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Greetings
from the founder |
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We strive to nurture young children in a culturally rich environment
opening the vistas of the world to them through the gateway of languages.
Through collaborative discourse and the joy of play, together in a
rich stimulating environment, our students will become knowledgeable,
self-motivated and critically thinking world citizens.
Meaningful relationships with peers and staff will provide a safe
foundation for each child to build self-confidence and independence.
An emergent approach to learning incorporates all areas of the curriculum
including group times for music and movement, literature arts, arithmetic
and science, dramatic activities, and stories and a wide range of
experimentation with various art media and creative materials in the
indoor and outdoor classroom environment
Children at FunShine Academy will...
● Honor "play" as the intrinsic avenue of understanding
● Experience joy through discovery in the indoor and outdoor classroom
● Be actively engaged in learning and exploration in the indoor and
outdoor classroom
● Provide a physically and emotionally safe environment, both indoors
and outdoors
● Feel proud and contented with themselves
● Learn to be kind and make wise choices for themselves
● Immerse themselves in English and Japanese language and culture
● Create a school "family" by cultivating friendships in
a climate of empathy
● Adapt to changing circumstances and while considering the needs
of others
● Be exposed to a wide range of enrichment activities
● Encourage an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding
● Participate in cultural/ethnic events
● Embrace the opportunities to connect with nature in the outdoor
classroom
● Make new friends and grow!
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Our Philosophy |
 At
FunShine Academy, your child will easily learn a second language by
being introduced and exposed to the language and culture through a
playful indoor and outdoor classroom experience, in addition to voluntary
family/community event opportunities. FunShine Academy believes in
the tried and true method of "Learning a Living Language"
through language immersion/acquisition. Immersion simply means total
exposure to the language, music and culture of the society for the
time your child is with us. Language acquisition is a milder version
of the immersion program where the child will be introduced to the
language in a playful way, to slowly grow his or her language skills.
Group activities are predominantly conducted in English on Monday,
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Japanese on Wednesday. All teachers
and assistant teachers understand and speak both Japanese and English
fluently. The focus of the program is "learning through fun"
to retain each child's original joy of learning. There will be a great
balance between structured projects and free play, learning opportunities
about nature and your environment (recycling), language enrichment,
sense training, handling of quantities, numbers, forms, rhythmic-musical
education, movement. In return, children have the opportunity to become
better listeners, more flexible in their thinking, and be more open
to other languages and cultures. Our students will have many opportunities
to learn in an outdoor environment and connect with nature.
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Our approach |
We believe that children come with their own learning styles and questions.
Our approach, which is supported by the constructivist philosophy,
is that curriculum should be negotiated between the children, the
teacher and the group through shared experiences. We plan to offer
a rich array of both structured and unstructured opportunities for
children to learn about themselves, materials, how to get along in
a group, how to communicate in a second language, and connect with
nature. Therefore, we do not use pre-prepared curriculum plans, rather
every week the teachers and the children meet to plan their experiences.
By introducing a language immersion/acquisition model at a young age
, founded on the tenets of the emergent approach, FunShine Academy
will prepare young students for the challenging school years to come
on an intellectual, social and personal level.
The language immersion/acquisition model will be the driving vehicle
at FunShine Academy. Components of a variety of other philosophies
will be introduced in increments, in order to give staff and students
the opportunity to slowly grow into the model. The Outdoor Classroom
supports our philosophy and learning profile. |
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