​Imagine walking into a class filled with the sounds of a variety of experimental musical instruments. The class was high on children's excitement of the presenting the musical instrument that they had created. 

As each of them presented, they also named their instrument, explained what and how the sound was being produced and made nuanced observations of how various factors could affect the quality of sound that we hear - for instance, the thickness of the rubberbands, the material used, the size of a container, the size of contents within the container and so on. Towards the end of the class, we had them all play their instruments collectively. 

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#inspiringconfidentlearners
#gamebasedlearning
#experientiallearning
#makingmusicalinstruments

"The child is made of one hundred" - Loris Malaguzzi

This Children's Day our preschool children explored their 100.

​Happy women's Day to all the amazing, beautiful women who have touched my life in innumerable ways. 

I rise  (Inspired by Maya Angelou's - Still I rise)

Like the tides in the ocean 
That have seen many lives
I rise

Like the gentle breeze
That touches everyone
I rise

Like the specks of dust
Trampled beneath
I rise

Like the vapour in the water
When brought to a boil
I rise

Like the fury of the fire
Stoked by a gust of wind
I rise

Like the clouds that gather 
All their might 
I fall

But, fierce and mighty
Like the sun
I rise again and again and again.

And, like a ray of hope
Amidst despair and gloom
I will always rise.

- Sreeja Iyer
​
#sparklingmindzglobalschool
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#youngacgieversacademy
#sundaymusings
#everychildcan
#poetry
​

Working at Sparkling Mindz has a facilitator has been an amazing journey of self-growth and self discovery  for me.  Thanks to the passion and dedication of my mentors, Sreeja ma'am and Minesh who motivate  and drive each one of us - at times, encouraging me to tread in paths which are beyond my comfort zone, trusting in my potential more than me, and being there to constantly support and pick me up when I fall. One such instance was when they came to know that I suffered from migraine headaches and reached out to help me.  And lo, the story unfolds... 

I have been suffering from migraines for several years now, and have tried all kinds of medications from allopathy, ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy and what not, but to no avail.  And then I pacified myself that this is hereditary and since my mother also has it, I will eventually have it ( after careful analysis of how my triggers and symptoms match hers).  Now that I have accepted migraines to be part of me, I tried to shift my focus  to prevent the triggers like constipation, going out in the sun, untimely meals, travelling etc.    Still it was not possible to prevent the triggers all the time, and when something had gone off, I found myself waiting for my symptoms to start, dreading the intensity and pain.  And along with it, suffering from guilt that I am not able to do my work well or fulfil my responsibilities, or being a burden for others at home. 

When I discussed all of this with my mentor, Minesh, he suggested two things.  Identifying and working on what is bothering me at the moment and working on my emotions which may also be a trigger and then using Creative Visualisation to deal with the physical symptoms.  The suggestions did seem easy to work on, but it required lot of courage to look into myself, identify the emotional contribution to the problem and accept the fact that 'yes, that is affecting me'.  It was easier to mask my feelings and say 'I'm okay',  'I'm not that kind of a person who would take all this seriously', 'Ya, this happened .  But still it's fine'.  

Once, I identified the disturbing situation, I was taught how to change my reaction to the problem, by accepting it, acknowledging my thoughts and feelings, and bringing in more awareness to the whole schema of things - this awareness helped to reduce the intensity of the trigger and sometimes nullify it too.  And then came the second step where I spoke to my body, saying that 'I understand that through this headache you are trying to bring something to my awareness and letting me know that something is wrong.  Thank you.  Now I have understood. So it's okay for the pain to fade away.  Ta ta.  Bye Bye.'   And lo behold the pain was gone.  I was left in awe at this magical redemption from so many years of suffering.  Is this really possible that I could just talk to my body and it would just listen to me?  But yes, it actually did!!!   Oh what a miracle!!!  And all this while, to know that my body was actually trying to tell me something through the headache, and I was not listening to the underlying fact; instead I was trying to treat the physical symptoms on a superficial level.  

I went back to happily share this experience with my mentors and express my gratitude to them.  Now that I found success in managing my migraine once, I started applying it every time.  The headaches do come back, but I am able to resolve the issue before the pain aggravates. I first start looking for things that are affecting me at the moment and start working on them.   And also having managed it once, twice, gives me the confidence that I can handle it anytime.  Oh what a relief !!  And the most beautiful fact is that I found the " POWER WITHIN ME' to manage my emotions and the physical problems triggered by those emotions.  

The journey was painful, but worth the effort -because I have become a more confident ME and  bear this torch of self discovery to light many more lives along the way - as a facilitator, as a teammate, as a friend, as a neighbour, as a family member.  

Now that I have resolved one issue, I have embarked on the next journey of working on my self-confidence, identifying areas which need work, identifying and working on my limiting beliefs, fighting the resistance to dig deeper and deeper.  I already hear you wishing me 'All the best'.  Thank you!

#sparklingmindzglobalpreschool
​#inspiringconfidentlearners
#facilitatorselfgrowth
#powerwithinme
#learningforkeeps
​
Contributed by Jennifer Christy, Learning Facilitator at Sparkling Mindz Global Preschool.

Last October, on the 2nd (on the 150th anniversary of Gandhiji's birthday), our children ran a solid 12KM marathon, beating their previous year's record of 6.6KM.

