Taking the First Steps!

My daughter Mitthu (16 months old) has finally started going to creche. It was not easy for us to take this decision but since we could not think of a better alternative we decided to give it a try.

Mitthu's mother was with her on the first day. The child kept playing with the other kids in the creche. The next day we left her for two hours only. And the third day for four hours. She has now got used to the atmosphere in the creche and has also learnt new skills like eating food properly and also getting toilet trained. We are quite happy with this improvement.

in omnia excellentia

Finally we are there where we belong to - With our children learning together.
After all the contemplations and discussions the school begins!
We are excited and on our toes!
Display boards, notebooks, lesson plans, food, timetable, activities, learning kits, intellectual discussions, integration of the curriculum, moments of laughter............................ AND SO ON.
We at SMIS are charged and geared up for the new academic session.
Finally the motto:

HUM HAIN!(We are Together)

LOSE TO WIN !

I broke one of my conditioning today and it was all spontaneous. My friend Paramjit met with an accident early in the morning. He called me up. When I reached there he was in a state of shock. A youth who banged into my friend’s vehicle was agitated and shouting at him.

He kept blaming Paramjit and demanded compensation for the damage done to his vehicle. My usual response would have been to get into the argument and to find who was actually at fault.

Instead… I decided not to get into an argument and win the peace of mind for both of us. I gave into his demand and we both happily said goodbye. I had a good day at work thereafter.

Motor Development in Young Children

The importance of developing fine motor skills in young children is crucial because childhood is the critical time to properly develop these muscles.

Fine motor skills activities for children are the best way to ensure proper development and practice of fine motor skills to promote the most functional use of a child's hands. Although children develop at different times, they will display different strengths depending on their interests. For example, children who are interested in art tend to develop their writing and painting skills sooner than children who are interested in building.

As children grow older they reach a variety of milestone that demonstrates whether or not proper development is taking place. These indicators are a great way to know what steps need to be taken to assure that the child’s growth is moving in a continuous upwards motion. The building of fine motor skills in children will enable them to perform a variety of important functional tasks like tying /untying shoes, writing legibly and without significant muscle fatigue, playing games that require precise hand and finger control, using scissors, developing and maintaining an effective and proper pencil grip, in short, doing ANYTHING that requires small precise hand and finger movements

Children painting with ease or molding the play dough may well be playing out their feelings in a socially acceptable way. This behavior provides children with positive ways to work through emotions using physical activity. Children acquire self-confidence and self-esteem in part through successful physical activities. As children master and refine basic motor skills, they see themselves as more competent and capable beings.

My Profile

I am Meena Sharma, a Mentor Teacher at Sancta Maria International.I am also a Hindi faculty member here. I have been in the field of teaching for the past 15 years and have gained experience enough to radiate love and compassion to all my children. I am a positive thinker and feel that every child can flourish in every field if we have trust in them and give them space, time , love and care.

In these past years I have taught in various schools around the country and now am residing in Hyderabad. The voyage from Orrisa to Bombay to Kochin to Port Blair and finally at Hyderabad has been an enriching experience and tumultuous at times. Every step of this journey reconfirmed my trust and faith in the innate talent of my students.

I believe that the biggest gratification for a teacher is to see the child learning with joy and the sparkle in their eyes when they succeed or discover something themselves. If somebody would ask me where do I see myself in the future I would say ‘In the hearts of my children’!
In my times of solitude I like to create poems and funny riddles on the people around me, who influence my life.

Lord bind us together as one big family.

Settling down all by myself in a new place was a great experience for me. I am feeling good that I managed to survive on my own, without help from my family. However, now that my family has joined me, I am much more happy and content.

My kids are very happy in the new house as it is very breezy and pleasant. Sanchin, my elder daughter, has started coming to school along with me and loves it. She takes the initiative to speak in English and is learning to eat a variety of food which she would earlier avoid. Shailja, my wife, will be getting busy with her own job soon. We are looking out a good creche in the city for our younger one and a half year old daughter, Mitthu. Any suggestions? If you do know of some good creche, kindly let me know by writing in the comment section below this write-up.

Creating Simulations at the Activity Room

At Sancta Maria we give equal prominence to academics and play. So special attention has been put into planning the activity room. We have to ensure that resources and materials available in the activity room would cater to the needs of children from nursery to grade 3.

But first lets clarify what is an activity room. It is not a jungle gym, a recreation room or a rumpus room. It is a spacious and well lit room divided into different sections like the kitchen, book corner, a puppet theatre etc., with all the support materials required.

We want to ensure that the learning engagements provided in the activity room helps the child solve problems independently, that they become creative & critical thinkers, that they improve communication skills and their confidence.

The activity room will be changing thematically from time to time. For example, children will be given a chance to enact real life situations in a shop, a doctors clinic, at home in the kitchen etc. So we have been working hard on the plan waiting eagerly to see the activity room take shape and the best EVER.