走心分享：从幼儿园到国际小学需要注意什么？Transition Tips: from Kindergarten to Prep

Mr Lodge

二年级主班老师

从幼儿园过渡到预备部，对孩子来说是人生中重要的转折点。首先，孩子们需要从游戏环境过渡到学术环境。虽然一些孩子可能会很高兴，觉得这是学习新事物的新机会，但也会有些孩子感到焦虑。在佛山霍利斯，我们的二年级教室宽敞明亮，设有专门的游戏区域。孩子们在课间有机会放松和休息，例如阅读、角色扮演、搭积木、感官训练或艺术创作等。孩子们将学会平衡学习与游戏，在每堂课开始时都能精神饱满、准备充分地进行学习。

其次，大多数孩子在新学校可能没有预先认识的朋友。因此，孩子们需要建立新的社交联系，这有助于减少焦虑和孤独感。在新学年的第一周，Ms Wilkinson和我不进行任何正式课程。相反，我们让孩子们参与有趣的游戏和活动，以培养他们之间的友谊，并鼓励友善和关爱的良好行为。我们的孩子很快就会相互熟悉起来，并变得更有同情心和协作精神。

新学年第一周的记名字游戏

佛山霍利斯是一所英式学校，提供全英教学环境，这对许多孩子来说自然是个挑战。Ms Wilkinson和我在培养幼儿语言技能方面都很有经验。我们给予孩子们足够的耐心，不会对他们的第一天、第一周或第一个月设定任何期望或目标。我们认为，通过重复练习、表扬和鼓励，我们的孩子到年底将能够成为自信的英语使用者。因此，我们确保他们在新的英语环境中感到舒适并积极学习。同时由于沉浸式的英语学习环境，孩子们自己也会意识到想要学习新知识，就先要提升自己的英语能力。

Mr Lodge

二年级主班老师

幼儿园阶段的学前教育是以游戏为基础的，不少家长们常常担心孩子过渡到小学阶段的学术环境时不适应。因此，我们结合游戏式学习来达到学习目标。我们设计了融合游戏和玩耍的课程内容。例如，在一个以2或5为倍数的数学课中，我们可能会用玩具或木偶来设计模拟晚宴场景，孩子们需要解决如何将食物平均分配给“客人”的除法问题，然后写下问题的解决方案。这种方法非常有效，因为孩子们通过游戏学习非常有效率。他们在解决现实生活中的问题的同时，也学习了新知识。

在佛山霍利斯，所有的家庭作业都在学校完成，因此家长可以通过在课后时间给予孩子大量的户外游玩机会来平衡学习与游戏的时间。

睡眠和体育锻炼对孩子的学术成就、大脑发育和整体幸福感至关重要。家长需要确保孩子有充足的睡眠并且有规律的作息。同样，他们应该为孩子提供每天锻炼和户外游玩的机会。

最后，家长如果担心孩子们在某些方面的学术发展，可以在孩子开始入读佛山霍利斯之前，跟老师阐述和讨论孩子的优势和弱点，我们的老师将会帮助孩子定制学习计划和支架课程，提供适当的支持。我们还通过家长会来定期向家长反馈。我们需要家长的全力合作和支持，以更好地帮助孩子。

Ms Wilkinson

二年级主班老师

为了促进孩子们提升社交技能和建立友谊，家长应该帮助他们了解和培养同理心和、沟通技巧和合作能力，提供社交互动的机会，树立积极的社交行为榜样，并帮助孩子有效地处理冲突。鼓励孩子参与团体活动，如体育或俱乐部，也可以帮助孩子发展社交技能并结交朋友。

在佛山霍利斯，我们会给予孩子们固定的游戏时间，孩子们可以在户外与朋友自由玩耍。每天不同的课外活动让孩子们可以与其他班级的有着相同兴趣的孩子互动。在课堂上，孩子们经常成对或成组合作，并在PSHE课程中认识例如善良、同理心等优秀品质。

Ms Wilkinson

Y2 Teacher

1.与主班老师保持良好沟通。

2.参加学校举办的面向家长的活动和分享会等，了解学校的政策和程序。

3.提供有关孩子的个人优势、挑战和需求的相关信息。

4.保持积极的态度和鼓励，支持孩子的适应过渡期。

5.让孩子在家中充分放松和休息，对于从幼儿园过渡来的孩子来说，在新环境上学的日子是漫长而充满挑战，他们需要充分休息，这有助于他们有足够精力度过过渡期。

Ms Bateman

预备部主任

在孩子们的早期成长阶段中，我们的老师在学生的语言发展中扮演着重要角色。老师们会重点提升孩子们的沟通能力，有计划有目标地拓展他们的词汇量，这能够在学生们的学术旅程中带来持久的积极作用。在实践中，老师们通过鼓励阅读和游戏式学习，来激发孩子们对学习英语的兴趣。

周老师

预备部中文学科主任

孩子进入到国际学校后，虽然处在全英的学习环境中，但是每天都会有一个小时的语文学习时间。通过保证有效学习时长，系统教授部编版语文教材，我们慢慢地增加中文课程的难度和复杂度，以适应学生的年龄和发展水平，并不断提升学生中文水平。此外学校也有相应的中文课外活动、中国传统节日庆祝活动、集会主持和表演等机会，让学生以不同的形式接触中文以及中国文化相关内容，全面地培养他们的听说读写能力。

