Fairy-land Children’s Center for Creative Learning – Pune School
what you see – This Pune Children’s Center is housed in a beautiful old colonial bungalow surrounded by abundant foliage and vines. It is a true delight at first sight. The school has two levels. On the ground floor is the play group class, while on the first level is the mini kindergarten and toddler class. Each classroom is decorated with posters and the walls are painted with popular cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, alphabets and numbers. Despite its proximity to the busy Deccan Gymkhana, this place seems blissfully devoid of noise and pollution.
what you get – This Pune Children’s Center was started by Neelima Ranade who is the director and owner of the school. He has vast experience in teaching and also has a degree in child psychology from the United States. The center has four programs to offer. The first is the toddler group, which is for children in the age group of 15 months to 2 years. This is a stage of transition from homes to the first school experience, so the focus is to get the children used to the school environment. The children are assisted by their mothers who are part of the various games and learning exercises. We noticed some children who were trying to get sand out of the ground in their buckets with the help of the teachers. We were informed that this helps in the child’s motor coordination and concentration. Classes take place every other day – Monday, Wednesday and Friday – from 10 am to 11 am.
We then got to take a look at the playgroup class for age groups two and older. These classes are taught from Monday to Friday from 9:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. The class begins with traditional prayers like the gayathri mantra gold Sarasvati Puja. They told us that in addition to regular English rhymes, they are taught hindi and marathi songs to give them a better understanding of the local languages. After initial learning lessons teaching the basics of the alphabet and numbers, they are given some kitchen replica toys. We saw some boys rolling chapattis like their moms and girls making tea for their teachers. Children are also potty trained in these classes.
The mini-kindergarten classroom is the largest and most brightly decorated of all. This class includes activities that would help them easily adapt to larger schools. They are taught to handle creative toys, building blocks, drawing, alphabet matching, stamps, and more. The books for all this are prepared by the teachers. They even have a 500-book library where children are read to. These classes are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Every Friday they have a sing-a-song routine where the children sing their nursery rhymes to the sound of their music teacher’s instruments such as the table or the harmonium This session brings a lot of joy to young minds.
The last program is the Young Achievers program for children between the ages of four and six. It is an after school parenting program that consists of instilling manners, playing interesting games, fostering reading habits, and more. Neelima Ranade believes that up to the age of six children have strong grasping power and the things learned at this tender age stay with them forever. This after-school program is from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.
our verdict – The school does not believe in a fixed curriculum. So there is news in their programs on an ongoing basis. Their motto is to unite fun and learning, and the school feels like an extension of the home.
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