Early Learning Center
For children age 2 through Kindergarten.
A day in ELC
Children love exploring classrooms, outdoor play areas, the gymnasium, the library, and cozy spaces designed for the youngest learners.
Our teachers draw from the Reggio Emilia approach and work within the IB Primary Years Programme. Each year, children work through big questions that cross subject boundaries.
Alongside their homeroom teacher, your child works with specialist teachers in PE, art, music, and digital literacy.
Learning that follows your child
We believe children are competent, and that their curiosity drives their learning.
Reggio-inspired teaching means your child’s teachers observe closely, document thinking, and respond to what they see. Teachers describe themselves as researchers: using what they learn about your child to shape what happens next. If your child has a theory about how something works, the teacher follows that thread.
‘Play’ is purposeful and documented. A child mixing paint, building a tower, or negotiating a game with a friend is doing some of their most complex thinking.
Social-emotional learning from the start
Social-emotional learning has dedicated time every day: naming feelings, resolving disagreements, learning to look after each other. The ELC follows a documented SEL curriculum from EC2 onwards, and teachers use wellbeing check-ins to track how your child is feeling.
How we teach reading
UFLI (the University of Florida Literacy Institute’s foundational reading program)
UFLI gives children systematic, hands-on phonics practice at least four times a week. It is built on the science of reading: children learn how letters and sounds work by doing, not just by listening.
Heggerty
Heggerty runs alongside UFLI, building the phonemic awareness that underpins ‘decoding’: the ability to hear, separate, and play with the sounds inside words before they are on a page.
Language through everything
From birth to age six, children are extraordinarily receptive to language. That is why we teach language through movement, art, stories read aloud, songs, conversation, and play.
A child might pick up a new word because they needed it to describe what they had just built, or because it was in a song they liked, or because a teacher named something they were already curious about.
“All teachers are language teachers. That means that we give the children many entry points into learning English. It might be through movement, or art, through read alouds, and of course, through play.”
— Gillian Stevens
Embracing the outdoors
Our ELC takes learning outdoors every day. Literacy, numeracy, music, art – all of it happens outside as often as inside. Children navigate different terrain, build with what they find, make bigger movements than a classroom allows, and develop the strength and coordination that come from moving through real space.
“Outdoor learning offers countless benefits, boosting mental health, building self-efficacy, and enhancing intrinsic motivation. It is a space where children imagine, create, sing, dance and even craft their own stories and adventures.”
— Sarah Metzger, Early Years Pedagogical Coordinator
Transitioning to ELC
If you are new, the Early Years Vice Principal will be in touch before day one. In the youngest grade levels, class sizes are capped at twelve. If your child needs extra support, our Early Intervention program catches it early through developmental screening (DIAL-4), monthly Student Spotlight meetings, and targeted support cycles. Teachers track how your child is feeling alongside what they are learning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Children from age 2 (EC2) through Kindergarten (age 5–6). Your child needs to have turned the relevant age by September 1st.
Details of ELC start and end times, EC2 half-day options, and snack and lunch arrangements will be confirmed before enrollment.
Carefully and individually. The Pastoral Lead works with every new family, and the Circle of Security approach gives teachers a framework for building secure attachment. Classes in EC2 are capped at 12, so your child gets close, consistent relationships from the start. Most children settle within the first few weeks, and the team stays in close contact with you throughout.
A way of thinking about early childhood that starts from the idea that children are competent and curious from birth. At AISB, it means teachers design learning around your child’s interests and questions rather than following a fixed lesson plan. The IB Primary Years Programme provides the framework; Reggio Emilia shapes how our teachers bring it to life.
The ELC runs developmental screening for EC4 and Kindergarten students (DIAL-4). If a particular area needs attention – literacy, numeracy, or motor skills – our team responds through monthly Student Spotlight meetings and targeted support cycles. If you have concerns before the screening, the Pastoral Lead is the right person to talk to.
English is the language of instruction, but teachers actively support your child’s home language too. Teachers use translanguaging practices, your child can draw on their home language as they learn, not just English. A parent-paid Home Language Program is also available.
You will meet with the Principal or Early Years Vice Principal to discuss the application and introduce your child. For EC4 and Kindergarten applicants in Romania, there is also an age-appropriate assessment. Visit the admissions page or contact us directly.
Come and see the ELC
We would love to show you the ELC. The best way to know if it is right is to come and see it.