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The ​Pre-K programme - ​early childhood at HKA

HKA students are capable, confident, compassionate and creative and our Pre-Kindergarten  programme promotes independence and natural curiosity. 

HKA’s Pre-Kindergarten programme (Pre-K) is part of a clearly defined continuum of learning which offers coherent development from the early years through to Grade 12 graduation. As a three programme IB World School we see the potential in every child and our personalised, inquiry-based early childhood curriculum nurtures foundational skills for 3-5 years olds in: Language and Literacy, Numeracy, Motor skills, Emotional regulation, Collaboration and Problem-solving within the IB Primary Years Programme framework.

To offer our families greater flexibility and deepen student’s cognitive, physical and socio-emotional development, parents may also choose to register their Pre-K children for The Maker’s Atelier. This optional after-school programme is structured to intentionally build upon the IB PYP curriculum through innovative practical modules which build spatial reasoning, deep ecological empathy and physical mastery, aligning perfectly with HKA’s Portrait of a Graduate.

HKA also offers a morning Playgroup for 2-3 year olds. Playgroup provides toddlers with a gentle and joyful introduction to the rhythms of a "big school" environment, easing future transitions and building early community connections. 

Learn More about
Pre-K Afternoon session: The maker's atelier Age 2-3: Playgroup Age 5 or above: Primary School Grade Level Equivalencies

COMMUNICATING WITH CONFIDENCE

Language skills bloom in the early years, and our language-rich programme encourages every child to flourish. Pre-Kindergarten teachers lead their classes in English and an early childhood Mandarin-speaking co-teacher collaborates to infuse Mandarin into the programme throughout the day, as well as during dedicated Mandarin sessions. Every interaction with both adults and peers provides an opportunity for students to learn through language, whether listening to a read aloud, describing a piece of art they are creating or chatting to classmates during community snack. In addition to classroom libraries containing regularly updated collections of English and Mandarin books, our Primary School library offers an incredible range of books curated to spark a love of literacy and learning in every child.

English Language Reading
Pre-Kindergarten English reading skills focus on building foundational literacy through phonological awareness, alphabet recognition, print awareness, and oral language development. Key milestones include recognising letters and sounds, identifying rhymes, understanding that print carries meaning, early reading skills, comprehension understanding and expanding vocabulary. These skills are cultivated through daily child-led and adult-led reading and book use, songs and rhymes, role play, predicting and discussing stories, as well as weekly ‘reading buddy’ activities with older students and regular library visits, setting the stage for formal reading in Kindergarten.

English Language Writing
Pre-Kindergarten English writing focuses on emergent writing, where children transition from drawing and scribbling to understanding that marks on paper represent spoken language. Pre-K skill development includes; mastering fine motor control (pencil grip), recognising and writing their own name and uppercase letters, and understanding that English writing moves left-to-right and top-to-bottom. Teachers use hands-on activities like using playdough and child-safe scissors, tracing, and drawing to help students develop the necessary hand strength and muscle control. Students apply their skills through book making projects where their stories come to life and have meaning for them and their peer audience.

Chinese Language
Pre-K classrooms are a dual language environment with the teachers leading in both English and Mandarin throughout the day. Chinese language development is focussed on communicating through listening and speaking with children becoming comfortable to express themselves confidently and recognise some foundational Chinese characters. Students are exposed to Chinese characters in their environment and play, and enjoy daily Mandarin Circle Time, during which they engage with stories, games, songs and rhymes.

Grounded in the most current research about the many ways in which children learn, our purpose-built Sai Kung campus offers captivating indoor and outdoor environments that engage all the senses. Our early childhood classrooms, common areas and kitchen are flexible in design, inviting children to lead their own exploration of concepts and ideas in numerous breakout spaces and with a wide range of materials.

Our outdoor playscapes offer developmentally appropriate challenges to extend children’s physical, social and cognitive learning. An organic garden, adventure playscape, mud kitchen, sand pit and water features contribute to an inviting, environmentally friendly and aesthetically pleasing environment. In each of these spaces, children are encouraged to immerse themselves in creative physical activity and diverse sensory exploration, developing problem-solving skills as they interact with nature and one another, learning through both quiet and active outdoor play. 

Early childhood LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

LIFE AT HKA: EARLY CHILDHOOD STORIES

Our Pre-K learners have been busy diving into their Unit of Inquiry, exploring the Central Idea: "roles and responsibilities impact our community." To see this in action, they stepped up to interview some very familiar faces around HKA!

So far, our sharp little Dragonflies have grilled our Head of School, Secondary School Assistant Principal, various faculty members, and our wonderful support officers.

The students lead the interviews with three standard questions based on their lines of inquiry:
What are our roles and responsibilities?
Why are these roles important?
What communities are we part of?

...which are immediately followed by three spontaneous, student-led questions that they think of in the moment (and yes, these usually veer completely off-topic, but they are always highly entertaining! ).

A huge thank you to all our faculty and staff for being such willing participants in this wonderful inquiry project. We can't wait to see what our Pre-K researchers discover next!

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