NEO Curriculum

World-class curriculum opportunities and inspired learning

Literacy and Numeracy

Literacy and numeracy form part of our core curriculum and are taught daily as well as integrated into interdisciplinary curriculum and projects. Engaging, hands-on and real-world activities are implemented to engage all types of learners of all abilities.

Immersion in Nature

Nature immersion is integrated into projects and curriculum, along with daily garden maintenance in our ever-growing food forest.

Swimming and Water Safety

NEO Grande students participate in weekly swimming classes to build swimming strokes, confidence, strength and stamina.

Surfing and Ocean Safety

Living near the ocean, we value ocean safety and ensure students both love and respect the ocean’s majesty and power. Students have weekly surfing lessons with a Costa Rican surf champion.

Physical Education

Ensuring children have a wide variety of physcial skills is a key learning area at NEO. We ensure students have opporuntities to develop skills for a healthy lifestyle and broaden their interests.

Construction and Real World Projects

Meaningful hands-on education is key at NEO. Students use real tools to construct real-world projects. Integrated hands-on projects also include core subjects such as math and literacy.

Aerial Fitness and Meditation

NEO students have plenty of time to move their bodies each day. Having both an educational and psychological focus in all we do, we also value building skills in meditation and relaxation.

Motor Skills and Outdoor Play

At NEO we provide activities to develop physical coordination and strength. NEO students feel competent to tackle any challenges they face with enthusiasm and excitement.

Excursions and Animal Welfare

Students head out into the community and participate in wider learning opportunities, such as animal care and welfare sessions at the local finca.

Food Preparation

Part of building real-life skills is knowing how to grow and prepare healthful foods. Students have weekly Mini Chef classes to develop their culinary skills.

Healthy Eating

Making life easy for parents, NEO students arrive at school with their water bottle, and we take care of the rest. Students snack on organic fruits, vegetables, hummus, nuts, gluten-free crackers with avocado, and have a freshly cooked meal each day with a balance of healthful foods.

Guest Teachers

NEO is privileged to have many connections around the world and access to world-class educators who visit and teach our students along with our core teaching team.

STEM

Construction and hands-on projects are a key part of the curriculum at NEO. Students have built boats to see if they will float, constructed their own hurdles for the oval, built volcanos and made them erupt, and numerous other projects that leave them enthralled in their school day.

The Arts

Students partake in multiple art sessions each week, and are provided many different art mediums to build creativity and imagination.

Entrepreneurship

At NEO we value entrepreneurship. Most recently students created artwork to sell. Students learnt to determine prices, advertise, present and sell their creations. This project also connected students to their local community, as the bulk of the revenue paid for food baskets for families in need through CEPIA.

Community Projects

Engaging in projects to help the local community is a key value at NEO – inspired by our Montessori influence. Students used their creativity to raise money for food supplies for families in need. We are grateful to CEPIA who provided food lists for students to use when shopping for supplies at the supermarket. NEO students and fascilitators then went to deliver the food baskets in person. This was a wonderful learning journey for all.

Sustainability and Food Systems

Children learn from school entry about food systems, sprouting various foods from seed, supporting seedlings and harvesting food. Our ever-growing food forest engages students in harvesting and then learning how to cook the foods as part of a healthful diet. Composting is an element of our recycling curriculum.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Protecting nature by reducing waste and reusing materials are key skills. Hands-on shredding old cardboard to create new pots, and cleaning clay from the surrounding soil = pots

Harnessing technology for learning & creativity

Harnessing Technology for Learning and Creativity

Technology is developing exponentially. At NEO we believe that children need to learn how to harness new technologies to become unlimited creators. As much as our students learn to use pencils, paper, glue and scissors, they are also learning coding, 3D designing and printing.