Our Educational Programme

How Do We Teach

Experiential Pedagogy

Experience is our most powerful pedagogical tool. When we want to learn about different professions, we try them out first-hand: we bake crêpes in the classroom, build a small chair from wood with a parent volunteer, or invite a parent who is a hairdresser to style someone's hair. When we want to learn about animals, we visit them, or bring them directly into the kindergarten. A picture in a book is wonderful — but touching, feeding, and playing with an animal is an entirely different order of experience.
It is an undeniable fact that knowledge and skills acquired through lived experience remain in children's memory far longer — and they love it.

Emergent Curriculum

The emergent curriculum is a child-led, needs-responsive approach to learning. In most early childhood settings, educators present their own ideas and content and expect children to engage with them. At Zeměkoule, we take a different approach:

• We systematically gather children's ideas — what they talk about, play, sing, dance, and what currently captivates them — and use this as the foundation for our monthly planning and individual lesson preparation.
• We offer children genuine choice wherever possible: in selecting materials for art activities, in deciding which activity centre to visit first, in brainstorming and voting on which ideas to implement.
• We invite children to take on roles that suit them, try out new ones, and organise their own lessons, storytimes, or games.

The emergent curriculum demands considerable flexibility, openness, and accumulated professional experience from the educator. We are united in the conviction that there is nothing more rewarding than time spent with children that they themselves have shaped — time that simultaneously enriches and develops them.

Bilingual Immersion Programme

Czech and English are our everyday media of communication. The presence of native English-speaking educators enables children to acquire the language naturally and to develop familiarity with the culture and perspectives of their English-speaking colleagues.

The level of English proficiency with which children leave Zeměkoule varies according to the number of years spent with us and individual aptitude — all children leave with solid receptive comprehension and communicative ability, some expressing themselves in simple sentences and others in more complex structures. What is certain is that English becomes a natural part of who they are, and their pronunciation reflects authentic native-speaker input.

Character Education and Virtues

Collaboration, courage, kindness, independence, perseverance, respect, patience — these are some of the virtues we actively cultivate at Zeměkoule. On both floors, virtues are introduced to children in engaging ways: through puppet theatre, songs, stories, and games. Throughout each thematic epoch (one month), we focus on a particular virtue, weaving it into free play and structured lessons in both Czech and English through a range of experiential activities. We also make a point of recognising and celebrating moments when children demonstrate a virtue in action — acknowledgement that can come from educators and from children themselves.

Wellbeing

Wellbeing is not a new concept at our kindergarten — we have been working on it comprehensively since 2017, and for us it encompasses a wide range of dimensions:

• A healthy physical environment: our expansive garden and adjoining forest provide outstanding conditions for outdoor movement, play,
  and fresh-air lessons - children engage with nature every single day.
• Nutritious food: all meals are prepared in our own kitchen from fresh, wholesome ingredients.
• Movement and relaxation: dedicated gymnastics and physical education sessions, yoga, outdoor play in the garden and forest, complemented by relaxation and mindfulness practices.
• Healthy relationships and clear expectations: we strengthen children's social and communication skills, serving as guides on their journey toward developing and internalising values and attitudes. Children are involved in co-creating some of the rules they live by.
• Joy: we firmly believe that humour and laughter are genuinely therapeutic
  and therefore an indispensable part of life at Zeměkoule.

School Readiness and Pre-Primary Preparation

A smooth and well-supported transition to primary school is one of our core priorities. Some competencies develop naturally with age and maturation; others benefit from targeted, systematic support. Pre-primary preparation is embedded in our educational programme from the Juniors class onwards, continues through Seniors, intensifies in Seniors II, and reaches its fullest expression in our Pre-School class.

Pre-primary preparation at Zeměkoule focuses on the development of visual and auditory perception, early mathematical reasoning, memory, attention, and logical thinking. Equally important are fine motor skills and graphomotor development, communication competencies, independence, and cooperative learning.

We draw on well-established pedagogical approaches and methodologies, including H-MAT (inspired by the Hejný method of mathematics education), elements of the Elkonin method for phonological awareness and early literacy development, and diagnostic tools that help us monitor each child's individual progress and provide sensitively differentiated support. Our goal is for every child to leave Zeměkoule feeling confident, curious, and well-prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.

Kindergarten Structure and Daily Rhythm

The upper floor houses the Juniors, Seniors, and Seniors II classes, staffed by three Czech-speaking and one English-speaking educator. The lower floor serves two classes — Seniors II and Preschoolers — with two Czech-speaking and one English-speaking educator.

By 09:00 Children arrive and settle in. Breakfast is available on site for all children.

09:00 Morning Circle begins on both floors simultaneously. Children greet one another, share experiences and ideas, explore the themes of the current epoch, and engage with the virtue of the month. The circle includes movement, songs, storytelling, and drama.

After Circle Children divide into age-based groups — organised not only by age, but also by developmental needs and skills. Structured lessons begin: two per week in Czech, two in English, and one Rainbow Day dedicated to project-based learning for the whole floor.

11:00–12:00 Gymnastics and physical education session, offered once a week for the Seniors II and Preschoolers classes.

After snack Outdoor time in the garden or forest. We go outside every day — only heavy rain or extreme cold keeps us indoors.

After lunch Storytime and rest. Younger children sleep in the rest room; older children move into free play. Children from Seniors II and the Preschool class continue with additional activities such as pre-primary preparation or recorder lessons.

15:00 Afternoon snack, followed by further outdoor time in the garden or forest.

Ongoing Optional after-school clubs are available for some children. The selection changes slightly each year and has included Art Club, Dance, Gardening, and Yoga, among others.