THE CASA PROGRAM RUNS FROM SEPTEMBER TO JUNE FOR CHILDREN AGED BETWEEN 2½ TO 6 YEARS OLD
(SUMMER CAMP AVAILABILITY IS CONTINGENT UPON ENROLMENT)
(SUMMER CAMP AVAILABILITY IS CONTINGENT UPON ENROLMENT)
WE ENSURE A TEACHER-CHILD RATIO OF 1:8
The Brason Academy Casa Program is one in which the children learn at their own pace in conjunction with how the classrooms are arranged, where the teachers serve as guides to each child's education process. Teachers observe the "sensitive period" of every child, which means the activities that they engage in most passionately, and guide their learning in that avenue. Classrooms are of mixed ability, placing older and younger children together in order to share, collaborate and role model. This helps in building self esteem for all age groups. Children engage in challenging work every day in an uninterrupted 2 hour work cycle and develop a larger range of skills in the following avenues:
Practical Life Skills
The activities in this area give the child opportunities to further develop fine motor skills, hand eye coordination and concentration. All activities would have a real-life purpose that can be implemented at home as well as at school.
Language Skills
In the Casa Program, children learn to read and write. This is done through a scientific step-by-step progression to being able to write and read with comprehension. They further expand their nomenclature for simple and scientific words. The "sensitive period" for language starts at 3 years of age, where a child is presented with various interesting activities to introduce them to sounds. The program also prepares children's hands for graphic skills.
Number Skills
In the building of numerical skills the focus is on concrete and experiential learning. Numbers and decimal systems are introduced by handling concrete material that later can be applied to more abstract and complex concepts.
Sensorial Skills
In this avenue of learning, children use their senses to help their brain appreciate differences in dimensions, shades of colour, textures and sounds. Children also introduced to geometry, for example: learning the names of different triangles and 3D shapes. Depending on the ability of the child, the teacher guide can add a variation to the activity that will further challenge his or her thinking.
Culture
This aspect of the Casa Program encompasses giving the child an understanding of the world. They gain the knowledge to understand maps, identify flags, landforms and life cycles of plants and animals, etc. They learn about life and culture prevalent in other parts of the world, inculcating an appreciation of the diversity around them.
Music and French
Music and French are integral parts of the Casa Program. Music activates different parts of the brain. Children are introduced to many different percussion instruments and tunes. French is introduced by teaching them nouns in the environment, action verbs and simple songs.
Food and Nutrition
The Casa children are provided with healthy and nutritious snacks in the morning and afternoon . Lunch is provided according to the Canada Food Guide.
The Casa children are provided with healthy and nutritious snacks in the morning and afternoon . Lunch is provided according to the Canada Food Guide.