Making education more meaningful, engaging and entertaining for preschoolers is what Sesame Street preschool aims to do.
The organisation which came on Indian shores in 2006 is present in Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi besides Hyderabad and aims to create a space for kids that would prepare them for challenges in the outside world.
With its headquarters in Delhi, the preschool has been expanding its base in the city for quite some time.
Using modern day
methods of teaching and technology using gadgets, interactive games and stimulating television programmes, the Sesame Street school has established itself as a pioneer in the field.
“The teaching method is unique to Sesame and enhances creative and logical thinking in kids. Teachers at the preschool make use of a variety of resources like activity and games at Sesame Street schools,”explains Mona Singh, vice president of Sesame Street preschool.
All the teachers are given a box that contains the teaching material which helps them in disseminating lessons in a fun and interactive manner.
The preschools also pays special attention to outdoor activities like wall gardening, musical chimes and other games. “The teacher makes use of flash cards, activity books, puzzles and games to bring out the creative aspect of each child. We make the children feel objects through their hands, use content across different mediums like print, audio-visual and digital,” adds Mona.
The curriculum of the school goes beyond the usual ABCs and 123s to instil the skills of ideation or creativity, confidence, communication and collaboration - skills that are needed not just for school but for life.
It integrates the best practices from six schools of thought including Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Dewey, Vygotsky, Piaget and Howard Gardner along with Sesame Street’s learning over the years.
The non-profit organisation is working in 150 countries including Africa and Afghanistan but Singh says there is a difference in the work being done on the curriculum in India.
Explaining the unique aspects of the school, Singh says, “At Sesame, the kids are given the opportunity to enhance their cognitive skills. The school primarily holds the attention of the kids through digital medium. The famous television program Gali Gali Sim Sim is a part of Sesame methodology. The show makes use of muppets which are present at preschool sites as well.”
Understanding that each child learns differently, a variety of materials are used to reach out to every child – videos, games, puzzles are used along with printed materials.
The physical space is designed not just to be safe for children but also interesting and linked to the curriculum. Before setting up the schools in India, the organisationroped in educationists who did in-depth study of
primary education which focused on infrastructure and other needs of the kids.
As far as the training of the teachers is concerned, Sesame conducts rigorous training for its teachers. “Most of the training of teachers is activity based and the organisation also makes use of networking platforms like skype for this purpose. The school debunks the popular trend of textbooks which are considered to be the ultimate reading material,” feels Mona. The school also holds radio shows to draw the attention of parents.
At present, the current program Gali Gali Sim Sim is being broadcast in Hindi and Gujarati. “A new program is scheduled for this year but the name has not been decided for the same,” says Mona. The organisation is also planning to come up with three more schools in the city. At present, the schools in the city have around 150 students. The school would be enrolling children for the after schools in the month of July. The Sesame Street preschool is partnering with the ongoing Hitex Kids Fair.