Our pedagogical proposal

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Step by Step aims to provide children a cozy environment, full of stimulus, where they can develop their potentialities, respecting and being respected in their individualities.

We believe that affection is necessary to form happy and confident people, who are able to coexist with the world around them. That is why children in Step by Step have the opportunity to interact with qualified professionals, which believe that learning through strong and emotional ties contributes to the formation of children`s self-confident.

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM

BILINGUALISM

BRAZILIAN

CULTURE

PRESCHOOL

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Step by Step pedagogical proposal is based in Social Constructivism, which defends an active participation of the individual in knowledge construction. The construction of knowledge, therefore, takes place within the socio-cultural context in which the individual acts. As result, interaction and language play an important role in the learning process. In this perspective, we believe that working with projects allows children to experience challenging situations that stimulate logical reasoning, hypothesis elaboration, cooperation and different knowledge areas integration. Working with projects favors the connections built by and with the children. That way, students learn to learn, what makes the knowledge construction process more motivating. It also contributes to form curious and questioning children about the world around them. Working with projects also enables children to establish relationships, expand their ideas about a specific subject and supplement what was learned. The teacher, as a facilitator of the learning process, proposes different activities to increase knowledge construction and to mediate learning specific situations. The content of the projects is based on the National Curriculum for Preschool, elaborated by MEC, which takes into consideration the age groups expectations of development.

English is a wide world language, considered by many as a prerequisite in modern life. Speaking English language opens countless cultural, academicals and professional doors. Besides, when we learn more than one language, our brains become more flexible and quick, and it also helps us to feel more connected to other cultures around the world. Researches point out that children`s early exposition to more than one language benefits the development of communication, construction of knowledge, as well as facilitates the contact with cultural, social and economic diversity. That way, linguistic and cognitive development happens simultaneously and one supports the other. Step by Step conceives the Bilingual Education as the teaching through the languages, not the teaching of the languages separately. Through immersion, our children learn a second language the same way they learn their native language. Because they experience daily meaningful situations in English, children build a strong and pleasant relation with this language.

Experience their own country culture allows children to nurture a sense of appreciation of their history, to understand the social context they are in to and to develop themselves integrally as citizens. At Step by Step, the aspects of our culture are socialized with our students, contributing for the construction of their cultural identity and stimulate them to recognize and respect any other culture they might get in contact with over the years. Our Brazilian Culture classes are also supported by projects that values commemorative days of our country and emphasize the elements of Portuguese language, throughout nurseries, literary genres, tongue-twisters and others; introducing great authors of Portuguese children’s literature and their works. Brazilian Culture classes develop: oral and graphic expression, text comprehension and interpretation, and writing and reading skills (highly relevant for literacy process).

Our goal is to attend childhood main needs such as: positive self-esteem construction, conviviality in a safe and cozy environment, considering playing as a way to a cognitive, symbolic, cultural, social, psychomotor and emotional development. Step by Step bases its work on the National Curriculum for Preschool elaborated by MEC (Referencial Curricular Nacional para a Educação Infantil) which highlights: Personal, Social and Emotional development, and Knowledge areas such as: Language and Communication; Physical and Motor development; Knowledge and Understanding of the World; Mathematics; Information Technology; Arts; Music and Drama.

To maintain a meaningful Portuguese literacy process in balance with a wide English oral development, Step by Step offers an extend shift for elementary students. Our students from First Grade study full time period for three days a week. They stay at school 4 more hours than usual, what summarizes 8 daily hours. During the first part of the day, students attend to the curriculum in Portuguese, and during the second part of the day they attend to the curriculum in English. The Portuguese Curriculum emphasizes the literacy process, comprehending that children raise their hypotheses about writing from the linguistic repertoire they have more contact with. That way, students become literate first in Portuguese language, and being able to transfers all the discoveries made on this linguistic code to another language they might learn later. The English program set for Elementary School contemplates a solid curriculum based on four linguistic skills: listening-speaking-reading-writing. Step by Step also offers students a healthy nutritional program appropriated for their needs during lunch time. And they also have the support of a nutritionist who accompanies and plans their meals weekly.

At Step by Step children are respected in their individuality and learn to coexist with their peers, demonstrating values like solidarity and respecting differences.