Children are learning something new every day through their experiences. From going on playdates and birthday parties to visiting museums and attending in-person classes, kids were always on the go. They made new friends, explored new experiences, played and learned together. They kept themselves busy through these activities. But, just as the pandemic struck, children were confined to the house and restricted from doing many activities that they were once free to do. Now, imagine having to start your initial days of preschool under these conditions. Such is the story of Samhita. She joined Mindseed Preschool as a toddler. Soon after she started coming to the school and her classes began, the pandemic hit. This blog will further discuss her experience with online classes and how she navigated learning and exploring during those testing times.
The Story of My Preschool Life
Hi, I’m Samhita. I joined Mindseed Preschool as a 3-year-old. I enjoyed going to school and interacting with my friends and teachers. Be it playing, learning, or drawing, we did everything together. Things were going great as I used to look forward to going to school. But, that’s when all schools had to shut down because of COVID-19 and I had to sit at home. I missed meeting my friends at school every day and that’s when I was told I could continue interacting with them through online classes. Although I couldn’t meet them in person, I was happy that I was able to interact with them virtually. I’d share how I went about my day with my teacher and friends daily. We used to discuss various topics like how we felt about the pandemic, if we missed our outdoor play sessions, what we would like to do once the pandemic ends etc. While we all had our concerns, we were hopeful about going back to normalcy.
Thanks to the Mindseed App, together we learned to count numbers, read alphabets, words and sentences, and pour a drink without spilling. We were also part of various fun activities where we were taught to identify different objects and shapes. Our teachers also encouraged us to draw pictures from our imagination. Colouring sessions were my favourite part of the online classes. Every day I used to wake up early and get ready for my classes. The fun activities followed even after classes- on some days I used to paint and draw, and on others, I used to write small stories from what I had learnt in the class. This way, I didn’t feel any boredom nor did I spend most of my day watching cartoons. Plus, I got to share all these experiences with my parents daily – just like old times when I used to go to school in person. And, that’s how I graduated from Pre-K to K1 during the pandemic.
Today, I go to Mindseed Preschool and get to have face-to-face interactions with all my friends and teachers. But, this feels the same as what I used to feel during my online sessions. The only difference is that now I get to sit next to them.
The Mindseed Impact
Having regular conversations on a range of topics with preschoolers is an important part of their development and well-being. When children are given a space to have conversations, they can ask for their needs, be listened to and make strong relationships. Mindseed Preschool conducts daily discussions and makes sure every student takes active participation in those discussions. Through this, we aim to make them confident enough to voice out their opinions.
Another important aspect of online preschool learning is achieving developmental milestones. We understood that even when the world was at a standstill during the pandemic, these children were growing, both physically and mentally. Over the years, Mindseed Preschool has been following a learning mechanism where we infuse key learning concepts with fun activities and deliver them using the LSRW approach. Yes, the pandemic did pose some challenges as to how effective virtual classes will be in keeping the children engaged. But, with active collaboration with parents, we were able to keep these young minds curious and engaged. The Mindseed App came in handy to track the progress of students in their learning activities. This approach turned out to be successful as many students like Samhita can now read books which are expected to be read by Grade 2 students.
Most importantly, we managed to build a routine for the kids even during lockdown by keeping the online classes fun, interactive and kid-friendly. Today, while 85% of Mindseed Preschoolers can read a book by themselves, 96% can draw and write stories independently. Above all, despite the challenges of the pandemic, we are proud that we were able to build confidence in these young minds as 87% of them can speak on stage without any fear.
