Over View

1. Over View • How Children learn in Khoj • How Children Spend (A day at Khoj) • How Children Benefit from Khoj • About The team • FAQ’s • Discussion

2. How Children learn (in Khoj)

3. 1 They learn Naturally Just as nobody taught them the mother tongue! “To stimulate life, leaving it then free to develop, to unfold, herein lies the task of the teacher” - Maria Montessori

4. We could feed them But they learn MORE and DEEPLY and WIDELY and learn HOW TO LEARN when they learn on their OWN 2 They construct own learning “I know of nothing more inspiring than that of making discoveries for ones self” - George Washington

5. 3 The best teacher to a child is another child That way TWO learn: Both the teacher and the taught It is through others that we develop into ourselves – Lev Vygotsky

6. When they do it for their own reasons; do it in their own way; own pace; own space – learning happens. 4 The joy of Doing “The principal goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done.“ - Jean Piaget

7. Who is more intelligent?

8. All they need is an environment that offers no comparison, no judgment, no expectations, no assessment. Just loads of mental and emotional SPACE to grow. 5 Each one of us is different Each one of us can learn anything – just not the same day, just not the same way.

9. We (faculty) are here only to LET THEM think, decide, make mistakes, struggle, laugh, cry , try, fail, succeed, explore, ….and THINK MORE 6 To Empower Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best - Bob Talbert

10. How Children Spend (A day at Khoj)

11. experiencing, experimenting and exploring. Every day at KHOJ

12. Welcome and Settle down Typical Day Sunshine Time Story & Books Weekly Special Snacks Activity for 3.5+ years children Expresso Playshop for 4+ years children

13. Welcome and Settle down • Small welcome activity at the gate • Connect with the child • Settle though child’s interest – eg slate, blackboard, blocks, puppet etc • Free expression • Free Peer interaction

14. Sunshine Time • Rhymes / Singing Songs • Action / Dance / Movement • Yoga / Exercise / Energisers • Meditation • Jan Gan Man

15. Story & Books • Story Doing with a theme by Aunty • Self reading

16. Weekly Special • Library Day • Show and tell • Exploration • Role Play • Sharing Fun work

17. Snacks • Great time to share, not food but thoughts • Anecdotes • Feelings • Desires  • Chit Chat

18. Activity NO objective, no desired Goal Each child learns different things: Activity is not to teach but to ACTIVATE

19. Lets DO an Activity • Take a bunch of shapes • Using these shapes make TREE • 2-D Tree using only thumb • 3-D Mountain using No thumb • 2-D or 3-D car using only Elbow • As you make be aware of what all you are focusing on

20. What each explored in this Activity

21. Expresso for 3.5 to 5.5 • Stimulate, Express, Language development • Mondays - Stories • Tuesdays and Thursdays – Phonemic Awareness & Phonetics • Wednesdays – Math Workbook • Friday – Audio / Visual

22. Playshop for 4+ years2pm to 3pm (after lunch) Explore development on all the eight intelligences specially Mathematical and Logical skills through different kinds of GAMES Mondays … Body games Tuesdays … Visual & Verbal games Wednesdays … Math & Logic games Thursday … People and Group games Fun Fridays … Music, Movement, Dance games

23. Fun Fridays Each Friday we pump up the volume of FUN by either Going for a field trip:outdoor school Cooking something fun to relish – School in a dish To make exposure wider Experience deeper

24. How Children Benefit (from Khoj)

25. Almost all the things that any other child will learn. Learn in a different way – Natural, Constructing, Self, Peer, etc. What do they learn?

26. Its not that we want to give them extra (quantitatively) But we want them to get a different experience of learning (qualitatively) What do they learn - extra?

27. Enjoy their childhood Sustain their natural sense of learning Develop thinking Learn Meaningfully So Whats the big deal?

28. What’s special about us (Khoj Team)

29. Eleven years of intensive expertise in working with children, designing innovative curriculum for all ages, training hundreds of teachers and thousands of parents What our experience?

30. GenieKids draws its strength from its TEAM who : • Has passion and love for children; • Motivation and enthusiasm to work with them; • Understand children and are open for learning about them and for them; • Updated with latest research and Developments in this field. Who is our team ?

31. Highly intensive and purely understanding based training program “Train the Trainer” which has transformed personally all those who have been there and done that! What our qualification?

32. Weekly training; Daily Meeting; Continuous exchange of reading and reference material; and Introspection What do we do to grow?

33. Completely observation based facilitation system Desire to make ourselves redundant in classroom Acceptance and sensitivity our key strengths What is so unique?

34. Trainee co-facilitators to observe and support Continuously trained but hands off care-givers What about support staff

36. How . . . . . ? (FAQs about Khoj)

37. The child is NOT assessed or evaluated at any point of time in any way. How is child assessed / evaluated • Child is Observed • Observations entered every day for each child • Monthly Tracking graph • Quarterly feedback with parents

38. We believe you as parent are not a customer of the school, you are a partner of the school to give the best childhood to the child. How Parents can make best of KHOJ program • Understand the philosophy of KHOJ • Follow the activity schedules and monthly calendars of Activity • Enjoy funwork with child

39. Our website is the constant source of Information for Parents. How are Parents Involved / Informed • Parents can read (on website) daily observations of their child • Parents Child Day Once a month • Parents can come for as many observation (be inside the class as mute observer) • See Monthly Tracking graph • Quarterly feedback to parents

40. Change is part of child’s life and our objective is not to make the change less but empower child to handle the same. We believe this is what learning is all about. Also in our experience child is far more capable to adapt to change than the faith we bestow in him / her. How will child cope with change after KHOJ

41. Khoj program is NOT a preparatory program – it’s a learning program – so it is not trying to prepare the child for future school. How will child get admitted to next school • If child needs to appear for an interview – given a month’s notice we (you can Geniekids team) can together prepare the child mentally for the interview. • In most cases No1 is not required. Child is probably ready for interview and any other school

42. Khoj program is NOT a preparatory program – it’s a learning program – so it is not trying to prepare the child for future school. How will child get admitted to next school • If child needs to appear for an interview – given a month’s notice we (you can Geniekids team) can together prepare the child mentally for the interview. • In most cases No1 is not required. Child is probably ready for interview and any other school

43. Crying is a mere form of expression. In itself crying is not bad – its just a natural form of expression for the child. Lets not get disarmed by child’s crying, instead lets look at empowering and strengthening the child. How will child get settled in the new school. Will my child cry too much? • Parents use Strategies to help child cope • We inside class use Strategies to help child cope

44. Reading and writing are not subjects but essential need of today's child. He wants to learn to read and write. Just that he may not like the contexts that adults give. So we work with his contexts. How will child learn reading and writing? • Through Activities • Through Expresso • Through using reading and writing as integral part of everything that children do in Khoj.