Our Curriculum

Orchard House’s innovative, bilingual curriculum merges the teachings of Dr. Maria Montessori together with the latest research on the benefits of both creative, self-directed play and of scaffolded, teacher-led instruction.

Recent research continues to highlight the crucial role of positive and purposeful early experiences in the development of your young child’s brain. The experiences to which your child is exposed therefore need to be carefully considered as your child embarks on his or her journey towards becoming a successful, life-long learner.

With this in mind, and with the ultimate purpose of instilling the foundational skills required for school readiness and later school success, we have created our signature Orchard House program.

Our morning program focuses on Montessori’s individualized approach to learning various concrete skills in isolation. Our afternoon program is group oriented and encourages the children to put into practice all those foundational skills in various structured and authentic settings. Social pretend play is incorporated into each day to complement the program and to maximize each area of your child’s development.

The Three Components of our Program

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Montessori
Mornings

Importance
of Play

Afternoon
Activities

Importance of play

The self-directed play opportunities that are embedded into the day allow the children to socialize spontaneously and to engage in creative activities so they can explore, experiment, imitate, ask questions and, in turn, be questioned in order to further their critical thinking and problem solving skills.

So important is play development in our early years program that we have created ample opportunities for its exploration in the specially-designated areas around our purpose-built school.

Tumble Gyms

Our Tumble Gyms, is equipped with a variety of materials respectful of each stage of development. Our large open spaces is safe and ergonomically designed, allowing the children to freely explore their motor skills with items such as cycles and rockers, climbing frames and walls, parachutes and wheelbarrows. A wonderful opportunity to let the imagination soar and to create make-believe games.

Art Studios

Our Art Studio displays a rich assortment of materials on its shelves, offering appealing mediums for all kind of projects, big or small. From a variety of pastels, inks and paints, to an array of velvets, silks, and clays, our Art Studio has it all for the budding Picasso waiting to unleash the creative expression that is hidden within!

Sand and Water Room

Our Sand and Water Room has been specifically designed to integrate the therapeutic and creative values of such open-ended play into our curriculum all year round. As they practice motions such as scooping, sponging and pouring, and play with bubbles, toys and buckets, the children here have the opportunity to engage in make-believe scenarios that require them to share, to listen to their friends and to create fun stories along the way.

Petit Chef Kitchen

Our Petit Chef Kitchen is purposefully created to encourage young children to explore their creative culinary skills in a safe, proportionately-designed environment. With a variety of real kitchen utensils at their hands, ranging from sifts and graters to scales and blenders, the little chefs have every opportunity to practice safe kitchen skills and cook up a storm!

STEM Lab

Our one-of-a-kind STEM Lab has been conceived to promote engagement in play in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. This newly-designated space – equipped with light tables, building materials, microscopes, magnets and more – allows the children to tinker away, practicing critical thinking and problem solving skills as they work autonomously or with friends by their side. This STEM lab is a wonderful spot that will appeal to each child’s sense of curiosity and encourage each one to create meaningful learning experiences along the way.

Such opportunities for self-directed play, both in our designated spaces and in the children’s homeroom classrooms, provide a venue for integrated learning, bringing together the isolated skills practiced

in both our morning and our afternoon programs. All independent tasks mastered in the Montessori area and in the teacher-led activities literally come into play at this time.