How
do we Teach?
Inspired by Froebelian thought and trained in these methods we put wooden blocks at the heart of child’s education. We acknowledge that play with such toys has the potential to teach children mathematics, language, about beauty and artistic endeavors, scientific construction, stories, the representation of everyday life and to be physically competent and skilled.
They wooden toys children interact and play with are called Gifts.
The interconnected workshops that students attend during the day are called The Occupations and include:
- Drawing
- Painting
- Clay forming
- Paper-folding
- Junk-modelling
- Cutting
- Pattern-making with shape boards and tessellations
- Printing
- Paper Pricking
- Weaving
- Sewing
- Construction
The curriculum program in English that we use is titled “Gift of Play” and students daily visit their activity centers such as Gift Center, Creative Center and Experimental Center and Industrious Center.
Young Leaders is an Early Education Academy that focuses on Early Childhood education. YLEEA is an international and tolerant setting where play is the way of learning.
Our practice continues to evolve continuously and changes to meet children’s needs but our fundamental beliefs include:
- An environment in which all kinds of play are equally valued;
- Authentic experiences are provided for children for them to extrapolate in their play;
- Teachers value their role as play partners as well;
- Children’s responses to activities provided are respected and opportunities provided to develop their interests in ways that promote deep level learning not “replication with variation”;
- Activities are not set up to test what children can or cannot do, but assessment of children’s attainment and progress is understood, recorded and shared with parents and carers alongside sharing the children’s interest in learning;
- Making activities playful is valued but this is done in response to children’s cultural interests and intellectual interests;
- Physicality in play and learning is valued in both boys and girls, and communication through body language, proximity and physical contact between children is also valued;
- Children are allowed to occupy a wide emotional range, they are not constricted to having to be “happy” all the time, emotions are respected;
- There is lots of laughing, children and their teachers have fun;
- Children and adults relish laughter and fun, and they enjoy one another’s company;
- Some play opportunities are prolonged and returned to by the children, and they are not made to “move on” in line with an adult directed schedule;
- It is understood that building knowledge comes from being part of learning community with others, some like yourself and others not;
- Translanguaging that gives children the freedom to move in and out of languages while working (this promotes fuller understanding of subject matter) is welcome.
Why should You choose a bilingual education in Young Leaders – Early Education Academy?
Bilingualism is a rich resource as other languages and cultures have much to offer. Research shows that well-balanced bilinguals may have advantages over monolinguals in thinking, socializing and in academic achievement.
Young Leaders – Early Education Academy is a bilingual place where helping young children to construct their knowledge of the world is not an information sharing exercise, but a journey that children and teachers travel together. Education in such environment is made to encourage learning through child initiated play in which exploration, problem solving and imagining happen.
Language Policy
Young Leaders is committed to moving forward past “English Only” practices and policies. We believe we have a responsibility not just to tolerate use of L1, but to create classroom environments where our students’ native languages may flourish and thrive. At Young Leaders, multilingual and multicultural identities are valued where each student’s native language is viewed as a resource rather than a liability. English is taught as an additional language, rather than the sole linguistic resource for communication and interaction. Parents who enroll their children in our Academy agree to enter into a bilingual partnership with Young Leaders. We view it as a privilege and a positive opportunity for parents to be involved in their child’s education. All Academy employees strive to provide resources in all languages spoken by the parent and student body. Parents are also encouraged to nurture the development of their children in their own native language.
Mission, vision, values
We are an international academy open to cultural and linguistic diversity. We are unified as one school through our steadfast mission, vision, and values. Our staff is committed to providing an international education of the highest quality, enabling students to be confident, responsible, caring, and lifelong learners. We strive to create a nurturing environment for our students so they can achieve their maximum potential. We value communication, diversity, inquiry, integrity, knowledge, and reflection. At Young Leaders all activities inside and outside of the classroom are connected and developed through these values. Our academy-wide language philosophy states and recognizes that English is our primary language for communication and discoveries. We invite each student’s native language to assist them rather than hinder them in their multilingual development.