The Odyssey - The Global Preschool

The Odyssey Curriculum

The Odyssey Curriculum is planned to promote process-oriented, experienced-centered learning experiences for children. Curriculum is designed to encourage children’s interests, curiosity and their natural quest for knowledge; leading to experiences in problem-based learning, inquiry, investigations, discovery and active hands-on explorations. The Odyssey curriculum encourages learning outcomes beyond knowledge acquisition and academic skills. The Odyssey early education enriches children with the skills necessary for life success, nurturing children to become well-rounded, competent and resilient individuals in a globalized world.

Our Curriculum

Projects

Emergent, in-depth projects involve children in child-directed inquiry, research and problem-based learning experiences. Investigation & representation of learning are planned around experiences that encourage the development of the 8 intelligences (promoted by Howard Gardner, Theory of Multiple Intelligences). Project approach is used as the context for implementing the Odyssey’s comprehensive programmes e.g. Arts Odyssey, Music Odyssey, OLE, Fitness Fun, Little Chef and ECQ Literacy.

Project engagements empower children’s unique and creative ideas as well as their capacity for independent, self-directed inquiry, investigations and experimentation. Project activities are planned around children’s interest and their natural inclination to explore with materials. Such planning also builds on children’s emerging skills, interest and existing knowledge while ensuring that skills and concepts are learned in meaningful, real life contexts, thus effectively promoting life skills and life-long learning.

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SkillWorks

SkillWorks introduces basic skills and concepts essential to early academic development. The Odyssey preschool program incorporates school readiness skills necessary for preparing children for school, focusing on two key academic skills; literacy and math.

1. Literacy Links

Literacy experiences are planned to encourage children to use reading and writing as a tool for expressing their feelings, communicating ideas and for representing learning. Literacy experiences include Letterland, Readers Workshop, Word Bank and Writers Workshop. Such literacy experiences engage children in meaningful, active hands-on activities that promote their functional use in real life contexts e.g. projects. Children develop skills in communication, listening comprehension, reading and writing, phonics, word recognition, vocabulary, grammar concepts.

2. MathQuest

MathQuest helps children acquire understanding of math concepts and important math processes like problem-solving, collecting, representing and interpreting data, discussing and communicating ideas, as well as logical thinking and reasoning skills. MathQuest is organized around the six main components

  • Classification
     
  • Graphing
     
  • Numeracy (Number knowledge, concepts and operations)
     
  • Geometry (Shape, size and symmetry)
     
  • Patterns
     
  • Measurement (Time, money, length, size, capacity)
     

Chinese Language Immersion Program (CLIP)

Chinese Language is introduced as a tool for learning concepts and understanding of real world knowledge and to develop enhanced language competencies in communication and literacy skills, develop children’s expressive and communicative language and literacy skills.

CLIP adopts an exploratory, experienced-centred approach to immersing children in the Chinese Language throughout the day, where a qualified Chinese Language teacher, allocated to each class, executes integrated curriculum experiences which include projects and literacy activities such as games, songs, rhymes, cookery, music, dance, outdoor and computer activities. As they are introduced to the language within real world contexts, they acquire it more readily and learn to use it as a means of expression and communication. With increased exposure, they become more competent in the language.

Art Odyssey

Artistic expression and creativity is actively cultivated through a variety of art processes and encounters aimed at nurturing and developing the unique talents, creativity and gifts each child brings into the learning community. The Art Odyssey comprises integrated experiences in the design, creation and appreciation of art. These experiences are balanced with opportunities to see and comment on visual art forms of different styles, periods and cultures. As they explore varied techniques of drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, print, architecture and others, they learn to manipulate colour and form.

An atelier, is a specially-designed art studio, provides an innovative environment that effectively immerse the children in creative and technologically-integrated arts experiences.

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Music Odyssey

Music Odyssey engages children in listening to songs and music, singing, exploring with speech, rhythm and beat, finger plays, creative movement, dancing, miming, dramatization and movement games and in using basic percussion instruments. Music experiences are planned to around these 3 key experiences

  • Listening, Performing and Composing
     
  • Creative drama
     
  • Creative movement and dance
     

Listening helps children develop awareness of how sound is organized in music. Children explore and listen to a range of sound sources, from ordinary household and environmental sounds to a variety of percussion and melodic instruments, music in different styles and traditions, music from other cultures, classical and pop music. Performing engages children in active music making, beginning with the voice (singing) followed by instruments (playing with percussions). Creative drama engages children in exploring the world around them and encourages expressions of feelings, ideas, speech and articulation as well as
bodily-kinesthetic experiences.

Outdoor Learning Experiences (OLE)

The Odyssey outdoor environment is designed to facilitate a full range of holistic experiences for children ranging from physical, cognitive, social and emotional skills to intellectual skills. OLE effectively makes use of the rich, readily available natural resources outdoor and reinforced the phenomena of a curriculum that is alive. OLE enhances the children’s multi-sensory learning experiences, encourages environmental and naturalistic explorations, and promotes social and community awareness. OLE promotes children who are nature smart through naturalistic experiences and learning that occurs in a real world environment.

Little Chef

Little Chef is a children’s cookery programme that provides enjoyable and engaging experiences in cooking and food preparation. It promotes multifaceted learning in science, math, literacy, art and social studies that effectively enriches children’s early experiences. Children interact and experiment with materials and ingredients for food preparation, and develop their understanding of food, nutrition, hygiene and food handling skills, and kitchen safety.

Fitness Fun

Fitness Fun promotes physical health and fitness; increases energy expenditure; and nurtures in children a positive attitude toward an active and healthy lifestyle. It is a comprehensive physical education program that promotes active and enjoyable participation in physical activities such as movement activities, games and sports, health education and physical play.

ECQ Literacy Curriculum

ECQ Literacy enhances the social, emotional and cultural intelligences of children, cultivating their interest in the world around them. ECQ experiences promote positive cultural attitudes in children, and encourage communication, interaction and collaboration across cultural groups, which is essential for Singapore’s multicultural society and the global world.

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