Kindergarten in Aramoun: where learning begins.

A day in Kindergarten

Mornings begin with circle time, a story and the day's plan, in English. Children move between short, guided activities and play: phonics and early reading, counting and shapes, art, music and movement, and time outdoors. Arabic has its own daily session with its own teacher, so both languages are heard, spoken and sung from the first week. The day ends with a calm wind-down before pick-up at 15:00.

What children learn

• English. Listening, speaking, phonics and the first steps of reading and writing, through stories, songs and play.
• Arabic. Spoken Arabic, letters and sounds, songs and stories, as a daily core subject.
• Early numeracy. Counting, patterns, shapes, measuring and sorting with real objects.
• The world around us. Nature, seasons, the body, the community, through projects and outings.
• Creativity and movement. Art, music, physical education and free play every day.
• Social skills. Sharing, turn-taking, kindness, independence in dressing and eating, and confidence to speak in a group.

Joining with no English

Many of our Kindergarten children arrive with little or no English. That is normal and expected. Teachers use routines, pictures, songs and gestures, and children pick up the language quickly in a setting where they hear it all day. By KG3 most are reading simple English books.

From KG3 to Grade 1

Kindergarten at CHS is the start of a continuous path. The same campus, the same systems and often the same families carry on into Elementary, so the move to Grade 1 is a step up, not a new school.

Admission to Kindergarten

Children are placed by age: KG1 from age 3, KG2 from age 4, KG3 from age 5. There is no entrance test; new children are observed in a play setting so the teacher can plan for them. See the admissions steps and documents.