What do you need to prepare a dish? Recipe duh, right? That's what our children thought too till they read 'The Art of Cooking'. 

Why is it art? Isn't there a lot of science involved? What makes it an art? Why are these instructions so different from the recipes we are used to seeing? Really - can you really make any kind of broth if you learnt this skill? Wow! 

We wondered, explored, experimented, empathized, created personas and discovered that the problem was to learn the skills in cooking that could lead to unlocking the treasure trove of recipes and the ability to work with a plethora of ingredients. Voila! We had magic in our hands. 

Children spent time interviewing, designing and curating the skills that could help different kinds of people discover their inner cooking persona as well as learn and upskill themselves to become better cooks. 

This year for the Annual Day, our Leopards (4th and 5th graders) explored 'The Art of Indian Cooking' from first principles and designed something that each of us can use and work with. Along they way they had some magical moments of bonding with their families, embracing the inner scientist in them while some of them brought out their inner chefs. And well, what got cooked? Find out for yourself by watching the video!

​But before that, let's let Ms. Poorva Agarwal take us through the cooking of this whole process.

And here, the final product!

Here we have our wonderful parents reflecting along with us, and sharing with us their sides of the story as well. Have a look!
​

"Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words." - Robert Frost.'

We have all read/ learned/ wrote poems as kids, in our teens...a lot of which followed well into our adulthood. Poetry to some is an inflow/ outflow of expressionism while to some it is an appreciation of art. Well, you get the idea.

Our children, at SM, found themselves living, breathing, consuming poems and the process of poetry, creating their own, channelling the ones they connected with; pretty sure that this inspiration and love will be life-long. And during our annual Poetic Soiree event, they came together in their houses (Griffins, Pegasus, Phoenix, Sphinx) to express themselves through poems. As our pandemic motto, 'No-Virus Can Stop Our Learning!', they marched through with might and grit, fun and laughter, love and play, and a little bit of 'Learning Never Stops!'. So here they are, showcasing their poems to you.

Sit back and enjoy the show!

#sparklingmindzglobalschool
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#everychildcan
#21stcenturylearning
#deeplearning
#creativethinking
​#socialemotionalearning
​

It's been a very different year for all of us collectively, this year. But that has not stopped us from exploring, especially during this Independence Day!

Explore what? You may ask.

​Well, we explored our culture, identities, and much more. And we would like to share it with all of you through this video.

#sparklingmindzglobalpreschool
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#everychildcan
#21stcenturyleanrning
#reggioemiliainspired
#socialemotionallearning
​#independenceday

In May, children at SM had created the first edition of SM Times, our student-led newsletter. The process of creating these newsletters was challenging and fun - just the way any true learning process is. And it left all of us with a feeling of growth and inspiration. The second edition of the newsletter is about just that. About how the children have continued  to grow and stay inspired despite the lockdown. 
At the start of the lockdown, Sreeja ma'am had asked the children "No virus can stop us, can it?" They answered with a wide-eyed, open-hearted 'Yes!" The newsletters below are a compilation of some parts of their journey of learning, growth and inspiration... 

​

Contributed by Poorva Agarwal, Learning Facilitator at Sparkling Mindz Global School.


#sparklingmindzglobalschool
#sparklingmindzglobalpreschool
#youngachieversacademy
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#everychildcan
#21stcenturylearning
#buildingownershipinchildren
​#gamebasedlearning

The 4 to 5 year olds pretend played being doctor and nurse.

It was G and P's turn to be the doctor and nurse. P goes and sits on the doctor's seat, G wants to be the doctor too. 

F (Looking at P): Do you want to be the nurse?
P: No I want to be the doctor

Both G and P sitting quietly waiting for the other to let go.

F waited for a while and respectfully tried giving them a suggestion after seeking their permission saying, "Since you get to attend 2 patients do you mind taking turns being the doctor for each of them?"

G immediately says, "Ok then I'll be the nurse"
And they took turns happily.

When shown fair chance children immediately expand their horizons and can see possibility of a different kind of interaction. One that involves being caring and empathetic towards each other and not just grabbing opportunities for self. 

