Early Childhood
A warm welcome from our Lower School Director, Paola Torres
Our mission in the American School of Paris (ASP) Lower School is to create a caring and nurturing learning environment for our students, and to inspire them to become true global citizens of the world. Our teachers strive to foster and encourage creativity, a spirit of inquiry, the acquisition of essential skills, and the freedom to express and share ideas. Small class sizes allow for plenty of individual attention and enriching group interaction.
Our experienced Lower School faculty members are truly outstanding: warm, caring, dedicated, perceptive, and highly trained. They are committed to developing strong, positive, and lasting relationships with each of their students. A typical school day is one that is filled with joy, laughter, and learning. We value solid parent partnerships, a hallmark of the ASP educational experience, which enhance the learning experience.
In all areas of our curriculum and throughout the daily school life of each child, we look for ways to empower students to take ownership of their learning and to lead their own educational experience. Their resulting enthusiasm and implication is so rewarding for them, and for their teachers and parents as well.
A child’s first years at ASP establish the strong foundation for learning that will carry them through their lives.
The essential skills required of successful problem-solvers, engineers, innovators, artists, and change-makers are nurtured in our youngest learners. They learn to be curious, imaginative, and determined to try things for themselves. Our Early Childhood program (Grades K3–Grade 1, ages 3–6) encourages our youngest students to discover the wonders of the world and enable them to contribute as positive, confident, and caring individuals.
Our program is based on three fundamental beliefs:
1. All children are curious, capable, and competent.
2. Children thrive in a positive, loving, and supportive community.
3. Children learn better in a rich variety of dynamic teaching environments.
The school day begins at 8:30 a.m. when students arrive on campus, and finishes at 3:30 p.m.
Students can be dropped off by parents (driving or walking), or use the ASP bus service. Early Childhood students begin their day in the Outdoor Learning space, before beginning their morning activities.
During lunch, students in Grades K3 and K4 eat in their classrooms. Students in K5 and Grade 1 eat in the cafeteria, and have the choice between a hot lunch prepared by our French chefs, or a packed lunch from home.
Students in K4 and above can participate in after-school activities from 3:30 p.m.; bus service is available at 5:15 p.m.
How Our Program is Organized
- K3 and K4 (ages 3–4): Whole-child curriculum, with an emphasis on inquiry, exploration, and discovery. Social-emotional learning, cognitive development, play-based and outdoor learning, science, and math are all a focus. English is the main language of instruction; students receive 25+ minutes of French, 6/8 days per 8-day cycle.
- K5 (ages 5–6): Students begin our standard curriculum, where they investigate, discover, and play. Reading, writing, math, science, social studies, solving problems, and connecting ideas are all focus areas. Learning is integrated via play-based and outdoor learning. Students receive 30 minutes of French every day.
- Grade 1 (ages 6–7): Students continue our standard-based curriculum, incorporating play-based and outdoor learning, with a focus on reading, writing, math, science, social studies, investigating, and discovering. Students receive 40+ minutes of French every day.
Learning beyond the classroom is an essential component of an Early Childhood education at ASP.
With the campus situated on 12 acres, our recently re-designed Outdoor Learning space provides our youngest learners ample room to build, explore, and create in different environments like our mud kitchen, our sand pit (with a pirate ship!), and a large green garden.
With a wide variety of materials and spaces on offer, our Early Childhood students have plenty of opportunities to explore. With the massive forest and Parc de Saint Cloud literally as our next door neighbor, our Early Childhood students go on monthly adventures where they use nature as their classroom. Nature is brought indoors too! Students bring their collections of sticks, rocks, and crawly creatures back to the classroom which they integrate into math, literacy, and science!
Ready to become an ASP family?
See the campus in action, speak to a member of our Admissions team, meet an Early Childhood educator, and more!
