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First Steps
Supports a holistic development of self-esteem and a sense of autonomy, independence, and self-control. The program is designed around the basic Montessori concept of “let me do it by myself” and “freedom within limits”. The program also fully supports “sensory process” through art, music, movement, cooking, and sensorial time which is conducive to the joy of learning, emotional growth, concentration, and cognitive preparation for future intellectual academic endeavors.
In our Pre- Primary environment, developmental sensitivities for gross motor, a passionate love for established routines, an innate interest in music, and the development of pitch, rhythm, and melody are highly fostered.
It is during our Sensory Experience, Creative Art, Creative Music, Creative Movement Time as well as our Independent Activity Time with Montessori Sensory materials that independence, self-discovery, exploration, as well as positive social interactions, creativity, and expression are encouraged.
Together working in a team effort, parents, teachers, and the administrator help each other to provide a joyful first school experience and help develop positive initial impressions of school attitudes and learning.
We encourage frequent parent-teacher communications and the sharing of pertinent information just as quickly as changes occur. In addition to this regular contact, we schedule two to three parent-teacher conferences each school year.
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Caring, safe, cognitively and physically stimulating, and emotionally nurturing.
Self-Control
Empowering Emotional Growth
Independence
Learning To Work Autonomously
Routines
Establishing Social Routines
Art
Sensory Experience Art
Movement
Mastering Physical Motion
Music
Creative Music Expression
Preschool & Kinder Primary Program (Ages 3-6)
Lingua Natal is a unique school that prepares its students for the challenges of an international, 21st century world. Through our rigorous multi lingual education our students are able to develop the superior critical thinking abilities and mental flexibility associated with being bilingual and multi-lingual. Lingua Natal has over 23 years of experience in sharing cultures and languages. We take great pride in our ability to give students the tools needed to richly experience and succeed.
The Lingua Natal Primary Program is a holistic, educational approach that focuses on the individuality of each child in respect to their needs and talents as opposed to the needs of the class as a whole. For us, the physical, emotional, social, aesthetic, and cognitive needs are inseparable and equally important.
The Primary Program encourages independence and freedom with limits and responsibilities. Here, the students increase their knowledge through self and teacher-initiated experiences. Learning continues to take place through the senses in this phase of development.
Our environments are multi-aged. The older children provide leadership, guidance, and act as role models for the younger children. The mix of ages and children involved in different languages/cultures provides opportunities for a variety of lasting and meaningful friendships.
Practical Life
Brain & Body Development
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- Preliminary Exercises and Movement: Walking in the classroom; managing tables and chairs; carrying trays and materials
- Silence (Cessation of Movement): Care of self and environment; dressing; polishing; hand washing; dusting; food preparation
- Grace, Courtesy, and Virtues Project: Social greetings and conventions; introductions; problem solving strategies; non-violent communication
Sensory
Writing Preparation
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- Visual: Dimension; size; color; and shapes
- Geometry: Regular and irregular shapes; geometric solids; superimposed geometric figures; botany cabinet
- Auditory: Sound boxes; bells
- Olfactory: Smelling bottles/boxes
- Gustatory
- Tactile: Rough/smooth; soft/hard; (Thermic Tablets) varying degrees of heat; (Baric Tablets) varying degrees of weight
- Stereognostic (Muscular and Tactile mixed)- Mystery bags/bean bowls
- Physical Geography (globes; puzzle maps; land & water forms)
Language
Full Immersion
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- Indirect Preparation for reading and writing
- Practical life exercises that provide left to right movement and sequences
- Cylinder blocks and metal insets to prepare hand for handwriting
- Geometry, botany, and geography materials to develp sense of shape and direction
- Spoken language skills and vocabulary development
- Word games leading to phonemic awareness
- Reading Mechanics
- Sound-symbol correspondence
- Phonograms
- Phonetic words
- Sight words
- Reading nomenclature from classroom studies
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- Language Study
- Function of words (parts of speech)
- Word study (prefixes, suffixes, synonyms, singular, and plural forms)
- Advanced language study: syntax; interpretive; reading and language extension
- Writing mechanics
- Sound-symbol correspondence
- Forming letters without writing
- Alphabet: Lower case and upper case
- Captions and Labels
- Journal keeping; story writing and drawing; copying poetry and songs
- Comprehension
- Respond to text in a variety of ways: speaking, writing, and drawing
- Listen purposefully
- Identify and describe characters and their feelings
- Identify title, author, and illustrator
- Indicate chronological order of events
- Recount plot or information from texts
- Make reasonable predictions about what will happen next in a story
- Participate in group discussions
- Language Study
Mathematics
Counting, Geometry & Measuring
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- Association of quantity, symbol (numeral) & sequence of numbers 1-10
- Linear counting and number combinations of 10 to 1000
- Decimal System
- Geometric shapes, forms and nomenclature
- Fundamentals of the decimal system; understanding numbers to 9,999
- Identify odd and even
- Identify coins
- Measuring & estimating
- Math Tables
- Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
- Addition and subtraction of two four-digit numbers with exchanging
- Skip counting (using manipulative)
- Fractions
Culture
Art, Music & Movement
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- Art, including two and three dimensional representations and art appreciation
- Movement, including dance, yoga and creative movement
- Theater, including puppetry, dramatic expression and story book theater
- Rhythm; instruments; music and music appreciation
- Food preparation (vegetables/fruits); cooking
Science
Physical & Life Sciences
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Hands-on experiments related to earth, life, and physical sciences.
