Playing is serious business

An environment designed in an intelligent fashion stimulates children’s creativity, curiosity, expression and unique personality. This is why, for us, playing involves the highest degree of responsibility from our educators and whole Acorns team.

It is a well-known fact that the learning process takes place at both an individual and social level through play. For children, playing is vital: it helps them know the world, become a part of it and encourages emotional development.

Through play children learn and identify their internal rhythm. They enjoy being with adults who express their understanding, support and care. When playing happens in a safe environment, under the supervision of experienced educators, learning becomes a source of exploration, research and joy.

At Acorns our purpose is to offer children this very safe medium where they care explore freely, by themselves, without being pushed, in order to develop the self-confidence they will need in life.

We offer a learning plan based on play that meets all the requirements for the first years of the Early Years Foundation Stage. By stimulating their curiosity and desire for exploring, children discover that learning is both interactive and fun.

The Early Years Foundation Stage learning plan represents the standard in education, development and child care, between the ages of 0 and 5, in England and Wales. This method represents the Acorns foundational, educational and developmental principles. Likewise, we add extracurricular activities in order to complete and diversify the educational process as much as possible.

Early Years Foundation Stage takes into account all the aspects of the child’s education and development, beginning with the idea that each child is unique. The intellectual process develops once the child interacts positively with both adults and the environment created especially for learning to take place.

EYFS is divided into the following areas of learning:

  • Personal, social and emotional development: developing self-confidence, emotional and behavioral control and the feeling of self-knowledge
  • Communication and Language: listening, understanding, comprehension and expressing.
  • Physical Development: with the help of specialized equipment, health and personal care activities,
  • Literacy: stimulating a love of reading through rhymes, stories and songs throughout the day.
  • Mathematical Development: shapes and perception of space, counting, calculating.
  • Understanding the world: people, traditions, and a sense of community.
  • Creative: drawing, exploring different materials, stimulating imagination.

The EYFS method is delivered in a fully integrated system: sensorial and building activities, small world and role play corners, painting and drawing, technology, stories, and songs.

Throughout the day, Acorns educators are permanently involved in the children’s interactions be they spontaneous or adult-led.