When society makes failure synonymous with all things bad or something to avoid at all costs, children are learning at an early age that their worth is tied to the success of their actions. Failure can be scary. Failure is a part of life, whether it’s a 5-year-old finger-painting a masterpiece or a 55-year-old failing to use a new computer program. It doesn’t matter if the failure was avoidable or not, failure will happen to the best of us. 

But how do we help kids deal with these failures? How do we teach them that failing is okay and that they should try again?

It’s hard for most educators to cede control of their children. But allowing them to make mistakes and stay safe is vital in the learning process. Here are some ways you can help your child learn to fail safely:

Emphasize their growth mindset

A growth mindset changes the way the brain reacts to failure, and it helps children learn from their mistakes. They don’t interpret failure as a reflection of their self-worth, and quickly bounce back to recover from their mistakes. Failure is inevitable. That is why it’s so important to encourage your children to embrace a growth mindset. When kids feel empowered to improve, that’s when they’re most likely to succeed — and with a growth mindset, they’ll be more open to trying new things and embracing challenges.

Let them fail

Since the time our children were infants, we’ve offered them a safe, secure life. When they fall, we rush to their side and make sure they’re okay. We go to great lengths to avoid adversity and challenge because we want to protect them from experiencing hardship or failure. But shielding children from adversity isn’t the same as protecting them. It’s essential to allow your child to experience failure. Without difficult situations to navigate, kids won’t develop critical problem-solving skills—and nobody expects a baby to ride a bike without training wheels. Teach them how to cope with failure, so they don’t fear it — and make sure they earn prizes when they overcome a challenge.

Share your experience

Children like to emulate what they see. You can model positive ways to handle setbacks and challenges by being open about your struggles. You can point out that when we fail at something, we often learn from it and even get better for having tried. Likewise, when you learn to fail forward, your kids will learn from painful experiences and grow from mistakes.

Kids can be a little unrealistic in thinking their ideas and plans will always lead to a remarkable life. So you need to teach them that it’s okay if things don’t always work out the way they think.

Empathize with them

By meeting your children with empathy when they fail in front of their peers, you’re modeling that emotion for them. They can see what it looks like when someone is hurt or disappointed and find the words to express those feelings. This doesn’t mean they should be immune from all criticism. But it does mean that if they make a mistake, it’s okay, and the sooner you teach them that, the better!

Final Thoughts

Learning to fail can be painful at first, but it is an essential part of the learning experience, for children will only succeed in life if they can acquire the knowledge and skills needed to handle whatever life throws their way. Our young learners need to know that failure is an integral part of the learning experience. Else they may become afraid of trying anything new for fear of doing it wrong. 

Educators and parents can be a key part of bringing in this cultural change. Educators can design and build schools, pedagogy, and curriculum in a manner that encourages students to learn from failure. This can truly prepare students for transformative success.

Parents too are an essential cog of the learning experience. By providing a nurturing environment, they can be a much-needed guide to children. So that they learn that getting it right at the first time of asking isn’t essential, and that it is more important to do the right thing. The best education doesn’t necessarily come from the classroom. But from how adult role models teach kids to be resilient in the face of whatever life throws their way. 

Know of an inspiring educator or educational story that encourages life-long learning in students? Send us a message at marketing@squarepanda.in or comment below, and we’ll feature your story!

What makes a teacher? 

Is it age? Experience? Or the ability to impart learning in a manner that stays with the student forever?

Teachers at all levels have the power to turn the tide and transform the Indian education system into a multidisciplinary, holistic, progressive, and skill-focussed landscape. They mould our children, and thus, directly impact their futures and the future of the nation.

Given the very special occasion we celebrate tomorrow — Teacher’s Day — we decided to compile the stories from our Behind Every Step series that feature an educator at the helm. 

A young child of only ten, a corporate-trailblazer-turned-ECCE educator, a historical legend, a counsellor, and many more — our series highlights every person who has been responsible for helping others acquiring knowledge and skills, including parents, Anganwadi workers, and more.

About Square Panda India’s ‘Behind Every Step’ series: For every child who learns something new, there is a person behind them, supporting them as they take new steps along their educational journey. Each week, we showcase a new and inspiring tale from everyone who teaches, including educators, children, parents, and other stakeholders across the education landscape.

Have an inspiring educational story or know someone who has been a part of path-breaking work? Contact us at marketing@squarepanda.in or comment below, and we’ll feature your story in our upcoming Behind Every Step post.

