Happy Preschoolers

become self-aware adultseffective communicatorsadults who thrive on challengesuccessful adults

Providing the 21st century skillset in a nature connected, innovative, fun and engaging way of learning. Welcome to the learning centre of the future.

3-5 year old admissions open

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Happiness for success

Relationships and experiences before the age of 6 are the building blocks for emotional intelligence and creative problem-solving skills later in life. A happy early childhood lays the foundation for achievement in life.

Our innovative education model centred in wellbeing and connection fosters the most important 21st century skills.

Personalized and attentive

Each child’s interests and ways of learning are unique. With a low learner to educator ratio and a positive discipline approach, we effectively scaffold their learning.

Connected to Nature

A wall-less model where the classroom extends to the surrounding lush green areas. Learners spend more than 3 hours a day interacting in and with nature.

Nurturing Critical Thinking and Self-Confidence

Children follow their interests and are given the freedom and support to question, probe deeply, and make connections about real-world problems.

Fun and engaging

Highly-trained educators use provocations to inspire exploration and engagement. When children’s curiosity is sparked, learning is natural. Most importantly, learning becomes fun.

Enabling Exploration and Discovery

Children at ages 3-5 start asking ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘why’ questions as they try to understand more about the world.
We help them in every step of this amazing adventure, the discovery of a new world.

At Hypha, we have a whole-child approach to education that supports children’s rights to play, to be in nature, to be nurtured, to pursue their own interests, and to be collaborators of their own learning.

Besides immersing our learners in nature with a robust English Curriculum, we combine practices from Reggio Emilia, Montessori, and Forest School and use research-based methods. Some of these methods are:

Visible Thinking Routines (VTR): Created by Project Zero at Harvard, the routines help children learn how to learn more effectively by visualising their thinking steps.
Flag Time: Routines that individualise learning and give learners agency, improving their strengths while providing practical reinforcements in areas that need development.
ELLI (Effective Lifelong Learning Inventory) Skills: Originating from Bristol University, the skills learners develop under this system makes them more adaptable to changes in their environment.
Hypha Growth Journals: Created by Big Life Journal, Hypha Growth Journals is a unique science-backed journal that helps wire brains for resilience, confidence, gratitude, kindness, and self-love.

Fostering Key 21st Century Skills

Our play and inquiry-based approach over time progresses to project-based learning as the children grow. Given the freedom to question and probe, our learners grow to ask relevant and compelling questions with empathy. In this journey, educators support them in unearthing their unique path enabling them to grow to their fullest potential.

Self-Awareness

Understanding and recognising one’s own thoughts, emotions, and behaviours.

Self-Expression

The ability to communicate one’s thoughts, feelings, and ideas effectively.

Critical thinking

Analysing and evaluating information to make informed decisions and judgements.

Growth Mindset

A belief in one’s ability to develop and improve through dedication and hard work.

Flexibility

The ability to adapt to changing circumstances and be open to new ideas or approaches.

Problem solving

The process of identifying, analysing, and resolving issues or challenges based on intuition, knowledge and experience.

Connecting and belonging

At Hypha we emphasise connection to self, connection to peers, and connection to community as a means of developing social and interpersonal skills and values.

Interconnectedness

Emphasizing the interconnectedness of all things and the importance of cultivating empathy and compassion.

Belonging

Feeling a sense of acceptance, inclusion, and connection to a group or community.

Enpowerment

Enabling individuals to embrace a lifelong learning mindset.

Regeneration

Caring for our body and the environment so that we thrive.

Peace

A state of harmony, freedom from conflict or disturbance.

Equity

Valuing fairness and respect.

Providing the right environment

The right environment for happiness and growth.

We provide a specialised team of educators in high-quality facilities that extend to our lush green environment.

Our team of educators have decades of accumulated expertise and experience in International Schools in a wide range of educational models, from traditional to holistic.

Our learning centre is located in 7600 sqm of space at O Moinho mini-farm in Colares, Sintra. Outdoors we have an outdoor gym, chicken coop, vegetable gardens, Fantasy Area amongst other spaces. Indoors, we have a Creativity and Tinkering Studio, a library, and a Sensory and Zen Space, besides our regular classrooms. We use wooden toys and sustainability practices in our learning routines.