What kind of skills will be needed in the world of work of the future? Will our children be ready for the challenges they will face? What kind of people do we want our children to be? What is the most important thing in a child’s early education?
At HD Kindergarten, (which we call CASA), building character forms the basis of our education. It is involved in all aspects of our school community and school life. We provide a holistic education that integrates social and emotional development and encourages children to achieve their potential. We provide an setting which is both Chinese and Western in culture, balancing the best of both and at the same time providing a creative, stimulating and enjoyable learning environment.
The children enjoy a range of activities including Chinese and English language classes, the Montessori curriculum, simple Mathematics, Science, History, PE and Art. During the process children learn about themselves, learn about others and learn about the outside world. We help develop children's intellectual curiosity, emotional intelligence and communication skills. We understand that the right kind of stimulation in early childhood is hugely important; cognitive and behavioral skills developed by the brain at this stage, form the basis for future success and happiness.
Character building is done through a variety of activities, for example gratitude is developed through a pre-lunch thank you ceremony, sharing is promoted through a special birthday, etiquette, peace and love for each other are also encouraged.
The administrators in the Kindergarten team have many years of teaching and management experience in bilingual or international kindergartens. The Chinese and international teachers are also excellent and have rich teaching experience. They all work together to, advancing the love of learning in the children and caring for them as individuals.
Staff also work closely with parents to build a learning community that is full of love and respect. It is a supportive environment which encouraged initiative and participation. We provide a variety of services and activities for children, families and communities, such as family events, community service, parent learning workshops.
3-5 years old mixed Montessori class
Montessori education is a people-oriented, whole-person education system. It aims to foster the spirit of independent learning and exploration. The learning environment is designed around the physical and mental abilities of 3-5 year old in our care, helping them to learn new skills in a relatively free environment.
There are five major areas in the Montessori classroom: Practical Life area, Sensorial area, Language area, Maths area and Cultural area. We combine the five Montessori areas with the teachers monthly learning themes, providing a co-curricular and joined up learning space.
In the Practical Life area, we offer a variety of activities designed to help children develop their hand-eye coordination, concentration, independence, sense of order and responsibility. In the Sensorial area, we provide rich sensorial exploration resources to help children develop their observation, judgment, classification, leading to the development of logical analysis ability. The Language area includes Chinese and English language learning resources, which provide strong support for children's language development. Children are immersed in the context of Chinese and English learning topics to help children naturally acquire language skills and develop their bilingual skills. In the Maths area, children explore the relationship between numbers and quantities from concrete to abstract, learning counting, classifications, and operations based on experience and perception. In the Cultural area, children learn to understand the world and appreciate diverse cultures; they learn about crafts, music, astronomy, geography, history, science, animals, plants, and how they fit in to this bigger picture.
Art and Performing Arts and PE are permanent courses allowing children the opportunity to learn about aesthetics, music, movement and physical fitness.
