A level 3 Young Achievers Academy Class. A game is laid out and a discussion ensues just prior to it.

​N is a 12 year old who doesn't like rules.

N: I don't like rules, rules are bad.
F: When you are at a traffic signal do you tell your mom to keep going even if it is red light because rules are bad?
N: No!
F: What about in Nikhalasia (his fantasy land), what will you do there?
N: I'll build a bridge for people to walk above vehicles. So no traffic signals.
F: So then people have to walk above and vehicles have to go below - aren't they rules too?
N: Yes
F: Are they bad?
N: Well, no they keep people safe and moving happily. Not all rules are bad :)

On a bright sunny day, the Falcons (11, 12 and 13 year olds) and 2 facilitators headed out on an explore mission to a science exhibition called Submerge. An explore mission is one where a group of students experience either an activity, experiment or so, and generate unlimited wonder questions. That day’s mission was part of a unique learning game in the learning area called SIE (Scientific Inquiry and Experimentation) and these set of students have been playing the game for about a year now.

Excited and curious, this bunch of children got into their school bus with sheets for them to write their observations and questions on, based on the exhibition. While on the bus, one of our students called the school bus a ‘Guardians of Science mobile!’ Upon hearing this, another immediately added, “We could travel around learning about science and have our own exhibit everywhere we go!” While on their way, they pondered on and discussed questions, such as ‘Where are we going ? What is being showcased ? Who is doing this?’ and many many more.

Upon reaching there, we split ourselves into groups to explore multiple exhibits at once. Once we stepped in, we were all constantly left to wonder. Hanging by a wall were 4 metal plates that seemed to make some kind of sound. The mediator asked us what we thought about what it was, what could be a possible reason for the creator to have made this… At this time, S used his detective observation skills to answer we unlocked more and more of the story of gold mines in Colorado and how a river is polluted by Aluminium, Steel, Copper and Lead. And on one side, M was thoroughly amazed as that was the first time M had seen art, science, storytelling and technology put together to create something so amazing!

Some of the other exhibits that were showcased were- a plant called Argus that can detect lead in the soil, an electrolysis equipment that helped us hear the sound of various lakes in Bangalore and so much more. The guardians of science stopped at nothing! They were on a mission- constantly asking and writing questions that would help them set off on a journey to make connections and learn Chemistry deeper. Our questions spread wider as we saw data systems that measured climate and brine shrimp that lay dormant. Amazed, M commented, “ They put science, so many other areas like art, music, social change, farming and all of them together. Can our experiments be this cool?”. As we covered more of the exhibition, we saw more that showcased the combined ability for engineering and science to create an impact, a water fountain made from puddles and a vertical garden of a certain kind of weed that some villages in Bangalore (Karnataka) cook and eat. 

With eyes wide open and still remembering, wondering and questioning everything that we saw, we finally sat down to eat and reflect. Post our reflection on what we saw and what we learned, we headed back to school. Some of us shared about how there is so much purpose around us and how it is just a grasp away, that we should just go and find it. Facilitator S mentioned how our careers in the future are going to cross functional and that we will most likely be working on creating impact using knowledge and skills from various areas, merging everything, just like how the exhibition merged science, art, storytelling and technology! And finally, through this experience we fuelled our curiosity, collected unlimited wonder questions, connected to the world of science and explored Chemistry. 

#sparklingmindzglobalschool
​#sparklingmindzglobalpreschool
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#youngachieversacademy
#everychildcan
#experientiallearning
​#buildingcuriosity

Contributed by Sriram Kakarla, Learning Facilitator at Sparkling Mindz Global School.

​Times have been unpredictable, with the COVID-19 spreading, driving the world to take refuge in a dark shell of uncertainty. First, the schools were shut, then we were to keep our distance from each other and then, a complete lock down extending for over a month. Does this mean we shut everything down? Should children's learning stop? How are parents going to keep them engaged? These are some of the questions we asked ourselves.

We, at Sparkling Mindz value and nurture growth mindset. We believe that there is always a way, even in the face of adversities. We took to technology and reconnected with our children over video calls. Our children too vibed with our mindset, that NO Virus Can Stop Our LEARNING! 

We have been connecting with our children ranging from 7year Olds to 14 year Olds, reiterating to them about the importance of managing themselves mentally, emotionally and physically, and being able to create a routine that involves productive engagement. Oh! trust me, our children can create amazing schedules for themselves. 

On the last video call with our youngest group of children (the 7 to 8 year Olds), we presented a variety of activities that they could add to their schedules, which included different kinds of chores, workouts, experiments, skill building activities etc. Our children were  more than delighted to accept the repertoire of  options to choose from. 

