GIGI BYTES 17TH EDITION

Message From Our Desk

The importance of Pre-primary Education

A well rounded education helps a student to make the most out of the learning and development skills. We all know that the foundation of any child unequivocally hinges on the level of education we give them. Education is one of the key tools that helps in a holistic development of the child. If it weren’t for education at all level, we wouldn’t have been able to read, write and speak and it would have prevented us from making an informed decisions. It is only through education that we can think critically and shape our life towards success. It is a proven fact that an educated population have contributed tremendously in the progress of the society and their country as a whole. Now, the question arise what segment of the education is important to lead a successful and comfortable life. Education is spread across physical, emotional and social segment and it is further divided into pre-primary, secondary and higher secondary education. Each aspect of this education is equally important in the development of the child.

However, we mustn’t forget that the development of these segments stands on a strong foundation that pre-primary education offers to the child. This is a first experience of the child to learn the importance of sharing and learning new things in a structured setting. Children at this tender age are open to explore, learn and form a habit that is taught to them. Hence, it is very necessary that we don’t overlook the benefit of this education in the development of our child. Pre-primary education helps a child to learn how to interact with their peers and adjust to the outside world. It also assist in exploring the child’s creativity aspect. More often than not, at this stage, we would know a child’s interest in a specific field. Pre-primary education fosters the physical, mental and emotional growth of a child. Anything that the children learn at this stage will be deeply ingrained in their mind and they will carry it through the rest of their lives. Hence, it is important that parents should pay extra attention and appreciate the value of this education in the development of their children as it plays an instrumental role in chalking out a roadmap of their success ahead in life.

Regards,

Ms.Minal Jadhav

Pre-Primary Coordinator

Olive Trails

Learning Engagements @ Nursery

English: Finger Tracing

Writing on sand not only gives an opportunity to understand the letter formation in a better way but also enhances the fine motor skill and eye-hand coordination of children. It is one of the best practices for pre-writing skills. Sand Play is tactile and helps children learn about textures as well. Our little nursery learners were excited to trace letters L, M, N and O on sand using their fingers. Tracing on sand makes letter formation fun and meaningful in a play-based manner.

Curious explorer: Fun with Shapes

This week 3D shapes were introduced to the Nursery learners. Children were already aware about shapes but learning about 3D shapes gave them a different excitement! They keenly engaged themselves in knowing about the 3D shapes and happily reflected their learning by creating the 3D shapes with ice cream sticks and play dough. This learning engagement gave them a thrilling experience and also enhanced their pre - math skills, fine motor skills, and eye - hand coordination.

STREAM

Kids naturally think logically, we just have to encourage this to stimulate their brain activity and enhance their thinking process. Brain Gym engagement is essential to develop eye hand coordination. Most of the development of a child’s brain occurs in the first few years of their life, if we include brain gym exercises at this age, the benefits will go a long way in helping the children.

While conducting this engagement in Nursery, the learners were given two paths as shown in the images. The paths were made in their favorite colours! Two bottle caps were used to do the activity.

Children had a fun as well as a challenging time doing this activity. It helped them to boost their self-confidence and motivated them to explore different activities happily!

Sports: Bounce the ball

Phyical activities build a healthier body composition,stronger bones and muscles. Such engagements help in the development of large and fine motor skills, enhances concentration and thinking skills. And it can be unstructured active play or structured exercise of varying intensities. Movement skills gained at this young age set the scene for movement skills such as balance and co-ordination when older.

Our Nursery learners were encouraged to bounce the ball along with number counting. This activity catered to math as well as motor skills. The learners finished this session with full zeal and enthusiasm.

Learning engagements @ K1

Math: Concept Top and Bottom

Concepts help a child to understand about direction, location, position, number, quantity, size and similarities and differences. It is important for children to have a good understanding of different concepts as it assists in their ability to follow instructions and be specific in what they are talking about. Introduction of Top and Bottom concept was done with k1 learners which included the position of the objects i.e. 'Top' and Bottom'. The teacher explained this topic through an informative PPT and also through a live practical of positioning different objects. Learners were able to understand the concept and displayed their understanding by showing the objects and naming the positions.

English: Letter sequencing activity

Young learners need to have a deep understanding about alphabet to improve their vocabulary. Keeping this in mind, Letter sequencing activity was conducted for K1 learners where in they wrote letters Aa- Zz on the circle cut-outs and pasted them in a sequence. Through this activuty they revisted the alphabet and also learned the skill of sequencing and pasting! The learners had an exhilarating experience and they enjoyed the activity.

