Preschool is a very important year in children’s education at AEBS. For most of the children it will be the first time they have attended school in any form and for many, the first time they spend time apart from their parents.
We are delighted that your child is part of our preschool family! We look forward to getting to know each child as we grow together this school year. Our preschool class will provide each child with a safe and loving learning environment. Each day will be filled with fun and exciting adventures to help your child develop spiritually, academically and socially. The class will be learning and exploring many concepts and thematic units throughout this year and we are excited to begin our journey together. To ensure that you and your child have a great preschool experience while at AEBS, it is crucial to have an open communication with your child’s teacher at all times.
Each month you will receive a calendar and a newsletter updating you on our weekly themes, class activities, and important events in the classroom. We will also send all correspondences home in your child’s folder via his/her book bag, so please check it daily!
We look forward to watching your child learn, grow and flourish through the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) for our youngest students in PP3 and PP4.
In Preschool much learning takes place through play and the program followed is appropriate to the age of the children in terms of their development.
- Provide each child with a warm and safe environment for learning.
- Allow children to settle into the routines of school life calmly and confidently.
- Stimulate each individual child with a broad set of experiences beyond those they are already familiar with.
- Promote independent learning and active involvement in the learning process.
- Develop basic skills and knowledge in line with overall targets for children at AEBS.
- Enable children to form good relationships with peers and adults.
- Encourage an acceptance of all cultures.
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
This comes about mainly through play. Play contributes to the development of the child as a whole, cognitively, physically and emotionally.
Physical Development
Movement, and learning to move helps children think and socialize and it supports their physical development. Physical development is about the change in size of the body, how various parts of the body work together and about strengthening the body and all its parts. It is about developing more control, coordination and balance and is about the refinement of gross and fine motor skills. The children learn to move to
music, work on small and large apparatus’s and learn simple ball skills.
Creative and Aesthetic Development
This means offering opportunities to develop and express their fine and gross motor skills, together with their artistic, musical and kinesthetic abilities, encouraging different modes of expression, verbal, non-verbal and most importantly offering opportunities to make informed choices.
Language Development
Children’s learning and communication skills are fostered as they talk with adults and as they play with their peers. By using carefully chosen comments and open questions, adults can assist children in their thinking and help build their confidence in the use of language. Children have access to a wide variety of play activities and are encouraged to talk about their experiences, ideas, feelings and achievements to one another and to adults.
Early Mathematical Experiences
This is the foundation for mathematics. Children are encouraged to be active mathematicians, expressing mathematical ideas, making mathematical discoveries and solving practical problems. They are provided with a range of stimulating and interesting experiences.
Knowledge and Understanding of the World
Children are encouraged to explore materials and find out how it can change. We provide opportunities for children to explore and experiment, also allowing them to practice new skills developing an awareness and understanding of early science concepts. Children need opportunities to gather information and satisfy their curiosity, explore, discover and solve problems. This is encouraged by hands-on IT in daily experience and eventually the use of the computer.AEBS will offer a “PYP Workshop” for parents new to the Primary Years Programme (PYP) as part of the International Baccalaureate®.
The objective is to create an understanding of the PYP philosophy and pedagogy through hands-on experience.
Parents will get a taste of what happens in a PYP classroom and take part in inquiry-based learning experiences in four different stations. AEBS Parents will get a deeper insight into what trans-disciplinary teaching and learning look like in Language, Math, Science and Social Studies in brief 20-minute sessions. The focus is on concepts rather than content and how it is communicated in each station.
The learning experience is woven together by a common central idea under the theme “Sharing the Planet.” Parents also get an overview of the philosophy and importance of the Learner Profile in the PYP curriculum. At each station, you will be able to demonstrate your understanding through a variety of assessment tools such as the continuum, rubric and checklist. At the end, parents will be asked to reflect on their learning and provide feedback.
Austin Eco Bilingual School will be implementing a new program that will develop good practices in terms of learning and service.
Teachers will focus on how to incorporate curriculum content and collaborative practices into a school project. To ensure success, AEBS will be collaborating with the programs. We will be working on 15 days of Caring TIPS to contribute to the growth of a fraternal and cooperative culture in Latin American through the development of service-learning projects.
