The Purple Elephant 49

Happening upon a blissful bamboo forest just steps away from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok is a rare occurrence. The Purple Elephant@49 – the latest addition to our family of schools – embodies this calm and tranquility. The gentle breezes flowing through the school and its environs beckon all who enter these hallowed grounds to pause, take a breath, and simply delight in the surrounds. And, if you think you’re hearing young children engage in discourse in three languages, you are not mistaken, because here these young citizens of the world are exposed to the rich experience that comes from a mix of three cultures, and communicate it in English, Mandarin and Thai. The bamboo forest allows its young inhabitants, aged eighteen months to three years, to engage in a dialogue with one another, and their surroundings, as they forge lasting cross-cultural friendships, and learn new ways to communicate them, every day.

We respond to the curious nature of young children by providing them with rich experiences that encourage a ‘sense of wonder’. With wondering comes discoveries that the children eagerly share with one other, their teachers, and their families. They come to see themselves as part of an interactive world where they can build a rich and meaningful community with connections between home and school, and the world beyond. We believe that every child is born with the many languages of life, and that these languages are interactive by nature. The children are given many opportunities to investigate their ideas through these languages, making sense of their world, and sharing their perceptions with their friends.

Our environment – a thoughtful, creative and wonder-filled environment – fuels the young child’s learning and imagining. The beautiful and inspiring spaces, both inside and out, are purposefully designed to encourage natural exploration, and heighten the curiosity of those fortunate enough to inhabit these environs. Exploring the variety of materials set out as intentional provocations, the children are given opportunities to investigate their ideas, inviting inquiry, dialogue and co-construction, and allowing the children to deepen and expand their knowledge.

Children who are members of a nurturing, collaborative community of young inquirers develop a sense of belonging, and an understanding of their own identity, voice and feelings that leads to optimal development and learning. This, and the relationships they form with aesthetically pleasing settings, their teachers and families, becomes the foundation for life-long learning that embraces fair-mindedness, inclusion, and the cultural values and practices embedded in every environment they encounter.

Each child brings to the centre unique life experiences that are respected for their diversity, and all are considered to be brimming with potential – potential that is supported by an approach to teaching that takes full advantage of the physical space to develop mental and physical abilities as well as the foundational knowledge required for later literacy and numeracy.

Purposeful play, one of the most effective ways young children learn, capitalises on the child’s natural curiosity, joy, and sense of wonder. Play here is child-centred, engaging, and enhances development in all the domains: physical, social, emotional, communicative and cognitive.