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Welcome to the Trehaus Method

The Operational Framework Behind the Trehaus Experience

The Trehaus Method is our operational framework for delivering high-quality early childhood education, bringing together the people, practices, environments and systems that help children and educators thrive.

At Trehaus School Singapore, the Trehaus Method supports our educators in putting our proprietary CANOPY Approach and CANOPY Curriculum into practice, creating a consistent, intentional learning experience for children from 18 months to 7 years old.

Our school experience is designed to be child-centred, research-informed, play- and project-based, holistic and future-ready, supporting children as they learn, grow and prepare for the world ahead.

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The CANOPY Approach

A Whole-Child Approach Developed by Trehaus

The CANOPY Approach is Trehaus’ proprietary pedagogical approach, developed with leading experts in early childhood education and informed by respected pedagogies and practices including Reggio Emilia, Montessori and Forest School concepts.

It brings together the best of these influences through a modern, research-informed approach designed around how young children learn and develop.

At its heart are Heart, Head and Hands developmental goals framework, supporting the development of the whole child.

head heart hands framework
Heart illustration

Heart

Nurtures character and social-emotional development, including qualities such as empathy, resilience and grit.

Brain illustration

Head

Builds the foundations for thinking and learning, including literacy, numeracy, STEAM, creativity and problem-solving.

Open hands illustration

Hands

Helps children put learning into action, developing independence, purpose and an understanding of their ability to contribute to their community and the world around them.

21 Developmental Goals. One Whole Child.

Across Heart, Head and Hands, 21 developmental goals give educators a framework for observing, supporting and celebrating each child’s growth.

21 developmental goals across Heart, Head and Hands
Heart developmental goals: Confidence, Empathy, Creativity, Perseverance & Grit, Communication Skills, Self-Regulation, Integrity
Head developmental goals: Executive Function, STEAM, English Language & Literacy, Mandarin Language & Literacy, Numeracy & Math Concepts, Gross Motor Skills, Fine Motor Skills
Hands developmental goals: Gratitude & Giving Back, Environmental Responsibility, Social Awareness, Public Speaking & Advocacy, Interdependence, Practical Life Skills, Global Perspectives
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The CANOPY Curriculum

Where the CANOPY Approach Comes to Life

At Trehaus School Singapore, the CANOPY Curriculum puts the CANOPY Approach into practice through purposeful, engaging learning experiences designed for young children.

Our curriculum brings together play- and project-based learning with intentional foundations in literacy, numeracy, STEAM and whole-child development, giving children space to explore and discover while building the skills they need for what comes next.

It is research-informed, child-led and responsive to each child, allowing educators to individualise and contextualise learning while maintaining a strong developmental foundation.

Research-Informed
Play/Project-based
Child-led/Co-learning

Little Projects and Little Learners

The CANOPY Curriculum comes to life through two complementary collections: Little Projects and Little Learners, bringing together joyful, project- and play-based learning with strong foundations in literacy and numeracy. As children grow, Little Academic builds on these foundations to help prepare our older learners for the transition to primary school, while keeping the joy and love of learning at the heart of their experience.

Little Projects: Learning Through Play and Projects

Little Projects are project- and play-based learning experiences that intentionally nurture development across Heart, Head & Hands. Through projects such as Little Entrepreneur, Little Engineer and Little CEO, children develop literacy, numeracy, STEAM, 21st-century skills and social-emotional learning in meaningful, integrated contexts.

Little Learners: Building Strong Foundations

Little Learners provides a more structured, sequential progression for building foundational academic skills, with learning designed to build from one unit to the next.

Little Journalist develops foundations in reading, writing, phonics and literacy, while Little Mathematician builds foundational numeracy and mathematical skills. For older children in our Blossoms and Blooms levels, Little Academic builds on these foundations as children prepare for the transition to primary school.

Little Learners
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How We Build A Love For Learning

At Trehaus Preschool, your little one is will be actively engaged in the learning process helping to hone their learning skills.

