EDventure Academy

EDventure academy ensures holistic development of children. Going by the old adage, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy", our  academy encourages physical activities, indoor outdoor games and conducts competitions twice a month and stresses on active participation. The motive for conducting such competitions is to increase the child's confidence, overcome stage fright, improve team building skills and social interaction. The students are made to understand that winning should not be the sole reason for their participation but competing and excelling in what they aspire should be the mantra. They are also made to understand that a true sportsman always cheers and encourages his/her fellow team mates and even competitors and happily accepts the end results of the competition. 2014 academic year has many competitions lined up such as drawing, craft, singing/dancing, fancy dress, story telling, drama, food without fire/cooking, elocution, essay writing, best out of the waste, flower/Rangoli arrangement, poster making competitions etc.

EDventure academy also celebrates Sports Day every year because we strongly encourage children to be engaged in sports apart from academics and each year they look forward to it. After all these, lastly but not the least we celebrate our Annual Day every year to thank and honour each and every one part of the family and it is a wonderful recap of the year that passed by. The children add on to the celebrations by performing dances, song, drama, reciting poems and it definitely is a moment of pride for the parents and the teachers. This is moments not just the students but the parents and teachers await with oodles of eagerness for we get to see them  receiving their prizes for the Saturday competitions. 

This year we are very much excited for the Carnival that we intend to organise by the end of the year where in we will display-for sale all the items made and prepared by our students. Items such as photo frames, paintings, sketches, bookmarks, jewellery, glass painting, painted bottles, diyas, gift tags etc., to name a few will be showcased. More details of this event will be posted in future.
 

So 2014 looks very exciting, energetic and most definitely eventful.

Learning in any form is learning and we strongly believe that restricting it to only books would be building walls around their minds and limiting their growth. It is very important to incorporate in children the importance of merging theory as well as practicals. So EDventure Academy has carefully designed a time table which includes theoretical subjects like English, Maths, EVS to name a few but also practical subjects like swimming, yoga, dance, music, crafts, arts, cooking, value education, social skills, best out of waste, etc.

Many a times focus is so strongly placed only on academic growth that the child loses connectivity with his/her interests. EDventure academy aims to bridge the gap between theory and practical learning. One of our primary objectives is to aim at the development of one's personality in entirety. SOCIAL SKILLS focus on helping children become responsible citizens and and help them learn skills which are important and necessary for smooth social functioning such as table manners, group interaction, empathy to name a few. VALUE EDUCATION classes aren't designed like the usual "text book" classes. We present children everyday scenarios and situations and help them realise the accepted behaviour by themselves and not resort to spoon feeding. This also helps them build their decision  making skills and makes them more aware and independent. These classes also help them take a stand on situations responsible for their actions. 

DANCE and MUSIC classes are also very popular amongst kids and we quite don't  blame them because we as faculty also love those classes and look forward to them. Dance classes help them in their flexibility and also in eye-hand or hand-leg coordination and music as they say is the 'universal' language so this is also a form of communication because sometimes children are driven by auditory cues as well.

In COOKING classes, we mostly focus on teaching basic food items which do not require fire or adult dependency but we always ensure to keep their safety and notify them whenever any parental guidance is required. We also teach them about nutrition and the essential functions of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, fibres so that our children know 'what' they are eating and 'why' they are eating what they are eating. In order to ensure that their health and fitness is not compromised, SWIMMING, YOGA, MARTIAL ARTS are also taught in EDventure Academy. Body co-ordination, calming of mind, enhancement of well being are some of the benefits these classes provide. Another reason why these classes have been included is because these are group activities and it is through these  classes, students realise the importance of team building and social interaction. 

We also strive to make academics equally fun so we mostly resort to visual teaching methods and also make charts and audio clippings to make learning fun for them. For instance, we made posters on saving animals and environment, planted saplings on environment day and made them realise the importance of maintaining the ecological balance in nature instead of reading texts from books. So we make our learning activity based.

