​It was one morning in preschool where the 4 and 5 year olds were reflecting on their previous day’s nature walk. It was Sara’s turn to present to present her reflections. 
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She started, “We went into a golden deep forest and saw a shiny red bird..."

"...with shiny eyes, shiny nose, shiny hair and shiny dress. I played with it. Then it took me on its back and flew around. We went through the mountains and over the sea. All my friends played with it too”
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Each child takes away from an experience different things based on their own curiosity and imagination. Who could have thought that a park could be deep golden forest in a child’s imagination?

When children express their imagination in different ways and are respected for what they say, they start to develop their unique voice and speak up with confidence.  To kindle their imagination the environment as a third teacher plays a pivotal and valuable role in their lives as they explore their imagination through interaction, creation, movement etc.

Contributed by Grace Veronica, Facilitator, Sparkling Mindz Global Preschool

​A bright sunny morning, our 5-6 year olds were at the playground. They were divided into two teams to play a game of Dodge Ball. The rules were set and the teams were rearing to go. An had the ball in her hand as it was decided that she would start the game but Av wanted to be the one to start the game. He was trying to forcefully pull the ball away from An's hands. 

Seeing that his repeated requests are not working Av starts to cry. Soon the other children gather around. Some try to coax An while others try to convince Av, as they are keen on
getting back to the fun of playing the game. 

​D (walking up to An, trying to negotiate): An, see how Av is crying. Let him have the ball.
Av, now has an even more sad expression, looking for more supporters.
Few of the children agree saying Av should have the ball.
Av: Yes, An look how I am crying. Let me have the ball.
An is still not convinced.

D: Crying children only should have the ball. An, give the ball to Av.
Then turning to me, he says,
D: Ma’am, crying children should have the ball. Please tell An to give the ball.
Me: Okay, so every time a child cries, and we give the child what he wants, what will the child
learn?
Na: He will think, if I cry, I will get it
Me: Exactly, so is that a good solution?
Most of them disagree.

Me: Then D, if we now give the ball to Av because he is crying, are we helping Av?
D: No, ma’am.

This idea is dropped and they start looking for other ways to solve the problem. Av now decides
to wipe away his tears realizing that this is not working. 
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Now the children have separated into two groups, one group working on convincing Av and the
other group on convincing An. In Av’s group, D comes up with a proposal.
D: Ok, Av, you do one thing. When we go back to the class, you hold the ball.
Av suddenly brightens up and agrees. Now this group walks up to the other, to see if An would
agree to this proposal.
D: An, you can start the game now. When we go back to class, Av will hold the ball. Okay?
An: I’m okay with that

With Av and An agreeing to D’s proposal, finally the problem was resolved and the game
resumed. In the process, all of them had flexed their conflict resolution muscle and gained confidence that they can figure out solutions to problems no matter how unsolvable and unreasonable they may sound to begin with.
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As we step back and reflect on the incident, we realize that there are several things that children did right
1. They didn't give up in the face of repeat set backs to solve the problem
2. They came up with newer solutions from different dimensions, it was never more of the same
3. They didn't write off or judge either of their friends
4. They didn't take sides
5. They resolved the issue as a class, as a team
6. Despite emotions running high, they kept an ear open for a suggestion that would work
7. They understood that, perhaps, the dispute was just about who got to hold the ball, not about who started the game, that led to their creative solution (showing sprouts of empathy here!)
8. At no point, did they ask the facilitator to solve the problem for them, they persevered, they trusted themselves enough to continue working on it
9. The facilitator stepped back and only stepped in when there was a pull from the children (only to the extent necessary)

Children who experience trust in their capabilities from adults around them and learn to take ownership of their relationships, learning and more become confident problem solvers. They are an inspiration to each one of us, as children should be!

We wonder what inspirational lessons we will learn from our 5 year olds next?

Documented by Jennifer Christy, Learning Facilitator at Sparkling Mindz Global Preschool
Edited by Sreeja Iyer CEO Sparkling Mindz Global

It was just another inspiring day at SM, our preschoolers went upstairs to the play area for their 'whole school connect' which happens every Friday when the whole school comes together and gets involved in fun activities to learn, bond, solve problems, compete or collaborate and get inspired!

Post the connect, children were given time for free play. The play area incorporates an innovative tyre maze, a sand pit and a doll house apart from green grass and pure open space to run & have fun. I was walking around observing them play, when my attention was caught by a 5 year old Ab, engrossed in some serious work. He was surrounded by a bunch of his friends who looked equally engrossed above the doll house (which they call 'The Helipad'). 

I was curious, and I slowly approached them. I could see that Ab was focused on tying strings to his water bottle. T, Av, and Sh had already lent their water bottles for the experiment which were hanging down from the railing as they eagerly waited for the results. I couldn't resist engaging in a conversation.

​Me: What are you making Ab?
Ab: We are making a lifter that can lift anything!
Me: That sounds so cool! How does it work?
Ab (Examining his knots): It needs two people, one person should stand at the bottom and one person should stand on the top. The person at the bottom will put things and the person at the top will pull.

I was hooked, I wanted to see it work. I stood there observing them quietly, After a while, when he was sure that the knot was secure enough, he slowly released the bottle down to test his machine. But the string unraveled and the bottle fell. Ab asked his friends to hold on and rushed down to fix the knot.
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​He kept trying different combinations until he got it right and rushed back up to test it again. 
And hurray!! It worked this time. Ab's face beamed with a sense of accomplishment. He was proud of his invention. 

He called out to his friends and let them take turns and try out his machine. 
​

We believe children are capable and curious learners with lots of questions and even more amazing ideas, which helps them come up with creative solutions and inventions. When children are given the respect, time and space to play with their ideas and the necessary support to make their ideas come true they surpass our wildest imaginations when it comes to what they can accomplish. 

Our children at SM are growing up to believing that they are creative thinkers and capable of putting their thinking to action. Like the famous saying by C. S. Lewis goes "We are what we believe we are!" Developing an empowering belief system is crucial for a happy and fulfilling life and it is during these formative years that most of our beliefs take shape. 

We, as adults and facilitators, who work with children have an important role to play in shaping these empowering beliefs. Appreciating children's productive ideas, listening to them with utmost respect and curiosity and most importantly, letting them try and fail and try again (while resisting the temptation to rush out and help!) develops a strong belief in themselves as tinkerers and problem solvers. It encourages them to think of more ideas which eventually leads to innovation in society and we need our little change makers and their ideas today more than ever!

#lifterproject
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#sparklingmindzglobalschool
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​Contributed by Yashika CG, Asst. Learning Facilitator at Sparkling Mindz.