The IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) at Munich International School is designed for students between the ages of 4 and 10 years. It encompasses learning not just in the classroom but also through other means of learning within the whole community. The PYP is an international, transdisciplinary programme designed to foster the development of the whole child by encompassing students’ social, physical, emotional and cultural needs in addition to their academic welfare. Students develop an understanding of important concepts, acquire essential skills and knowledge, develop particular attitudes and learn to take socially responsible action. The PYP combines the best research and practice from a range of national systems with a wealth of knowledge and experience from international schools to create a relevant, challenging, engaging, and significant educational framework for all children.

The Junior School serves students from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and cultures. We are committed to supporting each child’s social, emotional, and intellectual development. The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) is designed to inspire students to become inter-culturally aware and achieve their potential within a stimulating and caring learning environment. Our programme strives to develop students who are international citizens, as well as independent, lifelong learners. The attributes of the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile describe some of the ideal characteristics of a life-long learner. It is central to the PYP’s definition of what it means to be internationally minded. At the heart of the Primary Years Programme’s philosophy is a commitment to structured inquiry as the leading vehicle for learning.  Students are encouraged to explore, experiment, wonder, inquire, practice, invent, create, imagine, and play. We want all our learners to be actively engaged and involved fully with a hands-on approach to all learning experiences.

Six transdisciplinary themes provide the framework for the exploration of subject areas in ways that transcend their conventional subject boundaries. Within this transdisciplinary framework, Munich International School has developed individual subject standards and benchmarks to be incorporated both within the Programme of Inquiry and as standalone units of inquiry.

If you would like to dive into the specifics of these units of inquiry and learn more about Early Years IB PYP curriculum standards, click here. 

The Early Childhood team are certified educators with extensive training and experience in PYP pedagogy, positive discipline approaches, and age-appropriate social-emotional intelligence strategies. 

Your EC child will be in a class with up to 14 peers, a lead teacher, and an assistant teacher.  In addition to their core homeroom teaching team, your child will also have separate teachers for music, art, physical education, library, German, and an English as an Additional Language teacher and Learning Support teacher if applicable.  

Early Childhood students enjoy very dynamic days full of transitions.  Each outdoor and indoor learning space has been thoughtfully designed and equipped with the supplies and materials needed to express the PYP pedagogy through purposeful play.  

Their core classroom space is organized as a variety of different stations mainly used for Discovery Time and unit of inquiry learning.  Students will transition to different classrooms for physical education, art, music, library, and German.  The MIS campus is nestled between the city of Munich and the foothills and lakes of the Alps.  Set on a nature preserve, our campus is rich with an ever-growing number of playgrounds and outdoor Makers' Space for fort-building, and many miles of forested nature trails ringing the grounds where EC students take nature walks and enjoy picnic-style snacktime.

The Junior School Library serves students from EC through Grade 4, parents, staff, and faculty. Our library houses a rich collection of more than 22,000 items including fiction, picture books, non-fiction, audiobooks, magazines, and ebooks.  The library boasts an extensive German collection along with resources in more than 20 additional languages to suit our community.

Research opportunities are enhanced through access to online databases such as Encyclopedia Britannica and Brain Pop. Patrons may also enjoy listening to stories through the Tumblebook Library.  

The Library fully supports the Primary Years Programme (PYP) with resources for all Units of Inquiry and literature to enhance understanding of the PYP Learner Profile, Concepts, and Attitudes.

One of the Central Features of Early Years learning at MIS is play. An EC learner's day is comprised of a combination of child-directed play, educator-guided play, and educator-directed play. This allows students to learn skills through teacher direction and guidance and then practice those skills during unstructured play.

The "Continuum of Play" is the pedagogical practice of embedding different types of purposeful play into every moment of your child's day. MIS's Early Childhood program knows that learning can be achieved through a combination of free play, inquiry, collaborative play, playful learning, and learning games.  

A typical day begins with Discovery Time, where students have a variety of stations to choose from.  Sensory buckets, play dough gingerbread men, unit of inquiry-themed coloring, props for creating their own puppet theatre, number recognition matching games, construction blocks, kitchen play, and story time are typical options to explore during Discovery Time.

After morning Discovery Time, each week is a dynamic mix of indoor and outdoor free play, snack time and walks in the forest, music class, library class, physical education class, German class, art class, unit of inquiry time, collaborative play time, and organic gardening.  

"Play is more than fun—it’s the key to unlocking a child’s potential to learn and grow. The PYP early years (for children aged 4 – 6) frees your child to play and learn, so they can build the proven curiosity, creativity, and confidence they’ll need to thrive today—and well into the future." - IB PYP Early Years Website