Primary Years Programme

The KG (Kindergarten) Years

The KG years (3-6) are a crucial time in every child’s education. Therefore, the ideas and attitudes formed at this stage will have a profound effect on their approach to future learning. At AIS we aim to provide a world class learning environment right from the start and one in which students feel comfortable, secure and valued as the unique individual.

Our KG curriculum is within the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) framework. We implement this in our in a safe, well-resourced, fun, welcoming and inspiring learning environment. Especially in KG1 and KG2 we create a level of wellbeing where the children’s passions are unearthed, encouraged and supported.

Early learning in the PYP is a holistic learning experience that integrates socio-emotional, physical and cognitive development. In the PYP classroom, it takes place in dynamic environments that promote play, discovery and exploration.

We choose to implement the PYP as it recognizes that learners in this age range require approaches to learning and to teaching that honor their developmental stage, and the importance of play as the vehicle for inquiry. Since experiences during the early years lay the foundation for all future learning, the PYP framework allows educators to make choices to best enable learners to flourish.

At AIS our team of committed and experienced professionals, are specialists in their fields. They nurture every child in every aspect of their development, with a strong focus on their happiness, wellbeing and academic progress.

The PYP Primary Years Programme

Grades 1-6 for children aged 5-12 benefit from the inquiry-based, trans-disciplinary curriculum framework of the International Baccalaureate we are implementing since 2021. At this stage we continue our educational journey by building on the skills children have learnt in KG1 and KG2 building on conceptual understanding.

The IB learner profile represents a broad range of human dispositions, capacities and traits that encompass intellectual, personal, emotional and social growth. Developing and demonstrating the attributes of the learner profile is an expression of what the IB means by international-mindedness.

The IB learner profile permeates all facets of school life in the Primary Years Programme (PYP). All members of the learning community from the youngest learners to school leaders to parents, educators and beyond, have a responsibility to be guided by and demonstrate a commitment to the development of the IB learner profile attributes.

At AIS the PYP curriculum framework begins with the premise that students are agents of their own learning and partners in the learning process. It prioritizes people and their relationships to build a strong learning community.

PYP students use their initiative to take responsibility and ownership of their learning. By learning through inquiry and reflecting on their own learning, PYP students develop knowledge, conceptual understandings, skills and the attributes of the IB Learner profile to make a difference in their own lives, their communities, and beyond.

The PYP curriculum recognizes learners’ innate potential to inquire, question, wonder and theorize about themselves, others, and the world around them.
When learning communities recognize children’s emergent identities and competencies, they create an educational context that values children both for who they were, who they are in the present and who they will become in the future. In building from prior learning and experiences, PYP learners are uniquely placed to co-create their current learning needs. This understanding of how students learn is foundational to the inquiry-based and concept-driven transdisciplinary model of learning and teaching.

As a result, AIS PYP students demonstrate the agility and imagination to respond to new and unexpected challenges and opportunities, and to take action for a better and more peaceful world.

The stronger the sense of self-efficacy in students, the greater the likelihood that they will exercise agency. Self-efficacy influences the choices students are confident in making, which, in turn, influences the degree of ownership and impact they have in their lives.

When teachers acknowledge learner agency and the importance of self-efficacy, students become partners in the learning process. In this partnership, teachers work alongside students, meet with small groups and individuals as needed, and monitor learning and provide feedback.

In the final year of the PYP, students take part in the PYP exhibition. The exhibition is an authentic process for students to explore, document and share their understanding of an issue or opportunity of personal significance. The whole learning community shares and celebrates this culminating event in the journey students have experienced through their PYP years.

KG 1

Based on the IB PYP framework we teach our KG 1 learners during their first year with us: how to express themselves (feelings and conflict resolution), who they are (families and relationships), sharing the planet (living things) and how the world works (five senses).

Our KG1 staff teaches the learners oral language, writing, reading, math (data handling, measurement, shape and space, patterns and function, numbers), social studies, art and PSPE.

See the entire curriculum in the trimesters

KG 2

Based on the IB PYP framework we teach our KG 2 learners during their second year with us: how to express themselves (feelings and conflict resolution), who they are (families and relationships), sharing the planet (living things) and how the world works (five senses).

Building up on the curriculum of KG1 our KG2 staff teachers the learners
learners oral language, writing, reading, math (data handling, measurement, shape and space, patterns and function, numbers), social studies, art and PSPE.

See the entire curriculum in the trimesters

Grade 1 (5-6 years)

Based on the IB PYP framework we teach our Grade 1 learners: how to express themselves (communication), who they are (all about me), sharing the planet (habitats and animals) and how the world works (seasons and weather).

Our Grade 1 staff teaches the learners language arts, math, science, social studies, and art.

See the entire curriculum in the trimesters

Grade 2

Based on the IB PYP framework we teach our Grade 2 learners: how to express themselves (stories), where they are in time and place (solar system), how the world works (materials and matter), sharing the planet (endangered animals), who they are (human body), how to organize themselves (communities).

Our Grade 2 staff teaches the learners language arts, math, science, social studies, and art.
See the entire curriculum in the trimesters

Grade 3

Based on the IB PYP framework we teach our Grade 3 learners: how to express themselves (imagination), sharing the planet (the blue gold), how to organize themselves (measurements), where they are in time and place (exploration), how the world works (rocks and minerals), who we are (choices).

Our Grade 3 staff teaches the learners language arts, math, art, science and social studies.
See the entire curriculum in the trimesters

Grade 4

Based on the IB PYP framework we teach our Grade 4 learners: how to express themselves (voice), sharing the planet (deforestation), how to organize themselves (waste management), where they are in place and time (migration), how the world works (simple machines), who they are (role models).

Our Grade 4 staff teaches the learners language arts (e.g. spelling strategies), math, art, science and social studies.

See the entire curriculum in the trimesters

Grade 5

Based on the IB PYP framework we teach our Grade 5 learners: how to express themselves (identity), who they are (world change makers), how the world works (chemistry), how to organize themselves (technology), sharing the planet (ecosystems), where they are in place and time (natural disasters).

Our Grade 5 staff teaches the learners language arts (e.g. spelling strategies), math, art, science and social studies.

See the entire curriculum in the trimesters

Grade 6

Based on the IB PYP framework we teach our Grade 6 learners: how to express themselves (media), how the world works (sky science), who they are (human body), sharing the planet (energy), where we are in place and time (civilizations), how we organize ourselves (trade).

Our Grade 6 staff teaches the learners language arts (e.g. spelling strategies), math, art, science and social studies.

See the entire curriculum in the trimesters