The brain is made of brain cells called neurons that create connections called synapses.
Curriculum
NEP and NCF Aligned
Brain Development
DFS Preschool’s curriculum draws inspiration from the Reggio Emilia & Maria Montessori Methods, emphasizing the beautifully complex nature of child development. We prioritize holistic growth, emphasizing the intricate interplay between brain development and overall well-being.
Brain Cells Connect
Fast Growth
- At birth the brain has already grown to 25% of adult size.
- At age 3 the brain has reached 80% of its adult size.
- The formation of new neurons and synapses is fastest at birth, then slows down over time. That is why babies and toddlers can learn so fast compared to adults.
The Philosophy
Our curriculum for the Preschool has three components:
- The Right Brain
- The Left Brain
- Movement Activities
Left Brain
Left brain activities are based on Maria Montessori’s method of teaching.The environment is work-based and kids are given the independence and
freedom to learn at their own pace .This allows them to absorb concepts,develop concentration, and build skills by interacting with practical life activities and the prepared materials around them .
Movement Activities
We believe that a healthy body supports a healthy mind. That’s why we have developed a movement curriculum,here we explore concepts through group games, sports, yoga,martial-arts and basic movements skills . We emphasize outdoor exercises and play, and provide ample opportunities to learn about nutrition as well.
Right Brain
Right Brain environment is inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy of education,where creativity, imagination, social skills and children’s interests determine the curriculum. We at First Step care about the development of your child’s whole brain self!
Dynamically Balanced Curriculum
We know that in order for deep academic work to take place, a child must be known and seen and must be given room to bring their full self, their myriad questions and their bold ideas into the classroom.
Academic Mastery
DFS School students are given the skills to be problem solvers, and are encouraged to examine every facet of a challenge.
Self & Social Intelligence
Students enter the school building knowing that their identities will be embraced. Classrooms are built for community building, mutual respect, understanding of self and others.
Creative Thinking
Every day, children must have opportunities to build, invent, problem solve and dream while teachers meet them with curiosity and understanding.
DFS Skills for Holistic Development
Child development is beautifully complex, DFS take a holistic view and highlight the importance of children’s physical, social, cognitive, creative and emotional skills and how these complement and interact with one another.
GROSS MOTOR
Also known as fundamental motor skills, this involves large muscular movements (locomotion). These are the abilities required to control the large muscles of the body for running, walking, jumping, sitting, crawling. These develop over a relatively short period and are governed by two principles that also control physical growth. First principle being, Head to toe development which refers to the way the upper parts of the body develop and Second principle, trunk to extremities. Development starts with the head and then moves down to the body.
GROSS MOTOR
FINE MOTOR
FINE MOTOR
COMMUNICATION
Purpose of communication is to express oneself through a systematic and traditional use of sounds, signs or written symbols. Learning language is a task for children but it opens up a plethora of avenues for children to explore. Language development is assessed on parameters of spoken and written language. The spoken language is further assessed on 4 parameters – phonology (the ability to pronounce words and to understand speech sounds), semantics (understanding word and sentence meaning), syntax (ability to use rules of grammar to make sentences) and pragmatics (ability to engage in effective and appropriate conversation with others. Written language is assessed on the basis of book handling, knowledge of letters and words, sense of story, writing forms and reading of own writing.
COMMUNICATION
COGNITIVE
It focuses on the child development in terms of processing information, reasoning, perceptual skill, language learning. It is the child’s ability to think and understand. Jean Piaget built a theory of cognitive development as to how children think and acquire knowledge from birth to adolescence. The theory deals with the nature of knowledge itself and how humans gradually come to acquire, construct, and use it. Per him a child learns best when he comes in contact and interact with nature and environment. Piaget gave four stages of development. The first one is the sensorimotor stage (0-2 years). In this stage, the child builds an understanding of self and how things work through his interactions with the environment. The next stage is preoperational (2-7 years). During this stage, a child develops his language and concepts. The child needs concrete physical situations. Objects are classified in simple ways like one single colour. Piaget considered the next stage concrete operational stage (7-11 years) as the turning point in the child’s cognitive development as it marks the beginning of logical thinking and operational thought. The child can work things out internally in their head. The child forms an understanding of concepts like time, space and quantity in abstract. The next stage is the formal operations (11-18 years). Cognition reaches its final form. By this stage, the person no longer requires concrete objects to make rational judgements. He or she is capable of deductive and hypothetical reasoning. His or her ability for abstract thinking is very like an adult. During this time, people develop the ability to think about abstract concepts, and logically test hypotheses. Cognitive development is assessed based on three parameters. The first one is knowledge – colours, maths, basic concepts, history etc. The second one is memory – attention, memory strategies. The third one is logical thinking – symbolic thinking, classification, problem solving. Knowledge base includes basic concepts, colour concepts, math concepts, scientific concepts and social study. Memory and logical thinking includes logical reasoning, thinking and problem solving and imagination.
