Children develop their creativity through interaction with their environment, role plays, creative movement and dance, singing, storytelling, design and exploring materials. We encourage our children to use their five senses and develop their curiosity by exploring different materials in different ways. At Sharp Kids we believe that children learn best when they do what comes naturally –learning through play. Research has repeatedly shown that play has a crucial role in learning and preparing children for the challenges that awaits them. Our children are supported rather than directed and we grant them the opportunity to exert their thinking and actions in a social context where others have the same rights.
It has been said that “reading and writing float on a sea of talk”. Children who develop strong oral language abilities before going to school are more likely to experience success well into their school years, especially when it comes to learning to read. This is because it is through the words children know and use that they are able to think, have ideas, and make sense of their world and their lives.
We are interested in what young children express through gesture or words and we take time to listen and respond. When teachers take this time, children learn that their ideas and thoughts are important and of interest to others. We encourage our children to communicate more, strengthening their oral language abilities. We use songs and nursery rhymes to help children to build on their vocabulary and pronunciation, intonation and rhythm of speech. Children are given opportunities to build a greater knowledge of letter recognition and enhance their hand writing skills with fun informal activities.
Early years education plays a crucial role in the development of young children’s mathematical proficiency because it is the time when attitudes towards mathematics are formed. Positive attitudes are more likely when children’s mathematical learning begins as informal and intuitive learning. The children are encouraged to develop skills in counting, number recognition, shape recognition, sizes, weight, amounts, comparisons, sorting, making and recognising patterns, completing puzzles and following rhythm. Play activities include construction, hopscotch and role play.
“The arts” is the collective term for four disciplines; music, dance, visual arts, and drama.The arts play a very important role in communication and the expression of ideas. Each of these disciplines involves the use of symbols (expression, movement, gesture, image, and sound) to convey meaning. The use of the arts creates an optimum way to strenghen all skills nessary for children to become school ready.
The natural process of early childhood learning and development begins with the body. In fact, movement primes the brain for learning, fostering the neural pathways that form the foundations for cognitive, physical, emotional and spiritual learning. A varied diet of physical activity early in life is thought to increase the likelihood of long-term participation in exercise and sport. Small children thrive in carefully crafted movement experiences and physical play.
Children are born scientists – they are innately curious about the physical environment and naturally open to making meaning through their exploration and conversations with others. At Sharp Kids we introduce our children to the ways scientists think about and investigate the physical environment through practical experience and experiments.
Digital technologies are already part of our children’s lives. A growing role of the education system is to support children to understand and make the most of the technologies they encounter. We understand that developing digital fluency is important for children. At Sharp Kids we ensure that children are exposed to digital technologies in healthy and safe ways.
Animals, plants, water, and other aspects of the natural world delight children and draw them into the learning experience. Our children are encouraged to explore and interact with the beauty and diversity of their natural environment and become aware of the effect their own actions can have on saving the planet.