STORY 1: Savitribai Phule

The very first teacher to set an example was born in a time when women teachers were practically non-existent in India, and the caste system held sway over such matters. See how this brave woman turned the tide for education in Maharashtra, and indeed, India: Read More >>

STORY 2: Chitra Chaugule

After becoming a teacher through fateful circumstances, she fell deeply in love with this profession. See how Chitra Chaugule’s journey saw her swap a corporate job for impacting early education: Read More >>

STORY 3: Unnati Thakkar

Inclusivity in education is her passion, as Ms. Thakkar came to realise. To think, she almost chose a completely different career for herself! Read about her story: Read More >>

STORY 4: Vaishali Nandoskar

Education is about the school, teachers, AND parents, as this mom and dad realised. See how they support their child’s school learning – at home – to help her gradually choose her own independent path in life: Read More >>

STORY 5: Veronika Brighteen

As we celebrate teachers, let us also acknowledge the little ones doing their own teaching. Like 8-year-old multilingual Veronika, who helps her Amma and her little brother learn different languages. Get inspired by her efforts: Read More >>

STORY 6: Saanvi Sinha, Grade 3

Meet yet another young learner-turned-teacher, who is using school closures to guide herself in her studies. This little learner has discovered a love for writing and uses that to alleviate her boredom, she says. Read her story in her own words: Read More >>

STORY 7: Meenal Gawlani

See how one person’s determination to leave the world a better place resulted in an inspiring tale of education, mentoring, and giving back to society: Read More >>

STORY 8: Lokesh Sharan

For teachers, it is not about the money, but the learning they can impart to their students. Read this tale of an extraordinary person striving to teach children for the cost of just one rupee: Read More >>

STORY 9: Jyoti Pande

Being a teacher is about more than teaching, as this story demonstrates. Especially an early years’ teacher. They have to be teachers, guides, life coaches, disciplinarians, and peacekeepers too. We hope Ms. Pande’s incredible story guides your own actions while teaching younger generations. Read all about it, here: Read More >>

STORY 10: Yogendra Bangar

For our final pick, we chose the tale of a school where no student is below 60. Curious? Click this link to read about Fangane village’s Aajibaichi Shaala: Read More >>

Teachers have long been the most crucial part of the education sector in India. Their efforts have doubled over the past year, and they have adapted to new styles and modes of teaching despite being unfamiliar with it themselves. We take this opportunity to thank every teacher for making sure childrens’ learning never stops.

Picture this. ⬇

Multilingual early learning classrooms boast a diverse group of learners. At least half of them are introduced to English as a subject. Most such children have a completely different home language than English. And most of their everyday environments are devoid of any English literature whatsoever. In some cases, even in environments not devoid of the language, these children are too young to have gained much exposure to English. Most have only learnt their native language correctly, and English then becomes a ‘second language.’

In this scenario—which holds true for most young learners across India’s early learning landscape—learning a new language, be it English or a regional language, is most fun through stories. While the languages themselves may be vastly different, with cultural, linguistic, and other distinctions, stories themselves are universal. These stories become a relatable bridge that help kids understand this new language in a familiar light. Additionally, stories for younger children tap into the main emotions all children will be able to identify — surprise, hunger, joy, anger, and even sorrow.

HOW STORIES BENEFIT ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

*and any other second-language acquisition

• When children listen to stories, they build their oral language skills. When they begin reading, they build their emergent literacy skills. They gain exposure and are able to practice sounding out letters and words—and later, sentences—in English. This is one of the most important steps in learning a new language — simply observing the language and allowing the brain to pick up patterns in the background. Once this initial process has been accomplished, the brain adds observations to specific types of patterns, like what some groups of words look like or sound like (i.e., word families), how sounds come together to form words, and how words can be split up into individual sounds. Every observation affects children’s perception and processing power of the language.
  *What are word families? ‘Word family’ can refer to any grouping of words based on a particular pattern. Square Panda’s educational games refer to word families that have the same ending sound and spelling, like SAP-NAP-TAP and MAT-SAT-PAT.
  *Why teach word families? It helps a young brain process information faster when there is a certain pattern to the knowledge they are exposed to. Word families are one type of pattern that helps children process words in their head more easily.

• A fun tale that is accompanied by clear illustrations and pictures—as found in most books for young readers—are crucial to develop comprehension skills. For children who have been exposed to vocabulary and words in their native language, these images give them meaning and context. For instance, vocabulary instruction for English language acquisition would include explaining the fact that ‘tree’ means ‘पेड़’ and ‘home’ means ‘घर’. However, their memory would struggle under the weight of too many new words being taught at the same time, especially if there is little repetition of certain vocabulary. Instead of stand-alone words, when children are exposed to a new language via stories and pictures, the context and narrative helps them remember new words more clearly.

