Primary Years
Last updated on August 13, 2024Early learning, as described in the Early Learning Framework, includes children from birth to age 8. As children transition from home and other early learning environments to school-based settings, engaging in play-based programs is critical for success.
Access to full day Kindergarten is available for all eligible five-year-olds in British Columbia. Kindergarten is intended to be a play-based introduction to school settings with demonstrated long-term benefits for a child’s academic and social skills.
As children advance through their primary years (Kindergarten through Grade 3), they continue to engage in hands-on learning guided by the BC Curriculum.
The purpose of the Primary Years is to support children’s learning through:
- Engagement in developmentally and culturally appropriate experiences
- Exploration and play, both indoors and outdoors
- Experiencing opportunities that foster their social-emotional learning, self-regulation, and positive relationships with teachers and peers
- Engagement in enriched experiences that support conceptual, cognitive, and language growth, and foster inquiry
- Learning about their local communities and cultures, and the natural environments in which they live
- Participating in learning activities that extend beyond the school, such as neighbourhood and nature walks, and visiting the local library.