Another typical day for the 3 and 4 year olds at Sparkling Mindz where they were all seated at their usual yellow rectangular table. They were all given worksheets to do where they had to stick thermocol balls on the sheets given. They are usually given choices on how they would like to do the worksheets and what they would like to stick. As we were focusing on fine motor development, on this particular day, they were given thermocol balls to stick. They were each given a glue stick to use for themselves to stick. 
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The glue sticks were of three colours: black, blue, and blue and yellow. An and H both wanted blue. By the time the glue sticks got to them, it was between blue, and blue and yellow. An and H start arguing on who gets to use the blue one. Both the glue sticks were handed over to both of them. At this point they both stared at me hoping I would take a call and hand over the blue to one of them to which I responded, "Okay. Please solve this problem you guys", and I moved onto the others observing how they were going to resolve this. 
Few seconds later they came up with a solution all by themselves!
An said," After we finish this one line, you give me the blue and I'll give you this. Let's exchange", to which H happily agreed, called me and told me how they had revolved their fight. 

It was such a beautiful sight to see them resolving their problems by themselves. If I had stepped in, I would have stolen that lesson, that they learned about solving problems by themselves and sharing, by giving them the solutions. By trusting their capabilities in solving their problems, I was able to strengthen my belief about children that even at such a young age, they are absolutely capable of anything that they put their minds to, which is a learning not just for them but also for me. As adults, we often step in to figure things out for the children without letting them figure it out for themselves. We often tend to forget that they are capable individuals with brilliant minds that can function independently without us having to interfere a lot of the times. Taking a step back a lot of the times will give them chances to step up for themselves and also enable them to believe that we trust them to solve their issues by themselves. And this, is beautiful.


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

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​It was around 10:20am and our 4-5 year olds were setting their class up for snacks. Just then, the facilitator spotted Ad and Sh fighting for the red chair. The class had just one red chair and this was not the first time children were fighting over it. The facilitator intervenes and takes away the red chair from both of them.
 
F: Okay! Looks like we have a very serious problem.
Ab: Because of all of us!
F: What do we now? There is just one red chair and so many of us want to sit on that one chair.
Ash: I’m sitting on a yellow chair, Everyday I’m sitting on different, different chair.
F: People sitting on different chairs everyday, that’s great! Now, how can we solve this red chair problem?
Ab: No red chair (He meant, taking away the red chair)
(Ad, visibly very upset, takes a chair and sits away from the circle, making angry gestures.)
F: (To the class) Ad will calm down and tell us how he wants to solve this problem.
 
F (now addressing the whole class): Do you all have any suggestion for Ad?
Sh: I have! Maybe he can say sorry to the red chair and not fight with the red chair.
F: Was he fighting with the red chair or was he fighting for the red chair?
Ab: He was fighting for the red chair.
Ar (Raises his hand): Take away the red chair!
An: He can take the chair some of the days, he cannot take the chair tomorrow.
F: So you are saying, Ad can take the chair on some days and some days he can give it to others?
Ab: I have a solution, we can paint the red chair in different colors.
Ash (Interrupts): If we paint the red chair, all the paints will be over.
Ab: We can stick paper on the red chair and paint the paper.
F: Hmmm… Ad loves the red chair, if we change it to another color, would that solve the problem?
M: We all love the red chair. All of us love all the chairs.
F (To Av): Do you have a solution?
Av: The solution is when Ad is going to take the red chair, somebody else should take the red chair.
F: Do you think Ad will like it?
Av: If Ad wants red chair, we can just cover it with white.
F: How will that solve the problem? He still loves the red chair isn’t it?
Ab: Maybe we can get more red chairs.
Ta: Ma’am, I’ll give my red chair to Ad and take a different one.
F: You could do that, but Ad likes only that Red chair (The bright one).
Sh: Ma’am, all the other chairs are saying we love Ad.
Ad (still angry): (makes roaring noise)
T: Maybe I’ll tell everyone that Ad wants the red chair and please can you let him take the red chair?
F: Do you think it’s fair to let Ad take the Red chair everyday? Sh also likes the Red chair and she also wants to sit on it sometime.
T: Maybe, you can let him take the Red chair today.
F: OK, how about we agree on An’s idea? She said Ad can take it some days and give it to others on some days, Would that work with you Ad?
Ad: Today I’ll take it, tomorrow I’ll give it.
T: Maybe Sh and Ad can keep on exchanging.
An (Raising her hand): I should also get it.
 
Everybody else in class also started raising their hands one by one saying “I also want the Red chair”, and we decided to make a timetable and put it up in class so that everybody gets to sit on the red chair. Ever since then, there has not been a conflict regarding the Red chair.
 