我们鼓励家长在家可以与孩子一起进行简单的中文学习活动、游戏和阅读中文故事书，使孩子在学校之外也能接触到中文。如有需要，我们建议家长可以提前与预备部学校团队交流讨论孩子的具体情况，这样有助于更高效、更有针对性地帮助孩子顺利度过过渡期。

Mr Lodge

Y2 Teacher

Transitioning from kindergarten to Prep School is a huge step in a child’s life. Firstly, students need to transition from a play to an academic environment. While some students may find the move exciting and a new opportunity to learn, some students find it unsettling. At LEH Foshan, our Year 2 classrooms are large and spacious with designated play areas. Students are given the opportunity between lessons to unwind and relax. This could be in one of several areas: reading, dramatic play, construction, sensory or art. Our students learn to balance work and play and start each lesson refreshed and ready to learn. 

Secondly, it is likely that most students do not have pre-existing friends in the school. Students therefore need to build social connections to combat potential anxiety and loneliness. In our first week of a new school year, Ms Wilkinson and I do not hold any formal lessons. Instead, we immerse our students in games and activities that build friendships and encourage kind and caring behaviour. Our students quickly become acquainted with each other and learn to become compassionate and collaborative. 

Name game in the first week

LEH Foshan is a British school, and we provide an immersive English environment. This is naturally challenging for many students. Ms Wilkinson and I are both experienced in developing the language skills of young students. To support our students, we are extremely patient. We do not have any expectations for the first day, week, or month. We know through repetition, praise and encouragement, our students will become confident English speakers by the end of the year. Our students therefore feel comfortable in the new English environment and eager to learn. Due to the immersive environment, our students also recognise that to learn, they must be effective communicators in English.

Mr Lodge

Y2 Teacher

Preschool education is predominantly play-based and parents often worry about the transition to an academic environment in primary school. Therefore, we incorporate play-based learning to meet academic goals. We create lessons that involve games and play. For example, in a maths lesson with the objective of division of 2 or 5, we would create an imaginary dinner party scenario with soft toys or puppets and students would be presented with division problems to share the food equally between the ‘guests’. They would then need to write down the solution to the problem. This is very effective, because students learn best through play. They achieve the academic outcome while also using maths to solve a real-life problem. Moreover, we have three designated times of outdoor play each day, in which students can play freely without teacher intervention. 

At LEH, all our homework is done in-school, so parents can best assist their children by giving them plenty of opportunities to play outside school hours to balance the work-play time.

Sleep and physical exercise are crucial to children’s academic achievement, brain development and general wellbeing. Parents need to ensure children get enough sleep and have a regular sleep routine. Similarly, they should provide their children with daily opportunities to exercise and play outdoors.

Finally, parents may worry about their children’s academic achievements in certain areas. They can therefore inform teachers about their child’s strengths and weaknesses before starting LEH Foshan and our teachers will use that information alongside their assessment and teacher judgements to differentiate and scaffold lessons and give the appropriate support. We also give regular feedback to parents through parent conferences. We need full parent cooperation and support to attain the best developmental outcomes. 

Ms Wilkinson

Y2 Teacher

To foster social skills and friendship in children, parents should focus on encouraging empathy, teaching communication skills, promoting cooperation, providing opportunities for social interaction, modelling positive social behaviours, and helping children navigate conflict effectively. Encouraging involvement in group activities, such as sports or clubs can also help children develop social skills and make friends.  

The school environment supports this by having regular play times where students can play freely with their friends outdoors. A range of different ECAs are offered each day so students can interact with others who share the same interests who may not necessarily be in their class. During the teaching day, students often work in pairs or groups to collaborate, and specific skills like kindness are taught in PSHE lessons. 

Ms Wilkinson

Y2 Teacher

1. Establish open communication channels with the class teacher. 
2. Attend any sessions open to parents and learn about the school policies and procedures. 
3. Provide relevant information about their child's strengths, challenges and individual needs. 

4. Supporting their child's adjustment by maintaining a positive attitude and offering encouragement. 
5. Allow children to relax and rest when at home- it is a long, challenging day for children transitioning from kindergarten and they need plenty of rest to make the transition as easy as possible.

Ms Bateman

Head of Prep

Our teachers play an important role in the language development of our students in the early childhood classrooms. The teacher's efforts in building relationships where communication is valued, and in implementing strategies that deliberately expand a students’ vocabulary, make a lasting impact over their educational years. They do this by fostering a love of reading and learning through play. 

Ms Zhou

Head of Prep Mandarin

At LEH Foshan, despite being in an all-English learning environment, students dedicate an hour daily to Chinese language studies. We adapt the curriculum's difficulty to students' ages and development, enhancing their Chinese skills through national Chinese textbooks and effective teaching methods. Beyond the classroom, we immerse students in Chinese culture through extracurricular activities traditional festival celebrations, and school events, fostering their language abilities holistically.

We recommend parents support this learning at home through easy learning activities and reading Chinese stories, maintaining exposure to the language. For tailored support, we encourage discussions with the school's Prep School team, ensuring a smooth transition for your child.