Early Childhood

The Early Childhood program at the International School of Dakar utilizes a developmental continuum within a two-year preschool framework (ages 3 to 5), embracing the knowledge that each child is unique in the rate of growth and development of skills. The curriculum is a carefully planned, thematic approach to teaching and learning designed to support children’s curiosity and stimulate their creativity. It offers children the opportunity to work in depth, giving them the time they need to reflect, consolidate and transfer their learning.  Direct experience is placed at the center of the curriculum so that teachers draw out and develop children’s thinking and capacities in meaningful contexts. All children are welcomed into a well-resourced and rich learning environment that promotes their sense of responsibility and autonomy.

Guiding Principles

Our curriculum and instructional methods are designed to emphasize these key characteristics of effective early childhood programs. Our curriculum is:

• engaging and experiential, providing continual opportunities for students to learn through inquiry, develop problem-solving and reasoning skills, and interact with peers,
• thematic-based, with integrated units that embrace science and social studies topics and include numerous opportunities for experience with literature, art, music and movement,
• constructivist and open-ended, allowing children to develop learning principles through play while building thinking skills,
• deliberately organized, allowing for optimal use of classroom space and resources,
• collaborative, including ongoing communication with parents to involve them in their child’s growth and development.