Visit to Anirud's play school

11th July 2010 – Sunday

Surprise visit to Anirud’s play school

It’s really not in our culture to send children to play school before they complete 3 years. Though there was this concept of Gurukul where kids were sent to learning all the skills and stayed with the master until they completed all aspects of learning. Here they would not only learn knowledge but also all the skills that are required to live a complete life. Now coming back to the present, here we are in a foreign land and neither have we had neighbors with whom we interact much nor there are elders who guide and take care of things at home. Vidya and the Kid are locked up at home and it becomes quite frustrating for them to be at home, seeing each other and playing with the other. In order to free up some individual time and space for both of them, we decided to put him up in play school. Though our parents were a bit reluctant to send the kid at the age of 18 months, we went ahead with our plan. It started off at 18 months with one play school which was discontinued after 15 odd days since he fell sick and then we took a break and put him in another school where he continues till date.

Ever since Ani started going to school, we always wanted to go and find out how he is reacting in school. Though we used to get updates from his teacher, it would be every parent’s wish to see on their own how their kid is doing on the floor. But we could never go since Friday and Saturday which are weekends are holidays for his school as well. On the weekdays, we cannot go since I have to go to office and Vidya cannot go independently for various reasons. The first opportunity came on the 11th when there was a public holiday and his school was also on. However, I had to go to office for some urgent work since my colleague was proceeding on a holiday and I had to learn his work to backfill in his absence. I left from home at 7.00 AM and returned home by 11 AM. Kiddo normally leaves for his school by 9.00 AM, Sanjeev bhai, teacher’s brother, comes to pick up the kids in his Pajero Jeep. And by 12 noon the kids return to their homely abodes. As soon as I came home, we (Vidya, her mom and I) had our food and left for his school by 11.30 AM.

It was a pleasant surprise for all. Not many kids were there as it was a holiday. Ani was not to be seen as we entered since his diaper was being changed at that time. But then he was quite busy in playing and going all around in his now familiar second home. That was wonderful to see. You really feel happy when you realize that your kid is enjoying playschool and is not fretting to go. It’s not only an outlet but also a medium to learn, share and express freely.

Sandra, his teacher is quite an adept professional as she herself was a teacher in Carmel school in Kuwait earlier. Her passion for Kids made her start the playschool. You have to see the pictures to realize how beautifully the rooms are decorated and maintained. It’s quite a colorful and wonderful sight indeed. Also there are a lot of activities which are child oriented and help the child to mould and grow in the right path without any coercion. The child actually relishes being a part of this exercise without ever feeling it as a routine. Also Sanjeev draws quite well and there you could see his sketches and the kids feel quite comfortable with them. They feel that they are a part of that; it’s actually quite difficult to run a playschool. When you have one kid who runs amuck and you cannot manage at home, imagine having 20 – 25 kids in your school and you have to be so soft, tender, loving at the same time strict….it’s an effort in itself and unless you love what you do, you can never be a winner at this game. And in the process, you break the heart and soul of many a kids and incur the wrath of their parents as well.

Sandra was quite happy with the progress made by Ani and they called him Ladoo singh, Ladoo meaning a sweet dish of Indian origin and Singh relates to a community in North India. She also called him a professor as he keeps jabbering something or the other, follows what the teacher says and grasps them quickly. He explained the shapes, showed us the various animals, fruits and overall he was also surprised and happy to see us there. When the time was up for the kids to go, they called the bus children to go with Sanjeev bhai. And to our astonishment Ani also started to go. When we called him he was confused whether to go with Sanjeev or to come with us. And finally we bid goodbye to the teacher and returned home. It was a memorable day and I had clicked some photos of Ani and his teacher in action.

#Anirud