Monthly Archives: June 2020

Find out the benefits of online classes for a pre-schooler.

Do you know that in Ahmedabad, Bodakdev School is one of the best preschools and was coincidentally one of the first in the city to start virtual learning for its pre-schoolers?

The school has tech-savvy teachers who prepare each lesson beforehand.

The school with more than 300+ students who are studying in various sections of Playgroup, Nursery, Junior KG, as well as Senior KG, has been helping and guiding children virtually.

Do toddlers enjoy online classes? Is a common question that comes in our minds? Well, actually it is interesting and exciting for toddlers as well as young children.

Each online class is tailored as per the child’s age and requirement. Each day is a new day for the toddlers of each class. Age-appropriate online activities are held every day.

Young children look forward to meeting their friends and teachers virtually. Teachers innovate, reinvent teaching as well as learning methods for the pre-schoolers.

Virtual classes are designed to be a fun and productive manner for toddlers to keep in touch with the outside world. It includes live lessons with the teachers and self-study activities to be completed at home before and after each live class with the help of parents.

Bodakdev School is committed, ensuring that all students in online classes study in a safe and supportive environment, and our platform MS Teams incorporates several features that are designed to keep young children safe while they are online.

Apart from the exciting and engaging classes, there is one significant benefit of the online class for a pre-schooler is developing social skills. Man is a social animal, and he learns by interacting with others.

Online classes of Bodakdev School are the perfect solution for the young children. The daily communication with teachers, talking time, circle time, rhyme time, storytime and expression time help the child interact with teachers and friends.

The virtual classes comprise of many different types of activities that help the children to remain in touch with their friends. Storytelling using puppets, language-based activities, sessions for various activities like dance, music, basic physical exercise or games too, are held.

Creative activities too, are held regularly for young children. Toddlers are taught to use things available at home to make craft items.

In Playgroup, educational content developed by our early educators is shared with each parent. Each activity is designed in a specific area of child development to allow the child to flourish in their overall mental and physical development. Since our experts lead our curriculum for online classes, every online activity is in continuation with previous online class and helps the child to excel in age-appropriate skills. The online classes of Bodakdev are an extension of our curriculum that is used in our physical classes.

The motto of Bodakdev School shall always remain to make childhood learning enjoyable and meaningful for the pre-schoolers of Ahmedabad.

Adapting new styles of virtual teaching makes the sessions enjoyable as well as exciting for the little ones is the main reason why Bodakdev School has become the top online preschool of Ahmedabad.

For more details on our online curriculum for each class, please fill in the online form and our admission team will get back to you or visit www.bodakdevschool.com

Keep calm and do your best

The current situation has left many parents anxious about managing their children from home as well as their offices. COVID-19 has forced all schools across the world to shut their doors for the safety of children.

As a parent, we all love, adore our kids, but do we want to don the hat of their teachers too?

Schools are closed especially preschools for an indefinite period, daycares are closed, and it seems that we have no choice at all.

Parents are a child’s first teachers, and they will have to do it for their child now.

However, it is crucial to remember that all families are different, and each family has a unique setup. Here are some tips/ suggestions that would help you to adapt to your situation.

Here are some tips from the experts to give you some peace of mind.

Don’t judge yourself as a parent.

The current situation is not to be a perfect parent. We all are humans; it is okay if we feel stressed, anxious, or pressure- and especially the days when we lose our cool as a parent. Relax! There would be times to reset and refresh your mind. Don’t lose your temper if your child has not completed his school work. Give him or her some space, and maybe today he is not in a mood and tomorrow the child may finish it all.

Your office work is also important.

In case you are working from home, you need to strike a delicate balance between your office work and your household duties. It would be best if you prioritised things. Create a schedule for yourself and your child. If required, create your own desk and work from there.

In case you have something urgent, you can always give your child screen time if you can’t attend the child and the maid is missing. There are plenty of apps available from Bodakdev School that can be used for constructive screen time. Recently the school has tied up with ExtraMarks for good quality content for young children. To know how Extramarks is helping children across India click on www.Extramarks.com

Keep in touch with your social contacts.

You would be keeping in touch with your work colleagues and other friends virtually. Similarly, your child must stay in touch with his school friends, organise online playdates, video calls or google meets for your little one.

So keep yourself calm and composed and accept the new normal. Bodakdev School has counselling services for parents and children. In case you would like to speak to the school counsellor you can get in touch with her over email.

How to teach toddlers at home?

Your cute adorable chubby cherub is finally at home and is turning out to be cranky, sometimes aggressive and is becoming difficult to handle too.

