- Blog By
Mrs. Aruna Maheswari
Head of Campus
The Indian Public School
May 12, 2020 | In Blog 
The foundation for quality learning starts at the early years. This makes children prepared for the stages of education that lie ahead of them. This preparedness leads to success.
Children learn all the time from their environment. However, the learning has to be age appropriate through a carefully constructed learning environment where a child feels safe and welcome. The motivation for learning comes from internal interest and joy and not through external pressure. When children are interested in what they learn, the learning becomes expansive.
Create a welcoming and safe environment that supports development and provides a range of skills; physical, social, emotional, language (speaking and listening), literacy (reading and writing) and cognitive (thinking) skills.
These developments and skills happen through:
1. Effective Morning Circle TIme
Circle time is a communal time where children learn through social interaction, music and movement. It develops listening, language, social, fine and gross motor skills.
- Music and movement together improves coordination. Songs with cross-lateral movements stimulate right and left brain activity. It promotes gross motor skills, dexterity and agility. Repetitive lines in the rhymes, songs and stories help improve language, and following the rhythm in the music along with movements develops muscle memory.
- Improves listening skills and communication skills when daily personal stories are shared in circle time and when stories are read to the children. It improves social skills by making children come out of their shyness. Rhymes, songs and stories in state and country-specific languages make a child feel connected as well as give the opportunity to learn a new language.
- Bean bag games build phonemic awareness in a fun way during circle time. It is a tactile way for reinforcing letters, blends and digraphs by tossing the bean bag and learning.
- Finger play strengthens small muscles used for writing. It is a magical way of learning language through rhyming verses. It improves speech and memory.
2.Playful Learning Opportunities
Play is fun. It develops language, math and social skills. The benefits of play are physical, social, emotional and cognitive development.
3.Learning stations or centres
Learning stations are spaces that are set aside in the classroom with learning materials that are interesting and connected with the lesson plan. The Montessori materials in the classrooms cater to the learning of everyday practical life, sensorial, mathematical and language skills of the children.
4.Nature crafts and handwork
Working with hands strengthens the hands and brings coordination in the hands and fingers. It lays the foundation for writing and drawing which are key developmental tasks. Handwork and craft is only through imitation in early years.
“It takes a village to raise a child” is a popular African proverb which entrusts the responsibility of raising a child to an entire community, so that they grow amidst a safe and healthy environment. It takes all the people involved in the life of a child to give their best part. We recognize that the school has a major contribution in building strong foundations for the holistic development of a child. Understanding this, we at TIPS are committed to develop, nurture and celebrate lifelong learners who are responsible individuals and contribute to the global community!