COGNITIVE
SENSORY
it includes the activity based on sense. As there are no new experiences for the child to take from the Sensorial work, the child can concentrate on the refinement of all his senses, from visual to stereo gnostic. The purpose and aim of Sensorial work is for the child to acquire clear, conscious, information and to be able to then make classifications in his environment. Through work with the sensorial materials, the child is given the keys to classifying the things around him, which leads to the child making his own experiences in his environment. Through the classification, the child is also offered the first steps in organizing his intelligence, which then leads to his adapting to his environment.
SENSORY
SOCIAL
It mainly deals with as to how a child expresses himself. It includes the child’s experience, expression and management of emotions. The core features of this domain are the child’s ability to identify and understand his emotions. Social and emotional development is a child’s ability to understand the feelings of others, control his or her own feelings and behaviours, get along with other children, and build relationships with adults. For children to develop the basic skills they need such as cooperation, following directions, demonstrating self-control and paying attention, they must have social-emotional skills. Having positive social and emotional skills is important throughout life and can have an impact on how they function at home, school and in the community. When young children are faced with social, emotional or behavioural challenges it can impact their chances for school success and healthy relationships. A child’s positive relationship with trusting and caring adults is the key to successful emotional and social development.
SOCIAL
BALANCE
The ability to maintain a controlled body position during task performance whether it is sitting on the table or stepping up onto a kerb. Balance is attained when the centre of gravity is over the base of support. There are two types of balance- static balance and dynamic balance. Static balance is the balance of body either in one place and dynamic balance is balance of body while in motion.
BALANCE
IMAGINATION
The creative ability to form images, ideas, and sensations in the mind without any immediate input of the senses (such as seeing or hearing). Imagination helps make knowledge applicable in solving problems and is fundamental to integrating experience and the learning process. A basic training for imagination is listening to storytelling. Imagination can also be expressed through stories such as fairy tales or fantasies. Children use such narratives and pretend play to exercise their imaginations. When children develop fantasy, they play at two levels: first they use role playing to act out what they have developed with their imagination and second level they play again with their make-believe situation by acting as if what they have developed is an actual reality.
IMAGINATION
ACADEMIC
Academic skills are, in general tried and true means of organizing ends. Academic skills are taught directly, through methods involving demonstration, recitation, memorization and repeated practice. All the 4 domains are developed through academic skills.
ACADEMIC
CONFIDENCE
The concept of self-confidence is commonly used as self-assurance in one’s personal judgment, ability, power, etc. One increases self-confidence from experiences of having mastered activities. So, to increase the confidence in child it is necessary of repetition of each activity. To increase confidence the child must be independent, means not to interrupt in between when the child is doing any activity. Every material in a classroom supports an aspect of child development, creating a match between the child’s natural interests and the available activities. Children can learn through their own experience and at their own pace. They can respond at any moment to the natural curiosities that exist in all humans and build a solid foundation for life-long learning.
CONFIDENCE
LOGICAL REASONING
To observe and analyse phenomena, reactions and feedback and then draw conclusion based on that input. Logical reasoning is the process of using a rational, systemic series of steps based on sound mathematical procedures and given statements to arrive at a conclusion. Logical reasoning is the ability to ‘foresee’ implications beyond decisions. Honing this skill promotes active learning, whereby the child would be encouraged to ask good question that could aid his own learning process and promotes making the correct and right decision.
LOGICAL REASONING
THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING
Perhaps the most important thing you can teach a child are oh-so-valuable problem solving skills. Problem solving skills can be applied to all different types of situations in life, from the academic to the social, and will help your child achieve a higher-level thinking ability which rivals that of many adults. Problem solving requires two distinct types of mental skill, analytical and creative. Analytical or logical thinking includes skills such as ordering, comparing, evaluating and selecting. It provides a logical framework for problem solving and helps to select the best alternative from those available by narrowing down the range of possibilities (a convergent process). Creative thinking is a divergent process, using the imagination to create a large range of ideas for solutions.
THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING
DFS Approach – Emotional & Social Well-Being
The emotional and social wellbeing of a preschooler refers to the way that a child thinks of itself and of others. It is reflected in their thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Family, school, and education represent the most important environments for the child’s social and emotional wellbeing.
DFS attributes in keeping your child Emotionally Healthy.
Consciousness
DFS Pre-School prioritizes mindfulness in every lesson for enhanced focus, attention, self-control, and social skills. This approach reduces stress, depression, and aggressive behavior, fostering improved academic performance and overall well-being.