Here, we have V trying to pick ice cubes with a piece of string as part of his play and learn experiment. The joy on his face shows us his engagement and wonder. Knowing V, we can imagine the curious wonder questions and observations he must have made while he experimented. 

Here is our Advika, doing the same challenge, inspiring all of us in the process, in her own creative way!

We viewed this adversity not as a hindrance but rather as an opportunity that presented itself to help our children and us learn and grow through it. 

Children, need to be encouraged to deal with adversities with a growth mindset. Why? So they become individuals who can deal with their circumstances without giving up on themselves or their dreams.


Contributed by Disha HK, Learning Facilitator at Sparkling Mindz Global School.

#sparklingmindzglobalschool
#sparklingmindzglobalpreschool
#youngachieversacademy
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#everychildcan
#covid19
#gamebasedlearning
#challengingourselves

In yet another 10 year old child's case: his prompt was "a perfect evening". Sharing his visualization.

"I've been struggling to watch a particular angle of the moon for several days, got a picture uploaded it onto a forum that I've been following. I won a cash prize of $1000! Yayyyy!

When I told my dad in the evening, Dad and I decided to go for a celebratory walk (mom not joining...yay!!!). I saw a t-shirt at discount and bought it! Day was made!"

Facilitator: What was the perfect part S?
S: Of course, the cash prize and the new T-shirt! Duh!!!
F: In your visualization.

S is looking at external and materialistic things as making up a perfect evening and not seeing the satisfaction in his own effort of getting the snap of the moon or his evening spent in his dad's company.

#sparklingmindzglobalpreschool
#sparklingmindzglobalschool
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#youngachieversacademy
#21stcenturylearning
#socialemotionallearning
#74thindependenceday
#reggioinspiredschool

The Covid-19 took the whole world by surprise. Before we knew it, the entire world went into lockdown. The regular life came to a pause. It started to show up in everybody's lives differently. When we look back at it a few years, decades and centuries from now, what will people see or talk about?

​As the children in the school embarked on a newsletter project on - No Virus Can Stop Us, they asked Sreeja Ma'am to write a column about it. She chose to write a poem in her role as a mother of all children in the system and it's an exploration of the mother and child together of the situation that they suddenly find themselves in as well as a promise of hope to the ones who can't see the light.

 Let's read on.
​

The machines came to a grinding halt
The morning rush no longer the default
People scared, holed up in no virus can stop us listening to me homes
A sight one heard of only in tomes

Did the virus win? What happened next?
Mummy, please don't stop just yet
How did everyone live like that?
In fear of a virus from a bat!

Did everyone put down their arms?
What about workers and the farms?
Did everyone stop everything?
From factories to market gathering?

No one went out to play?
Or on a holiday?
No one strolled in the park?
What a sad story with no spark!

Sonny boy! Not all that meets the eye
Is the truth or what we should buy
Let's Look further and beyond
To see how humans respond

There were doctors and nurses
Who without a care for themselves
Served every needy sick and patient
Despite lack of equipment

Tough decisions they had to make
Who to save and who to forsake
It broke their hearts and soul
Yet, they focused on the goal

To prevent loss of life and reduce pain
They tried hard, sometimes in vain
What made them not give up
Mummy, of what are they made up?

Pain and adversity have their way
They go deep within to find a way
Through the hurt and the pain
To build out the power within

Some families drew closer together
A few others broke altogether
Industries, workers had to heed
Very harsh realities indeed

Less fortunate were losing homes, 
Migrating by foot, hurt by stones
Hungry for food, blisters on feet
Breathing their last on the street

Briefly, students cheered
No exams that they feared
Soon boredom and despair loomed
Everything seemed to be doomed

Through these times, a few discovered they could
Work from home
Work on their own
Do house chores 
Cook
Dream
Sing
Dance
Tell stories
Play
Connect
Be generous
Serve
Discover themselves
Generally, do with less

Mummy, do tell me more
Did they forget how they lived before?
My dear boy, people didn't forget
But people didn't regret

They ventured forth to create - 
New ways of being
New songs for dreaming
New dances for creating
New books for seeing
New forms of working
New norms of serving
New connections for making
The world a better place
And each of our lives worth living.

It's your turn to reflect on how you are taking this pandemic, and how you are choosing to spend your time. Let us know in the comments. 


Contributed by Sreeja Iyer, CEO & Co- Founder, Sparkling Mindz Global School and Preschool.

#sparklingmindzglobalpreschool
#sparklingmindzglobalschool
#youngachieversacademy
#covid-19
#deepthinking
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#21stcenturylearning
#reggioinspiredschool

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