We believe children are respectful individuals who deserve to be respected the way adults do and by modeling respectful behavior they pick up cues to respect each other.

Contributed by Grace Veronica, Facilitator, Sparkling Mindz Global Preschool

It's the month of August, the month that's special for every Indian. It was the month in which India achieved Independence from the British rule 73 years ago. As the rest of India celebrates this month by reminiscing the sacrifice of the various people who contributed to the Indian freedom movement, our pre-schoolers (5-6 year olds) at Sparkling Mindz began their discussion with a prompt "What do they love about India?" and the following were their responses along with how the discussion moved forward.

*Sh: I love that India is a big country and I love the national anthem.
Sh: Why do we sing the national anthem?
Ash: We sing national anthem to wish India*

This opened up an opportunity to discuss about the geography of India. The States, union territories and their capitals. How big India was before Independence and how big is it now and a little about the national anthem.
*Ana: I love that freedom fighters fought for our country*

This led us to discuss about who did the freedom fighters fight against and why? Why did the British East India company come to India? Who were the freedom fighters and how did they fight (Violence and Non violence)?

*Em: everywhere I travel in India, I love the buildings*
This led us to discuss about the famous monuments or heritage towns in India.

*Aad: I love India because it's colorful*
This opened up an opportunity to talk about the diversity in language, food, clothing, culture etc. And how inspite of our difference we love each other.
*Tan: I love India because it's beautiful*
*Abh: But, there are also people who litter in India*
This statement ignited a spark in the class and everybody seemed upset and concerned.
Facilitator: Why do you think people litter in India.
Abh: Because they are bad people.
Facilitator: It is? Sometimes in class we forget to follow ground rules, does that make us bad people?
Class: No, they just don't know the ground rules.
Facilitator: what do you think we should all do about this?
Tan: When somebody litters we can take it and throw in the dustbin.
Facilitator: Do you think they will learn if we pick up all the garbage for them? Is it possible for us to pick up all the garbage in India?
Ved: We need to clean our roads.
Abhi: We need to have more bins on the pathways.
Avy: We need to have poop bins for the dogs on the streets.
Adi: If you don't find garbage bin, keep it in a bag and throw it when you see a dust bin.
Post this discussion, children began reporting about littering incidents they come across on a daily basis while traveling from school to home and other places.
Noticing the concern and the spark in children to make a change, the facilitator gave them a choice to come up with ways to educate people on keeping India clean.
​
Few suggestions they came up with were-
1. Role play
2. Making placards
3. Making videos
4. Writing letters

Considering all their suggestion the facilitator helped them thread through a mime which they performed to educate their parents on Independence day. They also went about and wrote letters to people they see littering the streets. 

​Contributed by Yashika CG, Facilitator, Sparkling Mindz Global Preschool

The 4 year olds were making a circle with all of the colourful chairs around them for their usual Monday circle time. They had just gotten back from a 3 days long holiday and had lots to share! The circle was almost complete when Paridhi was just standing in the middle of the almost circle with an upset face, refusing to talk to anybody. 

"What happened Pari?", asked the facilitator (F).
Paridhi, with more tears," I want Elsa's chair!"

At this point, as the F seemed confused, children explained that the blue chair is Elsa's chair and the others are Aana's chairs. At this time there were no more blue chairs as children had all already occupied all of the rest, except for a green chair.

F continued," Why don't you take another chair and sit? Because there's no more blue chair."

Pari,"But that's Aana's chairs. I want to be Elsa!" and continues being upset. 

F noticed Tanmayi was sitting on a yellow chair and pointed at Tanmayi ,"See Tanmayi is sitting on a yellow one!", To which Tanmayi replied," I am sitting on yellow one because it is a bright colour chair. It is sun fairies,moon fairies, anything you want to be!"

F,"Oh wow! Did you hear that Pari? You can be aaaaaanything you want to be! What would you like to be other than Elsa?"

She thought for a few seconds and shouted with excitement," Butterfly!"

F,"Awesome! And which chair would you like to sit on?"

She pointed at the only available green chair and happily sat on it, and the problem was resolved.