• The above narrative also taps into another basic characteristic of stories—a good story is always emotionally engaging. When we are emotionally engaged with a story, it automatically hammers a place for itself in our memory. This is why the plotline of the Aamir Khan movie “Lagaan” is at the tip of your tongue, but you might struggle to remember the year the Constitution of India was adopted. This also means that children learning English find it much easier to remember a brand new language when presented in the form of an emotionally engaging story.

NOTE: ‘Emotionally engaging’ differs as per the age. A 34-year-old might like to read about the future of education in the age of AI, but for a 4-year-old, a little animal trying to find somewhere to nap is the most engaging story of all.

• Stories have also been shown to help children develop social cognition a.k.a. emotional intelligence. This refers to having an understanding of others in society and behaving in an accordingly cooperative way. For instance, stories can help children develop empathy, i.e., understanding that others are also people with feelings and emotions, thoughts and experiences. They merit being treated in a caring and respectful way. This concept of emotional intelligence—while basic and natural on the surface—is a complex idea that children have to develop and is not something they are automatically born into. Stories with a ‘moral’ at the end, characters that exhibit characteristics like kindness, thoughtfulness, and caring, all help children develop this understanding.

BUILDING A READING HABIT AS OPPOSED TO A SIMPLE READING LESSON

A reader can aptly describe the joys of sitting down with a book. How the words can take people to unexplored lands, how the thoughts expressed can encourage innovative thought, and how each new book inspires and uplifts people. This is not all that reading offers. A regular reading habit can enhance vocabulary, strengthen memory, decrease stress, and strengthen the connections in your brain in multiple ways. Bringing stories into the equation early on in a child’s life helps adults nurture the reading habit, turning these pre-readers into lifelong readers.

WHY SHORT STORIES ARE BETTER FOR EARLY LEARNERS

For children, most of whom have short attention spans at that age, short stories can optimise the learning process by hitting the balance between fun and tiring. Remember, most of them are just beginning to learn through the simple act of reading or listening to a story. As they start to explore various concepts like comprehension, social cognition, and patterns, short stories help them stay challenged and yet, not overwhelmed with too much information.

HOW SQUARE PANDA TEACHES CHILDREN FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY

An interpretive story forms the base for all of our educational games and apps. Two main characters, Panda and Cameo, are joined by a host of other animals accompanied by mini-storylines, for the purpose of driving learning through gamification. Each part of our curriculum is well-suited to engage a young brain, and adapts as per their individual learning levels. We carefully designed each part of our offerings with the understanding that children learn best when they are engaged, and there is nothing more engaging than a story.

To know more about our programs under the Aarambh initiative, visit our website ecce.squarepanda.in.

Reading is a gradual process, and not every learner acquires this skill the same way, or even at the same pace. Reading itself is not an innate skill and needs constant practice to develop. This does not take into account the natural affinity children develop, which could attract or repel them towards reading. As a guest speaker in Square Panda’s expert-hosted webinar mentioned:

To that effect, we offer several suggestions that inform the teaching of early childhood educators, to turn their students into fluent, confident readers for life.

1- Make Reading An Everyday Activity: Incorporate reading into the daily routine, as much as your curriculum allows. Set aside a specific time for reading, and encourage active participation from each child. The practice of reading to them and having them read to you is important to develop a happy and healthy relationship with this skill. For younger readers, start in increments for only around 10-15 minutes a day. As an added incentive, you can set up a small reading corner for kids, filling up this space with colorful chairs, tables, pillows, and of course, books. 

2- Find The Right Literature: A well-developed reading habit reaps rewards for a lifetime, but only when children adopt it willingly. If children are obliged to read books they don’t like, their reading habit will be over before it even begins. Give your little learners every reason to like reading; invest time in finding each child’s preferred book, series, or genre. To start with, you can introduce children to a wide variety of stories and books, allowing children to develop an affinity for various styles, themes, and genres.

3- Reading From Your Surroundings: Reading does not only always have to be out of books and literature; it can be wherever you find inspiration from. Words and letters are all around us, and all we have to do is point them out to children. Create a mini-restaurant and help students read off the menu, play a cartoon clip or song that features letters and words and ask children to repeat it, or help them read out posters and kid-friendly advertisements. Let your imagination run wild, and let it do the work of developing your students’ reading habits.

4- Adding Fun To The Reading Process: Mix elements of gamification and fun into the traditional reading process, for added engagement.

