Kindergarten
Department Goals
AIS Kindergarten Department provides your child with an opportunity to learn and practice the essential social, emotional, problem-solving, and study skills that he/she will use throughout his/her schooling.
The development of self-esteem is one of the important goals of kindergarten. This is the process of helping your child feel good about who he/she is and confident in his/her ability to tackle the challenges of learning.
AIS Kindergarten teaches cooperation: the ability to work, learn, and get along with others. A year in kindergarten provides your child with the opportunity to learn patience, as well as the ability to take turns, share, and listen to others – all skills that he will use throughout his school years.
Most children are naturally curious, but some do not know how to focus or use this curiosity. Kindergarten is a time for sparking and directing your child’s curiosity and natural love of learning.
Ideal Kindergarten
Ask any number of educators and parents, and you will get many different descriptions of the ideal kindergarten. But there are certain basic agreements among educators as to what makes a good program. It should:
- Expand your child’s ability to learn about (and from) the world, to organise information, and to solve problems. This increases his feelings of self-worth and confidence, his/her ability to work with others, and his/her interest in challenging tasks.
- Provide a combination of formal (teacher-initiated) and informal (child-initiated) activities. Investigations and projects allow your child to work both on his/her own and in small groups.
- Keep large group activities that require sitting and listening to a minimum. Instead, most activities feature play-based, hands-on learning in small groups. As the year progresses, large group activities become a bit longer in preparation for 1st grade.
- Foster a love of books, reading, and writing. There are books, words, and kids’ own writing all over the classroom.
Curriculum
When looking at programs, keep these elements in mind — as well as the specific needs of your child and family. Not every program is perfect for every child. Some children thrive in a program with more direction, some with less. Talk to your child’s preschool teacher, visit a few schools, and talk to the KG Supervisor or a kindergarten teacher before deciding.
Always give the program and teacher some time to get the year going. If you observed the class in the spring and it seems different when your child starts in the fall, there may be a good reason. Many programs start slowly, taking time to help children separate from their families and feel confident in school before adding learning demands.
If after a few weeks you still have concerns, talk to the teacher. You are welcome to call the KG Reception and make an appointment to meet your child’s teacher during her office hours. Ask her about her goals and share your expectations. Sometimes an apparent mismatch can be just a difference in approach. Keep the dialogue going. Ask for information, but also be willing to hear the “whys” of the teacher’s philosophy.
Still, there are times when a teacher or her approach is not the right fit for your child. Then it is time to talk with the Supervisor and Student Counsellor. Come prepared with clear points you want to make. This will help the KG Supervisor and Student Counsellor see what the problem is and make suggestions to help your child.
Sometimes (but rarely) children need to switch to a different teacher or school. This can be the result of many classroom observations of your child by the teacher, supervisor, student counsellor, and/or another professional. It is important to have group consensus on this decision.
KG Dress Code
It is mandatory for your children to wear the school uniform as provided by the school on a daily basis without exceptions.
- Boys: Dark blue trousers and cyan shirts.
- Girls: Dark blue trousers, long-sleeved white shirt and gray vest.
- Closed shoes and socks must be worn. Sandals or slippers are not allowed.
- When students have classes then the appropriate clothing required for their physical Education classes must be worn.
- PE uniform: Dark blue sweatpants with a white T-shirts (half-sleeves) and sneakers are mandatory.
- The uniform shop called (Al-Abdulkarim) carries the uniform with the emblem on the shirt and the t-shirt.
- The wearing of chains is not permitted.
- Short trousers are not permitted.
- Skirts or dresses are not permitted.