- The Solar System; Land/air/water; human body; skeleton; five senses; the power of plants; nutrition; healthy habits; natural habitats; the importance of respecting our natural habitats; reduce; re-use and recycle
Botany
The Biology of Plants
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Parts of the plant and their function; parts of the flower and their function; parts of the leaf and their function; germination and its sequence
Zoology
The Animal Kingdom
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The Animal Kingdom; the classification of the animal groups; the characteristics of each
Sensory Experience
Emotional Development
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At Lingua Natal, we put a lot of emphasis in the importance of the Sensory Process in the development of well-rounded, happy, and healthy children. This process also helps bring self-control, satisfaction and concentration, and focus to the child.
Geography
Countries & Maps
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Cultural and Physical Geography: Land and water forms; the globe; map of the continents; map of each continent with its countries; the animals of each continent; the flags of each country; places of interest in each continent; food, music, art, and culture in each country; taking care of our earth; our need for survival; emphasize one human family
Mindfulness
Wellness & Peace
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We practice mindfulness at Lingua Natal because it helps bring calm and quiet to the mind, body, and soul of the child. It also brings concentration and self-awareness. It helps with the “control of self” and thus helps build more peaceful individuals, society, and world community.
After School Programs
Our structured, after school program for children in grades K-6th is based on the latest research in cognitive psychology and language acquisition. Our comprehensive and eight level program takes the children from the beginners level to the proficiency level in any foreign language they desire to take. Moreover and very importantly, as a result of the nature of our programs, we cater to both native and language learners in our language programs.
The Lingua Natal program is full immersion, multi sensory, hands on and fun. Our groups are small and our children get plenty of attention and time to participate and interact in the target language. Our teachers are trained to teach a second language to children in an immersion setting where the “process” of language acquisition is respected. What is unique about us in the field of foreign languages for children is the fact that we take the children through the complete process of language acquisition.
The Beginners’ level: The Fundamentals Track/Program
This is a two year highly cognitively stimulating, high energy and fun program, a minimum of 150 hours of full immersion.
Before the children can start on firm grounds to “acquire “ a new language, they go through a very preliminary period where they are just processing various tones and sounds and finding their comfort in the “environment” as they start associating sounds to actual objects/visuals/things they taste/they can feel etc.
Once they start making associations, they embark on what we call “The comprehension period”. In this first period of language acquisition, students will not be speaking the language yet. They will be absorbing all the sounds and tones and making associations.
Parents are highly encouraged to visit the classroom while their child is in the beginning stages of language development in order to witness for themselves their child’s progress in comprehending the language.
The students are not expected to remember all that they do and say in class outside their “controlled environment” in this period.
Students start speaking spontaneously somewhere in this period and that is when they are ready for their next stage in language acquisition.
Stimulating
High Energy & Fun Enviroment
Acquisition
Learning Through Listening
Association
Common Objects & Stimuli
The Intermediate Levels: The Bilingual Track/Program
There are four levels in this Bilingual Track. A minimum of 300 hours in total.
“Learning or knowledge” will be the eventual natural result of many hours of joyous interaction and comprehension in the Fundamentals Track/program.
Reading and writing are an integral part of the Bilingual Track/Program. Students start by reading that which they comprehend, eventually they will write that which they read and only then will they start becoming familiar with grammar and conjugation!
Our students continue their progress in the acquisition of the target language on the road to fluency in the Bilingual Track by being immersed in context and content based curriculum where they learn about the Natural Sciences, Geography, Social Studies at the same time.
Bilingual
Fluency Through Interaction
Reading & Writing
Grammar & Conjugation
Education
Science, Geography & History