Our Early Years Programme is a vibrant educational journey designed to ignite the curiosity and passion for learning in our youngest students. Catering to the developmental needs of children aged 2 to 5 years old, our programme offers a nurturing environment where young minds flourish.
GIS Early Years encompasses Alpha for students aged 2, Early Years 1, 2 and 3 for students respectively aged 3, 4 and 5.
It’s a crucial phase where children lay the foundation for a lifetime of learning.
Reggio and PYP Approach
Our Ateliers
Play Based Learning
Learning Documentation
We pride ourselves on the renowned International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP), enriched with a Reggio Emilia inspired approach.
The Primary Years programme puts children at the centre of learning and encourages educators to draw from different educational approaches around the globe to ensure students are listened to, engaged in learning and that there is a strong connection between home and school.
The keystone of the Reggio Approach is the image of children and teachers as capable, resourceful researchers, interested in inquiring seriously into the world around them. Such thoughtful engagement includes working through theories, thoughts, feelings and values in multiple modes of representation, such as drawing, dance, clay, music, painting, light and shadow, design and building.
It includes the teacher research of pedagogical documentation in which teachers inquire into children’s thinking and understanding, invite children to revisit documentation, and study documentation in order to propel curriculum further. It includes the notion of children as full participants in their society, and creators of culture for others to study and enjoy.
At GIS we are inspired by the concept of the Hundred Languages which is proposed by Loris Malaguzzi as a way of considering the child.
Our Atelierista connects with the homeroom educators to create awe and wonder through different creative inquiries. The Atelierista sees an inquiry from new perspectives and works with students in small groups to develop creative and critical thinking skills in the students.
As Albert Einstein said “play is the highest form of research.”
At GIS Monza we take play-based learning very seriously throughout the school. The IB provides guidance on the different types of play used in Early Years and thanks to all the different learning environments we have at GIS, we are able to provide children with many varied and exciting opportunities for play.
Play-based learning allows our students to explore and grapple with challenging concepts through exploration, taking risks, role–playing, investigating and testing hypotheses. Play-based learning also takes place outside of the classroom in the outdoor environments within the school and at Monza Park.
At GIS Monza we believe in many different play-based approaches such as:
Our Early Years classes each have a Homeroom Base where the morning assembly takes place to determine the different proposals for the day. Each Homeroom has a role play area, different resources for play, a book area and messageria to promote mark making and message making.
In order to promote different types of thinking through the 100 Languages approach, students move to a variety of Atelier spaces over the course of a week to explore in small groups and to consider concepts from a variety of perspectives.
Digital Atelier
Clay Atelier
Colour Atelier
The Piazza
Atelier di Gusto
Orto
Performing Arts Atelier
Physical Education
Story-Telling Atelier
Something which sets the GIS Early Years schools apart is our approach to documenting learning.
Every day parents receive a diary which explains the group learning that has taken place throughout the day and gives examples of what was said by the students and the play they engaged in. This gives parents an opportunity to view the class daily activities and to give a starting point for discussion with the child on what happened during the day.
At the end of a unit of inquiry (4 times per year) parents receive a complete documentation in PDF which tells the journey the class has been on – these are glorious documents which really show the development of thinking and exploration through the unit.
In February and June, parents receive a report detailing the individual progress of their child with some suggestions of next steps along the learning journey.
