KITE School celebrates Diwali with vigour and cheer!!!

Today, at KITE School, was the grand celebration of Diwali! 
And also the ‘Diya Decoration Competition’. 
Parents had put in genuine effort – and it was so obvious and heartfelt.
KITE School invited parents to volunteer as judge also and many parents obliged.
It was such a wonderful day…

Happy Independence Day!

KITE School - new academic year Witness The Sunshine Glowing The Learning Pathways…

Amidst the rush of WhatsApp messages and Facebook status updates, let me welcome all the parents, once again, to this new academic year.

We are living in the times of social media revolution and the might of it cannot be undermined. However, social media may get you new connections but it does not really prepare you to deal with real people. During a recent study it was observed that arrogance, hatred and hostility are the characteristics that are amplified by social media. Over-dependence on unconfirmed information is harmful. But this has also become integral to our lives.

This situation necessitates to review preschool learning eco-system. KITE School incessantly modifies its methodology to engage very young learners. During early years of learning a personality is also being developed. We consciously inculcate positive traits of forgiveness, self-control, honesty and humility.

At KITE School we are fully aware how to imbibe technology to put it at best use and avoid its pitfalls. For a child the first interactive social platform is the preschool NOT any app. KITE School emphasises upon human interaction to encourage critical thinking and creativity through play-based activities, project oriented processes and audio-video presentations.

In the early years of life, a child's brain makes thousands of synaptic connections every second, opening the threshold for increased learning capacity. Be prepared to witness the most amazing abilities of human genes.

I am sure you will be delighted to witness the sunshine glowing the learning pathways of your little ones.

Enjoy the lifetime experience!

KITE School - new academic year Witness The Sunshine Glowing The Learning Pathways…

Amidst the rush of WhatsApp messages and Facebook status updates, let me welcome all the parents, once again, to this new academic year.

We are living in the times of social media revolution and the might of it cannot be undermined. However, social media may get you new connections but it does not really prepare you to deal with real people. During a recent study it was observed that arrogance, hatred and hostility are the characteristics that are amplified by social media. Over-dependence on unconfirmed information is harmful. But this has also become integral to our lives.

This situation necessitates to review preschool learning eco-system. KITE School incessantly modifies its methodology to engage very young learners. During early years of learning a personality is also being developed. We consciously inculcate positive traits of forgiveness, self-control, honesty and humility.

At KITE School we are fully aware how to imbibe technology to put it at best use and avoid its pitfalls. For a child the first interactive social platform is the preschool NOT any app. KITE School emphasises upon human interaction to encourage critical thinking and creativity through play-based activities, project oriented processes and audio-video presentations.

In the early years of life, a child's brain makes thousands of synaptic connections every second, opening the threshold for increased learning capacity. Be prepared to witness the most amazing abilities of human genes.

I am sure you will be delighted to witness the sunshine glowing the learning pathways of your little ones.

Enjoy the lifetime experience!

Parents put in their creativity to design projects

It was so heartening to see that almost all the parents had put in their genuine efforts to create their respective projects. No one just got it tailor-made from a professional. That's what makes it great and gives the sense of ownership.
We really appreciate it.
Here are the winners

Waiting for your feedback...

Environmental Sessions at KITE School

Today we have arranged a video presentation for Junior KG kids about 'INSECTS' and their importance in the ecological balance. Little children do observe some insects which are found around our homes. This presentation has been a hit with kids since KITE School started it seven years back. We keep on updating and revising the presentation but the core content remains unchanged.

And also a session about 'CLEANLINESS' for Senior KG kids today. They will be made aware about basic concerns and its importance. They will be guided the right ways to maintain cleanliness. KITE School has been doing these sessions since last twelve years and children respond very positively.

Every Child Deserves A Tension-Free Childhood. In Fact, We Owe It.

I have seen anxious parents approaching me to share their worries about their child’s performance. We have mentioned it, time and again, that they shouldn’t be unduly anxious over the ‘performance’, they should be observing the ‘growth curve’. If parents get nervous about the child’s ‘performance’ then it will surely reflect in their behaviour with the child and it is definitely going to have a negative result.

Now the festive season is on and soon there will be Diwali vacations, too. I am sure many families have their travel plans in place and those who’ve decided to stay back, they will also be socializing over these festivities. During these occasions people tend to either boast about their children or belittle them. Both extremes are avoidable. Let the child enjoy social interaction in natural way. Let them discover new friends and acquaintances. Let them observe and discover in their own way. Never do comparisons. How somebody else’s child is ‘performing’ should not be your concern and definitely not to compare that with your own child’s ‘performance’.