​What's special about this? Well, they wanted to dedicate their run to the physical and mental health of children all over the world as a run, or any sport, is much more than just a physical workout/ a challenge. It is "I can do this!", and "Let's keep going, you can do this!", and a whole lot of "I am not giving up."

​

 One of our Falcons shared her experience on the the whole process on where they started with this run and where they reached in that journey, which can be read here. 

A run is never just a run. It's so much more than that; it is physical, mental, emotional...and holistic. At SM, sports is an experience, a celebration, and we are all about pushing limits and growing from our comfort zones, watch ourselves become more resilient, set more goals for ourselves through the trainings and workouts, learn to work in different teams thereby, going beyond our familiar spaces, learning to focus more on the whole experience...And oh, there is more! We build muscles of growth mindset and go beyond our limitations and beliefs we that have set for ourselves too! And yes, this is sports for us, SMzians! Hence, a run is never just a run for us.

How about you, have you ever ran a marathon? What was your experience? Share in the comments below.

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#inspiringconfidentlearners
#holisticlearning
#12kmarathon
#everychildcan

In tough times like these, how can one learn to remain inspired and committed to the greater vision, mission and purpose? As the saying goes, 'Tough times don't last, tough teams do...!' 

This is how we choose to stay together, our SM community. We hold the fort down, we got each other. And we invite you to explore your life and share with us how you stay inspired and joyful.

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#inspirationstandup
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#youngachieversacademy
#21stcenturylearning
#socialemotionallearning
#buildingcommunity

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

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 a typical circle time for the Pups and Calves until we decided to continue the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle from the previous day. Today was 'Recycle' discussion. From the previous discussion, we had arrived at not using the same dustbin for all the waste and to use different dustbins for different wastes. 
F: What are the different dustbins you think we should have ?
K: cardboard
An: Plastic
H: Paper
F: What all goes into the 'Paper Waste' dustbin?
H: Tissues
Av: Paper
F: What is cardboard then?
K: Plastic
F: Why do you think it is plastic?
There was silence. 
F: Is paper hard or soft?
Collectively: Soft. 
F: How about plastic?
Collectively: Hard. 

To further deepen the thought processes, they were asked two prompts:
1. What makes something plastic and what makes something cardboard?
2. How does one know something is plastic? Do we touch and find out? How do we find it?

Since we didn't arrive at anything convincing or conclusive, we decided to take it a step further through a small experimentation: How about we take plastic and cardboard and poured water on both? 

Our wonder questions were: 
What will we get? Will they both stay the same? Since our bottles are hard, will cardboard also stay hard? Will our bottles become soft like paper if we put water on them?

​To find out, children who didn't have plastic water bottles were given plastic cups to experiment with. They all got into their chu-chu trains and marched to the taps. One by one they all poured water on their bottles and cups and got back to class. 
K: Mine is fresh now. 
S: Mine too!
H: Mine is soft
Av: Mine is also soft now (in a very playful manner)
​
They all went back to class and sat on their mats to feel the texture further and collectively discussed and agreed that the bottles and cups were still hard. So plastic doesn't get soft after putting water on them. 
Then they were each given a cardboard piece. They followed the same routine of putting water on each, came back and sat on their mats. 
There were lots of giggles and surprised expressions on their faces when they realized they could bend and tear the big pieces of the hard cardboard. 
H: This is soft ma'am. 
Ab: Ma'am see I can tear
S: look ma'am there's one line here on the cardboard 
F: So if the cardboard is soft and we can tear it and bend it, is it plastic or paper?
K: Paper!

​So the conclusions made were,
1. When we put water on plastic, they still remain hard and we can't bend or tear it. 
2. When we put water on paper, it bends and tears. 

Post this, we all agreed that we will have 3 dustbins:
A) Paper waste (tissues, paper and cardboard)
B) Plastic waste 
C) Food Waste
​
It's easy to give away the information to children rather than letting them experiment and figure it out for themselves. When they are given the freedom to experiment and figure it out for themselves, they learn so much more than when they are just given the answers. They will learn things more deeper than usual because the learning happens right in front of them. And that journey is exhilarating and fun! Isn't that what learning is all about?!


#sparklingmindzglobalschool
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#youngachieversacademy
#everychildcanwonder
#everychildcanexperiment
#21stcenturylearning
#socialemotionallearning

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

I often crave for new experiences. I do take out time to explore and experience new things. Whether it is trying my hands at a new instrument (I have no prior knowledge of music), a new cuisine, meeting new people or a genre of book I have never experienced. There is a myriad of emotions that one feels over new experiences. One feels a tinge of fear, a tinge of anticipation, a lot of excitement and so many unnamed emotions that gives you a feeling in your tummy. When we are born, everything is new for us. The excitement to explore and tinker is visible in the sparkle of our eyes.

Over time we start losing our ability of being so open to the new experiences and soon we start shunning them. The fear of messing things up and making a fool of ourselves overrides the sheer pleasure of doing and feeling something new. Having said that, what is so great about the new experiences anyway?

New experiences positively correlate to both creativity and enhancing learning skills. Having a diversified array of experiencing things forms a big pool of knowledge and experiences which can then be connected to make progress in Creativity and Innovation.

At Sparkling Mindz, we see new experiences as a culture. We ensure children get to experience new things and so do we. New experiences are not a luxury, they are a necessity. It is all around us, the world is full of them, we just need to see it with the curious eyes of a toddler!

When was the last time you experienced something new? How can you bring novelty as a part of your daily life?