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I
n the Pre-Primary School, opportunities
abound for exploration, discovery, and learning. Teachers act as facilitators
and guides, maximizing children's opportunities for learning and helping them
acquire strong foundational skills at a developmentally appropriate pace. Learning occurs as children strive
to make sense of the world around them. Children construct their own
understanding of the world by interacting with adults, peers, and the learning
environment.
The Role of Play
Play is an essential way that
young children make sense of what is happening around them. They take things
they have seen or heard and try them out in new settings, first imitating what
they have observed and then extending their play based on their own experiences
and knowledge. From this process and with the help of teachers, they develop
the skills to build on learning and create new knowledge. When children are stimulated and interested, they are
motivated to seek out additional information and new experiences that lead to
the construction of new knowledge.
Children's play is intrinsically interesting
to them and thus, presents important opportunities
for building new knowledge. Lowell teachers recognize that children must be invested
in constructing their own learning. It is the role of the teacher to generate
activities, projects, and ideas for conversations that will help children
progress and develop the skills that will allow them to move on to new
challenges. Teachers also provide the developmentally appropriate materials,
support, and guidance that children need.
The Role of Teachers
As keen observers of children, Lowell teachers take daily
notes to support their planning and extension of children's learning. Planning
often includes identifying age-appropriate, individual and group goals,
developing balanced classroom schedules, and structuring activities and
interactions to meet the needs of all children.
Curriculum
The Pre-Primary program embraces a child-centered approach called an
"emergent curriculum" because it is based on and evolves with the
students' interests and passions and is guided by the teachers'
knowledge and commitment. The Pre-Primary program allows children's interests to
become the subject matter of some curricular exploration, while developmental
milestones across the domains of learning form the foundation of our
curriculum. Children are naturally curious about the world around them and about themselves and others. Teachers support
their learning and facilitate their progress in all developmental domains.