Parent-Toddler Programme
Age : 18 months to 2+ years
Duration : 1 Hour / two times a week
Location : Green Park & Max Towers
AGE GROUP:
18 m – 5 years
The Learning Matters Early Years programme was born from the innate need in India for a new and better approach to early childhood education that was intentional and responsive. The programmes are developed with an emphasis on respect, responsibility and community involvement. Children are protagonists of their learning and explore and discover themselves and the world around them in a supportive and rich environment, where the curriculum emerges and is created from the interest of children.
Our curriculum focuses on play and concrete, hands-on learning through diverse engagements such as block building, imaginative play, stories, music and movement, cooking, and trips to explore the world beyond the classroom.
Our Approach
We value children as strong, capable and resilient; rich with wonder and knowledge. Our philosophy is rooted in the innate curiosity present in each child and aims to assist them with understanding their world and their role in it.
Our approach in Early Years emerges from innovative and inspiring research based practices based on holistic child and brain development. Our emergent curriculum is play-based and child-directed. We strive to develop a learning community committed to the co-construction of knowledge in the context of collaboration between children, teachers and parents.
Our Schools, education centres and programmes are guided by the Reggio Emilia approach and revolve around the following fundamental guiding principles:
The Child
Our philosophy values the child as being central to his/her own
learning. Children are able to pursue their own interests and
revisit and build upon ideas at their own pace.
As advocates of a ‘100 languages of children’, a concept that
recognises that children have multiple ways of thinking,
playing, exploring, speaking and doing. Our approach
encourages children to use every tool they have to express
themselves.
Children at Learning Matters are active constructors of
knowledge, who are encouraged to be ‘researchers’. Most of
the educational experiences within the programmes take the
form of projects, where children have opportunities to actively
participate, explore and question things. Our Programmes
have a strong emphasis on the social and emotional
development of children. We support them as active members
of our community and encourage their relationships with
other children, teachers and parents.
Play
Children are naturally curious. They want to know about the
world around them. They do this by watching, listening,
moving, talking, feeling, exploring and questioning. These
interactions and experiences often involve and emerge
through play.
Through play, children can discover their own interests,
abilities and limitations; they imagine, investigate and explore.
They develop memory skills, build vocabulary, learn new skills
and knowledge and learn how to collaborate with other
children and adults.
Play is an essential part of childhood and is the natural way at
Learning Matters. When children play, they:
- Socialise
- Communicate
- Think creatively
- Negotiate
- Notice new things
- Repeat favourite things
- Overcome barriers and so much more!
Research and our experience have shown us that play supports
positive attitudes towards learning, providing a good
foundation for ongoing success at school and skills for
life-long learning.
The Environment
At Learning Matters, we view the environment as ‘the third
teacher’. Our playscapes are designed to be open and
free-flowing, enabling uninterrupted exploration, play and
learning.We value outdoor play and spaces and the design of
our programmes offer children equal opportunities for both
indoor and outdoor play. The educators and our team
intentionally create an atmosphere where children can feel a
sense of solace, agency and creativity.
The Educator
As guides on the side, our educators facilitate children rather
than direct them. At Learning Matters, it is important that
children freely express themselves, make mistakes and find
new solutions. The role of the educator is thus to gently nudge
children’s thinking towards their natural curiosity through
provocations and inviting engagements. This approach
focuses on careful observations of children and is carried out
over time.
Emergent Curriculum
Our curriculum for the programmes is dynamic and emerges
from the children’s interests, family communication, and close
observation by educators. Educators collaborate to conduct
planning sessions, compare their notes in order to decide on
invitations and engagements to support and extend each
child’s learning.
Documentation
In our Early Years Programme, educators intentionally plan,
observe and document children’s learning. This promotes
open communication between educators and parents.
The environment makes children’s learning visible and allows
both educators and parents to participate and reflect upon
their practice as collaborators keeping the child at the centre.
When children show interest in a particular area, educators
facilitate projects to encourage that interest. They document
each child’s learning and growth in a portfolio in addition to
regular communication through photographs,work samples
and daily observations.
Representational Development
The Early Years approach at Learning Matters invites children
to present their ideas and learning in myriad ways. Art,
movement and dance, music, stories are the ways that children
represent their understanding and growth. The belief that
learning and growth can be represented in many forms other
than the traditional approach of being represented through
the narrow approach of a child knowing shapes, colours,
numbers and letters. At Learning Matters we give space for
expressions to flourish and support each child to build
confidence and excitement about their learning.
Collaboration
As guides on the side, our educators facilitate children rather
than direct them. At Learning Matters, it is important that
children freely express themselves, make mistakes and find
new solutions. The role of the educator is thus to gently nudge
children’s thinking towards their natural curiosity through
provocations and inviting engagements. This approach
focuses on careful observations of children and is carried out
over time.
Our Programmes
This programme enables parents and children to engage
collaboratively through play. They engage in open-ended play
that supports the cognitive, physical and emotional
development of their child.
The programme is built on the foundations of child
development,neuroscience of early years development and
the role of community & play.
Our innovative and intentional playscapes encourage a safe
space for parent-toddler bonds to strengthen and share ideas
on developmentally appropriate practices and expectations.
The programme offers a safe space for us to
share,communicate,collaborate and build a like minded
community that wishes to learn and grow.
This program will offer the children
the opportunity to:
- Experience a wide range of expressive ideas
through several materials; clay, watercolors,
paints, light and shadow, collage, rhythm
and movement with drums and percussion. - Explore an environment that encourages
investigation, curiosity, imagination and
experimentation. - Discover the wonder of the natural world
though, sand, water, gardening and natural
materials. - Build relationships with other children and
parents through shared experiences and
negotiated play - Embark on a journey into self-discovery,
wonder and creativity.
