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4Life Overview

“You must be the change you want to see in the world” – Mahatma Gandhi;

“The habits we form from childhood make no small difference, but rather, they make all the difference.” – Aristotle;

“The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.” – Robert Hutchins.

For nearly 10 years, 4Life Education has been nurturing children and laying the foundation for a lifetime of learning in an environment where each child feels happy, respected, proud, secure, and loved.

Love and empathy are the most crucial educational qualities at 4Life. Everyone at the school, from teachers to chefs, cleaners, office staff, facilities, and gardeners, knows and cares for all the students, ready to support and guide them in each specific context.

All school activities are designed for every student, fostering strong bonds between children and their peers. The multi-age environment allows children to live and learn in a real community, promoting harmonious attitudes and diverse learning opportunities.

As a result, we have successfully created a second home for the children, providing them with a large extended family.

We are living in two worlds,

The relationship between nature and nurture shows that our children live not in one world but in two. We live in two worlds as well. These are the world around us and the world within us. The world around us exists whether or not we exist: it was there before we were born, and it will be there after we’re gone. It is the physical world of nature and the material environment, as well as the social world of other people, history, and culture. Education must help young people understand that world: how it works and how they can navigate it. The world within us exists only because we exist. It came into being when we did, and it will end when we do (according to our beliefs). It’s the world of our own consciousness: our feelings, ideas, private imaginings, hopes, and anxieties.

Education should help our children understand their inner world, too: how they feel, think, and see themselves, as well as the talents, interests, and characteristics that make them who they are.

As educators, we should pay equal attention to both of these worlds, both in what our children learn and in how they’re taught. How we think about the world around us is deeply affected by our feelings and attitudes; how we feel is shaped by our knowledge and experience of the world around us. To engage our children in both worlds, 4Life offers them a rich curriculum and a wide range of learning experiences through which to explore it.

So, what overall educational value do we want to give our children? To enable students to understand the world around them and the talents within them so that they can become fulfilled individuals and active, compassionate citizens.

4Life Happiness Philosophy

“Each child is a unique indi­vidual with distinct talents, abili­ties, and potential waiting to be discovered and nurtured. Education should be the best environment for this seed to sprout, grow up and become the best version of itself.” – Lê Ngọc Thanh

In today’s fast-paced and often competitive world, it is easy to over­look the profound diversity that ex­ists among children. Our society often measures success through standardized metrics, unintentionally overshadowing each child’s individuality.

It’s important to acknowledge that our children have a wide range of talents and skills, from artistic and creative activities to scientific and analytical pursuits. Some excel in verbal communication, while others thrive in hands-on activities. Some are naturally inclined towards leadership, while others shine as team players. The spectrum of unique qualities our children bring to the table is limitless.

As parents and educators, it is our collective responsibility to create an environment that allows each child to flourish according to their unique strengths and interests. This entails embracing diverse learning styles, encouraging exploration, and providing opportunities for self-discovery. By doing so, we not only celebrate the individuality of each child but also foster a sense of self-worth and fulfillment that can propel them toward a lifetime of meaningful achievements.

Furthermore, acknowledging the distinct challenges that each child may face is equally important. Some children may require additional support or alternative approaches to learning. By recognizing and addressing these individual needs, we can ensure that every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

In a world that often emphasizes conformity and comparison, let us remember that our children are not uniform products to be molded according to a standardized template. They are unique individuals, each with their remarkable journey to pursue.

Let us create an educational and social landscape that values diversity, fosters individual growth, and allows each child to shine exceptionally. In doing so, we not only enrich the lives of our children but also lay the foundation for a more inclusive and compassionate world.

“A teacher without empathy and compassion is as useless as a book without light.” – Robert John Meehan

We believe that compassion and empathy are essential elements in any educational environment, as they contribute to living a healthy and happy life.

An environment with empathy can connect with students on a deeper level, recognizing their emotions, struggles, and needs. In there, educators understand what’s happening below the surface, acknowledging and considering what they see and feel and what they don’t see, which creates a supportive and nurturing environment where students feel understood and valued. Only by understanding their students in the context of the whole can teachers accurately understand their students’ problems and come up with effective solutions.

A compassionate teacher goes beyond the curriculum, considering the well-being of each student. Compassionate educators uplift and encourage their students, fostering a positive learning experience.

