Saifee Nursery

Our methods are best described by an article written by our head teacher in the year 2009 which was published in the book "Must for Mums". The following excerpts are taken from the article...

A child's growth has many aspects, namely spiritual, moral, social, emotional, physical and intellectual. A good pre-school has to facilitate growth in all the above-mentioned areas. Unfortunately, today too many pre-schools are putting too much emphasis on the intellectual aspect only and that too focussed on memory. Children are pressurised to learn reading, writing and arithmetic all day long and the other important aspects of growth are forgotten.There is a great danger in teaching children the 3 R's before they are ready. When we teach little children things that they are not ready to grasp, we mar their self-esteem and they begin to lose faith in their own abilities. A good pre-school must have a readiness programme that fosters the development of different skills that are necessary for reading, writing and number work. It must not teach the 3 R's but the focus must be on pre-reading, pre-writing and pre-math activities

The Outdoors

We give children enough time to play outdoors every day. Children run, jump, skip, swing, roll, tumble, climb etc. when they are outdoors on the jungle gym, slide, balancing planks, vehicles and enjoy sand play and water play. This kind of play not only relaxes the children but gives them an opportunity to learn the basic principles of math and science and this kind of movement is also very important for their physical and mental growth. Educators like Maria Montessori, Rudolf Steiner and Howard Gardener recognise the importance of movement in the learning process. They also improve their physical dexterity by pouring water and sifting, raking and shovelling sand. They additionally develop social skills when playing alongside other children and their attention span increases when they are able to play by themselves for a long time.

Indoor Activities

There are also carefully planned indoor activities that the children choose from. There are creative and imaginative activities such as painting, collage, clay, block play, drawing, puzzles, manipulative toys and the nature corner.

Pretend Play & Unstructured Learning

Our children engage in role play or pretend play through which they understand the real world and learn about themselves, their families, and the society around them. They develop many skills through this kind of role play, and they draw upon their previous experiences and learn to judge and select relevant information in order to enact play episodes. This is an essential skill for intellectual development. Children also learn to work together to solve problems, and this kind of play provides many opportunities for socio-emotional development.

Our school has an unstructured set up so that pre-schoolers learn to think for himself and make his own decisions. This provides them with many opportunities to exercise this freedom of thought and action and face its consequences. When children are encouraged to make their own decisions, they experience a sense of control over their lives and learn that what they say and do is important to them and also has an effect on others. They find out appropriate speech and action which isa very important lesson in life.

Doing & Experiencing

Children are always given enough time and opportunity to gain mastery over simple self-help skills like wearing their own shoes, buttoning their own shirts, tidying up the class after an activity, eating by themselves etc.

Self-reliance and self-esteem go hand in hand. Today we are in such a tearing hurry to cram little minds with information that these simple basic skills are overlooked. In fact, there is great danger in giving too much information too early in life. This kills the natural curiosity every child is born with and once this happens the children become passive learners.

We give children the freedom to learn at their own pace and ability to learn about the world through their senses. They learn by doing and experiencing a process where the learner is in charge of his own learning and the teacher facilitates this natural process.

Language Development

After an active hour of free play, the children are all happy to settle down. They are now ready to concentrate and engage in a variety of activities that aid language development. Rhyme time and story time are enjoyed daily with a variety of techniques used by our teachers.

A Thematic and Experimental Approach

A theme is selected such as myself, animals, transport, community helpers etc. The length and duration of the project depends on the interest of the children.A theme begins with a discussion or a field trip. Then individuals and groups draw, paint and make models to recreate the places visited. These are reinforced through role play, songs, and stories about the same topic. All creative activities are labelled laying the early foundation for reading and writing in a very relevant way.

Additionally, mathematical or scientific concepts related to the theme are also introduced with age appropriate, relevant, concrete and first hand experiences

Readiness Activities

At Saifee, we follow a readiness programme that fosters the development of different skills that are necessary for reading, writing and number work. We do not teach the three Rs, but focus on pre-reading, pre-writing and pre-math activities.