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Is online education truly helping our kids?

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Although learning by yourself can be a tad bit tougher than normal schooling but online learning also has a ton of benefits. Add a teacher overseeing your kid through virtual classes and some might even say online learning is better than conventional classes. With the pandemic, all classes are happening online and it looks like they might continue for a longer period of time. Classes of all grades are happening through virtual classrooms. Playgroups too now have their nursery online classes that help your kids receive their imperative preschool education.  

To throw a little light on how online classes help our kids, here are a bunch of benefits of online learning; 

It is self-paced

One of the biggest benefits of online education is that it is highly personalized and every kid can pace it according to their speed. With traditional teaching, your kid sits in a class with 40 sometimes 60 students and they’re all expected to follow the same level of teaching but with online teaching, your kid can now relax and study without the pressure of coping up with the rest of the class.  

No boundaries

With an internet connection, there are no geographical boundaries which means you can sit in your house in Mumbai and study a course offered at Harvard. This opens a whole new level of opportunities and knowledge. 

Convenience

It offers a more flexible schedule for your kid. Traditional schooling is rigid but with online education, your kid can sit in the comfort of their room, on their beds, and study at any time they want. 

Enhanced technological efficiency

Your kid also learns to handle and use various software, researching processes, online assessments, and even collaboration which increases their computer and technological efficiency which helps you kid succeed in life. 

Customized

You have more room for customization of your education. You can choose every single class you want to take and just study that. This means your kid isn’t learning any unnecessary subjects that won’t help them in their career. It saves their time, their energy and allows them to put that into a subject that would benefit them. 

More engagement

Online learning with its virtual techniques, images, videos, presentations can be more engaging to your kid and make them more studios or interested in learning new things. 

Advanced learning tools

Nowadays with advanced learning tools you can get real-time progress assessment and feedback on your kid’s performance. And as it is all digital, everything is easier to keep a track of. 

So, if you get all the aspects of traditional education but improved, more convenient and more interactive and engaging, then why would online education not benefit your child?

How to apply for preschool/nursery school?

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Preschools are a vital foundation for every child’s learning process. And even though this pandemic has made it impossible for your child to attend a preschool, they still don’t have to miss their valuable preschool experience as most of the schools conduct online classes. Online preschool and online classes for kids are the new way forward in this post-pandemic world and it is time for your kid to hop on the train as well.  

Generally, the enrolment process varies with every school though the steps more or less remain the same. The general admission process is as follows:

  • After you have gone through the school’s website and online prospectus, set up a call with their counsellor and get as much information as you can. This information is finding out key elements like the curriculum, Number of classes per week and their quality of teaching.
  • It would be a good idea to check out their physical premises and get an idea on how suited the facility is to your child’s needs, once physical school starts. 
  • A few things to check are the school’s authorization, certification, the faculty, the sanitization, and the food quality. 
  • Post your research, you can easily fill up the application form online for most schools these days. Most schools have different programs based on age criteria. For example, Mindseed has programs ranging from Playgroup, Nursery, KG, and Daycare. The online preschool program called Preschool Comes Home is conducted online and ensures that your child develops a love for learning through fun-interactive sessions that are an integral part of the learning process. You get an option to choose the program in the application form online. 
  • Along with the application, you’ll need to submit some required documents as per the school’s regulations. After you’ve filled the form and uploaded all the required documents, just submit the form. .  
  • The next step is generally paying the registration fees and procuring your child’s admission. You’ll have to pay a non-refundable registration fee (most cases) and then book a seat for your child in that program. 
  • After this, you’ll just have to pay the term fees before the term begins and you’re all done. 

The process is relatively easy and smooth so you don’t have to worry about the admission process at all. The assigned counselors will also guide you through every step of the process.  

How to prepare your child for kindergarten?

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The actual process of learning for a child begins when he/she gets enrolled in a kindergarten. Thus, gaining entry into it is a significant milestone for both children and their parents alike. Parents want to put their children into the best kindergarten available either in their locality or nearby it. So, they look for such play schools or preschools on the Internet with relevant queries like “kindergarten near me”.

However, only a few of them give it a thought to prepare their child for it. Nevertheless, it helps simplify things for children when they start going to kindergarten.

If you are a parent who is wondering how to prepare your child for kindergarten, implementing the following steps will enable you to accomplish the task in the best possible manner:

Talk to your child

Talking to your child is the first thing you need to do as a parent to prepare him/her for kindergarten. Chatting with your kid will help you make aware of their responses. You need to ask proper questions for this purpose. Just normal chatting with your kid will serve the cause well for you.