Environment
DFS Pre-School ensures a loving environment for optimal learning. Positive education, rooted in positive psychology, teaches problem-solving, decision-making, creative thinking, and emotional balance. Our goal is to guide your child toward holistic growth in a happy, vibrant setting.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence is a science-based roadmap to raise a well-balanced, higher achieving, and emotionally intelligent child. Emotional awareness and the ability to manage feelings will determine how successful and happy our children are throughout life, even more than their IQ. DFS Pre-School research team is determined to device new methods focusing on emotional intelligence of children.
DFS Approach – Teaching & Learning
We implement seven approaches interchangeably in various forms & activities for teaching and learning at DFS Pre-Schools.
Active learning
Children are actively engaged in the learning process. Active involvement is characterized by children’s choice or autonomy regarding the task itself, as well as how and when child respond. Active learning leverages children’s own interests to engage them in the learning process. It uses hands-on, authentic, real-world related activities with teachers occupying the role of facilitator rather than didactic instructors.
Experiential Learning
Experiential learning seamlessly integrates the curriculum, providing children with opportunities to learn through direct experiences. This umbrella term encompasses various educational theories emphasizing the value of meaningful learning within and beyond the classroom. Outdoor learning, adventure education, service learning, excursions, environmental education, kitchen garden programs, and creative arts programs are common expressions of experiential learning.
Guided Discovery Learning
Learners cultivate ownership through the discovery process, extending beyond merely finding new information. It encompasses various methods of acquiring knowledge independently, utilizing one’s mind and prior knowledge as the foundation for exploration. Guided discovery learning fosters a mindset where students anticipate and are ready to discover knowledge autonomously.
Problem-based learning
DFS Pre-School adopts problem-based learning, where small groups work through real-world problems with teacher facilitation. Similar to inquiry-based learning, units are structured around questions, emphasizing real-world context and multidimensional problem-solving.
Inquiry-Based Learning
DFS Pre-School employs inquiry-based learning, a student-centered approach organized around relevant, open-ended questions. Emphasizing process, questioning, student voice, and community involvement, it proves effective in fostering various skills and knowledge.
Project-based learning
Inquiry-based learning where a project is the central idea around which learning is planned and structured Key features of the pedagogy include learning by doing – undertaking complex tasks and producing realistic products culminating in events. Project-based learning is engaging and associated with positive changes to students motivation and attitude towards learning, reducing fear, and increasing their self-efficacy and enjoyment of learning. Projects are usually completed in small groups, where the teacher’s role is to guide the group process and participation.
Cooperative and Collaborative learning
DFS Pre-School prioritizes cooperative and collaborative learning, leveraging positive peer interactions for assignments. This involves meaningful tasks, active participation, and assistance among children. Groups, whether mixed or homogeneous in ability or age, contribute individually to shared goals or collaboratively on tasks. Essential strategies, including positive interdependence, face-to-face promotive action, individual accountability, interpersonal skills, and group processing, underpin the effectiveness of these approaches, ensuring the achievement of intended learning goals regardless of group composition.
Characteristics of DFS Learning
DFS five characteristics listed below draw on extensive conversations with experts in the field, These characteristics draw on evidence for how children learn best (the Science of Learning) and how to foster a playful curious discovering mindset.
Meaningful
Connecting facts and ideas to familiar experiences
Meaningful learning occurs when children relate new experiences to existing knowledge, moving beyond memorization. It involves connecting insights with existing understanding, stimulating brain networks for critical thinking skills like insight, analogy, and memory.
Joyful
Pleasure, enjoyment, motivation, or thrill in an activity
Joy is central to play, involving enjoyment in tasks and the thrill of surprises or successes after overcoming challenges. Research highlights the link between curiosity, positive experiences, and learning. Joy triggers increased dopamine levels in the brain, influencing memory, attention,
Socially Interactive
Understanding and communicating with others
Social interaction is a potent learning tool. Children, through direct communication, sharing ideas, and understanding others, build deeper understanding and relationships. Early positive social interactions impact brain plasticity, aiding in coping with challenges and activating communication-related brain networks crucial for learning.
Actively Engaging
Learning is hands-on and minds-on
Children thrive when actively engaged and focused on tasks. Neuroscience indicates that such active involvement enhances memory functions crucial for learning. Full engagement allows the brain to develop self-control skills, including ignoring distractions, beneficial for both short-term and lifelong learning.
Iterative
Trying out and revising hypotheses
Investigating phenomena independently and testing hypotheses aids children’s understanding of the world, enhancing critical thinking and scientific reasoning. Practice engages brain networks for alternative perspectives, flexible thinking, creativity, and perseverance, linked to reward and memory networks that support learning.