BABY DRAGON PLAYGROUP (0-3 YRS)

Baby Dragon
Playgroup

Days:

Tuesdays

Time:

09:00-11:00 AM

Place:

PFO Community Lounge, Qin Building (Elementary)

Age:

0-3 years

IST offers a free playgroup opportunity for members of Tianjin’s expatriate community, open to children up to 3 years old. It is a wonderful opportunity for infants to engage with others their age, promoting creative play, familiarize themselves with a school environment, and expend some energy! It is also a lovely time for parents to visit, share experiences, learn more about the IST community, exchange ideas and information, and offer support.

Tea and coffee are provided, but you are welcome to bring your own favourite snacks too. The playgroup is run in a collaborative way by the families who use it, and supported by the school administration. We can make art and craft materials available and there are plenty of toys too. Please note, if you are not already a member of the IST community, we do ask that you sign in at the gate each visit and wear the yellow visitor badge while on school grounds.

IST Playgroup Guidelines

For a child to qualify to attend playgroup the child must hold a foreign passport unless otherwise invited to attend playgroup by the school administration.

Playgroup attendees are required to report to the Elementary Office to register their child before attending their first session. Copies of both the child’s and parent/s’ passports must be provided.

At least one parent must accompany their child to playgroup. It is not acceptable for parents to simply send their child-care helpers along to playgroup with their child and not attend themselves. Parents are welcome to bring their child-care helpers with them.

Playgroup attendees must strictly adhere to all school rules and guidelines for conduct while on the school campus, failure to do so potentially resulting in withdrawal of approval to enter the campus.

IST has an ‘English Please’ policy and for inclusivity purposes we consequently ask that, in so much as they are able, parents use English when communicating together in playgroup. It is of course entirely appropriate for parents to use mother tongue languages when communicating with their own children.

Playgroup will normally be held in the KG1 classroom in the Early Learning Center, under the guidance of an IST Early Years teacher. At other times, attendees are welcome to use the PFO Community Room and outside playground facilities, including the lower elementsary playground located between the KG1 and Grade 2 classroom, so long as these are not in formal use by other parents or classes. Unfortunately the inside KG3-Grade 2 playroom (beside the aforementioned playground) and the Early Learning Center playground are considered classroom extensions and consequently are not available for Playgroup use.

IST provides resources to enhance the playgroup experience and maintains a budget line to support the ongoing development of the program. The Elementary Principal is required to approve such purchases.

Although IST promotes a family oriented program, Playgroup parents and their children are asked not to visit siblings and friends in IST’s formal classes unless such visits have been expressly requested by homeroom teachers or approved in advance by the Elementary Principal.

Whilst playgroup is an informal opportunity for expatriate pre-school children and their parents to meet and socialize together, it should also be noted that structured play sessions result in significantly improved social and productive play based learning opportunities for children.