Also, there is no hard-and-fast-rule regarding when you can talk with your child. You can do it at any time, depending on your as well as your child’s convenience. No doubt, you will need a lot of patience and be an active listener to listen to their responses. But you can be rest assured that it will eventually yield you a desirable outcome.

Let your child enjoy his/her play time

Children derive several benefits from their play time. Contrary to what most people believe, allowing children ample time to play is not a waste of time. Instead, physical play provides children with several benefits, such as improvement in motor skills. 

Besides, it also helps them learn social skills. Children learn to use negotiation as a means to resolve conflicts. For this reason, choose such a preschool that provides your child with ample play time.

Get your child accustomed to being away from you for a while

At the preschool or kindergarten phase, your child will remain away from home in the company of their teacher and other children for 2-3 hours. For most children, their whole world is centred on their family and home until they start developing relationships with the outside world.

As far as possible, try to engage your child in activities that will keep them occupied for some time. When they engage in such activities, try to let them spend some time alone. By getting your child into this habit, you will allow your child to get accustomed to staying away from his/her home and family members for a while. This activity will make our child feel assured when he or she will remain away from home.

Encourage self-care and independence

At preschool, your kid will learn to engage in activities based on the multi-part directions of his/her teacher. If your child knows how to care for himself/ herself before going into preschool, he or she will be in a better position to follow those directions as well.

How To Pick The Right Playschool For Your Toddler?

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Early education is vital for the development of a child’s academic and social skills as he/she grows up. Some children are too young to be enrolled in a primary school. 

A play school serves as an ideal option for them. As a good substitute for home-based learning, a play school boosts a child’s brain and his/her problem-solving skills.

That said, the important question is to locate the best preschool for kids. You can find preschools nearby your locality by Googling with queries such as “play school near me”. But because it is a life-impacting decision for your kid, you might want to find the best formula to make an informed decision.

While there is no fixed formula for it, you can consider a few points to take the right step forward in this direction. When you come to think of it, you might want to consider a few parameters. 

For instance, some schools might have the best infrastructure but less experienced teachers. Also, you might come across those that have good teachers but a swanky infrastructure. As a parent, the onus would be on you to decide on the preschool in which you would want to enrol your toddler.

To make an informed decision, you can consider the following points: 

  •      Talk to the parents of other children:Want to get credible information about preschools in your locality or the nearby areas from your residence? Your neighbours or friends could help you with it. Talk to those who have enrolled their kids in a preschool to know about its features. Though you might spot preschools near your location on the Internet, you might not be sure about the credibility of the details of features presented on the Internet.
  •      Find out the methodology of a preschool before making the final call:The term “Montessori” is ambiguous, meaning that it can mean several things. Most play schools use this umbrella term to define their philosophy and methodology. Even if it sounds impressive to you, you must ask a preschool to spell out its teaching methods and individual philosophy for you.
  •      Check the safety precautions and infrastructure: Play equipment and teaching aids of a preschool will have a direct bearing on the mental development of your child. So, try to find out if the activities and the environment of a preschool are conducive for your child before making the final call. Also, enquire about the safety precautions of a preschool.
  •      Find out whether or not a preschool involves parents in decision making:Both teachers and parents jointly contribute to the education of children at the preschool level. Therefore, proper communication between both is necessary to monitor the progress of a child. It helps make timely changes to the schedule or the approach of learning for a child whenever necessary.
  •      Find out if a preschool supports app-based learning:App-based learning is the modern way of keeping kids engaged at home. Just like other parents, you might also want your child to keep learning even when they are home. It helps continue the education of toddlers without exposing them to the risk of catching the infection. Mindseed has an innovative approach to engaging kids at home with app-based learning. Before enrolling your kid in a preschool find out if it also offers a similar feature.

As is the case with other parents, you might want to enrol your kid in the best preschool nearby your locality. Try putting the above points into practice to choose the right play school for your toddler.

What is the importance of nursery online classes for kids?

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The outbreak of Covid-19 in India, and the lockdown following it, led to the closure of schools. As a result, both school authorities and parents of children had to find out an alternative way to continue the education of students, including those of nursery schools.

Meanwhile, online classes have emerged as a reliable solution to overcome the challenge. As these classes take place on the Internet, one does not need to physically go to a classroom. Online classes have enabled kids to learn from the safety and comfort of their home without exposing them to the risk of catching the infection.

Plus, there are also many ways in which online classes prove to be significant for kids who are at the kindergarten level.

