Fairy Garden in our Nursery

But at Hiba Academy Nantong, our planting activities are much dreamier. Knowledge about how to plant is not our only goal, we want to inspire children for a higher level of willingness of exploration, concentration and responsibility.  A bunch of playful elves, a beautiful garden, a cloth bag, a help card... The EY2 teachers have constructed a fairy-tale adventure for the children! Of course, this story is not without the children's wild imagination and creativity. Somewhere in a small corner of the world lives a group of elves who are responsible for guarding a magical garden! With wings, they nurture flowers and herbs and herd cattle and sheep in their gardens...

Their garden was decorated warmly and beautifully with the colourful ideas of the children. Such a beautiful space, but unfortunately the guardian elves can't find their way back because they are too playful! What would happen if the garden's flowers and animals were left unattended? The children answered anxiously:

“They'll die!”

“The animals will get hungry!”

"The leaves will fall!"

The tension arose, and the elves sent out letters asking for help! On their letters they have marked the fence with a graphic representation of how they would like the children to help build it. The children who received the letter analysed the general structure of the fence according to the shapes, picked out the right materials and thought about different ways to glue it together: should they use wire, fabric or white glue? In the end they opted for the familiar hot glue gun! Successfully building a garden railing, brilliantly transforming from a flat figure to a three-dimensional physical object.

No sooner had the children stopped to celebrate the completion of their first task than a letter of help arrived from the elves: do you know the seeds? Can you help us plant them? So the children looked closely at the various seeds with the help of a microscope:

We need to grow these seeds successfully! Referring to the step-by-step diagram, the children were first ready to start preparing the nutrient soil.

What does good growing soil look like?

Touch: It feels soft, damp

See: Black, and white, round things.

Smell: Sweet, I like the smell!

Next, fill the container with nutrient soil, but what if you don't have the tools? No problem! Your hands are little spatulas! Grab a handful and put it in the pot. If your hands get dirty, pat them down and they'll be clean.

Next we plant the seeds, there are four of them. Are you right?

Some pupils count by themselves, and when they get to four, they say, "That's enough! Four!"

Some children think and confirm, "I don’t have enough. I'm missing one."

Finally, cover the seeds with soil and water them. We must take care of them and wait for them to bloom!

Unlike ordinary planting activities, the teachers at Hiba Academy Nantong have incorporated inspiring scenarios into their natural teaching. Clever scenario building effectively helps children to immerse themselves in the story. They are fully motivated while helping them to acquire planting skills and understand the meaning of planting. We encourage children to take the initiative to explore in depth and promote multi-sensory development through observation and hands-on activities and develop the ability to exercise thinking and problem-solving skills.

Hiba Academy Nantong has started the autumn intake for the 2023-24 academic year. Families who are interested in registering for September 2023 (EY2/EY3/EY4) are welcome to scan the QR code below to make an appointment to visit the school.

Families of school age are welcome to register for our Day Pass Experience at Hiba Academy Nantong.

• Parents will have the opportunity to meet with the Chinese and Western Co-head of Early Years, gain an in-depth understanding of our nursery’s educational philosophy and get an interactive experience of our unique facilities and environment.

   

• Children will have the opportunity to join a classroom of their own age and be immersed in our bilingual classes with Hiba pupils for an in-depth exploration of the joys of bilingual learning.