OVIS Kindergarten Introduction

What is a high-quality preschool education?

什么是好的幼儿园教育？

According to OVIS Montessori Kindergarten, a high quality preschool education is not just about a grand building complex, and certainly not about selling its sites, facilities or foreign teachers for a price.

光谷康桥认为，好的幼儿园教育不是一片恢弘气势的建筑群，不是将场地、设施和外籍老师明码标价地去售卖。

There’s something invisible about a fine preschool education, such as the trust between the school and the family, the understanding and recognition of the education concept, a child's sense of joy and surprise, and a harmonious and secure relationship between a caregiver and a child.

真正好的幼儿园教育，应该有许多“看不见”的东西：比如学校和家庭之间的信任，对教育理念的理解与认同；比如孩子对于快乐与惊奇的感知能力；比如师生之间和谐、充满安全感的关系……

In Wuhan, such a kindergarten filled with love and trust will open in February next year.

在武汉，这样一座充满爱和信任的幼儿园即将于明年2月份开学。

OVIS Montessori Kindergarten is part of the Optics Valley International School. It is a strategic supporting project of the Management Committee of Wuhan East Lake High-tech Zone, aiming to create a suitable environment for talents and professionals and serve as an escalation upgrading of Optics Valley.

光谷康桥蒙特梭利幼儿园隶属光谷康桥外籍人子女学校，是武汉东湖高新区管委会为塑造良好人才环境，服务于光谷产业升级的战略配套项目。

Adhering to the "child-centered" philosophy, the kindergarten adopts the international approach of kindergarten management, which respects the natural growth of a child's life, and dedicates itself to create an ecological garden for 2 to 6 year-old children.

幼儿园秉承“以孩子为中心”的办园理念，以国际化的办园模式，尊重孩子生命的自然成长，倾心打造2-6岁幼儿生态园。

"We want to employ love as a starting point for education and teach in a way that we can use one life to impact on another life. said Sophy, who is the head of OVIS Montessori Kindergarten and has immersed herself in the early childhood education industry for more than 20 years. She reckoned that the purpose of early childhood education is not to prepare students for primary school, but to lay the foundation of wisdom and morality for children’s whole life, so that the education they received in early childhood can become a treasure for their entire life.

“我们希望以爱作为教育的起点，以生命影响生命的方式进行教育。”光谷康桥幼儿园的园长、在幼儿教育行业沉浸20多年的Sophy老师表示，幼儿教育的目的并不是为小学做准备，而是为他们的一生奠定智慧和品德的基础，让幼儿时期受到的教育成为陪伴他们一生的财富。

Before the age of 6, children are in highly sensitive periods for development in language, space, order, independence, painting, music, aesthetics, interpersonal relationship and self-cognition. In these critical periods, what will OVIS do?

6岁以前的孩子，正处于语言、空间、秩序、独立、绘画、音乐、审美、人际关系、自我认知的高度敏感期……在这个成长的关键时期，光谷康桥会做些什么？

01

Equality and Respect from within

Building a child-centeredcommunity culture

来自内心的平等与尊重

构建以孩童为中心的社区文化

"The efforts made by children in their growth are for the purpose of achieving their independence, but this independence is often denied by adults.” 

“儿童在生长中所做出的努力，是为了实现其独立之目的，但这种独立往往被成人所剥夺。”

The teaching approach at OVIS Montessori Kindergarten is child-centered as opposed to teacher-centered stuffing teaching. We advocate training that originates from daily life, coupled with good learning environment and rich teaching aids. All of these allow children to take learning into their own hands, respect their inner needs, and build a strong personality.

光谷康桥蒙特梭利幼儿园的核心理念是以儿童为中心，反对以教师为中心的填鸭教学，主张由日常生活训练着手，配合良好的学习环境、丰富的教具，让儿童自发的自主学习，尊重他们内心的需求，自己构建完善的人格。

Equality and respect are not easy things in the practice of education.

在教育实践中，平等与尊重并不是一件容易的事。

Why do you say that?

为什么这样说？

"For example, in children's games and conversations, teachers and parents expect every child to engage fully and actively.

“打个比方，在幼儿的游戏和对话中，老师和家长当然期望每个孩子都能够全身心地投入进去，积极地表现自己。”

However, there are always some children who just sit there quietly, seem to be listening and thinking, rarely express their opinions, and are not willing to actively participate in the game.

但是，总有一些孩子只是静静地坐在那里，看起来像是在聆听和思考，却很少表达自己的看法，或者也不愿意积极地参与游戏。

At this time, many teachers and parents will be very anxious, and will put more energy on the child, and expect to use a variety of ways to promote the child to join the activity.

这时，不少老师和家长会很着急，会把更多的精力放在这个孩子身上，并期望用各种方式来推动孩子加入活动。

It's a well-intentioned idea, but the result can be just the opposite.

