Early Years Curriculum
Preschool International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program
Preschool learning is organized through Units of Inquiry that integrate early literacy, math, science, social-emotional learning, art, movement, and play. Students build foundational inquiry skills through playful exploration, sensory experiences, imaginative play, songs, stories, and guided conversation. Daily routines and collaborative play help develop communication, self-regulation, and social confidence. Note: Units may shift in timing/order year to year.
Unit of Inquiry
Central Idea: We are individuals with unique characteristics that help us develop relationships.
Students explore what makes each of us unique while also recognizing the similarities that connect us. They will reflect on their own characteristics, abilities, and interests, and learn about the different ways people live. Through this inquiry, students develop an appreciation for themselves and others, understanding that everyone has special qualities and things they can do.
Central Idea: Expressing our feelings can help us connect with others.
In this unit, students explore how recognizing and expressing feelings helps them connect with others. They will learn to identify their own emotions and understand the feelings of others. Students will also explore constructive ways to express emotions, using different tools and materials to share their ideas and feelings creatively.
Central Idea: Transportation systems are important in my world.
In this unit, students explore different kinds of transportation and how they help people move from one place to another. They will learn why transportation systems are important in everyday life and how they influence the way people live, work, and connect with others.
Central Idea: Animals have certain requirements in order to grow and stay healthy.
Students explore the characteristics of living and nonliving things. They will learn how living things depend on one another and interact with their environment. Students will also reflect on their responsibility to care for nature and protect living
Central Idea: We can explore our world through fairy tales.
Students use fairy tales to explore ideas about problem solving and creativity. They will work collaboratively to experiment with different solutions and observe cause-and-effect relationships in stories. Students will also explore how changing events in a fairy tale can lead to different outcomes, helping them understand how actions influence results.
Literacy
Phonological Awareness: Discriminate same/different sounds; join rhymes, fingerplays, and poems; listen for repeated words/phrases; fill in rhyming words; show beginning understanding of rhyme and alliteration; identify beginning sounds of familiar words; clap syllables in names and familiar words; make early letter-sound connections.
Listening: Attend to stories and fingerplays; follow simple and increasingly complex oral directions; respond to questions appropriately; participate in group discussion for short periods; recall story details; gain understanding through listening; begin distinguishing fantasy from reality; build understanding of time words like yesterday/today/tomorrow.
Writing: Develop tripod grasp and hand preference; use whole-arm and finger movements; scribble intentionally to convey meaning; make left-to-right marks/letter-like forms; copy simple shapes; draw a basic person with detail; use invented spelling and symbols; write some letters/numerals; print or copy first name; use pretend writing in play; label structures/signs with symbols or letters.
Mathmatics
Numbers: Count from memory (including to 10, count objects with one-to-one correspondence; understand that the last number counted tells “how many”; apply counting in routines; recognize that numbers represent quantity; forward and backward counting till 5, recognize and name some numerals; differentiate numerals from letters; begin writing numerals; use counting and number ideas in practical problem-solving.
Measurement: Compare amounts using words like more/less/some/many; use positional words (inside, under, behind, between); sort/classify by attributes; order objects by size/height/length with support; measure with nonstandard units and begin (paper clips, inch cubes, measuring cups/tape); measure in play and cooking; use early measurement vocabulary; estimate size and quantity.
Shape and Space: Compare and sort familiar shapes; identify common 2D shapes; create pictures with shapes; notice non-geometric shapes in nature; describe shape characteristics; compose/decompose shapes;
Pattern: recognize and create patterns in real life; predict what comes next in a pattern; create more complex repeating patterns.
Data Handling: Learn to sort and organise data(information) as tally marks, introduction to picto-graphs
Specialist (Music, Art, P.E, Spanish ) Overview
Art: Students explore familiar materials and tools through playful and guided experiences, developing confidence, curiosity, and enjoyment in creating. They begin to express ideas and emotions visually, laying the foundation for intentional choices and early engagement with the creative process.
Music: Basics of music, up and down, steady beat, echo songs, rhythms, learning to sing.