Our classes are conducted in small groups of a 1:5 teacher ratio, allowing teachers to notice and address every child’s questions and offer tailored assistance more effectively in order to help them succeed. Little ones are able to reflect on challenges and work together to resolve them. This allows them to gain a true understanding of working as a team to problem-solve together, especially during critical-thinking tasks.

We focus on fostering a deep love of learning in our children by encouraging them to ask questions and spark a curiosity that will lead to an enquiry exploration. Our teachers guide lessons and activities whilst allowing the children to plan and carry out investigations, propose explanations and solutions, and communicate their understanding of the concepts in class.

Curriculum Framework

We aim to nurture all aspects of your child during their preschool journey with our leading research-based curriculum that is rooted in the TREHAUS METHOD.

Little Projects

Our Proprietary Little Projects comprises 6 future and soft skills, alongside with a vigorous bilingual core fundamental programme (reading, writing, numeracy, fine and gross motor skills, life skills).

We focus on your children’s self-discovery journey as much as their outcome. What we offer, is a holistic education that incorporates the best elements of research-based pedagogies to create a child-led, play-based curriculum adapted to meet the needs of each individual child.

Little Learners

As much as it’s all about learning through play, we also want our kids to know when it’s time to sit quietly, listen respectfully to others, and learn together in groups. Little Assembly includes session from our Xiao Zuo Zhe, Little Journalist and Little Mathematician groups, where our children gather to listen to stories and songs, to perform to the class, present their Little Programme projects, and practise their public speaking.
Little Explorer

Outdoor and indoor curriculum focused on developing children’s motor and social-emotional skills.

Little Discovery

A mixed-age discovery time that develops children’s social, emotional and cognitive capacities through self-chosen activities.

Nurturing The Whole Child

Trehaus children will develop character skills that build the Heart, be equipped with knowledge of the Head to navigate the world and learn the necessary values and skills to empower them to use their Hands to give back to society. 

FAQs

Q: Are you a Reggio Emilia school?

A: Yes. Reggio Emilia is one of the pedagogies that informs our proprietary CANOPY Approach (™). We draw from Reggio Emilia principles alongside Montessori, Forest School concepts and other research-informed practices, bringing the best of these influences together in an approach developed by Trehaus.

Q: Are you a Montessori school?

A: Yes. Montessori is one of the pedagogies that informs our proprietary CANOPY Approach (™). We incorporate relevant Montessori principles alongside Reggio Emilia, Forest School concepts and other research-informed practices within Trehaus’ whole-child approach.

Q: How do you balance play-based learning with strong academic foundations?

A: Children learn best through play, exploration and meaningful projects. That’s why play- and project-based learning sits at the heart of the Trehaus experience.

At the same time, we intentionally build strong foundations in literacy, numeracy and other essential academic skills. Children develop literacy in a language-rich environment through reading, writing, phonics and communication, while mathematical concepts are introduced through meaningful, hands-on learning and problem-solving.

It’s a balance that allows children to enjoy the way young children naturally learn while building the foundations they need for the next stage of their education.

Q: Will my child be prepared for a local Singapore primary school?

A: Yes. Our play- and project-based approach is complemented by intentional foundations in literacy, numeracy and Mandarin, helping children develop the skills they need for the transition to primary school.

As children progress into our older Blossoms and Blooms levels, they transition into Little Academic, our gifted-education-inspired programme designed to build strong foundations in English literacy, reading and writing, mathematics, including Singapore Math, and Mandarin, while continuing to nurture a love of joyful learning.

Trehaus children have gone on to leading local schools including Raffles Girls’ Primary School, Nanyang Primary School, Anglo-Chinese School and Singapore Chinese Girls’ School.

Q: Will my child be prepared for an international school?

A: Yes. Trehaus is home to a diverse community of children from more than 20 nationalities, and our approach is designed to support children moving into a wide range of educational environments.

Our graduates have gone on to international schools including Tanglin Trust School, UWC and Dulwich College, among others.

Q: Do you offer bilingual or Mandarin immersion?

A: Yes. Trehaus offers both English-Mandarin bilingual immersion and Mandarin immersion programs.

