At Primrose®, we believe it is essential for students to understand the larger world around them.

That’s why Primrose kindergarten children interacted with classrooms in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Rwanda in the fall of 2019 as part of Level Up Village. The innovative educational program provides students an opportunity to participate in a virtual, global partnership with another classroom from a different country.

“Level Up Village provides a unique opportunity for Primrose Kindergarteners to engage in design challenges with children from around the world,” says Dr. Maria Shaheen, executive director of early childhood education at Primrose Schools. “This real-world experience is an amazing way for children to learn important life-long skills such as digital literacy, collaboration, and respect for others.”

Each Primrose Kindergarten classroom in the U.S. and a partner classroom in another country simultaneously participate in a STEAM-based (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) curriculum that emphasizes design thinking challenges around a specific theme, such as learning about the importance of clean water or exploring world music.

Partner classrooms then share their STEAM-based creations with each other through prerecorded video exchanges hosted on the Level Up Village platform. 

At Primrose, we value learning about other cultures.

Level Up Village offers a unique way for our students to engage in positive interactions with children from another country. Through these connections, our students can better understand that people, whether far or near, may have different traditions or ways of doing things, but they are also alike in many ways.

“The world is now global,” says Amy McCooe, Level Up Village CEO & Co-Founder. “As a parent myself of four children, I don’t know how you send them into the world today without giving them global competency skills.”

McCooe said the global bonds the children forge are often profound, and the STEAM skills will benefit them for a lifetime. 

“I am amazed how the students are touched in such a personal way,” she says. “If you can have that kind of connection with STEAM at an early age, then you’ve created something really powerful.”

For more information about how we incorporate STEAM-based learning into children’s everyday experiences, check out these resources:

• Embracing STEAM at Primrose
• Understanding STEAM in Preschool Classrooms
• STEAM Learning at Home Without Trying