Curious explorer: Number Rocket

Curiosity is the desire to learn. It is an eagerness to explore, discover and figure out things. Children are naturally curious and love to explore and learn about new things. They are full of wonder and compelled to explore their immediate environment. K1 learners engaged themselves in a activity where they made a rocket using clay dough. They played a game where they took a tray and filled it with sand. They hid number cards 1 to 10 beneath it so its not visible. Then, they chose a random card and added small clay balls onto the rocket according to the number they got. Next, they removed all the cards, they arranged the numbers in a sequence. This activity promoted creativity, imagination and pre-math skills.

Art: Feel The Texture

Sensory play with textures stimulates kid's brains. Exploring the world with our senses keeps our brains active and helps build new neural pathways. Textures teach something vital to kids that cannot be simply taught from books. Experiencing and actively playing around with different textures is a delightful way to have fun and learn. In art session, learners traced their palm on sheet with a marker. Then, they stuck different textures on the fingertips like soft, smooth, rough, bumpy and hard.

The learners had a great experience feeling the different textures!

Learning engagements @ K2

Math: Colour mixing- Blue + Yellow = Green

Children love seeing everything colourful around them and are always excited to explore the different colours in nature. To give a thrilling experience to our K2 learners, we asked them to mix yellow + blue and find out the colour that we get by mixing these two colours. Learners were amazed to see the colour - 'Green' as they never imagined that secondary colours can be acquired by mixing two primary colours as well! They understood the concept well and reflected their learning by drawing objects that are green in colour and shared a few lines on the same.

They definitely had an amazing experience doing this activity!

Theme: Water Squeezing Activity

K2 learners loved the stimulation they get from feeling the water trickle down their hands as well as from visually watching it move from place to place. This is a great way for children to practice their dexterity and gross motor skills, as well as learn about the properties of water in the process. They intuitively began to grasp the concept of absorption as they worked with the sponge. Who knew that liquid could be moved like this?

Through this activity, children had a playful time wherein they enhanced their sensorial skills as well as learned about the concept of absorption!

CURIOUS EXPLORER- My Favourite Bunch

Toddlers and their curiosity go together. Their natural curiosity is the heartbeat of science. After all, isn’t every toddler’s favourite words, “but why?” Keeping this thought in mind, we plan activities for our preschoolers!

Our K2 learners were encouraged to make a bunch of grapes using water colours, pistachio shells, glue, blank sheet, crayons, etc

First, they mixed red and blue paint to get purple colour. They thumb printed on the pistachio shells with purple colour.

Next, they arranged the pistachio shells in such a manner that they get a shape of a grape bunch.

Further, they drew leaves and veins for the bunch using green crayons/sketch pens.

This activity was definitely challenging for the learners as they had to do it step by step and also work with patience!

Challenging Activity:

Engineering Challenege

Challenging activities help children to develop creativity and problem-solving skills. More importantly, they build children's confidence as children complete their tasks. As a part of the exercise, learners were assigned this challenging activity on Seesaw where they made different objects using their engineering skills. We were surprised to see wonderful creations like robot, buildings, animals vehicles, etc made by children on their own!

The purpose of this challenge was to develop learners' design thinking strategies, so they can maximize their thinking skills.

Celebrations @ Olive Trails

MAD HATTERS’ DAY

October 6th is a day set aside each year to bring out your silly side while celebrating National Mad Hatter Day. Sir John Tenniel illustrated The Mad Hatter and all Lewis Carroll' s colorful characters beginning in 1864., Alice' Adventures in Wonderland was first published in 1865. Named for his dotty demeanor and over sized, green top hat, he is an elderly man that Alice encounters in Wonderland. The Hatter and his best friend, the March Hare, are known for throwing frequent tea parties in celebration.

We celebrated National Mad Hatter Day across all grades. With great enthusiasm, children made different hats using their own creativity! They used various decorative materials like colorful paper,

colorful satin ribbon, cello tape, feathers, pipe cleaners glue, crepe papers, sketch pens/marker pens, crayons, etc to make a Hat for themselves. Learners generated new ideas and visualized their thoughts in making beautiful hats.

They had a fun-filled experience discussing the details of this day.

JUNGLE SAFARI

MADAGASCAR - AN ESCAPE TO AFRICA

Jungle safari is a wonderful adventure exploration that allows children to know more about wild animals in their natural habitat. To give a close look and have a better understanding of the concept, Olive Trails organized a Jungle safari under the theme 'Madagascar - An escape to Africa'.

Madagascar is an African nation know for its pristine wildlife. According to the theme, various activities like King Julien's Rumble the jungle Treasure hunt, Crazy cool Giraffe Science Experiment , Measure the height stacking activity, Jungle explorer 'Its time to learn'(Puzzle Center), DIY Watercolour Silhouette, Enchanted Africa- DIY African necklace, Rainforest gross motor games, DIY Musical instruments and many more.. were organized for children as well as parents.

Children and parents had a wonderful experience playing with the virtual animals and clicking pictures at the photo booth!

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