These projects will equip each child with roots and wings to thrive in a global world. Our students grow roots through celebration of the diverse cultural and linguistic heritages and traditions at AEBS.
Some of our programs are:
- Kid’s Global View
- Bridge Project for Education
- 15 Days of Caring
- Passport for Peace Project
- Green Apple Day of Service
- Love for Heroes Project
- Angel Tree Project
- Elderly Love Project
- A Love Toy Project
- Shelter Project
Austin Eco Bilingual School aims to develop students who are ethical, public-minded and who possess a pluralistic outlook. Both curricular and co-curricular activities work to educate effective home-grown leaders who are actively engaged in their local communities and are aware of the implications of their actions.
Not only do these opportunities provide an environment to explore and enhance skills such as cooperation and problem solving, they also enable students to set personal goals and challenge themselves.
Leadership activities instilled gives participants a sense of community ownership, creativity and a collaborative spirit, which prepares them for a lifetime of active engagement and leadership.
Pre-Toddler
Pre-Toddler Program (Reggio Emilia approach/Nido 2)
Our curriculum is designed to guide and develop the social, emotional, self-control, physical and neurological skills needed for future success. Although many academic concepts are introduced, the focus remains on each child’s development and how he/she fits into his or her environment.
Highlights
Communication skills are a vital component of the curriculum as children expand their vocabularies and assign meaning to new experiences. With our Spanish immersion approach, pre-toddlers are rapidly learning a second language as quickly as their native language.
Exploring the world inspires a child to examine, create, and share as he broadens his language through interactions with his teachers and classmates in a safe, nurturing environment. Sensory and repetitive activities transform these new experiences into
knowledge.
Our program also incorporates circle time, music, art and dramatic play to encourage and shape your child’s creativity and imagination. Activities promote the development of physical skills, from running and jumping, to dressing and pre-writing. In our community of exploration, your child can learn, grow and celebrate the world around him/her.
The pre-toddler classroom provides a developmentally appropriate learning environment where children are free to explore and grow cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally. The pre-toddler environment at AEBS is set up to nurture a child’s inherent curiosity by enabling children to explore and discover. AEBS focuses on fostering each child’s self-confidence and positive self-image. The program also focuses on each child’s social skills and instills a positive attitude toward learning.
Practical Life
This area of the curriculum is the bridge for young children between home and school. They are able to do adult activities they see at home while fostering skills to learn to take care of their environment as well as themselves. The aim of these activities is for the child to attain independence, a sense of order, concentration and coordination. Practical life activities include buttoning, zipping, tying, washing ones hands etc. Activities related to environmental care are: cleaning, polishing, food preparation, watering plants etc. Practical life also includes fine motor development such as pouring, cutting, balancing etc. Practical life activities also work on the child’s social development. This includes their interpersonal skill, grace and courtesy, speaking and participating in a group.
Sensorial
In sensorial the child discovers the world around him/her through the use of his/her senses. Children come to know and understand the world they live in through their five senses. Our classrooms have sensorial materials, such as essences to smell, textures, sound cylinders, etc. that will help a child to understand and internalize the concepts of size, shape, color, taste, touch and sound. These materials build the foundation for developing skills in the areas of music, mathematics and language.
Language
The language curriculum focuses on oral language of Spanish immersion learning experiences (singing, finger plays, stories, conversation time) and pre-reading and pre-writing work. Language is built on foundations established in the first two years of life. Materials in the classroom and our native Spanish teachers help them enhance their language abilities and learn a second language. AEBS exposes our students to sounds in the Spanish immersion language that will create dedicated neurons in the auditory cortex of your child’s brain resulting in greater brain capacity.
