Fireflies

The Giving Tree Hub Private Kindergarten is a warm and cosy environment, a hub, that allows our students channel their inner creativity and natural scientist within themselves.  We are an accredited department by The Ministry of Education. We believe our students have rights over their learning and we do not aim to “fit” children to our program, however, we fit the program to our children through personalization. At The Giving Tree we have a guided belief that children’s ideas are worthy of consideration.

We provide the richest learning environment possible through a balance of child-directed Project Based Learning and the acquisition of academic skills. Through child-directed project work, children wonder about various topics (often getting inspiration from their environment), direct their learning by formulating questions and plans to find out answers, and ultimately discovering answers or formulating new questions collaboratively.

Throughout project work, children are applying and learning academic concepts. When children are given the freedom and time to explore and think for themselves, they will inevitably probe deeper into their topic and gain a true understanding of the subject matter.

This type of learning is critical for children to develop a strong sense of self. When children are in the driver’s seat of their learning they are fully motivated and engaged. They are able to constantly practice the entire process of Wondering, Investigating, Discovering and Educating themselves! It is a true gift for children to own a part of their educational life.

Academic skills are not only explored through project work it is taught using the 100 languages approach by our teachers. This means that skills and knowledge are taught in many different and unique ways. Art is used as a vehicle to learn symmetry. Music is used as a vehicle to learn social studies. Gardening is used as a vehicle to learn and apply mathematical concepts. All information taught by teachers is done in a multi-sensory way and children are given ample opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge through a variety of engaging and rich experiences.

Ultimately, all areas of academic work are deeply intertwined and approached with a sense of connection. Math is present in art, gardening, and cooking. Reading is present in history, poetry, and science. Science is present in art, food, and music.

Mathematics

The study of math is approached with passion and a sense of awe. We understand that learning math is far more than just rote memorization or the mastery of algorithms. Children need to truly understand numbers and their relationship to each other. Our students are given ample time to truly master concepts. We provide our children with a variety of rich experiences that allow them to make these connections and construct their own knowledge. The more hands-on experiences we provide, the more skilled our children become at determining when and how to apply the most effective and efficient mathematical tool for any situation. The benefits of building and construction are countless. It is also critical for children to work together and teach each other. Time is precious gift given to our students.

English and Language Arts

We have a strong and multifaceted reading and writing program. Our goal is for children to be excited about both! Aside from implementing specific learning strategies for reading, it is important to us that our children connect reading and writing to real life situations. Anything they learn in our school should be purposeful to enrich their lives. Reading and writing is also integrated into the children’s project work.

Additionally, the love of reading is central to our goal for the students, which at the heart of our new building we have created a beautiful library space for students to have access to.  The teachers carefully select books that will passionately engage the children and they share these books with the children through shared reading and read aloud. The children and teachers discuss, reflect, and dissect these books. Our children truly love books and the amount of learning and perspective they gain is immeasurable.  Through our celebration of books through The Giving Tree, to our Book Week events and to our theatrical performances our students develop a strong association with books and their characters

Science

The subject of science is essentially the study of life. What a captivating subject for young people! This broad subject begs to be learned through being immersed in it. Our students do the work of a real scientist: they observe, record, reflect, experiment, analyze, compare and communicate. Our students are lucky to be exposed to this daily but also through our much loved Kidslab and Masterkids program.  Our children are not taught isolated scientific facts, but rather they discover them on their journey through project work. We strive to create a scientific mind in our children. We want them to question, experiment, reason, and use critical thinking in all they do. We support them as explorers of their world.

Art

Art is a fundamental tool used and enjoyed by the children everyday. The atelieristas work closely with our students so they can support the children’s creative process.  It is not about the end product but the journey that took the there.

Every year, our students are exposed to art through many different channels but it is also celebrated through our “Only One You” project where children are able to showcase pieces of their work.  This always incorporates a “self study portrait”. This yearly project is a time for them to reflect on themselves and who they are. It is a powerful project centered around self acceptance, self awareness, and self expression. The children work with various teachers but also sometimes some external professionals. When outside professionals come to our school, they work with the children one on one to ensure the children’s vision comes to life.

Farm School

The Giving Tree would like to develop a generation of adventurous and conscious eaters by working closely with them through our farm school.  This program began as an afternoon club activity.   This program was warmly received by our students, and helped them gain so many real life experiences from it.  Children gain crucial skills when they are out in nature.  They also learn something very important when they grow a tomato themselves.  Caring for a plant for weeks, waiting to eat the literal fruits of their labors, students learn that producing food is hard work and a field trip to a farm or a taste test served by a farmer shows students there is a face behind their food, and there is land in their community that helps sustain them.  Farm School is a movement for children to understand the following:

-Growing vegetables and fruits in our own greenhouse

-Composting

-Tasting local foods, fruits and vegetables

-Growing an edible school garden

-Recycling

-In class food prep – Taste Tests

-Field trips to farms and garden communities

Our School has a beautiful little farm with chicks, ducks, rabbits, and lost of other wondrous creatures that the children love and enjoy interacting with everyday.

At The Giving Tree Hub Private Kindergarten we believe our students have rights over their learning and we aim to make it as meaningful as possible through personalized learning and multi-sensorial approaches.  Our approach is innovative, personal and helps cultivate students that “think” instead of do.