• Enact scenes and read dialogues in special voices. Children can be assigned voices for characters too, once they develop basic reading skills.
• Humanise characters in stories. Add backgrounds to them, help children understand the morals and learning at the end of each read, and ask children their thoughts about the story. Not only will they reflect on the book they have read, but they also simultaneously boost their ability to speak with confidence.
• Experiment in some engaging and fun reading games. There are numerous interactive edtech apps and physical books specially designed to entice young learners. Anticipating a new experience with each book could further encourage children to be present for reading time.

5- Engage In Reading-Adjacent Activities:  To encourage children to develop a true love for books, educators can guide children towards various reading-parallel activities. They can create DIY books (LINK to DIY Book Activity-not yet uploaded on YT), author their own comics, and even design bookshelves. The act of creatively exploring books and not necessarily reading them reduces the pressure children feel to love books, and allows them to choose reading activities at their own pace.

6- Going Beyond Reading: Enliven the reading experience further by incorporating additional activities (both digital and physical), competitions, and even rewards (new colourful additions to the reading corner, book-shaped keychains) that celebrate books and reading.For instance, reading games for kids like finding the rhyming words from a particular sentence, identifying the right sound for an action, or matching an image to a word, are simple to come up with, don’t require a lot of props, and are easy to play.

*Download this PDF for fun games and activities to boost reading readiness skills in the classroom.

Not every child will develop a love for reading, but that does not mean children will not become readers. Nor does it negate the essential nature of the reading skill itself. The learned activity has the potential to make or break a child’s future and influence their success in many ways. Let us do our part to ensure no child is left behind because they cannot read.
One of Square Panda India’s core functions is to develop early literacy in children across our nation. See our efforts towards this cause: ecce.squarepanda.in.

India’s diverse heritage has done more than culturally enrich us; it has also gifted us with a bilingual, and often multilingual population. Across the hinterland, many children hear multiple languages and dialects since birth, and are better equipped to develop literacy skills in those languages. 

Despite these favourable factors, fluency and literacy in second language acquisition is not at peak levels considering our exposure. This article delves into the factors that affect second language acquisition.

Factors Influencing Acquisition Of A Second Language

Student Characteristics

Age: An early learner’s brain is most equipped to deal with language literacy, as this study by Dr. Paul Thompson shows. This UCLA neurology professor and his team studied the brain scans of children between the ages of three and fifteen to map the growth and brain development, and found that the systems of the brain that control language acquisition grow rapidly from the age of six till puberty. Additionally, a younger brain processes much less data and information than an adult brain. Quite simply, they use fewer and simpler words and do not struggle to put abstract thought into words. These young learners are picking up the language gradually, and not simply ‘learning’ it; this makes a prodigious difference in language learning.

Motivation: The bigger the goal—speak to friends and relatives, get accepted into a certain school—the higher the motivation students have to study a language. Moreover, their enjoyment of the learning process influences their level of literacy in that language. For young children, positive feedback, constant encouragement, and fun educational tools work as motivation, and can make the difference between becoming simply ‘good’ versus becoming fluent.

Attitude: How have the children been introduced to the language and the culture behind it? What do you know about this language? A child’s attitude towards a language—greatly influenced by parents, caregivers, and teachers—plays a pivotal role in language acquisition. The more positive an attitude adults display towards a language, the more inclined children would be to learn said language.

Gender Differences: Male and female children differ in their verbal abilities, with multiple studies confirming superior language performance in females. These differences have been confirmed not only for the native languages, but also for the acquisition of a second language. While these differences decrease with age, during the first years of life, girls acquire language faster than boys and exhibit a larger vocabulary. Studies prove this pattern is repeated in comprehension, production, and even lexical and grammatical development. For instance, boys develop and produce word combinations (like ‘drink + water’) three months later than girls. Mixed classes sometimes make little allowance for this fact, and result in the girls overshadowing the boys’ accomplishments. Language experiences need to reflect these differences, as we encourage both genders to master new communication and language skills.

External Factors

Learning Environments: Young learners find it more difficult to pick up a language when they are not supported by a language-rich environment, both at home and in school (or in the Anganwadi). The sessions need to be engaging and full of playful elements. Activities for language learning need to be based on everyday experiences, to help children associate them correctly. Allowances must be made for mistakes, without any negative feedback. Adult support can be linked to simple dialogues and commentaries with children with open-ended questions to encourage conversation.

Native Language Proficiency: Children start learning their home or native language almost as soon as they are born. In fact, they apply the same strategies used for grasping contextual clues in their home language, while learning the second language. Depending on the frequency of exposure to new words and concepts in the native language, they develop stronger and better grasping strategies that are then transferred to the new language as well. Viewing each child’s native language as an asset and encouraging children to maintain and further develop their native language proficiency helps them become more fluent in the second language.

