The Hindu Business Line : Active learning

The gaggle of preschoolers appears unstoppable… some are jumping over a balance beam, some are tumbling over, while some others are rolling about or running without a care in the world.

Their tiny bodies move so rhythmically, swaying to the foot-tapping music, it’s a treat to watch. Welcome to Jelly Beans, a dedicated centre for movement education for preschool children, in Bangalore.

Set up by Meera Ashar, 37, the centre attempts to teach children to be active for life while having fun at the same time.

Taking a break from her career in equity research, Meera was into motherhood fulltime when she began looking for some innovative ways to keep her three-year-old son occupied. Realising that apart from a handful of parks, there were few places where a child could spend active hours picking up new skills, Meera decided to set up one herself.

“Physical development is not considered that important in our country. What we do at schools and homes is not enough for a child’s physical development. All our lifestyle diseases are due to lack of adequate activity from childhood. Parents don’t do anything at home as both are working. Children today have no safe space where they can develop their physical skills, where the child can wander and not get hurt. A healthy lifestyle is what we are looking at, we are not looking to create sport stars.”

It is said that 95 per cent of the human brain is formed by the age of six. So movement education is extremely vital at this age as it teaches the child a variety of physical skills, not skewed to any particular sport, explains Meera.

“Movement means stimulation of the brain. It could be a puzzle, any activity that involves creativity… My quest led me to visit places like the US, China, Japan, Singapore to see what they have for preschool children and what I could do for our kids here.”

She attended a workshop on movement education at the University of Minnesota and also trained in classroom management and curriculum development in Singapore. The centre began with seven children in July last year; the numbers grew quickly and today over 100 children are receiving movement education.

The lesson plan is split age-wise. Children from ages 1.5 to six are involved in locomotive activities ranging from small exercises using rhymes and stories, jumping, sliding, leaping, passing the ball and running to galloping, stretching and developmental gymnastics using simple equipment like a ball, junior bar, trampoline, balance beam and so on. There are not more than 14 children to a class. “Through such activities, the children grow in self-confidence, their body becomes flexible and strong. They learn things like eye-hand coordination, concentration and mental stimulation. This is for overall holistic body development,” says Meera.

Alongside all the fun, the children are also taught the importance of discipline. “There is fun, there is innovation, one has the freedom to express… but one also needs to follow rules. Our classes are not rigid, although it is structured. We do make impromptu changes in our lesson plans, depending on what mood the children are in,” says Meera, who is assisted by two instructors and two helpers. “You have to make the children feel important. They love that. Of course, there are kids who are difficult to handle. Some are rigid, some are aggressive, some have never shared before. But at Jelly Beans, they soon overcome it all and learn to cooperate and play together.”