This program offers parents
the opportunity to:
- Connect with other parents and discuss
contemporary issues on child rearing in a
safe and nurturing and guided environment. - Interact in a supportive and informative
environment where parents can explore and
enhance their parenting skills as they play
alongside their children. - Observe as the children gain confidence in
socialising and forming relationships with
their peers. - Gain insight into how children develop and
adapt practices that can enrich the
experience of raising and nurturing toddlers.
First Steps
Age : 2+ years to 4 years
Duration : 2/3 hours / 5 days a week
Location : Green Park & Max Towers
Our First Steps programme helps children transition from the
familiar world of home to a community of learners. In a safe
and caring environment, children build a sense of themselves
as individuals and as members of a larger social group.
Children are surrounded by dedicated, loving and
accomplished educators.
Social and emotional learning is at the core of our emergent
curriculum. As the time in the programme gradually increases,
children embrace the rhythms of life at school. Educators
support children to identify and name their feelings, recognise
the impact of their words and actions, and use language to
solve problems. Each child builds strategies for coping with
strong emotions and communicating with adults and peers.
Children follow a predictable routine within their classroom
community. Over the year, children gain their sense of
independence,autonomy and take ownership of their
environment while gradually being able to take responsibility
for caring for themselves and their classroom. Our emergent
curriculum helps children build a sense of self, discover their
role within a community, and recognize and appreciate
differences. As they learn through play, children build their
gross and fine motor skills, make meaning of their
experiences, and learn to express what they learn about the
world.
Children are encouraged to make choices in their play and to
work both individually and in small groups. They use natural
open-ended, sensory materials such as blocks, water-and-sand
play, drawing, painting, collage, clay, and small construction
materials.
As students become more comfortable and show emotional
readiness in the classroom, they may gradually move into the
3 hours programme. We take trips in the
neighbourhood—visiting markets, observing gardens with
sprouting buds and flowers, and collecting items from nature.
Throughout the year, we explore how things grow and change
and children discover new talents, abilities, and independence.
Right Start
Age : 4 years to 5 years
Duration : 4 hours/ five days a week
Location : Max Towers
The Right Start programme is geared for children who are
emotionally independent and can pursue their independent
thought through self driven experiences. In this program
children naturally develop their emerging language and
literacy, mathematical concepts, while engaging in play. They
are introduced to core themes of community and culture.
The Programme o ers children a strong foundation in how to
relate to the people, materials, and environment within their
community. In our programme, young learners begin to
expand their worldview and discover how to interact with
others in a shared space.
Social and emotional development is an important focus of
our curriculum. Children are encouraged to think about
concepts like negotiation,fairness and equality through their
interactions with one another. An appreciation of di erent
cultures is woven into everyday learning, in music, stories, and
class discussion.
Our curriculum encourages children to question, to form
connections, and to pursue their interests. We embrace each
child’s unique way of thinking and recognize that children
learn by both exploring and observing their environments.
Facilitation is tailored to individual interests and abilities, so
children start their academic journey with confidence.
01 Literacy
Our curriculum begins to hone it’s focus on literacy skills by adopting developmentally appropriate
ways to support children’s emerging language and literacy development. Each day includes
conversations, story reading, and written expressions.
The foundational concepts of sounds, syllables, words, and sentences are enriched through rhyms,
stories, listening games, and other engagements. Read-aloud stories are an essential part of each day.
Children enjoy books from various genres and formats and are prompted to make connections with the
characters or subjects through mark-making.
02 S.T.E.M
As always, we seek to spark the inquisitive minds through engaging, hands-on learning.
We encourage children to ask questions and follow their curiosities as they begin to shape their own
investigative processes. Engagements might include studying the life cycle of a butterfly or making
different kinds of ice cream as an experiment or building a robot. Children are encouraged to ask
“why?” through a variety of subjects and experiences.
In the Right Start Programme you won’t find students sitting in silence completing worksheets. Instead,
a mathematical lesson might arise from a simple question in a morning get-together: “Who has fruit in
their lunch today?” With the resulting data, the teacher might create a graph to visually represent the
information. With a focus on experiential learning and critical thinking, our STEM curriculum is both
student-focused and engaging.
As a community, the children discuss what it means to study something and how to go about doing it.
From their ideas about the studying process, the class gathers insights,observes and represents their
thinking through artistic endeavours. The learning emphasis is not so much on the WHAT but more on
the HOW . Children will continue to question the world around them and do their own research.
Whether the class is observing or caring for a classroom pet, planting a seed, or looking closely at a
composting system, they are following their curiosities and making use of the tools available to them
throughout their investigative process.
03 Art
Art in the Right Start Programme is rooted in creative discovery and freedom of expression. During the
year, children are encouraged to explore different materials to express their creative thinking. They are
supported through an environment that offers an array of rich materials.
Each engagement is rooted in a “motivation”—a question designed to spark thinking about materials
and mediums. Learning how materials work together and seeking answers promotes childrens’ growing
ability to form connections to their world.
04 Music & Movement
In the Right Start programme, children develop language, social skills through joyful musical
experiences.The concepts of rhythm, metre and melody are honed in a fun and engaging way. Children
are encouraged to be active music makers and contribute with ideas on words, rhythm and movement.
Children have access to a diverse range of instruments and are encouraged to sing and move.
Developmentally, many children create and imitate a steady beat. Classroom movement helps promote
experimentation with rhythmic movements such as skipping, tiptoeing, galloping, leaping, and freezing.
Music is embedded and integrated in the classroom learning throughout the day.