enhancing contemplative thinking

during early years

Contemplative thinking is an essential life skill. We use contemplative thinking skills every day. They help us to make good decisions, understand the consequences of our actions and solve problems. These incredibly important skills are used in everything from putting together puzzles to mapping out the best route to work. It’s the process of using focus and self-control to solve problems and set and follow through on goals.

Contemplative thinking requires us to take in information, analyze it and make judgement about it, and that type of active engagement requires imagination and inquisitiveness. Children are naturally curious, and this curiosity helps lay the foundation for critical thinking. As children take in new information, they fill up a library of sorts within their brain. They have to think about how the new information fits in with what they already know, or if it changes any information we already hold to be true. As their caregivers, we can encourage children to explore, ask questions, think critically about results and think about changes they could make or things they could do differently. We can help them think more deeply about things by instilling a love for learning and a desire to understand how things work.

We are often given lots of information at a time, and it is important we evaluate that information to determine if it is true, important and whether or not we should believe it. We can help children learn these skills by teaching them to evaluate new information. Have them think about where or who the information is coming from, how it relates to what they already know and why it is or is not important. When children are deeply vested in a topic or pursuit, they are more engaged and willing to experiment. The process of expanding their knowledge brings about a lot of opportunities for critical thinking, so to encourage this action we can help the children invest in their interests. Whether it is learning about trucks and vehicles or a keen interest in insects, help your child follow their passion.


Thank You,

Purva Deosugur

Headmistress

Olive Trails- Dahisar

Nutrition week

Nutrition is a critical part of health and development. Better nutrition is related to improved child health, stronger immune systems, lower risk of diseases and longevity. Healthy children learn better.

Scheduling meals and snacks helps ensure a healthy diet for kindergarten. They need to know that every food they put into their body affects them. “Not just a rule, but a routine.” Children must get to learn that all foods that they eat have a place in their diet. Our learners learnt that when they launch fruits or vegetables through their mouth it lands into their stomach and how healthy it is. Olive Trails conducted an interesting event for learners which was “NUTRITION WEEK” for all the classes. In one of the days of the Nutrition week sessions, our in house nutritionist conducted a session with our learners where they were guided to make APPLE DONUTS, MELON ROCKET and CUCUMBER AIRPLANE by assembling fruits and vegetables using toothpicks. Learners were very excited and happy doing this activity as by the end of it they got to launch and fill their tummies with the yummy rockets, planes and Donuts.

Horticulture - nursery - INDOOR Plants

Gardening is educational and develops new skills including:

Responsibility– from caring for plants.

Understanding– as they learn about cause and effect.

Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture. ...

Our Nursery learners got an opportunity to grow indoor plants. Indoor Plants need less maintenance like - Areca Palm, Bamboo, Snake, and Money Plant etc.,

For this activity, they took a pot or empty bottle and small piece of money plant vines and they planted it in the moist soil. Teacher had given explanation about money plant, these indoor plants don't need a lot of sunlight and survive in shady areas having better results. Indoor plants need less care than outdoor plants. They act like natural air purifiers at home.

Learning Horticulture helps the learners to plan, plant, and enjoy a healthy garden.

Math - nursery - Molding and counting numbers with Play dough

Young children love to play with play dough. Using play dough with you, a friend, or siblings supports your child's social skills such as sharing, taking turns, and enjoying being with other people. Play dough also encourages children's language and literacy, science, and math skills—all at the same time! It works on the fundamental aspects of play based learning.

As our nursery learners recognized the numbers, they were asked to use coloured play dough to form and count numbers 1,2, and 3 with its value. They took play dough in their hands then rolled and flattened it and formed number 1 with its value number one. They had a choice to make any one object with the help of mould or their own creativity. So they made one flower/lollipop/ice cream. As they know after one, number 2 comes, again they rolled the clay, formed number 2 with proper formation and made 2 butterflies/flowers and so on, number 3 was formed by joining half curve in and half curve down through play dough and made 3 any objects as per their imagination.

Such engagement activities helps build up strength in their tiny hands. It also helps improve eye/hand coordination and build both gross and fine motor skills, including the small muscles in hands and fingers. This helps with dexterity and is beneficial for children colouring, cutting and writing in a school setting.

literacy - nursery - letter L

The alphabets are the building blocks of literacy and so children must learn to recognize and name the letters, both in and out of order, and the sounds associated with each letter. As children develop alphabet knowledge, they learn to recognize and name upper- and lowercase letters. They also discover that there are sounds associated with each letter. Children's early writing progresses from making marks and scribbling to drawing, and eventually to forming letters.

