The children have shown a sense of bubbly enthusiasm and feelings of true excitement as they experienced their first few weeks in Prep. I firmly believe the beginning of the school year is extremely exciting as the children have a cheerful zest, spring in their step and a look of anticipation in their eyes.
Underscored by the Reggio Emilia educational philosophy, TIGS Prep provides a warm atmosphere where children in the Pre-prep and Prep programmes are encouraged to develop and engage in a stimulating environment. Every child’s potential is seen as limitless, both as an individual and as part of a number of groups which include family, school and community.
The school provides the children with a wide variety of experiences, which encourages them to experiment, investigate, communicate and reason.
As part of the whole school community, TIGS Prep is just a short distance from the Goodhew Library in the Senior School. Each week the children embark on a walking excursion to visit the library, they are always excited to venture up the hill with their library bags and are happy at the thought of being able to borrow a book. The children love their weekly incursion which promotes a learning experience that is not just about the destination but also the journey.
During the structured learning programme, the children experience Specialist lessons. This year our specialist lessons vary each day and include:
Music and Movement (Monday)
Music education at TIGS Prep has been developed over many years and is deeply embedded within the pedagogy of the whole school and its links to the wider community. Each week at TIGS Prep the children participate in a ‘specialist’ music lesson with Mrs. Bonaccorso. They walk down to the music room with their educators and engage in a variety of carefully planned experiences, including singing, movement and musical instruments. The children participate with enthusiasm and look forward to this each week.
Movement and Gross Motor Activity (Tuesday)
The children are thoroughly enjoying Soccajoey’s. It provides them with new skill bases, promotes children’s health and gets their bodies moving in a fun and positive way. It is great to see the children learn to play soccer and have fun, as the benefits stem deeper into physical and social development.
Physical activity is crucial to the development of gross motor skills and eye-hand coordination. In the early years, physical activity involves learning how to jump, hop, balance, throw and catch, kick and create shapes with one’s body. More than that they are being taught developmental skills including agility, balance and coordination.
French (Wednesday)
Language learning is a core strength at TIGS. In Prep, learning extends from basic greetings such as ‘thank you’ and ‘please’ to colours, numbers, animals, songs and cultural traditions. Being exposed to a language at such a young age is a beautiful way to broaden the horizons of our youngest students and help them to understand and appreciate the world and all its cultures.
Art (Thursday)
Prep learners participate in a wide range of visual art activities in their classroom each week. Each lesson provides opportunities for children to develop their creativity and imagination. A wide range of technical skills are taught alongside the encouragement of experimentation and visual investigation. The aim of our Art specialist lessons is to provide all children with a broad-based Art programme that supports them as they steadily and sequentially develop diverse skills in Art-making. Each term we build on children’s previous learning and introduce more advanced activities to develop their skills and knowledge. Art learning is centred around the understanding of the formal qualities of Art including the exploration of line, shape, colour and form. The programme incorporates exploration of materials over a range of disciplines including drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture. Technology supports the curriculum and opportunities are provided for the children to explore, create and reflect on their learning using a variety of tools.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) (Friday)
From their earliest years, children engage with the world in ways that can promote learning related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Research shows that the earlier we guide and support children’s wonder about the world–and thereby identify opportunities for children to acquire foundational STEM skills–the more successful they are in all areas of learning.
STEM is a valuable tool of learning as it focuses on ‘practice’ rather than the knowledge of each student. Ideas such as questioning, designing and building, exploring and challenging are being introduced and expanded through play. The children engage with fun and colourful apps individually and in small groups.