Let us assume your frustration or worry is justified. In such a case what do you want to happen further? Surely you want your child to ‘perform’ better next time. But if you resort to scolding/ punishing/ reminding faults/ criticizing/ pressurizing etc., you are doing just the opposite.  You are inflicting—TENSION on the child. That’ll surely push your child to do even worse.

So, what should be done instead?

Just remember every child is unique. So observe the positive qualities of your child and support him/her to cultivate them. Every child deserves to have a tension-free childhood.

You can play a key role in achieving it! In fact, we all owe it.

KITE School pays tribute to Hon. former President Dr.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

KITE School pays tribute to the great educationist and one of the noblest statesmen of India - Dr.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
The school will remain closed today in respect.
Today's events will be scheduled for tomorrow.

Build Bridges Of Communication And Care

Ours is a time of sea change. New systems, new sensibilities, new perspective, new technology and newer gadgets are zipping past all around us in the social arena. A new ecosystem is being formulated at a startling speed. Learning and teaching methods should also adapt to this change at the early years itself. 

The way parents and care-givers used to communicate earlier should change to  a more  focussed  and  more responsible approach. You can’t give examples of your childhood anymore. They are not relevant anymore. This is going to be a ‘touchscreen ready’ generation therefore older ways of communication and perceptions are redundant to a large extent. 

Now we need to be more logical, precise and caring while giving any instruction to the child. In other words, your instructions should be convincing, to-the-point and empathising. This is even more significant during the foundation years of early education. While dealing with small kids it is important that we come at the eye-level of the child and then interact lovingly with him/her. Sitting down or lying down beside the child makes it easier to connect and communicate. 

It’s true that every child inherits many things genetically that help shaping up the body and the brain but in today’s world equally crucial is the way the child is nurtured. Child’s mental abilities, cognitive development and social achievement largely depend upon the early experiences and environments. So don’t impose, rather interact. Don’t go onto a long speech and confuse, rather be short and clear. Don’t behave as typically ‘grown-ups’, rather see the world through the child’s sensibility and you’ll discover that the key to raise a smarter, achiever and happy child is to build two way bridges of communication and care at early stages of childhood. 

You’ll be rewarded with great insights, sense of accomplishment as parent and blissful experiences… I can assure you that! 

Parenting prudence in the digital age

Last week a couple came to my office with their two year old daughter to seek admission. While we talked the little bright girl took her mom’s mobile and started playing a game on it! She was handling the device with appreciable ease.  This is the newest generation growing in urban environment! They start using touchscreen gadgets before they learn alphabets.

The cutting edge technology is a part of their first perceptions of the world around. It is taken for granted. But the point is whether it is all right for kids or there are hidden harms. This is exactly what the father asked me. Let us ponder on it…

We cannot deny the fact that new technology and advancements have changed the way we interact, the way we perceive, the way we communicate, the way we learn, the way we behave, the way we plan, the way we think… in fact, the way we live. And this change is unique. Never ever in the history of mankind the virtual world had overwhelmed us with such enormity and velocity. Actually things are changing at such a speed that we aren’t getting enough time to evaluate and analyse the effects in detail.

However there have been continuous efforts to discuss and assess the effects in certain sections. It has been proven now that we must be discerning in what and how much use of the technology should be allowed to children.

It has been observed that unmonitored use of technology is affecting our children in some serious adverse manner. The most obvious influence is increased irritability and frustration in their behaviour pattern.

Kids get easily obsessed with these devices and any interference may cause annoyed reaction. This may result in exasperated personality over a period of time. Also it diminishes the tolerance level. And intolerant people are not great achievers. Mobile phones are not for kids. Beside other effects, kids are more vulnerable to its radiation.

Physical fitness is compromised. Watching the TV or computer screen for long hours is definitely hazardous for health. Moreover the kinds of images that are rapidly showered upon the child’s psyche during TV shows, promos, advertisements and games are another area of concern. Video games are the worst of all. Video games are created with profit in mind and not with concern for children. Rabbi Shmuley says, “Video games are to children what gambling is to adults: a waste of energy, a waste of time and a waste of resources.”

Technology should be properly incorporated in child’s life with supervised media. What and how much—these two parameters are simplest way to decide. Though I know it is easier said than done. But one should try to be aware and responsible. Our children are too precious to be ignored.

