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Preschool at International French School
Preschool at IFS Amsterdam is a warm, welcoming and secure environment, where every child feels listened to, protected and fulfilled.
It is based on a fundamental principle: that all children are capable of learning and progressing. By showing confidence in each child, we enable them to develop confidence in their own ability to act and think, in their ability to learn and succeed in school and beyond.
Early learning plays a crucial role in future success, along with building children's self-confidence and inspiring curiosity. Children enrich their oral language, discover the written word and numbers, and explore various areas of learning through play, reflection, the arts and problem-solving.
Classes benefit from specialised early learning teachers alongside experienced assistants, providing constant attention and support. In early learning, we aim to follow rhythms of the day, adapting teaching methods depending how children feel and their energy levels. We put pupils at the heart of learning and we take into account the pace of each child and provide them with individualised support to enable them to progress.
Our Nursery, Preschool and Pre-K children have naptime every afternoon after lunch. We ensure that students have eaten lunch, used the bathroom, and washed their hands before they rest. Each student has a small bed and a blanket, and families can bring a personal pillow and blanket for their child. Comfort toys and pacifiers are also allowed.
As children prepare to move on to Kindergarten, time asleep is gradually reduced and turns into quiet time. Calm activities are available at this time: books, drawing, coloring, books or music to listen to.
Our preschool welcomes pupils aged 2-6 and is divided into four classes:
Nursery
Ages 2 - 3
Preschool
Ages 3 - 4
Pre-K
Ages 4 - 5
Kindergarten
Ages 5 - 6
Time outdoors
Spending time outdoors is essential to the health and wellbeing of children. Preschool students have two recesses per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, 30 minutes each.
The building blocks of a multilingual future
Early exposure to languages ensures that children are ready to deepen their understanding to achieve in multiple languages as they progress through school. In toute petite section, staff interact with children in French, English and Dutch, while from age 3 onwards they spend 13 hours of the week interacting in French, 11 hours in English and 2 hours in Dutch.
Welcome to Preschool
We are delighted to welcome children to our school from age 2, a place where your children's learning and development are our top priorities.
We offer a warm and stimulating environment where every child can develop their skills, creativity and self-confidence.
Our passionate and caring teaching team is dedicated to helping your children take their first steps towards discovering the world around them. Through a variety of activities adapted to each age group, we encourage exploration, imagination and independence.
At IFS we believe in the importance of multilingual education from an early age. We offer an enriched programme where children are exposed to several languages, enabling them to develop diverse language skills and to open up to different cultures. Through games, songs and interactive activities, your children will learn to express themselves in French, English and Dutch, all while having fun.
We believe that every child is unique and deserves individual attention to help them grow up happily.
Sophie Rannou, Director, Primary School
Preschool learning goals
Being able to succeed in mastering the basics of reading, writing and mathematics in primary school depends on laying the foundations in preschool, particularly in vocabulary, phonics (the sounds of a language) and understanding numbers, as well as developing pupils' self-esteem and respect for others.
To do this we aim to stimulate language, sensory, motor, cognitive and social development alongside ensuring that school is a happy place to be.
The preschool curriculum is organised into five areas:
Parent representatives
Each class at IFS has two parent representatives, who act as liaison between families and teaching staff. We believe this role is very important in maintaining a close connection between home and school. Parent representatives:
● Strengthen the dialogue between the school and families
● Contribute to the continuous improvement of school life
● Participate in decision-making processes concerning the school
● Represent the collective interests of pupils and parents
The key to success in preschool is to inspire a love of school and learning, and to ensure every child feels secure in their surroundings.
Sophie Rannou,
Director, Primary School