THE SCHOOL
KINDERGARTEN
Presentation
In France, kindergarten is the school for the very first years of schooling. The age and specific rhythms of young children aged 2 to 6 are taken into account in the organization of school life.
A dedicated teaching team supervises students and ensures their personal development.
At EFAD, the kindergarten welcomes the TPS, PS, MS and GS levels, divided into different classes according to the pedagogical projects set up by the teachers.
Each class is taught by a lead French teacher, with regular input from the Spanish teacher. English is taught from Grande Section. Nursery assistants are also present in each class. A teacher-documentalist welcomes children and leads library sessions.
The teaching team is made up of 3 language teachers, 7 assistants and 1 librarian.
Kindergarten is not a day-care center, but a place for learning. It is therefore a school in its own right, with specific features linked to the young age of the children enrolled.
The challenges
"Kindergarten must be a school of success for all, within a school that is fair for all and demanding for everyone. (...)
"Kindergarten is a caring school. Its main mission is to inspire children to go to school to learn, affirm and develop their personalities.
It is based on a fundamental principle: all children are capable of learning and progressing.."
( cf BO of March 26, 2015)
EFAD draws up its programs by class level, in line with the official programs laid down by the French Ministry of Education.
EFAD's strengths
In total harmony with official texts, EFAD wishes to commit to the following points:
Teachers adapt to the age and maturity of each child.
The importance of the notion of socialization and "living together", which is one of the major challenges of kindergarten. At school, we learn to live together, to accept each other's differences, to respect, to encourage, to gain confidence; in short, we learn to grow.
Learning through play. In kindergarten, we work in workshops, sometimes in groups, sometimes independently. In line with the curriculum, learning is essentially done through play. There's nothing like learning while having fun.
EFAD's pedagogical approach is based on kindness and positive assessment. Only acquired skills are validated. Children have until the end of Grande Section to validate a given number of skills.
Great communication with families. The school is open to parents. They are regularly invited to take part in various projects.
Areas of expertise
In kindergarten, teaching is divided into 5 skill areas:
Mobilize language in all its dimensions
Acting, expressing oneself, understanding through physical activity
Acting, expressing oneself, understanding through artistic activities
Building the first tools for structuring thought
Explore the world
Each of these five areas is essential to a child's development and has its place in the organization of daily time.
In the context of a French school abroad, theteaching of the local language is automatically integrated into the school curriculum.
Spanish is integrated into the curriculum at a rate of 4h30 to 3h per week. This time is divided into Spanish solos and doublettes (during which both French and Spanish teachers work with students on joint projects). An introduction to English is also offered from Grande Section onwards.
Opening hours
Nursery school opening times are as follows (excluding extra-curricular activities):
7.45 a.m. to 1.30 p.m., Monday to Friday
BCD
Every week, depending on class time, the BCD welcomes kindergarten and elementary school pupils (from TPS to CM2). The BCD sessions are devoted to discovering children's literature, the book as an object, and how to tidy up and find their way around the library. A range of activities are on offer: storytelling, book-related games, various projects, media and information literacy, etc.
EFAD's BCD provides users with over 6,000 documents in French, English and Spanish, divided between the kindergarten and elementary school libraries.
The primary BCD offers a permanent service at check-out time so that pupils can change books.
LENDING DOCUMENTS
Pupils and staff can borrow all BCD documents (albums, comics, stories, documentaries, novels, poetry, theater, magazines) with the exception of dictionaries, encyclopedias and certain specialized works.
The number of loans is limited to 1 for a period of 7 days. It is always possible to extend a loan.
Specimen textbooks in various disciplines are available in the BCD for teachers, as well as educational manuals.
Any lost document will have to be replaced by another one according to the following criteria:
Identical document
Document of the same genre and theme
Document by the same author