Curriculum Overview

Unaccompanied (2 years to 6 years)

As the child continues on the Woodland Journey, they will experience their first unaccompanied class at the age of 2. Through our dedicated transition period and caring team of teachers, children will slowly adapt to attending classes without a familiar adult. Building upon the previous stages, these classes encourage independence, social awareness, sensory exploration, and the development of physical and language skills through play. Academic skills are developed through a rich play-based curriculum, as our children advance to our Pre-School classes.

Mandarin

Our Stepping Stones children are beginning to learn languages and need support and scaffolding as they start to communicate and express themselves in English and Mandarin. A Mandarin Teaching Assistant is present for the full session, providing environmental language learning by authentically speaking in Mandarin and engaging with children during learning experiences in the classroom.

For our Pre-School children, parents can choose from our English, Bilingual and pure Mandarin streams. Children in the English stream are joined by a Mandarin Specialist for a daily 30-minute immersive Mandarin session following the Mandarin Scope and Sequence learning outcomes. In our Bilingual stream, we use the approach of one curriculum, two languages. Both languages follow the Inquiry Projects and EYFS learning outcomes, in addition to the Mandarin Scope and Sequence learning outcomes. The Pure Mandarin stream is taught solely in Mandarin, providing a rich language experience for children. It is acknowledged that Mandarin may be a child’s additional language; therefore, teachers will use the principle of differentiating and scaffolding language learning to support each child’s learning needs.

Fostering Independence

Our carefully developed transition time supports your child to feel comfortable as they enter an unaccompanied programme for the first time.  Our teachers provide a nurturing environment where your child will feel safe, secure, and grow in confidence. 

Through our play-based approach our Stepping Stones curriculum encourages your child to learn alongside others, explore their emotions, build friendships, and create memories.  You will see your child become more independent as their self-care skills grow.  Such things as being a responsible member of the classroom community, looking after their own belongings and helping others, are all part of their growing independence. 

At this stage your child is gaining greater control of their physical self.  We develop this even further with our smart steps programme and our believe that a moving child is a learning child.  Watching a scarf or leaf gently float to the ground or keeping a balloon in the air is strengthening your child’s eye muscles and prepares them for early reading and writing.  Having their core muscles knowing what to do (automated) means your child can spend more time thinking, creating, and solving problems; and not worrying about trying to keep their balance.   

Smart steps is included in all our programmes, with a deeper emphasis in our Stepping Stones programme. 

Smart Steps

Physical experiences and play activities in early childhood help lay down the cognitive wiring that will one day help your child to learn, problem solve and accomplish all the other things throughout their life.

Using the physicality’s of senses, balance, intuition, power, coordination, and control, we provide a well-balanced progression of move-to-learn activities for the children, creating a daily movement diet that builds the body and fosters the deep and intricate neural wiring in the brain that occurs in the early years.

The inclusion of language enriches the learning power of movement by providing the brain with the stimulation it needs to translate tangible experiences into new concepts and eventually into abstract thinking.

Smart Steps is included in all our programmes, with a deeper emphasis in our Stepping Stones programme.

Inquiring Minds

As your child enters Pre-School, they have become more independent. They are seeking more control over what they wish to learn and can share their ideas and wonderings. We take your child’s inquiries and help them to make connections to what they know, as we guide them to build deeper, broader, and richer understandings of an idea. 

Our play-based learning engagements set out to assist your child to explore ideas that will give them a strong foundation in readiness for primary school. Your child will engage in storytelling, role plays, creating songs and poems, or showing different patterns for the number 7, alongside the teaching of phonics and early reading and maths.   

Your child is also growing in their sense of belonging and understanding who they are. This includes understanding friendships, emotions, and their wellbeing. Our teachers expertly weave these into everyday learning, so your child experiences these as equally important. 

In one of our campuses, we offer an Academic Acceleration Programme for those families who wish to have a more academic approach to their child’s teaching and learning. 

21st Century Learner

Being a 21st Century learner means your child is equipped with the skills to think, adapt and creatively problem solve in a changing environment. In our Prep for Primary programme, your child will be supported in developing their reading, writing and maths skills, and in using these skills as they investigate global issues, scientific challenges, and personal projects. 

Leadership opportunities are supported by our Outdoor Education programme. Further opportunities are created for our children to give back to the community, whether it is through fundraising for charities or making the community aware of environmental issues. 

Digital technology is used to enhance your child’s learning, through connecting with other schools, collaborating on projects, or creatively sharing their learning. We also have a Digital Citizenship curriculum that supports safe and good practice, when using technology.

21st Century Learner

The pandemic has had far-reaching effects on children. Perhaps the most concerning of these effects is learning and social regression. It’s this gap that Woodland Pre-Schools is tackling with its new Academic Acceleration Programme (AAP) – to accelerate children’s progress and promote school readiness.

The importance of early childhood education cannot be emphasised enough. This programme will increase progress beyond the normal rate, with learning outcomes carefully monitored in line with the EYFS guidelines and strengthened with an added emphasis on literacy and numeracy.

Woodland is well aware that the pandemic has posed significant challenges to the wellbeing of young children. In addition to academic support, there is also strong support for children’s wellbeing as well as creating a safe environment where they can pursue their own interests and engage in activities that bring meaning and purpose.

 

WHO

  • To children 2.8-4 years old and 4-5 years old
  • For the families who want the rigorous approach and need the extra support for school readiness.

WHERE

Mid-Levels Campus

WHAT

Schedule: 5 days a week, A.M. + P.M.

  • A.M: Morning will have an academic focus on reading, writing, maths, and phonics.
  • P.M: Afternoons will emphasize both Woodland’s Programme of Inquiry and its extracurricular offerings.

Guided Sessions:

  • Small group instructional teaching
  • Short focused session
  • Deliberate acts of teaching
  • Observations recorded
  • Plan for the next learning step
  • Regular assessment and monitoring of progress

GOAL

  • Balancing wellbeing and academic excellence
  • To prepare your child’s readiness for BIG school
  • Ready to make an easy and successful transition into any International Primary School of your choice.

In AAP, the academic emphasis is complemented by attention to social-emotional and English-language development.

Gardening

Observing, understanding, and cultivating different types of plants builds
an appreciation for and understanding of the natural world. In this
programme, your child will engage in different gardening activities every
week, learning to identify and grow flowers, vegetables, and more.
The children will learn about planting, nurturing and harvesting their crop
as well as understanding more about how the change in weather can
affect our plants and what will grow.

Gardening

Mini Makers

In Mini Makers, your child will make many things! Sort, stack, stick, or
sew; it’s all about creativity and fun. It’s the ideal programme for young
makers interested in DIY, creating, crafting, tinkering and learning.
Each class in this season will introduce your little artists to different
countries, using art and craft as a medium to understand and
appreciate the diverse cultures that make up our vibrant world.

mini makers

Let us show you more!

Discover a world of opportunities under one roof. Our truly international education creates and offers choices of nursery and kindergarten curricula suited to your child's future path. To learn more about us and what our international pre-schools in Hong Kong offer, feel free to fill out and submit an enquiry form and our experienced admissions team will get in touch with you shortly. We are happy to get back to you and assist you with any questions you may have or with selecting the most suitable campus for your child.