Looking for a mother-toddler programme in North Bangalore? This Mother-Munchkin programme in Dollars colony is loads of fun and builds many skills in both the parent and the child. Check it out!
All play and no work? Not really. A Mother-toddler programme won’t just help toddlers. They also teach something very important to the mums, as we found out from this fabulous Mother-Munchkin programme at SVM Little Lamps Pre school, Dollars colony RMV Stage II.
Sadhu Vaswani Mission’s Little Lamps is a modern preschool in Dollars Colony, RMV Stage II whose early-years education is founded on strong value systems, inspired by the principles of Sadhu Vaswani and Dada J P Vaswani and developed by an early childhood educationalist. The preschool teaches children values like hard work, love, respect for life, compassion and forgiveness in natural and thoughtful ways, with the teachers leading by example and introducing projects and tasks to bring these value systems to life.
Little Lamps creates fun learning experiences, for babies from 10 to 22 months. Their bi-weekly classes offer an intimate, safe and nurturing environment where mothers and their toddlers engage in a range of carefully designed play-based stimulating class activities that maximize their learning potential. The parent or guardian is actively involved in each session, guiding and encouraging the child through age-appropriate fun activities. Each session is small and intimate with not more than 6 children. This is led with much gusto by experienced early-years educators, Shyamili Mehra and Raakhee Asnani.
If you are an enthusiastic mum, then a mother-toddler programme is a boon in many ways. You can bond with your children and watch them explore a different and safe environment.
Here are 4 things that are special about the Mother-Munchkin program.
1. It follows a structure; babies love repetition
Do you groan every time your child picks up the same book to read with you? Well, babies and toddlers love repetition. They are learning something from it, and the Mother-Munchkin programme at Little Lamps follows a certain structure that the children find reassuring.
The morning starts with a familiar cue – a ‘good morning’ song, which immediately gets them in the mood to have fun and explore. “They sing this song even at home every morning, with their parents and grandparents,” says Shyamli. The Mother-Munchkin programme is structured in such a way that the child never loses interest. From puzzles and colouring activities to movement, music and rhymes, the programme varies itself to sustain the child’s attention. Raakhee uses something called a ‘magic box’ to wean the baby away from the mother, to get the child come and explore what is inside it.
“We keep our group size small so that we can give individual attention,” they say. “Apart from the group activities, we go to each child and work with them individually.”
2. It directs the energetic and patient mums to consciously engage with their babies
Why is play important? Play is a crucial vehicle for exploring and learning, developing new skills, and connecting with others. Children use play to engage with and learn about their world.
“Toddler’s parents are constantly on the lookout for new things to do with their children and are open to learning different ways to engage their children,” says Shyamli. “We at Little Lamps facilitate the use of the most beautiful variety of toys and puzzles available today in a diverse and creative manner. They understand this when they come to the programme and we also have a ‘clean up’ song that they can use at home.”
3. It lays the foundation for a long-lasting loving relationship
Let’s face it. Parenting can be stressful and we always look at our babies in terms of compulsories – feed them, change their diapers and put them to sleep. A mother-toddler programme facilitates the discovery of different pleasant aspects of their children. And babies have lots of personalities! “The mothers also look at their children in a different social setting and can understand more about the child’s personality and interests. Mums learn to understand and engage with their children more creatively.”
4. It gives a child a taste of the outside world
This the age of nuclear families. Babies, much like older children, need company and stimulation. They are always eager to use their hands to explore their surroundings and to constantly move. “There is a reason for every activity in the Mother-Munchkin programme at Little Lamps. For instance, play dough made from natural ingredients is introduced to the babies to develop their motor skills.”
The Mother-Munchkin programme also has toys and activities to develop a child’s cognitive and social skills. Babies are not just exposed to other babies but to other adults as well, and this prepares them for experiences in preschool. “We have had mums from our group say that the children are more sociable at home with other adults and with their grandparents and even with the parents,” says Shyamli. “Babies do not play with other babies in the session. They are not yet ready for that but they slowly come out of their comfort zones. They also get less clingy and more sociable.”
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