Taking away the red chair would have easily solved the problem but that would have been momentary and would have robed the opportunity form children to discuss and arrive at a solution. Here, they not only displayed their reasoning and problem solving capabilities but also, in the process felt that their voices mattered. Encouraging or involving children in decision making and problem solving will help them build trust in themselves as well as creates a sense of ownership as the child feels understood and listened to. 

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

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#inspiringconfidentlearners
#youngachieversacademy
#everychildcan

The facilitator at SM preschool noticed that the class of 12 four to five year olds were establishing comfort zones and forming smaller groups within the class. They played with the same group of children and struggled with making new friends. To address this issue, on one of the morning hours, the facilitator set up an invitation to play with lego blocks and animal toys.
 
Children were given the choice to create something together as one team and were given 15 minutes. Even though children began to create something together, towards the end of 15 minutes there were two smaller groups and few children playing individually on their own.
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At the end of 15 minutes, children were asked to stop, leave whatever they were doing as it is and move to the side. Each of them were asked what their team was doing but they could only recollect and say what they were doing individually.

The facilitator reminded them of the initial goal of the activity and posed a question at the children, "What do you all think we can do now?"
"Maybe we can join everything together", T suggested and everybody agreed.

The children were given another 15 minutes to complete their task. At the end of that 15 minutes and a lot of mini conflicts, they had together built a gigantic animal carrier.

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When asked what they liked and disliked about working together as a team, the few things that emerged were:

Sh: We made so many different things and we attached it, I didn’t like it when J destroyed it.
T: I learn’t to do a big building with so many blocks with the team, I didn’t like when Ar destroyed what I made.
Ad: I liked to put the animals together with the team, I didn’t like J destroying it.
Ar: My team helped me make the big building, I didn’t like that there are a lot of items that are not used. I felt very bad when my team was not listening, only V was listening.
An: I learn’t how to build animal home with the team. I didn’t like everybody screaming and I was not able to hear others. Everyone was very loud screaming “I want to put it”.
Av: I liked building the animal carrier truck. I didn’t like that everyone was shouting.
Ad: I like about my team when they were doing a great building work.

So it is with anytime children work together, there is bound to be conflict, lack of feeling listened to, screaming and a lot of me-me-me. Even if at the end of it what they produce looks amazing the feeling of how the experience was stays with them and they continue to avoid collaboration.

As children listened to how they all felt at the end of the activity it started to create bridges between one heart to another and slowly mend fences from one child to another. At the heart of good team work and collaboration lies trust and at the heart of that lies empathy and listening with an open, non-judgmental mind is a good start!

Collaboration and team work are two of the most essential life skills. By learning to make new friends and collaborating with them at an early age, children become more tolerant and appreciative of others' ideas and develop a sense of social adeptness which they are going to carry with them through adulthood.

#sparklingmindzglobalschool
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#youngachieversacademy
#everychildcan

​Contributed by Yashika CG, Asst. Learning Facilitator at Sparkling Mindz.

Today a child came crying to school. It is not a usual sight at our school so naturally all the children stared at her and didn't know what to do - the loudness, the distraction, the helplessness...it was all evident in each of their faces. Once she settled, they all came around for their Welcome Song.  As the facilitator was calling her to the group, everybody was staring at her wondering what she was going to say. Eventually, she told everybody that she doesn't want to join in, she wants to stand alone. Children understood that but instead of ignoring her...they did something magical. One by one, all of them started to walk towards her and gave her a hug, which culminated in a group her. They stood with her until the facilitator asked all of them to come back. They held her gently unlike their usual group hugs that are very driven, loud and fast.  She was brought in with love and gentle affection. She was moved, she joined in.

Children know when to be gentle and kind to one another and it's a very important quality to have and to build within. For this class, we have been working on awareness and connection to emotions, expressing and understanding them in each other as well as being friends with all your classmates. Hence, the sensitivity that children showed - no one laughed, no one ignored, they were all very gentle. Then, the collective synergistic action they took together to bring her in - again with no verbal exchange between each other. All of it shows that something magical is happening in the class of my 3 year olds.

As parents, teachers, neighbors, friends, and anybody, let's help cultivate kindness and empathy among children, so that they nourish both themselves and others around them. But first, let's cultivate the same within us so that we can show them how to build it within themselves, and emerge stronger than they already are.

Contributed by Sruthy Krishna, Learning Facilitator at Sparkling Mindz Global Preschool.
Reviewed by Sreeja Iyer, CEO, Sparkling Mindz Global