Kindergarten 2 (K2) caters for children who are two years old and for many it is their first experience of school.
The K2 programme philosophy is built around the fact that strong language and listening skills are vital for all other learning to take place.
Teachers model and encourage both Chinese and English languages by initiating conversation, questions, and comments all throughout the day (meal times are a favourite opportunity for group conversation), and children are encouraged to verbally express their wants, ideas, and emotions. Show & Tell activities are introduced during the year to deepen children’s understanding of how to ask questions and listen to others, preparing them up for deeper inquiry-based learning in the K3 and K4 classes.
Importance is also placed on the development of emergent literacy skills and dispositions, such as understanding the meaning of print and a love of books, and print awareness is developed in meaningful ways. From there emergent reading, letter name interest, and pre-writing naturally proceed during the year.
Independence, problem-solving and perseverance are fostered by giving children ample opportunities during indoor/outdoor and toileting transitions, meal times, and even free play times. The confidence built up through these challenges gives these young children the courage to try and persist with other demanding life tasks.
