Early Years of learning are based on practical and life skills that help in building cognitive, social, physical and emotional development of children. It plays an integral part in creating awareness about generic surroundings around them. Global Montessori Plus is crafted on life skills that incorporates daily actions as essential part of learning. Activities like pouring water, using a spoon, picking up a toy, selecting eateries, etc. at the Montessori lab, help children in understanding the value connected to the action performed.

The session 2015-16 at GIIS Whitefield, Bangalore saw many activities based on life skills taking place, which taught young GIISians about general things and their importance in life. Activities like cooking without fire, laughter day, messy day, gratitude day, peace day, earth day, community helpers’ day, healthy food week, Father’s day, Mother’s day, Grandparents’ day etc. were organized to promote usage of motor skills along with practical and visual understanding of the activities performed and at the same time inculcating the values of kindness, sharing and caring and understanding the support that family and surroundings bestow on them.

i-Care activities were organized throughout the session to make students understand and associate importance in day to day life. My Square Foot Garden activity was organized to develop a sense of green surroundings among the students. They were taught about easy to-do activities while creating and maintaining a garden, making of a compost pit with biodegradable materials, and how waste foods like leftover fruits and vegetables can be used as manure to nurture the plants. Another i-Care activity, ‘appreciating the environment’ was organized to teach students about biodegradable and non-degradable items. They were taught about different kinds of waste and how simple steps can make us segregate the wastes at the source itself. The aim was to teach students about proper waste management, and help in fostering a sense of responsibility towards environment from a very young age.

Moving further, Sensorial Booth activity was also organized for the pre-primary kids, to teach them about the five senses i.e. see, hear, smell, touch and taste and their use in our routine lives. Children were made to see, touch, smell, and hear objects, explaining in detail about each and every concept discussed. Students learned and grasped concepts through fun and frolic.

Maths Week was conducted for tiny tots of GIIS Whitefield, Bangalore to promote their pre number and number concepts. This activity was conducted both inside and outside the classroom, where students were made to name the concepts drawn on the ground. Snakes & Ladders game was taken as an option to demonstrate increasing and decreasing of numeral quantities. Students were engaged in a manner that the desired concept and its value in routine life is well understood.

Another activity based on developing the power of observing and curiosity enhancing was organized to meet the requirements of inquisitives among children. Various concepts like Float and Sink (Light & heavy objects), Colour changing carnation (Process of diffusion), candle in a jar (Oxygen is required for burning), Soluble and Insoluble (immiscible liquids) were practically demonstrated to help them develop a scientific way of thinking and observing facts.

Montessori Week was celebrated, summarising the ‘Five Pillars of Learning’. The little ones were made to exercise concepts using real lab materials in the Montessori lab. They were taught in a way that each concept they learnt was directly related to the ongoing class lessons. The outcome of the week’s session was that the students became self-motivated, disciplined and confident, apart from sharpening their sensorial, numeracy, cultural and language skills.

Animal Kingdom Week was also celebrated for our little GIISians with an objective of expanding learning beyond the four walls of the classrooms. Children were taken to the zoo for picnic, where they got a chance to see animals and experience the natural surroundings. It was a great experience for them as they learned something new while being outside in the greens. The classrooms were decorated with colourful charts and cut-outs of animals, their young ones, their cries, their natural habitat and food habits. Masks, colouring sheets and craft on the animal concept was simply loved by the young animal lovers.

All of these and many other activities were a part of the session gone by. Students were now more informed, confident and positive towards learning new things, and overall happy to come to school. Learning happens when students are happy to learn, enthusiastic to explore and love coming to school.

We look forward to welcoming our young ones of Pre-primary for the new session starting June 2016!