Exploration of ‘Family Style’ Mixed Age Education in Yilin Kindergarten
(Author: Zhendong Wu) In Minhang, Shanghai, there is a kindergarten that has persisted in one thing for more than ten years: Putting children of different ages into the same ‘Family’, bringing education back to life, and bringing growth back to childhood. This kindergarten is known in the industry for its ‘Family Style Mixed Age Class’ - Yilin Kindergarten.
In 2005, when ‘MixedAge Education’ was still an unfamiliar concept, Yilin boldly ‘Broke the Ice’ and tried the ‘Normalization’ and ‘Full Mixed Age’ models. In the early stages, parents' confusion, social controversy, and expert questioning followed one after another, and even some parents jointly requested that the kindergarten hold monthly briefing meetings in the community. But the people of Yilin did not back down. ‘Dare to Be the First, Dare to Try for the Child’has become an unwavering belief of the kindergarten.
From ‘Refusal’ to ‘Appointment’, It Is the Warmth of Education that Wins Trust
‘My child is almost six years old. Isn't it a waste of time to learn 123 with a three-year-old child?’‘Will my child be bullied?’- This is the initial concern of many parents. But within just two months, the doubts were dispelled by the child's changes. The children in the mixed age class have become ‘Older Siblings’ or ‘Younger Siblings’, who are better at taking care of others, expressing themselves, and willing to cooperate. Afterwards, more and more parents wanted to enroll in mixed age classes, and some even bought or rented houses in the surrounding areas in order to enter the kindergarten. The mixed age class, once known as the ‘Experimental Class’, is now‘Hard to Find’. Gang Xu, the Chairman of Yilin Kindergarten, sighed and said, ‘At the beginning, we wanted to provide children with a space for free growth. In the end, parents also began to agree that we were just giving education back to our children.’
Education Reform, Teachers Come First
To truly implement ‘Family Style Mixed Age Education’, having ideas alone is not enough, teachers are the soul of the curriculum. ‘Teacher is curriculum’is the direction established by the Yilin team at the earliest. How to make a teacher face children of three age groups at the same time? How to organize collective activities and achieve individualized teaching and differentiated guidance? There were no ready-made answers to draw on, so Yilin chose to use the approach of ‘Writing Problems - Researching Problems - Solving Problems’ to step out of its own path.
Ms. Jiaying Wang, Deputy Principal, is a key leader in this exploratory journey. For ten years, she led a team to record, organize, and discuss tens of thousands of educational notes, and raised and responded to hundreds of frontline questions: How to organize mixed age games? How to help children develop a sense of family responsibility? How to allocate tasks based on different children's abilities? In her opinion, the most difficult and beautiful aspect of mixed age education is that it requires teachers to truly enter the hearts of children and become ‘Designers of the Environment’ and ‘Moderators of Relationships’. ‘What we have been doing is not imparting knowledge to children, but guiding them to learn love, collaboration, and responsibility in real situations,’said Jiaying Wang.
Teaching ‘Mixed Age’, Curriculum ‘Isomorphic’
Another highlight of Yilin mixed age education is the curriculum design. Unlike traditional courses classified by age, Yilin's curriculum content starts from children's actual problems and forms a framework of ‘Problem is Curriculum’. A simple theme, such as ‘Autumn Leaves’, was broken down into tasks suitable for different age groups in the mixed age class: Children in the junior class used wheels to roll prints, children in the middle class rubbed leaf veins, and children in the senior class had to complete composition and pasting. After one class, different children gained a lot. This course design not only enhances participation, but also stimulates children's natural desire for cooperation.
In addition, Yilin actively infiltrates the concept of mixed age into peer parallel classes, implements the ‘Family Group’ system, and realizes mixed age education on the ‘Age Difference’. ‘A child in a small class can also become the‘Boss’, what we see is the awakening of a sense of responsibility,’shared a homeroom teacher.
From Practice to Theory, from Campus to Society
Over the past decade, Yilin mixed age education has accumulated a complete curriculum system and won the ‘First Prize of Shanghai Basic Education Teaching Achievement Award’ in 2017. Education bureau leaders and domestic and foreign experts have visited and observed the kindergarten multiple times, giving high praise. Professor Jie Wang once commented, ‘The greatest value of ‘Yilin Mixed Age’is that it shapes children's sociality and allows teachers to truly return to the essence of education - respecting differences and respecting growth.’
Recently, Yilin Kindergarten also held a Mixed Age Education Seminar with the theme of ‘Innovative Use of Textbooks to Improve Activity Quality and Efficiency’. Teacher Jiaying Wang shared during the activity, ‘Ten years of blooming flowers stem from our fearlessness of failure; in the next ten years, we will continue to move forward with the spirit of love and research.’
Watch the Original Intention of Education and Respond to the Future of Children
While other kindergartens are pursuing higher admission rates and unique programs, Yilin chose to use ‘Slow Education’ to create a space that truly belongs to children. Mixed age education is not a label, but a concept; Not a gimmick, but a warm persistence. It teaches children to be tolerant, responsible, empathetic, and cooperative, and also teaches adults to let go of their superiority and preconceptions in front of children, truly standing on the same high ground as them.
Education is never achieved overnight. But as long as there is light in the heart, there is a path under the feet.