The significance of nursery online classes for kids

Notwithstanding the short attention span of kids, there are many ways in which online classes prove their significance for the kids of nursery school. 

Here’s why online classes are imperative for kids who go to nursery classes.

  1. Nursery online classes allow children to learn at their pace

Every child is different, and they differ from one another in how they learn. Most children find it comfortable to learn at their own pace. They produce the best outcomes when they are taught at a pace at which they are comfortable.

Online classes for nursery kids allow both teachers and parents to play a vital role in planning the education program for children. When both join their hands together, they come up with the best education program for kids.

  1. Better social interaction

It goes without saying that children feel the happiest, secure, and comfortable in their homes. 

When they interact with teachers and other kids in such a conducive environment, it allows them to engage in social interaction in a better way. They get to form relationships with their teachers and other kids with a free mind.

  1. Interesting home-based activities

Contrary to the common perception that home-based activities are monotonous, it can be the other way around. There are many home-based activities that not only engage kids but do so for long hours. The longer the kids engage in such activities, the more they learn. 

Also, it assures parents as they know that their kids are occupied in meaningful activities.

  1. Better tracking of child’s progress

App-based learning is one of the important derivatives of nursery online classes. It allows both teachers and parents to monitor the progress of children. 

At the same time, it also allows them to interact with one another regarding the same. If necessary, they can make changes to the approaches for the betterment of kids.

No doubt, online classes need an active internet connection, and it may also pose challenges in settling toddlers. But the majority of the challenges for online classes for nursery kids can be addressed with proper planning.

On the other side, it has the above benefits that highlight its significance for nursery kids and the continuation of their education.

How to get your child to follow a routine!

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As parents, we all know the importance of developing a daily routine for your child. When children have a consistent and daily routine, they thrive. They are able to express themselves within an established set of boundaries that gives them some stability. Also, having set times for sleeping, waking and eating gives a child various anchor points for the day.

But how can parents create an effective routine for their child? Here are some simple ways to get started.

  • Have your own routine: Before setting a routine for your child, ensure that you have your own routine. Be consistent and firm about it. If dinner time is at 8 PM, then ensure that this is followed every day. Children learn by imitating the adults around them, so when you follow a routine, your children will naturally adapt to it too.
  • Help your child with visuals: Young children do not yet know how to read the time, and telling them that it is 8 PM doesn’t mean anything to them. You can use a simple set of visuals to tell your child what to do at each time. In our schools, we have a routine clock that look like this. You can also make your own. Easy, isn’t it?
  • Rituals: Rituals (a sequence of activities) are followed for a reason. They are predictable, give comfort, and finally the child ends up looking forward to it! Create small rituals around different times of the day to children get excited to do the ritual. For example: Wake up – Wash your face – Brush your teeth – eat breakfast. Do NOT break a ritual, it can create anxiety for small children.
  • Meal times: Meal times can sometimes get extremely tiring for parents. To ease the stress around meal times, ensure a ritual around meal times. Have a special place set for your child, let them have a special plate and spoon, sing a little rhyme. You can even have a place card telling you child where to sit and eat!
  • Music: We’ve already written about Ashwini teacher from Kamothe, who uses music very effectively in her school. Music makes all rituals fun and exciting. Just give each ritual a twist by singing along and see how children respond. In our schools, we have a song for every activity. And it works, every time.

As your child grows up, you’ll find that they will settle into their own routines, and even create small rituals of their own. Watch and observe to see how your child feels most comfortable, and ensure that both you and your child get enough time for rest and play as well!

7 Mindseed ways to start getting your child to read

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Parents today often approach us with questions about reading. The most common question we get is, “Where do we start? I don’t know how to teach A B C to my child, what if I do it wrong?”. Some other parents have asked us “ My child simply isn’t interested in sitting down and reading, what should I do?” or “It becomes very boring for us to keep repeating the same things, what can we do?”.

The basic problem with starting to teach a child to read is that for any 1 year old, alphabets are abstract things – they don’t really mean anything. This means that while your child may be able to recognize the letter ‘A’, they don’t really understand what ‘A’ means in the real world! Is the letter ‘A’ a part of their name? Or,  A is for apple, but how? These are the realities of trying to teach your child to read by starting with  the alphabet.

 

At Mindseed, we have found ways in which you can start preparing your child for reading,  through the concept of Emergent Literacy. Emergent Literacy is a technique through which your child starts getting ready to read – naturally. Emergent Literacy basically is a form of ‘pre-reading’, a means by which children first start to understand and recognize that writing or printed words actually have meaning, they’re not just a nice form of drawing or random squiggles and shapes!

