Early Childhood Learning
AGC’s offers a Dual Language, International Baccalaureate, Reggio-inspired Early Childhood program for students ages 3-5.
AGC’s Early Childhood Program
AGC’s Early Childhood program is a Dual Language, International Baccalaureate, Reggio-inspired program for students ages 3-5. Our approach to education is grounded in an inquiry-based IB philosophy, and is deeply inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to education, in which learning is constantly generated through student-centered experiences. All students —regardless of their linguistic background— learn in two languages: English and Spanish. The goal is bilingualism for all.
Classroom experiences are child-centered, and differentiated by nature. Through play and interactions with nature, peers and adults, children learn the language, emotional regulation, relationship building skills, social interaction and other executive function skills. The Creative Curriculum is used for planning classroom experiences and for lesson design.The curriculum is a standards-based, bilingual, language rich and developmentally appropriate curriculum that incorporates research-based best practices. AGC’s learning environments are designed to include learning centers where children engage in rich activities that involve math, science, reading and writing. Through hands-on activities, play and the exploration of the outdoors and nature students learn about themselves and the world around them.
International Baccalaureate (IB)
Play is more than fun. It is the key to unlocking a child’s potential to learn and grow. The PYP Early Years frees children to play and learn, so they can build the proven curiosity, creativity, problem-solving skills and confidence that they will need to thrive today, as well as into the future. AGC’s inquiry-based model of learning builds a strong foundation to support independent lifelong learning.
Dual Language
At AGC, students ages 3-5 are immersed in Spanish in a 90/10 model. Classes include students of different linguistic backgrounds (English-speakers, Spanish-speakers and simultaneous bilinguals, which are children who have been exposed to both languages and have different levels of proficiency). Everybody learns together in two languages, through an immersion program. Teachers engage with students 90% of the time, and English for 10% of the time. This model continues in grades K-8 (80/20 in K-1; 60/40 in 2-3 and 50/50 in grades 4 and above).
Reggio-Inspired
AGC’s Early Childhood Program adapts eight major elements of the Reggio Emilia Approach:
Image of the Child
Role of the Environment
Languages & Representation
Documentation
Emergent Curriculum
Parent Partnership
Collaboration
Professional Development
With these elements, learning is supported by learning problem-solving, creative thinking, and exploration in a way that is meaningful to children and encourages them to seek their own answers, and therefore construct meaning.
Image of the Child
Children are competent, resourceful, curious, imaginative, and inventive. They possess a desire to interact and communicate with others and construct their own learning. Children are encouraged to share ideas and hypotheses in order to develop an informed understanding of the world around them.
Languages and Representation
Since the beginning of humanity, we have tried to send messages that go beyond ourselves. The earliest evidence of this are the cave paintings of Lascaux and some of the giant symbols of hummingbirds and other animals in South America. These early images have paved the way for the symbolic languages we use today: literacy and visual art. Children express their knowledge through symbolic languages such as print, art, construction, drama, music, puppetry, and shadow play. Their work reveals emerging understandings of different content areas as well as their abilities to express themselves, work with others, and their awareness of how notations function.
Documentation
Documentation is gathered and displayed as a presentation of the process of learning.It makes children aware that their effort is valued, allows teachers to evaluate their own work, and makes parents aware of their children’s experience. Exhibiting a classroom’s work is necessary for children to express, revisit, construct, and reconstruct their feelings, ideas, and understandings.
Emergent Curriculum
Teachers observe and listen to the children in order to know how to proceed with their work. They ask questions and pose challenges to discover the children’s ideas, hypotheses, and theories. They compare, discuss, and interpret their observations with other teachers to make choices about how the classroom proceeds.
How Curriculum is Constructed
Classroom educators observe, challenge, provide interesting materials to children and document ongoing classroom experiences. The documentation can be in several different formats: teachers’ observations, photographs, videos and children’s artifacts.
Collaboration
Children, teachers, parents, and community members are interconnected and work together. Just as children are encouraged to work in small groups, cooperation at all levels allows for the achievement of complex goals by creating a community of adults and children learning together.
Parents as Partners
Parents are a competent and active part of their children’s learning experience. Their right to participation is encouraged and supported. Parents contribute to documentation, assist in the school, and take part in discussions on policy, child development conversations, and curriculum planning and evaluation.
