How We Learn at Pebble Place
Every day at Pebble follows the same rhythm: mornings for inquiry and exploration, afternoons for Playlabs. This structure holds across both Early Years and Kindergarten, and it is not accidental. It reflects a deliberate view of how children build understanding — through experience, not instruction.
Our approach is rooted in constructivist theory: children construct knowledge most effectively when they are active participants in their own learning, not passive recipients. Early Years and Kindergarten programmes are both built on this foundation.
Mornings: inquiry, projects, and free exploration
For Early Years (18 months - 3 years)
Mornings are for multi-sensory exploration and relationship-building through play. Educators design provocations — open-ended invitations to explore — based on what they observe children noticing and wandering about. There is no script. The educator follows the child.
For Kindergarten (4-6 years)
Mornings are for inquiry-based projects. Children ask questions, investigate, build, create, and document. Projects run across days or weeks. They integrate literacy, numeracy, discovery of the world, and social studies — not as separate subjects but as tools for investigation.
This structure is rooted in constructivist theory: children build understanding most effectively through experience, not instruction. The morning is designed to give children the conditions for that building.
In Kindergarten, inquiry is structured through a design thinking process. Children move through phases of noticing, questioning, investigating, making, and reflecting. Projects are documented — through drawing, writing, photography, and building — so that children can see their own thinking develop over time.
Afternoons: Playlabs
Skills stick best when they're used to do something meaningful. Playlabs are applied learning experiences — afternoons where the technical foundations that make morning projects possible are built. They are not enrichment classes operating separately from the curriculum. They are purposeful skill-building contexts that connect directly to the morning's inquiry.
Playlab | Skills targeted | Developmental domain | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
Outdoor Exploration | Gross motor development, environmental awareness, curiosity, risk assessment | Motor,Discovery | All ages |
Artistic Expressions | Fine motor precision, self-expression, aesthetic appreciation, ideation through multiple media | Aesthetics,Motor | All ages |
Music & Movement | Rhythm, pitch, spatial awareness, physical coordination, emotional expression | Aesthetics,Motor | All ages |
Culinary Arts | Scientific thinking, measurement, sequencing, independence, sensory awareness | Cognitive,Motor,Independence | All ages |
Phonics | Letter-sound correspondence, blending, phonological awareness, early reading | Language & Literacy | Kindergarten |
Writer's Workshop | Writing process, narrative, persuasion, publication for real audiences | Language & Literacy | Kindergarten |
Speech & Drama | Oral language, storytelling, emotional expression, confidence, perspective-taking | Language & Literacy,Social-Emotional | Kindergarten |
Maker's Lab | Numeracy, measurement, construction, spatial reasoning, engineering thinking, problem-solving, persistence | Cognitive,Motor | Kindergarten |
Inclusive practices:
built in, not bolted on
Inclusive practice at Pebble is not a separate programme. It is an integrated approach built into how both Early Years and Kindergarten operate — in the design of the environment, the training of our educators, and the structure of our multi-age groups.
Our educators are trained to observe and identify children who may benefit from additional support. When a need is identified, we take a proactive approach rather than a wait-and-see one. For children who require it, we develop Individualised Education Plans (IEPs) tailored to the child's specific profile. Each IEP outlines personalised learning goals and two categories of strategy.
Accommodation
Adapting the learning environment or instructional methods so the child can access the curriculum
Assimilation
Supporting the child's active participation and integration within the mainstream classroom setting
We do not have a separate space for children requiring intervention. Support is provided within the mainstream classroom. This is both a philosophical position and a practical one — children develop essential social skills through participation in the same community as their peers, and inclusion prepares them for integration into mainstream school environments.
Pebble has an in-house Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) who provides assessments, delivers therapy, and works closely with families to support their child's communication development. For children who require more intensive intervention, we work in partnership with external programmes including EIPIC (Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children), the ECDA-administered service for children with developmental needs.
Some families come to Pebble specifically because of this approach. If your child has an identified developmental need, of if you have questions about whether Pebble is the right environment, we welcome that conversation directly.