For the better reinforcement our nursery learners were given a recap on letter H to K and the very next letter L was introduced with basic phonic sound, jolly phonic song and associated pictures. A story based on letter L was showcased to them. They were asked questions related to the story. Letter L was traced in the air by using their pointer finger and on different mediums.

The fun and play activity on letter L was conducted with our little learners, where they had to make L for Lamp. One standing line and one sleeping line makes letter L. So with the help of 2 paper strips they formed letter L and on the top of standing strip a boat shaped coloured and designed paper cut out was stuck.

Such engagement helps the learners to recognize and know the letter formation and improve their kinesthetic skill, cognitive skill, eye-hand coordination, auditory, visual, vocabulary, thinking skill, imaginary skill and critical thinking skill.

Art - junior kg - It’s mE!

Art is a creative way that expresses imagination of a child. Art is a diverse range of human activities in creating visual, performing artifacts, expressing the author's imaginative mind and technical skills .

Drawing is an outlet for communication, and children's artwork represents a view of their personalities.

They express their fears, joys, dreams, hopes and nightmares through drawings, and also give you leads about their relationships to the world and to other things.

This time our Olive trails learners did an interesting Drawing art activity that was ITS ME!

For this they had taken a white sheet of paper, they drew themselves on the paper and then they made a collage by tearing small pieces of paper and sticking on the entire face. Learners tried putting their best foot forward for creating an Art piece version of themselves.

Curious Explorer - junior kg - My funny Alien

Drawing, colouring, Playing with dough has an important place in child’s development .Which can be easily incorporated in their daily routine.

Children are always curious to know about the ALIENS. They have thousands of questions in their mind always ready. So when our learners came to know about the Alien activity in class, they were all so interested and eager to start the activity.

We executed a beautiful engagement for our learners where we asked our learners to take Play dough, decorative manipulative and some Pipe cleaners. They took a clay ball and moulded it into cylindrical shape. Then they stuck eyes and decorated it. They used pipe cleaners for making hands and legs. After completing the activity, they named the Alien which they had made.

It was an excellent activity for promoting children’s development and improving visual perception. Such an activity helps with fine motor skills, self-esteem, excels way to express feelings and eye hand coordination.

Literacy circle - junior kg - reading Reader books

Reading and sharing stories can help a child get to know sounds, words and language, and develop early literacy skills. They also learn to value books and stories. Reading helps develop the child's brain, ability to focus, concentration, social skills and communication skills. Our Junior KG learners exercised their reading skills as they indulged in some reading with help of their reader books.

Literacy circle.mp4
Literacy.mp4
Literacy circle.mp4

Theme - junior kg - Farm Animals building home

For many children, animals, especially pets in the home, represent safety and security. They are familiar, they are safe to talk to, and they are a source of comfort and love. Because animals are appealing and reassuring, they are often a source of comfort that children seek out to process their feelings.

The power of caring for an animal and playing a role in the animal’s well-being can be very meaningful for a young child.

Through this amazing activity of Farm Animal building home, our learners understood how to take care for and respect animals. It was fascinating to see those building homes for their favourite pet animals by using blocks, Lego, ice-cream sticks. Through the play way method they learned about animals and their homes.

Curious Explorers - Senior kg - Cupcake Factory

Play-dough craft is a fun and interesting way to encourage a child’s imagination and creativity. Kids love the vibrant colors and doughy texture of modeling clay or play-dough. This is a very entertaining clay modeling idea for learners. Our Senior KG learners participated in an interesting engagement which was “CUPCAKE FACTORY.” For this activity learners had to take an empty bowl, they were asked to add all-purpose flour, add any food color into it and mix it with spoon. Later, they were asked to add water and mix it well and form a dough to make a cookie or cupcake of their choice using cookie cutter and rolling pin. They were also asked to beautify it by adding sprinkles, tuti-fruity, etc. of their choice. Learners were very excited and enthusiastic while doing this activity.

Such learning helps learners to develop their fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, creativity skills and much more.

Theme - senior kg - Parts of Plants

Drawing plants is fun and easy when learners are given instructions step-by-step. It helps learners to create plants on paper and develop science, observational and communication skills. They get to explore the nature by observing the plants and describing the parts of plants. Learning about the parts of plants help learners to understand the environmental science and value of trees and plants which give oxygen for the survival of living beings and the importance to balance our nature. We conducted an activity for our senior kg learners which was “DRAW AND COLOR PARTS OF PLANTS.” For this activity learners were asked to draw a plant and label the parts of plant one by one. Later, they were asked to color and beautify it using their creativity.