For several reasons, it is essential to nurture empathy and compassion from a young age. Empathy helps children in building and maintaining strong and healthy relationships with peers, family, and educators. It is crucial for social harmony and understanding. Developing empathy contributes to a child’s overall emotional intelligence, including the ability to manage their own emotions and understand others. Empathetic children are more likely to resolve conflicts constructively, without resorting to aggression or avoidance. Nurturing empathy in children lays the foundation for compassionate and understanding individuals. Children who are empathetic are often more socially adept, navigating various social situations effectively, and are more inclusive and accepting of differences. Empathy is linked to better classroom behaviour and an increased ability to cooperate with peers, contributing to a more conducive learning environment. Early development of empathy lays the groundwork for emotional well-being throughout life, including lower risks of antisocial behaviour and better mental health.

We exactly know that we can raise compassionate children that will change the world!

Children discover the world through play and reveal their creative abilities.
Without play, full intellectual development is impossible. Play is a huge open window through which a life-giving stream of concepts and ideas pours into the child’s spiritual world. Play is a spark, igniting the fires of inquisitiveness and curiosity.” – Vasily Sukhomlinsky

Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, skill, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them. Play
allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles, sometimes in conjunction with other children or adult caregivers. As they
master their world, play helps children develop new competencies that lead to enhanced confidence and the resiliency they will need to face future challenges. Undirected play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, to resolve conflicts, and to learn self-advocacy skills.

What does your child need to succeed in life? No one knows for sure what the future will hold. However, in a world economy that is rapidly being transformed by automation, digitalization, robotics, and artificial intelligence, employers and researchers are identifying a wide range of knowledge and skills as increasingly important. These competencies are not best cultivated when play is eliminated and scripted teaching and standardized testing are prioritized. In other words, we may be giving our children the opposite of the education they most need for their future: a chance to explore their curiosity, collaborate, and use their imagination to create new ideas that genuinely add value to the world.

“If we love our children and want them to thrive, we must allow them more
time and opportunity to play, not less.” – Peter Gray

Today in 4Life, the parents, teachers, and children have joined together to build a great school built not on stress and fear but on play, joy, learning, and love. 4Life is such that the child and teacher will go to school with ecstatic joy. At home in the evening, after a fulfilling day, the child will talk about the things done during the day and will talk with pride.

4 ELEMENTS OF 4LIFE HAPPINESS PHILOSOPHY

On the foundation of the three axioms mentioned above, 4Life builds the philosophy of Happiness education with four elements:

Enjoy happiness in life

We understand the importance of being happy in life, both now and in the future. Children foster happiness daily and lay the groundwork for a happy future because it is a journey, not a destination.

Inquiry learning through integration

We believe that inquiry-based learning throughout the integrated curriculum is vital to preparing young children to live safely, productively, and harmoniously in a global community on a planet whose very survival is at stake.

Every child is talented

We understand and respect individual abilities, helping children enhance their strengths and address their weaknesses through personalized lesson plans in a supportive environment, allowing them to blossom into their best selves.

A harmonious attitude

We guide kids to find balance and unity through a sense of peace, cooperation, and understanding on the basis of love, compassion and empathy. It involves approaching life and relationships with a mindset that seeks to create harmony rather than conflict.

Further to 4Life Happiness philosophy

4Life Approach

Inquiry Learning Through Integration

4Life’s child-centered approach to teaching young children, an approach that respects their inherent curiosity by devoting learning time to inquiry experiences and an approach that replaces rigidly divided subject matter with cross-curricular study.

Learning through inquiry begins from birth, as infants explore their environment and interact with the people in it. During their early years, children absorb more information than at any other time in their development. They learn by continually asking questions and observing using all their senses, while also being guided and inspired by adults.

Children are naturally curious about the world around them. By offering them opportunities to explore and inquire, their interest is usually piqued. It’s important to note that the world around us doesn’t neatly fit into subject categories like math, science, or social studies. Instead, it often integrates various aspects of subject matter. This suggests that for young children, and even for many older ones and adults, the most effective approach to successful learning involves using inquiry within an integrated curriculum.

When children are given meaningful opportunities to follow their curiosity, ask questions, and gain a deep understanding of a topic, it’s referred to as investigative learning, inquiry-based learning, or simply inquiry learning.

“The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.” – Robert Maynard Hutchins

It is possible to provide young children with an education that is engaging, exciting, and meaningful to their lives while ensuring that they do well on the necessary assessments.

“The ideal environment would support children’s desire to find
out about things, facilitate the process of discovery, and, in general, meet children’s needs.” – Alfie Kohn

The Child centered learning environment

Just as we remember, however vaguely, the people and environments of our early school experiences, so too will the children that we ourselves teach. And with good reason. The environment and the people working within it provide a powerful infl uence on how children feel about learning, on how well they learn, and on what they learn.