Grooming Tomorrow's World

A child groomed with good manners acquires social skills easily. Early years’ behaviour patterns depend on many factors—such as family atmosphere, social surroundings, emotional support, influence of media (mostly TV) and how parents deal with it. We should realise that grooming the child with good manners is a strategic methodology that need to be carefully practised. The best way is to be the role model and behave in the desired way. Then you may initiate your child to behave in the same way with gentle instructions. Children love to imitate their role models. But there are times when they do not behave the way we expect them to. They might be rowdy in public and might embarrass you in a mall. They might interrupt you, or worse, contradict you in front of the guests who have come for dinner. Or, they can be just unruly at the table in the restaurant. They might tear off story book of another child for no good reason. They might refuse to eat the pulao you made and want to eat chips/chocolate/noodles… and so on. There can be unending list of situations and scenario where bad manners might show up.

I may suggest a few tips. Invariably praise the good manners and show that it pleases you. If you need to rebuke at some bad manner, keep it short… maybe just ‘No’ or ‘Don’t’. Sometimes just a warning look should be enough. Even a one year old child understands approval and disapproval of the behaviour in terms of smiles, gestures, stern look and pointing finger. And always encourage them to even up the wrongdoing by saying ‘Sorry’. But don’t try to shame the child further because that will be damaging at this age. And NEVER SHOUT. It never helps. That’s for sure. Shouting creates a kind of distance and natural reflexes try to shut out the noise. So the meaning of those angry words yelled at high decibels will never be received by the child and hence, will be of no positive use. On the contrary, this may inflict a shock upon the child with further regretful consequences.

Children need your holistic care and a lot of love and affection to thrive and bloom into a prudent person. And that will be the most precious award for you, too!

Your little one is on the road to discovery!

Welcome to yet another new academic year at KITE School! This is the tenth year of pursuing our passion!

If learning is fun, you love to learn. This is true for all children—introvert to extrovert, shy to stellar. At KITE School, we take it as our prime responsibility to provide an environment where a child loves to learn naturally. As it takes a start, the child explores and discovers and enjoys it all. They experiment and learn as they participate in various group activities. They discover new words and associate them with things. They sing along and dance along and learn to follow instructions. They ‘play’ and learn the logic of ‘cause and effect’. They enjoy the puppets and learn to emote and express. They build their motor skills as they scribble, draw, fold, dab and stick. They make a line or take turns and develop social skills. Learning is never limited to the classroom. It’s a guided process. It’s a mapped methodology.

As a parent, you can be an enormous help by supporting our methodology. Your involvement is equally important. What seems to you an aimless scribble may be turned into a ‘success’ by appreciating the effort and guiding the child further. Show your praise and encouragement. Let her/him take pride in little new discoveries. This will open up the world of imagination and creativity.

Children have amazing ability to grasp and adapt to new concepts. You’ll notice new changes soon. You’ll be delighted to witness your little one marching ahead on the road to discovery. Cherish it!

KITE School | Mira Road | New Academic Session Begins

KITE School welcomes you all to the new academic session 2013-2014.
We are all geared up with new exciting projects, new energies, new teaching tools and sustained dream!
Here is our opening schedule:

Building A Nation's Character

We are witnessing increasing violence all around. This disturbing trend is affecting our life to the core and changing our priorities. It is re-enforcing the need to carefully imbibe the relevant social values and ethics in our education system and curriculum. At KITE School we introspect and review the study pattern and activities periodically. It is important to understand that value-education must start right from the preschool days. Child’s behaviour pattern should be monitored and should be corrected, if needed. Here ‘correction’ does not mean aggression. Parents should work towards attaining desired results with affectionate and tender training. More importantly, we should inculcate social and human values in children not by preaching or ‘teaching’ but rather by showing them in our daily life interactions. Children observe and learn and internalize.

When children watch adults’ behaviour, they take it as approved social norm, they take it as a model in their sub-conscious mind. Therefore various models, derived from ‘watching’ different day to day situations, accumulate in the sub-conscious and a certain character starts building up in the child’s personality. Therefore it is utmost important that we behave consciously in front of our children. It is also equally important that we do not expose our children to inappropriate situations, scenes and media. We need to set proper example, we need to provide proper paradigm.

Every incident leaves a mark, every experience leaves an imprint. This is how children develop sense of truth, equality, empathy, justice and commitment. This is how society gets healthy and happy. This is how a nation’s character is built. This is how we get sons and daughters who make us proud!

Learning From The Spirit Of Festivals

Festive season has already begun and one can hear the drums welcoming Maharashtra’s favourite Ganapati Bappa at the doorstep. And the worst fear of drought is swept away with enough downpours lately. So, there is relief, there is joy, there is celebration.

