| Welcome
to the Little
Oak Children’s House! |
| Mission Statement: |
| |
The Little Oak Children’s House was
founded by Dr. Gan Wang, an anthropologist who obtained her degree
at Yale. After returning to China, she searched for a suitable Chinese
preschool for her child but was not satisfied with most of the Chinese
preschools. She founded the Little Oak Children's House in March of
2001, the first small-scale preschool ever licensed by the government
in Beijing
The first Little Oak opened in Huiyuan International Apartment with
3 teachers and 6 kids, consisting of both Chinese and Korean children.
The second Little Oak opened in Zhuxiyuan in early 2002. In that same
year, half of the parents decided to support the school by becoming
share-holders of The Little Oak. One mother’s dream is now shared
by many parents. This endeavor not only helped The Little Oak survive
SARS but also allowed it to relocate to a better school building.
In March of 2004, The Little Oak moved to its current location near
the East Third Ring Road, and more than 90% of the children moved
with the school.
The Little Oak now has more than 70 kids from China, Korea, the US,
and New Zealand. The school is 2000 square meters, with its own outdoor
playground, garden, indoor gym, music room, arts studio, block room,
computer station, and school library. For the children and teachers
of The Little Oak, it’s a dream come true.
The Little Oak’s curriculum combines modern educational methods with
Chinese cultural heritage. It fosters a harmonious community that
promotes cooperation between adults and children and between parents
and teachers. |
| Programs： |
| |
Acorn Class:
2-3 year olds. 1 teacher for every 3 children (maximum size 12 children) |
Sapling Class:
3-5 year olds, 1 teacher for every 5 children (maximum size 18 children) |
Kindergarten Class:
6 year olds, 1 teacher for every 6 children (maximum size 18 children) |
| Curriculum: |
| |
Outdoor
activities: To encourage physical development
and cultivate life-long healthy habits, outdoor activities at The
Little Oak last at least 2 hours everyday. We also offer courses in
roller-skating and swimming and play popular English and Chinese outdoor
games. |
| Practical
Life: In practical life activities, children learn
to take care of themselves, take care of the environment, and learn
social etiquette in order to become independent and confident. At
the same time, they develop longer attention spans, coordination,
and other abilities needed for further education. |
| Sensorial:
With sensorial practice, children develop concentration
and master their senses, learn to identify, compare, contrast, and
categorize through observation and analysis of objects and experiences.
Such activities will form the basis for further intellectual development. |
| Math:
Montessori Mathematics materials are unique and move from concrete
experiences to abstract concepts. Through these learning materials,
children learn the unity of quantity and symbol, the decimal system,
and the four mathematical operations. The goal for children is not
to memorize mathematical knowledge but to develop mathematical minds. |
| Language:
The language curriculum in The Little Oak combines
the Montessori phonics approach with a whole language approach. The
Chinese curriculum covers oral language and pre-writing that meets
the Beijing Preschool Education Outlines issued by the government.
The English curriculum uses textbooks from the US and the UK. American
and Chinese teachers supplement the textbooks with an activity-oriented
approach. Montessori language materials such as nomenclature work,
sandpaper letters, initial sound boxes, and command boxes are combined
with creative writing and literary appreciation. |
| Science
and Culture: Through first-hand and books experiences,
children gradually learn about the world around them. The science
and culture curriculum emphasizes “learning by doing”, including but
not limited to experiments with air, water, magnetic, electricity,
light, and movement. |
| Music:
For young children, music education should not start from learning
an instrument, but from learning to use their own bodies. The music
teachers in The Little Oak have degrees in music education and have
also received extensive training in early childhood music and movement
education from German and US experts. The Little Oak adopts its early
childhood music curriculum from the US and Taiwan and assimilates
it with Chinese language and music materials. Our classes include
Music Play and Musikgarten as well as music courses from Taiwan that
involve more music literacy. |
Arts:
In art classes, children experiment with different colors and materials
and do creative paper-cutting, children’s oil-painting, molding, and
all kinds of crafts.
Construction: In the block room, children can play with many kinds
of construction materials, from blocks of different sizes to robots. |
| Cooking:
Children love preparing food. Cooking activities not
only include recognizing raw materials, learning the different ways
of food preparation, and making cookies, but also include making traditional
Chinese food such as Jiaozi and Zongzi. |
| Gardening:
Taking care of vegetables and plants in our garden is one of the things
children enjoy very much. Currently, we have sunflowers, carrots,
corn, potatoes, pumpkins, and cucumbers. |
| Fieldtrips:
Biweekly, children go on fieldtrips to places of interest. Here are
some of the places we visited before: fire station, dental clinic,
railway museum, Beijing Aquarium, Beijing Zoo, puppet theater, vegetable
farm, aviation museum, elderly home, art gallery, and sewage treatment
works. |
| Facilities: |
|
Shady outdoor playground,
Orff percussion and bar instruments made in Germany, standard Montessori
materials, computers and English early childhood software, and a myriad
of books including the classics of both Chinese and English Children’s
literature |
| Own kitchen
is licensed by the government to provide nutritious and delicious
three meals and two snacks every day; |
| Clinic:
two experienced nurses provide routine examination and first-aid; |
| Shuttle
bus service is available on certain routes. |
| Our Staff: |
| |
We select our staff very carefully
in order to provide the best possible care and education for the children.
We seek people who are warm and nurturing, who understand child development,
who respect each child as an individual, and who value working as
a team with colleagues and parents. Our teachers have college or university
degrees in early childhood education or art education. Each staff
person attends training in first aid, communicable disease recognition,
child development, Montessori education, guidance for young children,
and other teaching methods workshops by trainers from both in and
out of China. |
| Yale-China Summer
Intern Program: |
| |
Each summer, Yale-China Association
chooses two Yale students who have teaching experiences to work as
interns in our school. The interns teach English lessons, play games,
sing songs, play soccer, and go to summer camp at seaside with the
kids! |
| Admissions: |
| |
Children aged 2-6 years old |
| Contact: |
|
Email:
preschool@oaky.com.cn |
| Phone:
64669309, 84483550-8011 |
| Office:
weekday 9am – 5pm |
| Open House: |
| |
Every Wednesday morning 9am – 11am,
children welcome, no reservation required. |
| |
| Gallery: |
| Curriculum
Staff
Fieldtrips
Seasonal
Celebration (the Lunar New Year Decoration Party)
The
Little Oak Chinese New Year Music Festival for Young Children
The
Little Oak Young Children's Christmas Music Carnival
Halloween
Party
The
Little Oak Christmas Charity Auction
Weekend infant
and toddler music program
graduation
|