The new normal has thrown new challenges for the parents of toddlers. The biggest problem parents face is to keep the little one engaged the whole day.

Here are some tips and tricks curated by educators of one of the best preschools of Ahmedabad for you to teach your toddler at home.

1) Fix up a place for online class – A place for online class helps to set the daily routine and the expectation that it is time to study. It can be the corner of your dinner table, a place in the study area or a simple folding table. Ensure there is good lighting for the child to attend the online class.

2) Collect materials that will be required beforehand

As a parent, it is your responsibility to prepare for the online class. Stationery and other things needed for the class have to be arranged. Some suggestions for things to have on the study table; pencils, sharpener, erasers, paint if required. Buy attractive boxes, stationery holders, or desk organisers. You can order online, or you can make from old cardboard at home. It is also recommended a separate bookshelf for your little one or a separate file/folder for each subject.

3) Check the school portal daily

Teachers usually provide details in advance about the next class. You can prepare the material accordingly for the class. If required, you can email and ask for information, don’t be hesitant. It would come handy when your child attends the virtual class of Bodakdev School.

4) Set a routine for online class

Many things are totally dependent on the parents, and one of the most important things is setting a routine for an online class for a toddler. Hence, it is necessary to follow a regular school routine for an online class too.

For example, please keep the same wake-up time, the same breakfast ritual, the usual bathroom routine for a pre-schooler(special focus should be on hand washing) and motivate them to get dressed for their online class. You can also encourage your child to wear their school uniform daily.

5) Plan the day

Make your child your partner and ask the child how he/she would like to spend the day. Involve the child in the day. Create  a schedule and stick it near to his eye level. Set a time for each activity. In case your child is a bit older and can do some drawing/painting independently, then you can use that time to complete your pending tasks. Setting a time limit for each task would make your day productive. Use the Pomodoro technique for effective time management.

6) Long teaching hours v/s short teaching hours

As a policy at Bodakdev School, we do not have online classes beyond 40 minutes for young children. Similarly at home too, you can break your teaching time with your child. Keep it not more than thirty minutes as your child may lose interest.

You can combine nursery rhymes or stories with exercise time. Try to engage your child in physical exercise with you. As children are at home, they must be involved in any form of physical activity. Storytelling or nursery rhymes along with exercise would be a great stress buster for you and your little one too.

7) Learning opportunities exist everywhere

Parents need to remain in touch with educators of Bodakdev School. Keep communicating and asking questions to your child’s teachers. Find out what are the key concepts in each week for your pre-schooler. Ask them how you can teach them in various ways at home. The trained educators in one of the best preschools in Ahmedabad have a vast knowledge. You should take advantage of their expertise and ask them to help you out.

8) Learning beyond Curriculum

There are many opportunities for a child to learn at home. During gardening the child can observe the plants and learn about various parts of plants, play with water and learn about water and its properties, conduct simple at home science experiments, play hide and seek, treasure hunt, sing rhymes loudly for fun, learn alphabets with using clay, make animals with dough or kinetic sand. All these activities will enhance your child’s knowledge.

9) Stay Connected with your child’s friends: The main reason why children miss their school is their friends. Try to organise virtual parties for your child, connect your child with their class friends virtually. Parents can also arrange theme-based virtual play dates and enjoy with their child’s friends. This would be a great way to stay in touch for the little ones with their buddies.

10) Every day is a new day

It is not necessary that every day is going to be a fantastic day and you and your little one are going to accomplish whatever learning activities you had planned. Don’t worry; learning at home is different. Sometimes you may be able to notice what you had taught your child, and sometimes it would take time for your child to understand and apply whatever the child has learnt with you the previous day. Repetition with toddlers is the key to success.

Learning is a never-ending process. Don’t panic if kids don’t respond or don’t learn just now. Keep a record of things you have taught to the child at home. You can ask your child’s teacher to ask your child those topics during the online class. Sometimes children feel shy or don’t want to discuss the same topic with parents but at the same time are enthusiastic to share it with their teachers in online class. You can also click pictures and videos of learning at home and share with your school. They will also become lovely memories for you. After some time, they can be a wonderful resource of your child’s learning milestones with you.

The main message from the above tips was that learning at home should be enjoyable for both parents and the child. If it becomes a bone of contentment, then you need to talk to the school about it. Right now, the most important thing for a parent should be your relationship with your child. Strike a balance between learning, time with your child and your unconditional love for your little one. Enjoy this precious time with your little darling.