Math
Children begin their journey in mathematics by going from the concrete to the abstract. The learning experiences are presented in real life scenarios and sensorial exercises which helping children begin their exploration of mathematics. Concrete math materials enable the mathematical mind of the toddler to journey from the concrete to the abstract through manipulation and experimentation. Children first explore the concept of quantity or “how many.” AEBS strongly believes that children build upon each other in a natural progression, encouraging discovery. From there, the child moves on to using symbols or written quantities, and then begins to combine quantities for the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Neuro-movement
AEBS pre-toddler programs embrace the joy of early motor development through the exploration of concept-based creative movement. Based on the “Brain-Gym” program, these teaching techniques delight in the movement through the different routines. The kinesthetic vocabulary encourages age- appropriate neurological, emotional and physical development using movement, rhythm and instruments. It’s a wonderful bonding experience for all. Our program is designed to enhance motor skills, social skills and self-esteem. It also enhances physical fitness, balance, and imagination.Infants
Early Stimulation Program (Reggio Emilia approach/Nido 1)
We strongly believe that the first years of life are the foundation for a child’s future life performance.
Our Infant Curriculum focuses on offering experiences that enhance exploration in all sensory areas from 3 months to 12 months with milestone development based on research activities that awaken and integrate a child’s neurological system. Sensory based activities assist in developing a child’s social, physical and future academic success.
The main goal of our neurologically and sensory based infant program is to enhance a child’s brain capacity and emotional maturity level.
Highlights
Children develop at their own pace. AEBS supports the research that says that the early stages of development — from birth until around age 3 — determine the person that he/she will be in adult life. This time period is filled with a number of milestones, including talking and walking. To grow productively and effectively during this time, children require support in the development of specific behaviors.
As they move through the early stages of development, children begin to experience the world through all five of their senses.
Social/Emotional Development:
AEBS provides an opportunity for each infant to develop positive and nurturing relationships with peers, adults, and their environment. Interaction and relationships are one of the most important areas of a child’s early development. All infants need productive and safe relationships. A child cannot learn and grow if he is constantly scared, hungry, thirsty or otherwise stressed. Hugs, kisses, touch and holding as much as possible in the early developmental stages is critical to healthy emotional development. This will deepen the bond between the child and the adult but will also make the child feel safe and content, allowing his/her mind to focus on learning and growing in other areas.
Physical Development:
AEBS provides an environment that fosters growth in gross and fine motor development at developmentally appropriate levels for each infant.
Intellectual Development:
AEBS provides an environment that fosters growth in language, critical thinking, exploration, concentration and sensorial skills at developmentally appropriate levels for each infant.
Language Development:
AEBS provides an opportunity for each infant to develop expressive and receptive language with other infants and caregivers.
Neurological Development
The first three years of life are a period of incredible growth in all areas of a baby’s development. A newborn’s brain is about 25 percent of its approximate adult weight. But by age 3, it has grown dramatically by producing billions of cells and hundreds of trillions of connections, or synapses, between these cells. While we know that the development of a young child’s brain takes years to complete, we also know there are many things parents and caregivers can do to help children get off to a good start and establish healthy patterns for life-long learning. Austin Eco Bilingual School has created an early stimulation program that dedicates individual time to each baby. Babies are exercised in all sensory areas which helps build neuronal connections.We strongly believe that Early Stimulation is crucial to a child’s healthy development.
There is important new scientific evidence that suggests the first three years of life are much more important in the Long-term development of young children than previously believed. Researchers now confirm that the way parents interact with their young children and the experiences they provide them have a big impact on their youngster’s emotional development, learning skills, and how they function later in life. Touching, holding, rocking, talking, listening and reading, or just playing with a child dramatically influences the young child’s brain development.
Our Early Stimulation Program is in alignment with the sensorimotor stage of Jean Piaget who called the first two years of this stage of life the most important. During this time, an infant’s cognitive development is mainly focused on coordinating sensory information with motor experiences. The cells of the brain are in place, but synapses or connections between neurons will continue to form. Piaget called this the Simple Reflexes phase. Stimulating all five senses can help the child adjust to her own body as it grows and changes and prepare her to face new experiences as she gets older. Our Infant Program follows the latest research in infant development and applies this knowledge in a complete Spanish immersion environment with native speakers of the Spanish language.
1701W. Anderson Ln Austin TX 78757
