In the Early Childhood classes at Qingdao Amerasia International School, the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme combines with the Montessori educational environment to reinforce connections between students’ personal world and the global community in which they live.
Primary Years Programme units of inquiry help children to further develop their research skills, thinking skills, and communication skills. In each unit, students explore a central idea, bringing their own questions and building understanding through hands-on activities, research, and other learning engagements. Over the course of three years in our Early Childhood classroom, each student will complete eighteen units of inquiry. After students leave the Early Childhood classrooms, the Primary Years Programme continues up to Grade 6.
As the child’s guide, the teacher will introduce inquiry-based learning activities that illuminate the IB units of inquiry by teaching lessons one-on-one or to small groups of children. Teachers know that each child will learn at his or her own pace and so the child is encouraged to explore all areas of the classroom and units of inquiry.
The Montessori approach helps each child in the following ways:
The classroom environment exhibits the following characteristics:
The program is organized in the following ways:
We are committed to providing:
