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Early Childhood Education

At School of the Nations, educating future citizens of the world begins at our Early Childhood campus, located just across the street from our main campus. We offer an integrated, bilingual program for children from 2 to 6 years old. Our educational program promotes children’s abilities to think, learn and love in the context of service to humanity. Children have opportunities to learn and explore in ways that respond to their needs and interests.

 

School of the Nations is a bilingual, international school. Children learn English and Portuguese in a natural, pleasant setting. Our multidisciplinary projects integrate the English and Portuguese Programs enabling students to investigate, discover, share and develop higher order thinking in both languages.

We welcome students from all nations into our warm, friendly learning environment. Our spacious campus, complete with fruit trees, flowers, pets and vegetable gardens, provides the ideal setting for children to learn to love and respect nature. Planting and caring for the vegetable garden and other learning activities reinforce the relationship between humankind and nature and encourage healthy, positive lifestyles.

 

The campus has four buildings, a cafeteria, a soccer field, three playgrounds and large open spaces for children to play, a library, a music room, a kitchen, a nurse’s office, and large, child-friendly classrooms. To help ensure children’s health and safety, our nutritionist and nurse are attentive to every child’s well-being and continually reinforce the importance of good personal hygiene and healthy eating habits.

Our Early Childhood Education program aims to promote the physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual development of each child according to his or her abilities in a developmentally appropriate environment. We aim to make all children feel at home. We spark their curiosity to explore nature, and we encourage them to ask questions, learn of life and of themselves. Above all, we inspire their desire to learn. Children practice cooperation and interpersonal skills while playing, exploring and taking part in age-appropriate activities that address their developmental needs and interests.

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Nursery 2 & 3

The main focus during Nursery School years is social, language and conceptual development. Young children are natural explorers, so the educator’s role in Early Childhood is to guide their innate curiosity towards developing these skills, which become the foundation for their future learning. As children are developing their coordination skills, we offer opportunities for them to explore, exercise and use their small and large muscles in a safe, encouraging setting.

Pre-Kindergarten

Children in Pre-Kindergarten begin their journey in English in our English immersion program. Students spend most of their day engaged in learning English. The focus in Pre-Kindergarten is for students to use English to communicate intentionally. Through songs and visual and audio resources, teaching is geared to develop children’s expressive language skills. Click here to access a Map Road for Mathematics in this grade.

Kindergarten

In Kindergarten, children continue their journey into English. They begin to use their oral language skills in a more structured way. The need for students to express themselves in English increases, and we encourage them to speak it. Their understanding of letter names and sounds comes together. Click here to access a Map Road for Mathematics in this grade.

Grade 1

In Grade 1 of Elementary School, students get 50% of their classroom instruction in English and the other 50% in Portuguese. The program of study in Grade 1 focuses on reading and writing, and students excel in both skills throughout the year. Immersed in a literacy-rich environment, children start to read short texts and show a solid understanding of them in both languages. Reading skills allow students to begin to gain knowledge on their own through the many skills and strategies they master. Click here to access a Map Road for Mathematics in this grade.

Balanced Literacy

Balanced Literacy combines elements of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Children learn to read through phonics, vocabulary, reading aloud as well as through guided, modeled and independent reading. Our writers’ workshop focuses on the 6 +1 writing traits. Combining these and other elements creates a rich learning environment for all types of learners at various stages in their educational journey to become lifelong readers.

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