In the future, Yilin will continue to cultivate deeply in ‘Mixed’, take root in ‘Love’, and sow more possibilities for children's childhood.
Reporter：Xiang Li
In 2005, when ‘MixedAge Education’ was still an unfamiliar concept, Yilin boldly ‘Broke the Ice’ and tried the ‘Normalization’ and ‘Full Mixed Age’ models. In the early stages, parents' confusion, social controversy, and expert questioning followed one after another, and even some parents jointly requested that the kindergarten hold monthly briefing meetings in the community. But the people of Yilin did not back down. ‘Dare to Be the First, Dare to Try for the Child’has become an unwavering belief of the kindergarten.
From ‘Refusal’ to ‘Appointment’, It Is the Warmth of Education that Wins Trust
‘My child is almost six years old. Isn't it a waste of time to learn 123 with a three-year-old child?’‘Will my child be bullied?’- This is the initial concern of many parents. But within just two months, the doubts were dispelled by the child's changes. The children in the mixed age class have become ‘Older Siblings’ or ‘Younger Siblings’, who are better at taking care of others, expressing themselves, and willing to cooperate. Afterwards, more and more parents wanted to enroll in mixed age classes, and some even bought or rented houses in the surrounding areas in order to enter the kindergarten. The mixed age class, once known as the ‘Experimental Class’, is now‘Hard to Find’. Gang Xu, the Chairman of Yilin Kindergarten, sighed and said, ‘At the beginning, we wanted to provide children with a space for free growth. In the end, parents also began to agree that we were just giving education back to our children.’
Education Reform, Teachers Come First
To truly implement ‘Family Style Mixed Age Education’, having ideas alone is not enough, teachers are the soul of the curriculum. ‘Teacher is curriculum’is the direction established by the Yilin team at the earliest. How to make a teacher face children of three age groups at the same time? How to organize collective activities and achieve individualized teaching and differentiated guidance? There were no ready-made answers to draw on, so Yilin chose to use the approach of ‘Writing Problems - Researching Problems - Solving Problems’ to step out of its own path.
Ms. Jiaying Wang, Deputy Principal, is a key leader in this exploratory journey. For ten years, she led a team to record, organize, and discuss tens of thousands of educational notes, and raised and responded to hundreds of frontline questions: How to organize mixed age games? How to help children develop a sense of family responsibility? How to allocate tasks based on different children's abilities? In her opinion, the most difficult and beautiful aspect of mixed age education is that it requires teachers to truly enter the hearts of children and become ‘Designers of the Environment’ and ‘Moderators of Relationships’. ‘What we have been doing is not imparting knowledge to children, but guiding them to learn love, collaboration, and responsibility in real situations,’said Jiaying Wang.
Teaching ‘Mixed Age’, Curriculum ‘Isomorphic’
Another highlight of Yilin mixed age education is the curriculum design. Unlike traditional courses classified by age, Yilin's curriculum content starts from children's actual problems and forms a framework of ‘Problem is Curriculum’. A simple theme, such as ‘Autumn Leaves’, was broken down into tasks suitable for different age groups in the mixed age class: Children in the junior class used wheels to roll prints, children in the middle class rubbed leaf veins, and children in the senior class had to complete composition and pasting. After one class, different children gained a lot. This course design not only enhances participation, but also stimulates children's natural desire for cooperation.
In addition, Yilin actively infiltrates the concept of mixed age into peer parallel classes, implements the ‘Family Group’ system, and realizes mixed age education on the ‘Age Difference’. ‘A child in a small class can also become the‘Boss’, what we see is the awakening of a sense of responsibility,’shared a homeroom teacher.
From Practice to Theory, from Campus to Society
Over the past decade, Yilin mixed age education has accumulated a complete curriculum system and won the ‘First Prize of Shanghai Basic Education Teaching Achievement Award’ in 2017. Education bureau leaders and domestic and foreign experts have visited and observed the kindergarten multiple times, giving high praise. Professor Jie Wang once commented, ‘The greatest value of ‘Yilin Mixed Age’is that it shapes children's sociality and allows teachers to truly return to the essence of education - respecting differences and respecting growth.’
Recently, Yilin Kindergarten also held a Mixed Age Education Seminar with the theme of ‘Innovative Use of Textbooks to Improve Activity Quality and Efficiency’. Teacher Jiaying Wang shared during the activity, ‘Ten years of blooming flowers stem from our fearlessness of failure; in the next ten years, we will continue to move forward with the spirit of love and research.’
Watch the Original Intention of Education and Respond to the Future of Children
While other kindergartens are pursuing higher admission rates and unique programs, Yilin chose to use ‘Slow Education’ to create a space that truly belongs to children. Mixed age education is not a label, but a concept; Not a gimmick, but a warm persistence. It teaches children to be tolerant, responsible, empathetic, and cooperative, and also teaches adults to let go of their superiority and preconceptions in front of children, truly standing on the same high ground as them.
Education is never achieved overnight. But as long as there is light in the heart, there is a path under the feet.
In the future, Yilin will continue to cultivate deeply in ‘Mixed’, take root in ‘Love’, and sow more possibilities for children's childhood.
Reporter：Xiang Li
