a journey of learning and discovery, and get them familiarize with social experiences:
The general programme objective for Playgroup children are for them to be able to :
- Explore their surroundings and materials with ease and confidence.
- Be curious about new physical and social settings.
- Acquire and practice motor skills in a conducive and safe environment
- Develop listening skills.
- Focus their attention on activities.
- Communicate and interact with their peers and teachers
- Learn through play.
- Acquire pre-math and pre-reading skills
- Express their feelings and thoughts through different media.
The Nursery curriculum focuses on promoting discovery through inquiry. Children will be systematically introduced to phonics and reading skills.
The general programme objectives for Nursery children are for them to be able to:
- Develop early math and reading skills.
- Focus and channel attention to tasks.
- Exhibit self-control and confidence in relating to others.
- Develop social skills such as sharing, taking turns and working in teams.
- Practice and refine their motor skills.
- Acquire information about world around them.
- Express their feelings and thoughts through different artistic media.
The Kindergarten curriculum, emphasis on language proficiency and math, both as outcomes as well as tools for learning. This curriculum meets children’s needs for academic capabilities and school readiness.
The general programme objectives for Kindergarten children are for them to be able to:
- • Develop a positive attitude towards learning.
- Conduct themselves well in various social settings.
- Exhibit self-control and independence.
- Hold conversations well.
- Engage in active physical play.
- Use fine motor skills for practical purposes.
- Exhibit good conceptual skills in all learning areas.
- Exhibit good receptive and expressive language.
- Exhibits planning and leadership skills.
- Express their feelings and thoughts through different artistic media.