Caring, civic-minded classrooms, developed on a foundation of physical and emotional security, provide the optimal framework to promote the integration of the curriculum through child-directed, inquiry-based learning. It is challenging for our teachers to make time and give the effort needed to establish the rich, stimulating, and safe physical and social-emotional environments needed to enhance children’s capacity for learning, as well as to foster harmonious social growth. But we rise to that challenge as we seek ways to be supportive of each of their young charges and prepare the learning environment to nurture the strengths that each child brings to the class.

We are skilled in the teaching and modelling of behaviours and expectations that promote feelings of belonging, usefulness, and respect in order to set the stage needed to create an environment that provides security for every child. A blanket of security helps children gain independence, independence that will gradually mature into interdependence. A blanket of security supports and encourages young investigators as they explore their great world.

In 4Life, we are “taking a village to raise a child” all over side: indoor and outdoor environments, social-emotional environments, proactive and predictable classroom management.

“Early childhood educators must not be dazzled by tests just because they look scientific or because governors, legislators, and community leaders believe that tests reveal “ the truth ” about children’s learning.” – Constance Kamii

Assessment and standards

Assessment in early childhood education is an ongoing process and an important one for analyzing, evaluating, and revising classroom programs. Assessment that focuses on individual children can also provide critically important information that leads to helpful interventions or modifications of curriculum to meet specific needs.

We flexibly combine many methods: Observation, Anecdotal Records, Checklists, Rating Scales, Interviews, and Portfolios to ensure assessment is strategic and purposeful, systematic and ongoing, integrated with teaching and curriculum, valid and reliable, communicated and shared.

Our children have engaged in an integrated, meaningful curriculum infused with inquiry and wonder can perform just as well, if not better, on standard tests than their young counterparts who are subjected to a tedious, fragmented, irrelevant, “test-prepping” curriculum

 

“When you are out walking, nature does not confront you for three-quarters of an hour only with flowers and in the next only with animals. It is clear that when out walking, you can also sit and pick up the flowers and concentrate solely on them for three-quarters of an hour and learn a great deal. The problem is that in school we generally do not consider both perspectives as necessary components of a child’s education..” – Heidi Jacobs

Connecting curricula through themes and units

We love to do projects with our children because it is exciting watching them construct their own knowledge base … watching them decide what interests them the most, investigating it, and asking questions about it. We like seeing children excited about what they’re doing, excited about their learning. We like watching them almost on fire because they can’t get the questions out fast enough and they can’t get the materials in their hands fast enough to represent what they’re learning as they investigate a topic. And we know it is just the best way for children to grow and for their brains to develop.

The theme-based curriculum is designed to surround children with a unifying concept or broad topic in most of their study, and even play, for a predetermined period of time. All children in the class undertake the same thematic activities, which are planned in advance by the teacher (with personalized goals).

Because children need the actuality of hands-on, visible subjects, a theme take a more concrete, tangible, topic-like form – All About Me , Farm Animals , Winter , Plants and so on. Then, the theme is carefully planned and the use of curriculum webs, which, on paper, resemble “Charlotte’s Web,” by teachers.

In quiry-based learning

We provide our students with the most important opportunities to pursue and grasp knowledge: ponder and ask questions about objects or events that engage them.

Our mindful teachers embrace the wonder in his or her students as a tool to construct knowledge; such use of wonder is at the heart of using inquiry throughout the integrated curriculum.
Our inquiry-based learning in early childhood curriculum has been introduced previously. It is, however, an avenue that enables children to gather and utilize knowledge in meaningful and relevant ways with the goal of helping them become lifelong learners. It may not be an overstatement to argue that using inquiry-based learning to integrate the curriculum can be a panacea – to counter the lament of too much curriculum to cover, to overcome the lack of transference in student knowledge, and to address the misfortune of being understimulated, disengaged young learners.

Asking the ‘right’ question is far more important than receiving the answer. The solution to a problem lies in the understanding of the problem; the answer is not outside the problem; it is in the problem. Understanding the power of “why?”, our teachers are not only to be aware of and responsive to queries of their students but to actively pursue avenues that allow for inquisitiveness in the classroom.

“The important thing is not to stop questioning.” – Albert Einstein

4Life Nutrition 

Nutrients are substances required by the body to perform its basic functions. Nutrients must be obtained from our diet since the human body does not synthesize or produce them. The foods we eat contain nutrients. Foods also contain non-nutrients that may be harmful (such as additives like some dyes and preservatives) or beneficial (such as antioxidants).

However, food itself contains only raw nutrients. In order for food to be converted into essential nutrients that the body can use, the digestive system, a miraculous system located in every human body, plays an important role.