With the right prompts, children can figure out solutions for themselves. It's important to understand the care-abouts of children in every situation as it helps to resolve issues at a deeper level, leaving everybody calmer and happier. 


Contributed by Sruthy Krishna, Sparkling Mindz Global Preschool.

As part of their Independence day visit,  our pre-schoolers expressed interest in knowing more about the freedom fighters. Considering their curiosity, they were taken to Freedom park, a place that served as a prison during Indian freedom movement which is now converted into a park. 

As children arrived at Freedom Park, A noticed grass growing on the gaps between the tiles on the pavement and screamed.

A: Stop everyone! Do not step on the grass! 
He succeeded in getting everybody's attention and they walked carefully making sure to not step on the grass. 

Post this incident of A displaying kindness and care and encouraging others to do the same, they walked ahead exploring the different areas of the park, the prisons, the execution place etc. As they walked, they came across a little insect strolling on the grass. Av, picked up a small twig and killed the insect. 
Rest of the group screamed: Ma'am Av killed the insect.
Em (visibly upset): it didn't even do anything to us.

Seeing his friends holding him accountable for his behavior, Av feels bad and tries to defend himself by speaking gibberish. 
​

A while later, children exploring the park found a fallen branch. They picked it up and started playing tug-of-war (it's been their favorite game ever since it was introduced to them a year ago). Just then, M saw it and ran to her friends. 
M: Everybody stop! You'll get hurt.

It was take home issue time for Cubs (4 to 5 year olds) today, just before they went home for the weekend. Children were all busy packing their take home files into their bags when Tanmayi was visibly upset. With teary eyes she said, "Nobody is being my friend." And started crying slightly. 

"Who do you mean by everybody?"

Tanmayi, pointing at Ashley, continues to tear up. 

"I am sure you can solve this. Why don't you go talk to her and ask her- Ashley, are you not my friend?"
She was prompted here as she was not in an emotional space to come up with questions. She seemed really upset. Usually she takes care of such situations herself. 

Tanmayi walked over to Ashley and asked gently, "Ashley, are you my friend or not?", hoping for a yes. 
When Tanmayi got no response from Ashley's side, she looked even more helpless, without realizing that Ashley might not have heard her voice as she was speaking very softly. Tanmayi kept standing next to Ashley, looking at me as if asking for help. 

"Ashley, I think Tanmayi is trying to communicate something with you."

Upon hearing this, Ashley suddenly noticed Tanmayi standing in front of her, "Oh!"

"Ashley, are you my friend or not?", repeated Tanmayi with a calmer demeanor. 
"Yes I am! But why did you twist my hand?", asked Ashley. 

​Contributed by Sruthy Krishna, Learning Facilitator at Sparkling Mindz Global Preschool.

It's Poetic Soiree time of the year again and the preschoolers are busy practising their poems. The two 4 year olds in Cubs class at SM Preschool were reciting their poem called Invention by Shel Silverstein, which goes like,

I've done it, I've done it!
Guess what I've done!
Invented a light that plugs into the sun.
The sun is bright enough,
The bulb is strong enough
But, oh, there's only one thing wrong...
The cord ain't long enough.

Post this recital, the Cubs weren't happy with leaving the ending in a way where the invention seemed useless. So together they solved the problem, and came up with an extension to the poem with the help of the facilitator,

' So I take six ladders,
Put them together as one.
Then I take a few cords,
Attach them together
And plug it into the sun!'

Children used empathy as a tool here to come up with solutions. They stepped into the shoes of the poet, became the poem and realized that they could help figure out what the poet can do to make the invention work! At first they were unhappy with the original ending, as they found it ending with a problem and not a solution. And almost immediately, with no intervention required, they started exploring various solutions for the same. They moved around the class, pretending the sun to be at a high place, having a short cord, asking each other what they can do. And in a matter of less than 5 minutes, they solved it together as a group! 

When children are invited to wonder, the world of curiosities open up. They step into that world and emerge out victorious with questions, solutions, answers...Perhaps that's all we need as children and adults, a safe space to wonder, be curious, ask questions and figure things out. 


Contributed by Sruthy Krishna, Learning Facilitator, Sparkling Mindz Global.