这种想法的初衷是好的，但结果可能恰恰相反。

American psychologist Alison Gopnik has found through years of empirical research that "even very young children are able to think about possibilities, distinguishing between what is possible and what is real, and even change the world. They can plan by imagining what the world might be like differently. They are also able to imagine how the world might have looked differently in the past and respond to past possibilities.

美国心理学家艾莉森·高普尼克通过多年的实证研究发现：“就算很小的孩子也已经能够考虑各种可能性，并区分可能的事和现实，甚至还能借此来改变世界。他们能够想象今后的世界可能是哪些不同的样子，由此来做计划。他们也能够想象世界在过去可能会有哪些不同的样子，并对过去的各种可能性做出回应。”

Therefore, when a child is not actively engaged in activities, it does not mean that there is nothing going on inside her.

当一个孩子没有积极参与活动时，并不代表他的内心没有任何相关的心理活动。

It could be that the previous conversation has touched her and made her think. It could be that she is recalling a similar experience. It could be that she is listening to her partner's side of the story.

有可能前面的对话触动了他让他陷入思考，也有可能他正在回想曾经某一次类似的经历，也有可能他正在聆听同伴的说法，也有可能是性格比较沉稳而不急于把自己的看法表达出来。

In either case, if our teachers urge children to speak and participate when they are not ready, it will add extra psychological pressure to children and make them feel insecure.

无论是哪一种情况，如果老师在孩子还没有准备好时，就催促着孩子发言和参与，反而会给孩子额外地增添心理压力，让孩子产生不安全的心理感受。

Being child-centered requires seeing the child's needs, reading the child's emotions, and giving the child a high level of satisfaction and responsiveness, all based on careful observation, careful listening, and a supportive environment for children’s exploration provided by teachers.

以孩童为中心，必须得看见孩子的需求、读懂孩子的情绪，给孩子高满足感及回应，这一切基于老师对孩子的认真观察、认真倾听、并为他们的探索提供环境支持。 

Therefore, in OVIS Montessori Kindergarten, teachers play the role of observers and helpers. They will truly respect children's wishes, observe their inner needs, design the environment for them, and demonstrate the operation of teaching aids, and then teach children according to their individual differences. 

所以，在光谷康桥幼儿园内，教师扮演的是观察者和协助者的角色。老师们会真正尊重孩子的意愿，观察儿童的内心需要，为他们设计环境，并示范教具的操作，再依据儿童的个体差异因材施教。

OVIS Montessori Kindergarten will respect the pace of children's growth. There is no class schedule in Montessori teaching and no division of time between classes, so that children can follow their internal needs and concentrate on work and study freely. At the same time, we will abandon the traditional reward and punishment system and adopt a respectful education method to cultivate and protect the embryonic stage of children's sense of self-esteem.

也因此，光谷康桥幼儿园会尊重孩子的成长步调。蒙特梭利教学没有课表，不划分上下课时间，让儿童遵循内在的需求，自由的专心工作和学习。

If we want our children to have the capacity to create happiness in an uncertain future, we need to cultivate their concentration and emotional stability from early childhood, leaving children free to develop and explore.

如果我们希望孩子在不确定的未来拥有创造幸福的能力，就需要从幼儿时期培养他们内心的稳定和专注，让他们去自由发展和探索。

"We can't rush with our children, but to see the world through their eyes."

“我们不能带着孩子匆匆赶路，而是要用他们的眼睛去看看这个世界。”

02

Living next door to all living beings on earth and experience four seasons’ change

Applying senses to absorb knowledge of your surroundings

与万物为邻，看四时流转

用感官吸收环境知识

Montessori education is an educational system that centers around work and allows children to do things by hand. Children can construct wisdom by absorbing the extensive knowledge provided by the surroundings through sensory experiences.

蒙氏教育是以工作作为核心形成的教育体系，让孩子以动手为主。通过感官体验来吸收周围环境所提供的广泛知识，建构智慧。

There are classrooms without boundaries, and learning without limits.

课堂，无界。学习，无边。

OVIS provides a "classroom" outside the classroom.

光谷康桥提供了课堂外的“课堂”。

Some people say that for children, nature is the best place for study.

有人说，对小孩子而言，大自然是最好的课堂。

In Spring, children can smell the fragrance of the soil to feel the power of growth; 

春天，闻闻泥土的芬芳，感受生长与向上的力量；

In autumn, they can look at the changes in the leaves to feel the loss of life.

秋天，看看树叶的变化，体察生命的消逝与有限。

In the mornings, they can bury a seed to cultivate hope.

晨间，埋下一颗种子，栽培自己的美好与希冀。

At night, they can pick a few flower to discover the color of life.

晚间，采摘几支鲜花，发现生活的缤纷与轻盈。

"Nature-based education plays an important role in education, as children are part of the nature, so it is necessary to include nature-based education as part of their curriculum.”

