Our Approach

Home Our Approach

The WIDE Learning Experience – Wonder, Inquire, Discover and Enjoy

Wonder

At Aster, we encourage kids to explore, create, pretend, imagine and learn from trial and error.

Discover

We provide the opportunity to children to map their own path, and make their own discoveries — they learn the value of exploring and stumbling upon joy on their own terms.

Inquire

We nurture curious minds, and encourage children to ask questions, learn new things every day and be open to exciting discoveries of all kinds.

Enjoy

Happiness is our biggest asset! We encourage children to smile, laugh, be silly and be completely at ease.

Wonder

At Aster, we encourage kids to explore, create, pretend, imagine and learn from trial and error.

Inquire

We nurture curious minds, and encourage children to ask questions, learn new things every day and be open to exciting discoveries of all kinds.

Discover

We provide the opportunity to children to map their own path, and make their own discoveries — they learn the value of exploring and stumbling upon joy on their own terms.

Enjoy

Happiness is our biggest asset! We encourage children to smile, laugh, be silly and be completely at ease.

At Aster, we are deeply inspired by the Finnish, Reggio Emilia and EYFS approach to early education, at the heart of which lies the concept that children learn through a hundred different languages. This means that there is no one-size-fits-all model for early education – instead, classrooms are designed to help a child explore his or her personality, passions and strengths.

We are committed to helping children learn through exploration and their own experiences, which is why we do all that it takes to help a child build a healthy relationship with their environment. At Aster, we believe in both individuality and community, meaning that even though children are given the space to explore their surroundings and learn at their own pace, we ensure that children also respect the different individuals they find themselves amongst. As such, Aster celebrates difference and diversity and uses it to fuel and enrich a child’s early education.

We have also integrated aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stages (EYFS) of the British curriculum, which mean that our classrooms are child-centric, and pay attention to individual needs and strengths. We have a child : teacher ratio of 6:1 – working in small groups means that each child receives the attention, care and respect they need and deserve at this critical stage in their development.

Our Curriculum

Our curriculum is truly child-centric and is planned in accordance with children’s individuality, curiosity and interest.

We are committed to encouraging and nurturing creative expression, through arts, science, music, interaction with nature and play. We strongly believe in delivering a comprehensive curriculum that allows children to grow both intellectually and artistically.

Our curriculum accommodates different forms of play: dramatic play, sand play, indoor play and outdoor play as well. In designing ‘play-time’ for children, we want them to learn that they can have fun in a variety of ways, and we want them to be confident in making use of their surroundings in as many different ways as possible.

We provide unique courses such as carpentry, wood work, pottery and farming for students so they can learn new avenues in which they can explore their skills.

We encourage children to be compassionate and responsible citizens — this does not only include interaction with their peers, but with animals as well. Children at Aster learn how to respect, interact and be compassionate towards all kinds of living things.

We are committed to developing the love of reading within children. We allow children to develop this love of reading in various ways, which range from a well-sourced library, to story massages.

We encourage children to develop crucial social skills early on: for this reason, we train children to tidy up after their lessons, to respect their surroundings, as well as their peers and teachers.

We also have a speech and language therapist on board, to cater to any child that indicates the need for language therapy.

We also offer courses in the basics of foreign language for children — the languages currently being offered at Aster are Arabic, Chinese, French and Spanish. As it is proven by research that children adapt and learn language quickly and easily in their early childhood, we have ensured that children make use of their adaptability to enhance their linguistic skills.

At Aster, we have trained nurses on board to provide the necessary medical and first aid assistance if and when the need arises.

We also offer yoga and taekwondo sessions to children, so that they can learn to explore their capabilities in unique ways.

We place special emphasis on providing lots of free play and exploration time for children, so that they make use of their surroundings in a joyful and healthy manner.

Our extra-curricular activities also include cooking and baking, as we recognize that basic culinary skills are also an asset for a child’s development.

Because we believe in helping children be well-rounded individuals, we have incorporated special Islamic story sessions into our curriculum for children, so that they learn about their faith in an interactive environment.