Physical Education: Locomotor movements: running, galloping, sliding, skipping, chasing and fleeing. Nonmanipulative: balancing, jumping and landing, stretching. Skill themes: throwing, catching, dribbling, volleying, punting, kicking, striking with implements, Pathways: straight, curved, zig zag Space Awareness: where the body moves, Cooperative games
Spanish: Verbal communication through songs, games, and routines related to body parts, family, counting, emotions, transportation, and animals/pets.
Pre-Kindergarten International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program
Pre-Kindergarten learning is organized through Units of Inquiry that integrate early literacy, math, science, social-emotional learning, art, movement, and play. Students build foundational inquiry skills through hands-on exploration, imaginative play, sensory experiences, conversation, and reflection. Teachers provide nurturing guidance as students learn to ask questions, communicate ideas, and work with others. Note: Units may shift in timing/order year to year.
Unit of Inquiry
Central Idea: Humans everywhere have the right to engage in a respectful relationship with others.
Students explore how respectful relationships help build strong and caring communities. They will learn how getting to know others and interacting positively can create a sense of belonging. Students will also develop an understanding of different perspectives and recognize how their actions can contribute to healthy and respectful relationships.
Central Idea: Families around the world have different customs and traditions.
Students explore how families around the world have different customs and traditions. They will learn how cultural rituals are passed down from generation to generation and discover similarities among family traditions. Students will also investigate historical practices from different continents to better understand cultures around the world.
Central Idea: Through creativity and design, we express our feelings and ideas.
Creativity and design allow us to express our feelings and ideas. Students will inquire about how imagination sparks new ideas and drives innovation. They will also investigate how expressing their thoughts and emotions through creative work helps bring their imagination to life.
Central Idea: Plants have basic needs in order to grow and stay healthy.
Students will inquire about the conditions required for plants to grow and stay healthy. They will also explore the basic needs of plants and the changes they go through as they grow. Students will investigate how plants have been traditionally used by people in different cultures and communities.
Literacy
Listening: Attend to read-alouds/storytelling for sustained periods; listen and respond in group discussions; notice tone/cadence; enjoy stories from varied sources.
Mathmatics
Measurement: Compare objects by size/weight/length (longer/shorter, heavier/lighter, more/less); sort/classify by multiple attributes; begin measuring with non standard tools/units; use measurement vocabulary (inch, cup, pound); estimate distance (steps), follow picture recipes, compare temperature, use time vocabulary, name days of the week, order daily events, and engage with calendars.
Patterns: Describe and extend patterns through music, rhythm, beats, simple line and shape patterns.
Data Handling: compares represented, begins to interpret information on a pictograph through simple questions, describes events as possible or not possible.
Shape and Space: Recognize, name, sort, and build 2D/3D shapes; classifies shapes according to number of sides, uses familiar shapes to create and recreate patterns, shows positional awareness- in front of, behind, beside, above, below etc. combine shapes to create figures; describe attributes of familiar shapes; investigate composing/decomposing shapes; explore symmetry;
Specialist (Music, Art, P.E, Spanish ) Overview
Art: Students experiment with materials and tools in increasingly bold ways, exploring effects and techniques to communicate ideas. They make deliberate creative choices, express feelings and ideas visually, and continue building foundational skills in observation, manipulation, and experimentation.
Music: Continued basics of music, up and down, basic rhythms, echo songs, learning to sing.
Physical Education: Locomotor movements: running, galloping, sliding, skipping, chasing and fleeing. Nonmanipulative: balancing, jumping and landing, stretching; Skill themes: throwing, catching, dribbling, volleying, punting, kicking, striking with implements; Pathways: straight, curved, zig zag, Space Awareness: where the body moves Relationships: far, near, in front, behind, partners and groups
Spanish: Vocabulary and communication through songs, stories, and games connected to classroom/community members, traditions and fairy tales, art (colors/shapes/opinions), and plants/foods.
