Philosophy & Curriculum

Philosophy

To cultivate and nourish young minds. At Lemon Tree Academy, we believe that the first five years are the most important in the growth and development of a child’s mind. We provide an environment that embraces curiosity where children can explore, learn, and play all while feeling safe and cared for. We believe that children are the future, it is up to us to cultivate it. 

Curriculum

We implement a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and music) and Creative Learning curriculum. Many people are familiar with STEM but I think it is important to add Art as it flourishes creativity and serves as a foundation for pre-writing. Through art, we are also able to learn about various different artists and explore all of their amazing work. With a STEAM curriculum, I am able to design activities that are practical and intentional. It gives children the freedom to think like innovators and poses questions that can be further explored. Each month there will be a different theme to be explored through various activities and experiments. In addition, there will also be a phonics and math component added to the curriculum to allow for the development of early literacy and numeracy concepts and Kindergarten readiness. 

Key Components

At LTA, children actively participate in hands-on, age-appropriate activities that focus on the process rather than the final product. We dance, paint, garden, and spend lots of time outdoors playing with friends and building relationships.

Language Component

As a fluent speaker of Arabic, I can implement it as part of an immersion program for second language training. Several studies have shown the numerous benefits that come with speaking and understanding more than one language particularly difficult languages. Many of these benefits include problem-solving, multitasking, creativity, and flexible thinking. Please read the article attached in the resources for more information.

Health & Mindfulness

At LTA we constantly speak of the value of nutrition. We will dedicate an entire theme to the farm where we discuss where our food comes from. The children will also get to have a hands-on experience by planting in our garden. Through yoga, we will practice mindfulness to keep the mind calm and focus our attention on the present moment

Nature

We have a large land filled with various trees and gardens where the children can enjoy planting, sightseeing, outdoor play, and having fun in the sun!

Music

Music is a great and fun way to enhance memory! At LTA, I use songs and lingos to assist in teaching. The children will be exposed to the many genres of music, instruments, and many of the great classical composers. We will also listen to music from other diverse cultures. And we will do lots of dancing!

Positive Discipline

At LTA we aim for kindness and positive discipline. Our strategies are a combination of redirection and the power of choice. The child is presented with choices and they have control over what choice they decide and its consequence. The power of choice is a great way to teach good decision-making skills while learning self-discipline.

Resources:

Benefits of being biliterate

https://www2.ed.gov/documents/early-learning/talk-read-sing/bilingual-en.pdf