To build a good nutritional regimen for children, 4Life cares about both factors: food quality (intake factor) and the child’s health and emotions (metabolism factor). On the other hand, the balance of the two factors above is also given due attention.

Fresh Food

The freshest food is the food that has the shortest time from farm to table. We go shopping every day on our own, and there is no food in the refrigerator that has been kept overnight. Frozen food is also not accepted in the 4Life kitchen.

We aim to use ingredients in their natural state such as semi-milled rice, raw sugar, sea salt, traditional fish sauce, and traditional oils like peanuts and sesame…

Safety Food

4Life Kitchen uses food with clear origins. Our chefs select food that is free from growth hormones, pesticides, and food additives. We prioritize natural foods grown using traditional methods. We use ultrasonic washing machines combined with sea salt to clean fresh food, which helps remove dirt and harmful bacteria in every corner.

High-quality Food

Our foods are nutrient-dense, meaning they contain significant amounts of one or more essential nutrients relative to the amount of calories they provide. Seasonal foods, suitable for the soil, are often chosen by us because they have the highest quality at the best price.

Variety Food

We know it is better to get all our micronutrients from the foods we eat as opposed from supplements. Supplements contain only what is listed on the label, but foods contain many more macronutrients, micronutrients, and other chemicals, like antioxidants, that benefit health. 4Life’s menu offers a variety range of food to ensure that children receive all the necessary nutrients, from macronutrients to micronutrients, through their meals. 

Diverse culinary styles

We not only diversify our food to ensure that children receive all the necessary nutrients, but we also offer a variety of culinary styles on our menu, including Vietnamese, Chinese, Indian, Thai, and Western cuisine. This diverse range of options allows children to enjoy different kinds of food and helps them become more adaptable global citizens. Additionally, by offering a variety of culinary styles, we have the opportunity to educate children about countries, regions, and cultures from around the world.ts and sesame…

Fresh vegetables and fruits

Fresh vegetables and fruits are important for the body’s health. However, many children nowadays do not have the habit of eating them, leading to nutritional imbalances that greatly affect their physical and mental development.

At 4Life, we highly emphasize the importance of eating fresh vegetables and fruits to maintain a balanced diet and has become a colorful world in every meal. Our lessons are designed to help children understand the impact of unhealthy eating habits while encouraging them to experiment with nutritious foods. Vegetables are included in every meal, and fruits are an essential part of breakfast, lunch, afternoon snacks, and dinner. Additionally, pure fruit juice is offered as an afternoon snack.

Happy meal

A healthy diet involves balancing energy intake (anabolism) and expenditure (catabolism). 4Life provides a spacious learning environment designed to be close to nature, with plenty of natural light. The curriculum is based on engaging projects that help children to exercise and expend energy. As a result, there is a natural need for eating to compensate for energy expenditure.

n addition to educating children about the role of food through lessons and weekly cooking hours, 4Life offers a menu rich in family-style cooking methods, beautifully presented to enhance the anticipation of mealtime.

Creating a happy and joyful atmosphere is also crucial for effective digestion. In addition to understanding the role of nutrition, 4Life takes into account the health, psychological well-being, and physical activity of each student daily, allowing us to provide flexible and tailored nutritional solutions and making mealtime a source of happiness for children.

We encourage and support children to complete their own meals without forcing them to do so. Our chefs are always prepared to cook special meals for children needing health care, such as those with stomachaches, toothaches, or fevers, etc.

4Life Collaborative Education

The family plays a crucial role in the upbringing of children. It is the first socialization unit that a child comes into contact with from birth. The family provides the environment and experiences that help children develop the necessary skills and values to function in society. What we teach at home and how we encourage our children greatly influences their communication, learning, and relationships with others.

The logo of 4Life features a symbol of three hearts of the same color, representing unity. Childhood education consists of three components: family, child, and school. Family and school actively create the educational environment, while the child is the recipient of this environment. The relationship between the family and the school is a cooperative one aimed at educating the child together. Therefore, the family and the school must share a consistent educational philosophy and approach. 4Life parents have the right to clearly understand the educational philosophy and methods of 4Life through seminars, events, parent meetings, and direct communication. Based on this understanding, they can support the school in educating the child at home and request the school’s advice and support for each child’s individual needs. The child is an equal participant in the educational journey, and both the family and the school must work together to understand the child’s strengths, passions, and challenges. The family and the school must act as a unified link in educating the child. The 4Life parent community is growing stronger, providing a platform for parents to support each other and collaborate with 4Life to nurture their children to become the best versions of themselves.

“The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.” – Robert Maynard Hutchins

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