Five Foundations is a multi-dimensional curriculum tailored to each individual child according to their specific developmental needs across the five key areas of brain development.
social | emotional | creative | cognitive | physical
This positive environment provides for a deeper and more complex development of a child’s brain that, ultimately, leads to maximising the child’s abilities to become the most complete, happiest and successful version of their self.
A diverse and socially inclusive environment and community provides for meaningful, respectful and authentic relationships where children distinguish their individual and social identities and interpret their emerging wider world perspectives. Children develop a sense of social awareness and establish an understanding of varying personal and peer perspectives, values, communication styles and empathy.
Emotional awareness and development are integral to supporting children’s positive self-image and facilitating skills through intentional teaching such as resilience, self-regulation and emotional safety. We support children by practicing the “Circle of Security”, as children cannot learn most effectively if their emotional needs are not being met. Creating a culture of safety is about relationships being of utmost importance and requiring safe, predictable and consistent interactions. A culture of safety provides children with a secure environment to explore and express their emotions. Fostering resilience in early learners is about relationships, autonomy and regulation.
Creativity is about self-expression, creative thinking, channelling emotions, inquiry, ideas and thoughts. Creative development supports exploration and discovery through artistic pursuits. Creative play fosters cognitive development by providing children with opportunities to explore new ideas, ways of thinking and methods of problem solving.
Wholechild’s movement program happens in stages as children’s abilities and brain and body connections align to progress a child from rolling to crawling to walking to running. Physical development covers every aspect from fine and gross motor skills, whole body movement, co-ordination, balance, spatial awareness, core strength and more. Physical skills are acquired in stages as children move through each developmental goal with support and intentional physical experiences.
Cognitive learning is provided by allowing children to think outside the box, explore and to problem solve using skills such as thought, memory, persistence, trial and error and creativity. Cognitive development encompasses the intellectual left side of the brain, the largely creative right side of the brain and executive functioning frontal lobes. Using inquiry-based learning supports children’s imaginations, problem solving skills and sense of wonder to create and explore, all whilst developing the architecture of the brain by strengthening connections that lead to increased cognitive function and ability.