Kindergarten International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program
Kindergarten learning is organized through Units of Inquiry that integrate early literacy, math, science, humanities, art, movement, and design. Students build foundational inquiry skills through play, hands-on exploration, storytelling, conversation, and reflection. Daily instruction in reading, writing, and math supports skill development across the year. Note: Units may shift in timing/order year to year.
Unit of Inquiry
Central Idea: People’s contributions to a group can create a sense of belonging.
Students inquire into identity as individuals and as a part of the collective through learning and growing. They will explore the ways we are unique and important while recognising the differences and similarities we share with others. Students will develop an understanding of how being open minded helps us develop diverse perspectives and learn from one another.
Central Idea: Animals adapt to their environment for survival.
Students explore how animals adapt to their environments in order to survive. They will inquire into unique characteristics of different environments and its influence on various plants and animals that live there. They will learn about different types of adaptations such as structural, behavioural and physical adaptations and how living things have changed over time in response to their changing environment.
Central Idea: People’s homes reflect their needs, environment and culture.
Students inquire into homes, shelter, and design by exploring the purposes of homes and how environment and culture influence structures. Learners investigate materials, structural integrity, weather protection, and animal/human home connections through engineering challenges.
Central Idea: We express ourselves through creativity and imagination.
Students inquire into storytelling through oral language, books, illustrations, and performance. Learners study story elements, author purpose, and how emotions and ideas are communicated through stories. They will develop an appreciation for storytelling and understanding that storytelling can be expressed in many different and creative ways.
Students inquire into solids, liquids, gases, and how materials change through heating, mixing, and other processes. Learners make predictions, test procedures, observe repeatable results, and document experiences through hands-on investigations.
Literacy
Reading: Ask/answer questions, retell stories, identify characters/settings/events, and discuss unknown words; recognize text types, author/illustrator roles, and how illustrations support meaning; identify main topic and key details in informational texts; compare texts on a topic; build print concepts, letter knowledge, phonological awareness, phonics, high-frequency word reading, and emergent reading fluency.
Speaking & Listening: Participate in collaborative conversations; ask/answer questions to confirm understanding, seek help, and clarify ideas; describe familiar people, places, things, and events; add drawings/visuals to support explanations; speak audibly and clearly.
Viewing and Presenting: Visuals support comprehension, storytelling, and sharing.
Language: Letter formation; frequently used nouns/verbs, plurals, question words, and common prepositions; complete sentences in shared language activities; capitalization, end punctuation, and phonetic spelling; word meaning through context, affixes, categories, opposites, and vocabulary growth through reading and discussion.
Mathmatics
Numbers: Compose and decompose teen numbers as ten ones and some more ones (11–19) using objects, drawings, Count to 100 by ones and tens; count forward from a given number; write numerals 0–20; match number words to quantities; understand cardinality; count objects in varied arrangements; compare groups and numerals. Represent addition and subtraction with objects, drawings, movement, sounds, and equations; solve word problems within 10; decompose numbers to 10; find partners that make 10; fluently add/subtract within 5.
Measurement: Describe measurable attributes, compare objects, and classify objects into categories.
Data Handling: Collect and display data as pictograph, create a tally chart, simple bar graph, interpret data using more, fewer, less than greater than,
Patterns: Describe and extend patterns of color, number, size and shape; patterns with materials and pictures
Shape and Space: Name and describe 2D/3D shapes; use positional language; compare shapes by attributes; build/draw/model shapes; compose larger shapes from smaller ones.
Specialist (Music, Art, P.E, Spanish ) Overview
Art: Practice careful intentional mark making, self-portraits and silhouettes, attention to detail and experiment with new strategies, storytelling illustration/color work, materials-based art, and animal adaptation drawings/models.
Music: Steady beat, beat against rhythm, visualizing rhythm and pitch, basic contour.
Physical Education: Cooperative games and teamwork, movement patterns, community-building games, skill themes- kicking collecting, throwing catching, punting, striking with implements, fitness games
Spanish: Listening and speaking; introduction about self, greetings, color, shapes, days of the week, months, weather, body, clothing, family. expressing wants, I see, I can, I want.