“自然教育是教育的重要组成部分，孩子也是大自然的一部分，对孩子的自然教育也应该纳入教育之中。”

By living next door to all living beings on earth and experience four seasons’ change,  children will understand the cycle of life and learn to appreciate nature and respect life. 

在自然中，孩子们会了解到生命的周期，学会欣赏自然，尊重生命。

From garden cultivation and to animal rearing, from observing the changes of the sun, the moon and the stars, to capturing the sound of birds and insects, children can understand the relationship between nature and natural phenomena through their own hands and senses and form an original understanding of everything in nature.

从园地的栽培管理、动物的饲养到日月星辰的变化、鸟雀鸣虫的叫声，透过儿童的双手和感官使儿童对自然界的事物形成正确的认识，使儿童懂得自然界与自然现象之间的关系。

Ji Xianlin, dubbed by many as the "master of Chinese culture", said in his autobiography that the happiest day of his life was when he was in primary school and his teacher took them to dig and plant vegetables. It was as if the universe was filled with green and you could touch it.

季羡林老师在自传中说，他人生最快活的一天是小学时，老师带他们去地里挖地、种菜的那天，一片绿色仿佛充塞了宇宙，伸手就能摸到。

OVIS always believes that education should not be separated from manual labor, through which children are taught to be independent, to enjoy life, and to cherish the beauty of it. In the process of planting and harvesting, children learn to observe and wait. The physical work they do not only gives them a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, but can also cultivates their sense of responsibility.

光谷康桥始终相信，教育不应该与劳动分开来，在劳动中教会孩子学会独立，懂得享受生活，珍惜生活之美；在播种与收获的过程里，学会观察与等待，付出的劳动除了让他们收获成就感和满足感外，还能够培养他们的责任意识。

In this process, the professional AMI Montessori teachers record and guide each child to follow the characteristics of learning in his or her sensitive periods and help children maximum their learning.

在这个过程中，专业的蒙特梭利AMI老师经过对于每位孩子的观察记录并引导，顺应孩子敏感期学习的特性，帮助孩子得到最大的学习效果。

At OVIS, knowledge is not limited to the classroom.

在光谷康桥，知识不仅仅局限于课堂中。

They have to experience and feel. When they touch the earth, when they see a sprout, when they catch an insect, when they gather a bumper harvest or even no harvest, every moment is a gift of nature.

孩子们必须去经历、去感受、去体验。当他们触摸泥土时、当他们看到发芽时、当他们捕捉昆虫时，当他们丰收甚至是颗粒无收时……每个瞬间都是自然馈赠的礼物，也是劳动带来的收获。

03

Awakening the yearning for wonder

Becoming your independent, focused self

唤醒对惊奇的向往

成为独立、专注的自我

Some people ask, what is the difference between a normal kindergarten child and a child from the OVIS Motessori kindergarten?

有人会问，从光谷康桥幼儿园走出的孩子到底有什么不一样？

The "difference" is not how many poems they can recite, how many English words they speak, nor how many special skills they have gained at the age of three.

这种“不一样”不在于他们3岁会背几首诗、说多少句英语，亦或是拥有多少小特长……

Their most distinctive characteristics are: OVIS kids will be very focused, have a yearning for knowledge and the mind of their own.

他们最为鲜明的特点是：他们将会非常地专注，有着强烈的求知欲和主见。

This trait is the "chemical reaction" generated by Montessori education: What Montessori advocates is to allow children to develop freely in a prepared environment, to improve their self-control, to establish a sense of order, focus, and form a sound personality.

这种特质是因蒙氏教育而产生的“化学反应”：蒙氏提倡的是让孩子在有准备的环境中，儿童得到自由发展，提高孩子的自控，建立秩序感，专注力，形成健全人格。

According to OVIS Montessori , the meaning of education is to enable children to truly live their own lives, to make choices for themselves, to follow their hearts, and to seek their own happiness.

光谷康桥认为，教育的意义就是让孩子能够真正活成他自我的样子，能够自己选择，为自己内心坚定的事情而专注，寻求自身的幸福。

The future is always changing. We want to create independent thinkers who, no matter what they do in the future, do it out of love, not that they need to follow others’steps. And that’s how they find happiness.

未来是不断变化发展的。我们希望能够培养一个独立的创造者，无论他们未来将会从事什么样行业，都希望他们是基于内心热爱而做出的选择，而不是随波逐流的选择。这样的人一定会是幸福的。

And the best part is when they look back and realize that it was the focus and curiosity they developed in their early childhood that became the beacon of their lives to happiness.

而最美好的场景是：当他们回首往事时，发现是幼儿时期培养的专注和求知欲，成为了他们生命指向幸福的航标。

This is also the greatest wish of OVIS Montessori Kindergarten.

这将是光谷康桥蒙特梭利幼儿园最大的心愿。