What’s more, through these activities, children also get to have a lot of fun, making the experience rewarding, and therefore interesting for the child.

So here are our 7 Mindseed ways of getting started:

 

  1. Object Tagging: Place simple tags on objects around your house. When you speak to your child point to the tags and say the word clearly. This way, your child will know what words like ‘Table’, ‘Chair’, ‘Door’ and ‘Mirror’ looks like and means, all without knowing the alphabet!

    Tag Objects around the house

    Name Tags: Place tags with your child’s name on simple things like school bags, books, water bottles etc. Your child will quickly start to recognize his/her name.     Once your child reads his/her name you can start labelling objects with others name too. For example, place name tags for each person at the dining table and see your child recognizing each person’s name!
  2. Books: Get your children familiar with the actual activity of reading. Help your child to turn the pages of a book and place your finger under the words as you read them so they know which direction to read in. Many children even pretend to read books or newspapers by themselves. Encourage this activity and help them along.

    Pretend reading is fun

  3. Newspapers: While you read your newspaper, read aloud and place your finger below the words. Your child will start to understand how to read from left to right. They will also start understanding that words mean different things, and will start to look forward to being able to read by themselves.
  4. Packaging: Most children are curious. They would like to know what is inside a box of soap, or toothpaste. Instead of just telling them, you could point to the different letters and help them read what is inside! Show the object inside as well. In this case, children are rewarded with the answer to their question – what’s inside the box?  – and start getting interested in learning to read.

    5. Packaging becomes a great way to 'pre-read'

  5. Shopping Lists: The next time you make a shopping list, involve your child. Point to different items on the list and show them the boxes or items. This help them understand the concept of a written word for an item.
  6. Logos: Children recognize logos, colours and shapes easily. Does your child spot a yellow M and exclaim McDonalds on the highway? Congratulations! Your child has understood that symbols and words have meaning associated with them. Similarly, while driving on the road, point to familiar logos and ask your child what that logo is associated with.

Remember, make the activity fun and rewarding, and your child will soon start loving to read! 

Stories from our schools – Shreerag and the paper plane

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It’s absolutely wonderful when parents are part of this collaborative journey of learning that we create in our schools. Recently, one of our moms sent us a heartfelt message of thanks with a great piece of evidence on her child’s progress. Shreerag is in UKG at Wunderbar Kids, a happy and active child.

Last week, when he was at home, he wanted his father to come upstairs and join him in his play. Instead of shouting out to his father (like kids normally do), Shreerag painstakingly wrote out the message, “DAD, PLIZ KUM UPSYD (upstairs)” onto a paper plane and floated it down to his father!

Imagine his parents surprise and happiness! His mom says ” I’m so happy. He’s learnt to say the sentence in English and now he’s joining the sounds and writing them too.”

What’s amazing to us isn’t just Shreerag’s progress – though that in itself is a reason to cheer. It’s also the fact that his parents have recognized his progress, have understood the steps that lead up to this moment, and that they’re choosing to record these moments and play them back to us. To us, as educators, that is a real game changer.

Here’s to more parents like Shreerag’s. Don’t you agree?

3 things you absolutely must know about your child’s pre-school!

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Sometimes, it’s very hard to understand what to look for in a pre-school for your kids. We understand the pain of deciding whether a 5:1 student teacher ratio actually will impact your childs development as opposed to a 3:1 ratio. However, we do know that you want a school that allows your child to grow in terms of abilities and skills? And you definitely want a school that doesn’t force anything on your child, or put your child under undue pressure.

You want a pre-school where you child will love to learn! But how can you make this out from one visit? In todays world of near-crazy competitiveness, it is very critical for you to understand what you’re signing your child up for before you take admission in a pre-school.

Well here’s our Pre-school MUST HAVE list.

Do understand that this isn’t a complete list – there are many other factors to consider as well – like safety and security, the teachers competence etc, but these are some of lesser known factors to consider.

  1. Do they have a classroom that is child led?

What is your image of a typical classroom? Neat rows of chairs facing a blackboard? This may look neat and impressive, but it isn’t what you should look for.  If you step into any typical pre-school classroom in India, you’ll probably find this sort of classroom. There may be pretty charts and pictures on the walls, and lots of books and toys put away in corners, but the main interaction area will still be functional and boring. In such a classroom, children are forced to sit and listen to the teacher without any engaging or interesting way to learn, and this kills their interest in learning!

A good child-led environment is one that provides children the opportunity to interact naturally, and to satisfy their natural curiosity through that interaction. Look for a classroom in which the main area for interaction is a free area filled with interesting items – books, toys, wall graphics etc, and children should be able to spend the maximum time learning through these mediums.

