BENGALURU, 11 JUNE, 2018 - Children in kindergarten are highly absorbent of the information that flows around them. By the age of 4, they begin to conceptualize all that is taught to them in class or through practical activities. They become more adept in finding a solution to the problem. By this age, they are ready to think and offer solutions.

To make them more curious about the world around them, activities like ‘Thinking Thursday’ encourage children to be more involved in nature and reason with the world of science, technology, maths and other disciplines. Thinking Thursday helps them form a strong foundation of process skills which ultimately leads to proficient reasoning, analytical and problem solving skills.

We at GIIS believe that even two hours of mental training and preparation sessions fortnightly, is more than enough to give a child the right amount of mental challenge. Keeping this is mind, we carry out certain experiments and activities planned out on Thursdays, which requires them to think their way through scenarios while adapting to the situations.

Seed Germination - The growth of plants

Small wonders of KG 1 learnt how plants are important and what a plant needs to grow. The activity started with sharing of facts about plants, such as - they provide us oxygen and are a source of fruits, vegetables and flowers. The materials used in the activity were Moong daal seeds, cotton, a clear pouch and water. Children were guided to pour a little water so that when the cotton became wet, it would help the seeds to germinate. The pouches with seeds and cotton were hung on the window as seeds needed light and moisture to start growing. The next day, children observed that the seeds had become sprouts.

The kids used a colored strip for observing and measuring the growth of these plants at various stages. They eagerly waited for the seeds or sprouts to grow into taller shoots with leaves and pot them in the soil.

Jal Tarang - Making music with Water

Aspiring musicians of KG 2 learnt how to make music with water and refining auditory senses. Every class had set up glass bowls with colored water. The first bowl had very little water, the ones in between had increasing levels and the last one was almost full. Each child was given a chance to hit the edge of the bowl with a wooden stick or pencil and observe the difference while listening to the sound produced from each.

Children loved putting their thinking caps and enjoyed experimenting and making music with water in the bowl. They were able to identify that the bowl with least water has a higher tone and the bowl with most water has the lowest tone.