PRIMARY HOME SCHOOL

    For the child from 6 to 10 years old

    Reverence of the child. Respect for nature.

    THE ENVIRONMENT

    Centre Pastel offers a “home-like” environment that provides warmth and safety for the young children under 10.

    No need to think about enrolling your child in “extra-curricular activities”: Centre Pastel offers parents its activities in its program, enabling them to enjoy a more serene, more airy week.

    Centered on the child’s potential, the program offers a multitude of activities that are accessible on site.

    Center Pastel is not a school accredited by the French Ministry of Education. The program and activities offered enable families whose children are enrolled in home school to benefit from a place where children are grouped around social and educational activities that contribute to the achievement of the learning project in collaboration with parents, whose involvement remains essential.

    With the benefits of small groups, the child’s ability to concentrate and listen is thus significantly enhanced, resulting in a richer, fuller experience with fewer adults to refer to, which in turn fosters the child’s confidence and serenity.

    A DIVERSIFIED 4-DAY-A-WEEK PROGRAM

    Offered from Tuesday to Friday, the program offered by Centre Pastel is highly varied and focuses on sensory experiences linked to art and nature: visual arts, crafts, physical activities, music, free play and more.

    Through the themed experiences and workshops on offer, Centre Pastel completes the implementation of the parents’ learning project and reiterates the exercises and homework set by them.

    Throughout the 4 days at the Center, in addition to the French and mathematics taught by their parents, children are introduced to the life sciences, the social world and English.

    We offer a bilingual French-English environment where reading and writing are done in French.

    ARTS AND EXPERIENCE FIRST

    Through the experience of the arts, children integrate harmoniously with nature, their history and their relationship with the human world.

    A structured, rhythmic week of weekly visual arts and crafts workshops brings continuity and stability to the child. That’s why all the themed workshops in the Centre Pastel program are included in the year’s schedule:

    • Visual arts (drawing, watercolor, form drawing, sculpting)
    • handicraft works (knitting, sewing, gardening, woodworking, cooking and baking)
    • Physical activities (social games, hiking and nature walks, ice skating in winter)
    • Music, Tales & Free play

    MAINTAINING SOCIAL TIES, EVEN IN HOME SCHOOL

    Center Pastel offers a solution to one of the most common concerns of homeschooling parents: how to maintain a child’s social ties with other children?

    Indeed, Centre Pastel program brings together several children enrolled in home school in the same location for 4 days a week, enabling them to be, interact and play together, thus developing young children’s social skills in a more intimate setting.

    What’s more, the children are in a multi-age group, corresponding to Primary school Grade 1, 2 and 3.

    NURTURING THE BOND WITH NATURE

    Children are in daily contact with nature, working and playing in the garden and on Mount Royal.

    Additionally, educators who are specialized in nature education come to Centre Pastel one day a week. They offer enriching experiences in the great outdoors to children. Children are guided in outdoor explorations and learning through lessons in ecology, resilience, awareness and care, responsibility towards others, traditions and traditional knowledge.

    Spanning more than half an acre, Mount Royal is a rich and stimulating natural environment in which our children play, explore in complete freedom, and hone their curiosity and independence.

    Offering children an authentic connection with nature is essential to Centre Pastel: through activities such as wildlife observation, gardening, woodworking using materials gathered on site, and creative play in a natural environment, the center celebrates the tradition of “kindergartens in the forest”, popular in Scandinavia.

    On ne peut pas voir la nature,

    on ne peut que la ressentir”

    Jean-Paul Riopelle

    THE RHYTHM

    Children experience a schedule that reflect their natural rhythm.

    Thus, mornings, when children are most present, are devoted to intellectual subjects, while afternoons are reserved for physical movement, manual activities and free imaginative play.

    Children learn with ease in an environment were days unfold in a familiar rhytm. This clarity and repetition of the daily structure allows the child to always predict what is coming next. The child feels secure and reassured in an environment like this, and can freely unfold their potential.

    OFFER

    PRIMARY HOME SCHOOL

    from 6 to 10 years old

    4-DAYS WEEK

    TUESDAY – WEDNESDAY – THURSDAY – FRIDAY

    8:00 AM – 3:00 PM

    ACCOMPANYING PARENTS WITH D.E.M.

    Center Pastel is an ideal destination for parents who are enrolled in the home schooling process for their child, as we are able to accompany and guide them through the various steps and documentation required by the D.E.M. (Direction de l’École Maison). This support is provided throughout the year, during which we offer regular follow-up.

    FEES

    The cost of the program is $70.00 per day, of which $42.00 covers childcare expenses eligible for the tax credit for children aged 7 and over (RL24). You can check here what your tax rate would be according to your family situation.

    An annual registration fee of $300.00 is required and is non-refundable.

    A commitment of 4 days per week is required. A total of 36 weeks (approximatively 150 days) are provided over the year.

    Program fees include:

    • Cost of participation in activities;
    • Custodial and supervisory costs during breaks, meals, rest, physical activities and free play;
    • Cost of material;
    • Parents are responsible for notifying the Minister and the Commission Scolaire before July 1, for sending the description of the complete learning project before September 30, and for implementing the learning project.

    All costs related to an external outing are excluded from the program costs and will be discussed at the time of its preparation with the Parents.

    Annual fees are billed monthly over 10 months, from September to June.