Interaction areas are better for children to learn in than desks and chairs

Interaction areas are better for children to learn in than desks and chairs

  1. Do they play enough?

Look for a pre-school that encourages children to play. The teacher should encourage children to draw on their own resources to spend time – whether children want to sing, dance, play, run or scribble should be up to them – within an overall structure and curriculum. Children should be encouraged to investigate and draw on their own curiosity, use their imaginations and generally express themselves.

This doesn’t mean that the teacher does nothing. The teacher’s role should be to assist each individual child to be the best they can be in each activity that they do. Also, overall, the pre-school curriculum should definitely be structured in a manner that gets each child to actually progress in the development of their skills.

Look for a pre-school where children take the lead in many activities without too much instruction or correction from teachers. For eg: scribble time or story time where children get to express themselves without any other briefs or boundaries

Structured Play helps children express themselves

Structured Play helps children express themselves

  1. Do they understand children’s learning patterns?

This is a very important check. You may have noticed over time, about your own child, that he/she learns best in a specific manner. Some children are auditory learners and learn best through listening. Some are kinesthetic and learn best through doing, some learn best through writing, and so on.

Your child’s pre-school should be able to identify your child’s learning patterns and tailor activities to suit. Even more important, they should be able provide activities that are unique to your child’s personality or character! A child with lots of energy and enthusiasm needs to be able to have a lot of physical activity while learning, otherwise he/she will become bored or restless and quickly be termed as ‘difficult’ or ‘naughty’.

Do check if your child’s pre-school is primed to actually help your child learn.

Every child is a unique blend of interests, aptitudes and skills. At Wunderbar Kids, we understand this, and celebrate each child’s uniqueness!

Learning from Students – Stories from our schools

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Joy is our school leader at Vishwajyot International School (Phaltan). And in this school, we have a mix of students – some who’ve been with us from their younger years, to others who’ve studied in Marathi medium schools and just joined us. This makes for interesting classrooms, where a diverse set of children, with diverse skills, abilities and interests all need to be catered to. Also, in the higher grades like the 5th Std, the children are slowly being inducted into the mainstream school system, so they all need to know some of the key basics in terms of information, and need to have developed the basic skills sets as well. Especially important are skills such as perseverance, creativity and problem-solving, all of which will form the basis for their preparations for high school.

Joy says, “This mix of backgrounds makes it challenging to draw out each child to their full potential, or so I thought! Until my own class proved me wrong”

Here is Joy’s story.

“I was conducting poetry recitation with the 5th Std class, but also wanted to build their critical thinking and communicating skills. So while children recited poems one at a time, the other children would assign scores to them. I would also ask a few of the children to give feedback to the speaker and to defend the scores they awarded.

Sagar was one such speaker. Objectively, his performance was poor. He fumbled many times and struggled to remember, but kept trying till he completed. I scored him 2 out of 4. But when I looked around and asked my students about their scoring I was surprised to see perfect/near perfect scores awarded to him. I was now curious. I asked Ayush “Why have you awarded 4/4 to Sagar”, I said. “Teacher, Sagar is from Marathi medium but yet he stood in front of the class confidently”. ” Hmm …But he made quite a few mistakes, how can you give him full marks?” Ayush replied, “I know but look at his confidence, although he didn’t recite correctly but he did not leave the stage in middle. He looked at our eyes and faced us. It’s true he couldn’t remember the whole poem this time, but we will help him learn next time”.

I wanted to hug him, but I had a class to conduct so I moved on to Rajdeep. Rajdeep himself was awarded 2 out of 4 earlier but had scored Sagar at 3.5 ” Why 3.5?”. He replied, “I wanted to give 4 but cut .5 so that he doesn’t become over confident next time.”

What a humbling moment for a teacher in the classroom! Joy’s students proved that context and effort are both factors to be considered while assessing a performance, something our system does not take into account when assessing students. Subjectivity is completely discouraged in our assessments eco-system today, a relic of the factory-type education system where the quality of teaching staff is highly variable. In today’s world however, the need of the hour is to besubjective – and systemically allow for differences in context.

Joy ends her story with an appeal to all educators.

“Instead of hiding behind objectivity let us consider the context in which performances are being measured. Let us try to move our assessments from being judgmental to being informative – systemically. Let us value effort and perseverance instead of pure performance, and then perhaps we can encourage kids to keep fighting for their dreams. If we let our kids lead perhaps they will build the school they deserve”