Oyster Montessori school in Alwarpet has come up with innovative ways to engage children in this lockdown period.
Since March lockdown, the school held online storytelling sessions in different genres for kids. And now, it has resumed its regular classes on Zoom.
Says Charanya Prabhakar, founder of the school, “Being a Montessori school, taking our curriculum to the virtual medium is very difficult, as we cannot physically see the children.”
“Hence, we have come up with an adaptive learning curriculum that is curated keeping in mind the five senses of human body – sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.”
The school now assigns its students a variety of activities involving these five senses. Holding storytelling sessions, book readings, phonetics/ drawing or painting classes are some of them.
These are simple activities that are doable with things at home. Also, we make our sessions very interactive so the children can understand a concept better, she says.
The school caters to over 40 children across India. As all are aged between 2 and 6 years, she says they guide parents to teach their children. “Initially, the parents did find it difficult to teach their kids. But with time, they are getting accustomed to the process.”
The school also encourages children to grow home gardens either at the terrace or balcony.
The kids are asked to plant a seed (whichever is easily available at home), water it and then observe its growth daily. We also ask them to spread manure on plants. Such activities improve the sensory skills of kids, which in turn strengthens their concentration.” she says.
She says that children also learn new things when they spend time growing plants on terrace. “One day a child observed venus in the evening and then ended up learning about the solar system and on the other day, I taught them about electricity, after a child was inquisitive to know about the generator he had observed the previous evening.”
Apart from this, the school also urges parents to involve their kids in day to day activities.
Admissions are open for the school’s online classes.
For details contact the school at No.14, Ananda Road, Near Abhiramapuram Police Station, Alwarpet. Ph: 9840917714
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