Let me wish you all a very happy and blissful festive season. Festivals have this inherent feeling of joy and excitement. And that is the soul of the process of true learning. I genuinely think that learning is a lifelong festival. All that we yearn in learning is embedded in the spirit of festivals… social values, joy of giving, celebration of life, knowing, sharing, helping, enjoying, happiness and bliss.

Let the child be a part of festivals. And that should not be limited to shopping only. Children learn a great deal through participation. Make the child a part of the whole process… explain little things, answer the queries—no matter how trivial they seem, interact and ask about his/her reactions…

Children are never too small to learn!!!

How to answer those never ending questions?

Children come up with series of questions and counter questions. Sometimes these questions may seem totally nonsensical and absurd. Many parents lose patience and end up the whole conversation abruptly with mild snubbing… “Now, it’s enough. Stop asking too many questions.” or  “Your questions never end… now go and play.” or something like that.

This is a flawed attitude as a parent.  If you’ll see it from child’s point of view, you’ll be able to justify it.  And that is important.

We must understand that questions are means of learning. Asking questions is a positive sign in children because it means that the child analyses. Every question, no matter how silly or absurd it may seem, is born of curiosity. And curiosity should be nurtured, not suppressed.  I do agree that even the most articulate and informed parents can’t find satisfying answers to the countless questions of the child. But more than the right answers, right response is required.

Please do not snub—it makes the child feel ashamed. Try to understand that until now you have provided most of the ‘information’ the child has. That is why the child is trying to get answers from you. You should be responsive. A very young child may not understand scientific explanation, so be imaginative and creative. Do not give false information. Retain your child’s faith in you.

Your answers will build the treasure chest of knowledge of your child… that sprouts out of the magical domain of curiosity!

When children make-up stories…

Nearly all children make up stories at some point or the other. Often for kids in this age-group, it is not ‘lying’, it is not being ‘dishonest’, it is just ‘pretending’—which is very much a part of their growing up and enhancing creative imagination. Many a time a child lies to cover up something which is not in his/her favour. Sometimes it could be a result of some anxiety when a child wants to avert consequences.  At other times, a child may lie only to impress or get attention.
It is important that you don’t react by getting angry with the child because it may confuse the small kid. Do not label him/her as ‘liar’. Overreacting may result in bringing guilt to the child’s mind and may hurt his/her self esteem. You need to explain the futility of the lie. You may take help of the stories like “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”. And you should re-enforce the importance of honesty and truth. In other words, this is the time of ‘character building exercise’ instead of rebuking your child.

At the same time, it is also important to understand that you should not be jumping to conclusions and make allegations on the basis of these stories. You should use discretion.

Finally, set example by being truthful yourself.

                     

KITE School | Balloons Bloom | Rainy Season Demo

22nd July was quite full of energy at KITE School.

It was a wonderful time with Playgroup kids on Balloons' Day!

Children were pleasantly surprised as they saw balloons taking different shapes and characters.

Many activities and games were played and finally each one got a balloon to take home. Some even got two!


EVE Session

On the same day, Junior and Senior KG Children had first EVE session of this academic year. They came to know many facts and aspects about the rainy season. Senior KG children also had discussion and explanation about 'How does it rain?'. Teachers supported the session with a demo.

Every Journey Begins With Small Steps

Every year I am enthralled to see the little ones curiously starting the preschool years.  Children are natural learners but they have to cope up with certain anxieties also, such as ‘separation from home’, ‘interacting with peers’ and ‘experiencing new communication in a novel environment’. This happens with the new entrants. KITE School has devised the methodology that helps kids to deal with these hindrances. This year the transition has been particularly smooth. This is reassuring as well as inspiring! Continuing students are already initiated into the ‘learning system’ anyway. Hence they have the advantage of being the familiar group.

You’ll find many new ideas being implemented this year. At KITE School we continuously strive to engage new and better ways to accelerate the learning process. Extra-curricular activities will soon begin. We have even better inventory of audio-visual material to make the learning more effective and enjoyable. We are continuing with Field trips for the ‘hands on’ experience and the Yoga time for Jr. & Sr. KG which will have carefully chosen exercises especially for the small ones.

Your little ones are taking baby steps towards a meaningful journey of life. But small steps do not belittle the journey. Get involved. Enjoy this wonderful time. This is as important for your child as is memorable for you!

KITE School | Mira Road | Project Pictures........ Congratulations!!!

We have already said that parents have put in a lot of time and energy in preparing the Vacation Project for their child. We really appreciate this involvement. This is going to help in a long way in your relationship with your child.
We are putting up pictures of the winners... and there are many winners!
Please bear with us if it takes a while to load all the images. But at the end you'll enjoy it.

Please note that these pictures are displayed randomly and there is no particular order: