At NAFL, we look at early education as a great big canvas where children can splash as much colour as they can get! Our classroom environment in the pre-primary years offers a wide range of learning opportunities that excite, energise and empower young learners. We offer the Montessori and Kindergarten programmes at the early childhood level. Children begin Montessori at the age of three and follow a three-year programme. The children begin Kindergarten at the age of four and follow a two-year programme before they graduate to Grade 1. The main thrust of both programmes is to develop a natural curiosity, a love of knowledge and a spontaneous desire to learn.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten at NAFL offers holistic development and life-skills that meet all the developmental needs of a child. We like our children to enjoy learning and hence, our lessons are activity based, which means that we carefully plan and engage our children in hands-on work, stories, role play, field-trips and more. The environment created for learning is interactive. The children are encouraged to speak up, offer comments, discuss and question the world around them. All the fundamentals of phonics, reading, writing, numeracy, fine and gross motor control, personal, social and emotional maturity along with music, dance and theatre are laid in Kindergarten, which result in a life-long love for learning and responding.

Montessori

A typical Montessori classroom comprises a mixed age group ranging from 3 to 5 years. How do we manage children of various ages together? The answer lies in the materials. Different kinds of materials are specific to each group and are presented to them at the appropriate time following the pace of the child. These materials are usually grouped into 4 categories based on the areas they are used for.

• The Exercise of Practical Life have a calming effect on the child as they bring about a sense of peacefulness and a state of grace, leading to higher self-esteem and increased concern for others.
• Sensorial Materials help children sort out different impressions of the senses, making them more logical, perceptive, and aware of dimensions, colours, shapes and sizes.
• Dr Montessori says that “In its natural state, the human mind is already mathematical. It tends towards exactness, measure and comparison.” The exercises with the Math material offer the children the 'keys' that they will need to send them on the road to further exploration of their mathematical mind.
• Language is an integral requirement in the process of thinking. In a Montessori classroom, the child is encouraged to listen to and communicate with others. The language materials help the child become aware of sounds. Their symbols help her becomes fully articulate, to write, read and comprehend thoughts about herself and others.