The school has a library which houses many books from store books for tiny toddlers to informative books and journals for parents, faculty and visitors so that learning never stops. We also have a wide range of activity based books that help in improvement of visual skills, analytical skills, comprehension skills, reading and spelling skills etc. There are also books that cater to English grammar, Science, Maths for our children. The reason for having a library is school is to incorporate the practice of silent reading, paired reading, sitting tolerance and not be aversive to books.

There is also an activity room where in we teach them indoor games like carom, supermarket or monopoly, drama, arts, crafts, music and dancing. Sometimes group classes are also carried out in the same room 

We conduct several fun-filled competitions (more details in next post), to ensure the personality development happens completely.

-Holistic Development is the word!

PS-you must have heard this word earlier, fancy word used by almost every school in the first line of introduction.

EDventure Academy aims at development of a child in totality and by this we mean not just academic development but also personality development which includes social skills, behaviour skills and so on. It is very important to us that children enjoy what they learn so that the desire to grow remains alive. We most definitely believe in retaining the innocence of our children so that they enjoy their growing up process. This is why we always strive to keep the smiles on their lips intact. Parents invest a lot of faith, trust and belief in us and it is our moral duty and responsibility to see that their kids are in safe hands. We ensure undivided attention to all kids so that they are never neglected. EDventure Academy drafts personalised goals for  each and every student and the teachers progressively work towards them. There is an old adage "Rome wasn't built in a day". This is what we follow in EDventure Academy as well. The students in EDventure Academy show gradual and a steady growth. We do not follow a rigid structure because that creates monotony which invites a high risk of boredom to seep in. This is why we start off with activity based learning and fade out to pen/pencil-paper work. 

The children are not mere students for us but the bright future of tomorrow so we ensure that the stars do not lose their shine. Our aim is not to correct the past mistakes or crib/dwell on limitations of children but to strengthen their potentials for a better tomorrow by providing an opportunity for a healthy and happy today. 

When a child comes to us with an assessment  report we write down goals in a way that their potentias are used to overcome their limitations.

We use the strategy which the child learns and enjoys. So, at first we try to understand what type of a learner he/she is and then we design realistic and easily achievable goals.  

Special are the students, their parents and the educator. Special is their educational process itself because it's a specially designed instruction given using special materials, teaching techniques, equipment and / or facilities if required.

But why??? 

Initially children are screened using checklists. After screening, the class teacher and special educator work together primarily to support the child with few changes in the classroom set up. If the difficulties/ problems faced by the child are addressed, the support being given will be gradually faded, if not addressed...then it's high time to refer the child for a formal assessment. From the assessment the child's potentials ,difficulties and the current functioning level will be identified. Basing on this assessment reports, a Multi-Disciplinary team works together in planning the program and it's implementation.

A multi-disciplinary team consists of the child's parents, class teacher, special educator, doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist, occupational therapist (OT), physiotherapist (PT), speech therapist (ST), behavior therapist (BT) etc. Number of professionals required in designing and implementation of the program varies from child to child.

A program designed for a child is called as an IEP which means Individualized Educational Program, which is unique and tailor made for each child, and is done for over a period of time. It truly addresses the special needs of the child. It helps in overall development of the child.

After the implementation, the child is re-assessed  to check the improvement and is integrated.

The ultimate aim is to integrate the child in mainstream education. The child has to be included in a normal / regular educational set up, and lead an independent and quality life just like/ even better than peers of same age group.

Who are children with Special Educational Needs(SEN)?

Children with Special Educational Needs(SEN) are those who have impairments, disabilities and other problems, facing difficulties during learning processes.

What is this?

This blog is a helping hand, mainly for all special parents, teachers, special educators. In this blog you will also find information regarding EDventure Academy.

Where is this?

EDventure Academy, a tailor made educational set up started to meet the special needs of children. This is here... very much in Bangalore, India.

Why is this?

This blog is primarily to bring about awareness and act as a resource centre for all those who are looking on the internet for that so called lifting hand---SPECIAL EDUCATION.