In our bilingual environment, children learn with English- and Mandarin-speaking educators, allowing them to experience both languages naturally throughout their day. Our Mandarin immersion environment gives children even greater exposure to Mandarin through native Mandarin-speaking educators and a language-rich immersive environment.

Across the programmes, children also build foundations in English reading, writing and phonics through Little Journalist, as well as Mandarin reading, writing and Hanyu Pinyin.

Q: How does the Trehaus Method prepare children for a changing society?

A: Our curriculum is built for the next generation. Our play-based and project-based approach allows children to apply their learning in the real world, in a genuine context that creates authentic learning experiences.

By focusing on entrepreneurship, philanthropy and emotional intelligence, we ensure children are not just “exam-ready” but “future-ready,” developing the adaptability they need for a rapidly evolving world.

Little Projects

Little Projects is our proprietary curriculum at Trehaus School designed to build “future-ready” skills in young children. We use hands-on, project-based learning to let children apply their skills in real-world scenarios.

Written by education experts and enriched with insights from entrepreneurs, CEOs, and philanthropists, each module is made to develop future-ready skills for the world children are growing up in.

Children engage in a project-based, play-based, developmentally appropriate learning approach that stimulates inquiry and exploration for the early years, enabling learners to make connections across various subject areas, applying their newfound knowledge to real-world problems and projects that are both child-driven and collaborative. At the core of this innovative curriculum is a commitment to inspiring excellence, meaning-making, cultivating character, and empowering engagement, ensuring that children are not only prepared for school but for life.

Project-based learning modules (Little Projects) engage children in meaningful projects that integrate literacy, numeracy, STEAM, and executive function. Our projects seek to deepen transdisciplinary understanding – tackling complex ideas and applying them in innovative ways.

Little Learners

Little Learners is our programme to teach core literacy and numeracy skills based on what research shows us about how children learn. We teach English, Mandarin, and Mathematics through immersive play and project-based lessons. Rooted in child development research, our learning is real-world and paced to fit each individual. 

This naturally differentiated approach ensures each child grows at the right pace for them—stretching them to their fullest potential while, most importantly, letting them have fun. Through this play-based and project-based learning approach, your kids will truly LOVE learning.

Little Explorer

Little Explorer is our programme that brings forest school-inspired learning to life, treating the school and the world beyond as their playground. Whether it’s creating make-believe worlds in our indoor playground, exploring our outdoor garden and urban farm, or heading to Fort Canning Park every Friday, children experience intentional learning through play every single day. This thoughtfully designed programme focuses heavily on physical growth, developing essential gross motor skills like balance and coordination outdoors, alongside fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination indoors. 

Little Explorer Time naturally builds critical life skills like risk assessment, resilience, and problem-solving as children interact with the world around them, turning every movement into a joyful, confidence-building discovery.

Little Academic

Little Academic is our dedicated launchpad for primary or elementary school, designed to bridge the gap between early childhood play and the structured world of “big school.” Inspired by advanced gifted education frameworks, this program for our older children goes far beyond standard school readiness.

Through deep topical explorations and real-world learning challenges in small, tutorial -style groups, children don’t just memorise information—they actively apply their knowledge and skills to solve meaningful problems. This approach naturally extends their foundational literacy and numeracy, pushing their capabilities further while cultivating high-level critical thinking and cognitive flexibility. 

By treating children as capable thinkers, Little Academic does more than just prepare them with the core knowledge required for the next stage; it builds the deep intellectual curiosity, learning aptitude, and emotional resilience they need to truly thrive and lead in primary school and beyond.

Little Discovery

Little Discovery is where we make sure there is plenty of opportunity for self-directed learning, discovery, and mixed-age learning, setting up an environment where kids can enjoy play the way they like to play. Through constantly renewed sensory stations inspired by Vygotsky’s method of letting children learn through real-world play scenarios, we naturally nurture creativity. Our mixed-age learning environment ensures that older children learn empathy and leadership by mentoring their peers, while younger children accelerate their language and social skills by watching older role models.