Instruction: Educators, teachers, and caregivers who are trained to teach a language holistically see better results with their students’ language acquisition skills. Such empowered teachers provide needed language support and explicit language instruction that takes into account students’ proficiency in other languages. Their own expertise enables them to plan language instruction to ensure student learning in incremental stages, for better outcomes.

Research clearly suggests language acquisition should be treated as a barometer of success. A weak language foundation has a domino effect on other areas of the child’s life as well, including cognitive and academic domains. Our task as educators and early learning experts includes providing children with appropriate holistic resources for language acquisition, right from the early ages.

See how Square Panda India lives up to the task via our Aarambh initiative: ecce.squarepanda.in.

The famous Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori once said, “Play is the work of the child”.

For young children, play is natural. Therefore, play-based learning feels natural to them too. Thus, play-rich environments become the single most important learning environment in early childhood education.
For more about play-based learning and its benefits, read our article on How Children Learn Through Play.

Today’s article shows how everyday items can be turned into playtime resources for foundational skill development.

*These games can be played in home or school environments.

Name: Seven Stones (Lagori)
Nature: Outdoor game; needs more than two players
History of the game: Lagori is an ancient Indian game—at least 5000 years old—that is now played in many countries around the globe.
Skills developed: Counting, fine and gross motor skills, strategy, teamwork

Name: Four Stones (Nalugu Rallu Aata)
Nature: Outdoor game; needs five players
History of the game: Another ancient Indian game, Four Stones was played in many rural districts of Andhra Pradesh until the 1960s and 1980s. Unfortunately, the popularity of this game has waned over the years. The origins of this game are also a mystery.
Skills developed: Communication (verbal and non-verbal), strategy, team spirit, social behaviour, reflexes, gross motor skills

Name: Chain (Sakli)
Nature: Outdoor game; needs more than two players
History of the game: The rules of this game probably evolved from the Western game ‘Tag’. Labelled ‘Chain Tag’ in English, Sakli is listed as a ‘traditional outdoor game on the verge of extinction’ by multiple sources.
Skills developed: Alertness, patience, caring, social emotional development, gross motor skills

Name: Hopping (Langdi Taang or Langdi)
Nature: Outdoor or indoor game; can be played individually (by asking children to ‘catch’ a hidden toy or object)
History of the game: Langdi originated during the Pandya Dynasty—also called the Pandyas of Madurai—from 6th to 14th Century C.E. Back then, this sport was called ‘Nondiyaattam’. Sports players consider Langdi to be the foundation of all sports, and the official field sport version is very useful when training for sports like kho kho, volleyball, and gymnastics.
Skills developed: Gross motor skills, balance, strengthen legs, small and large muscle development

Name: Five Stones
Nature: Indoor game; can be played individually
History of the game: This game appears in multiple civilizations since ancient times. Played by children globally, this game has many names — ashyk, jjagebatgi, anju kal, five stones, jackstones, etc. The Indian version of the game usually uses stones, although any similar sized object will suffice. After all, the Ancient Greek version of the game was played using the ankle bones of the sheep (these were called ‘knuckle bones’).
*Recommended for older children aged 5-10.
Skills developed: Dexterity, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, reflexes, helps in focusing

Name: Tossing A Paper Ball
Nature: Indoor game; needs more than two players
History of the game: We do not know when paper began being used as replacements for balls, but the game of tossing a paper ball has proven effects in the classroom, with multiple modifications as per the age of the students’.
Online Modification: Children can create paper balls, and toss them at the screen, in the direction of their classmates, while naming any one. That child then repeats this motion, and the game moves on until each child has a chance to call out a classmate’s name.
Skills developed: Fine motor skills, memory retention, gross motor skills

Multiple research studies over the years have proven the efficacy of play in enhancing social and emotional development—apart from other foundational skills—in early childhood. Hear Square Panda Thursdays host and early years’ stalwart, Ms. Sonia Relia, speak about how play enhances these skills. As Ms. Relia says, “The day you cannot play with your students is the day you stop working in early years.”

Watch this space for more ECCE-related resources, activities, and educational content.
Learn more about Square Panda’s experiential play-based foundational program, at https://ecce.squarepanda.in/program.

Well before infants can understand any words, for example, they find speech interesting to listen to, and prefer it to other kinds of sounds (Shultz & Vouloumanos, 2010).

Phonics, at its very core, is the method applied to teach people how to read and write an alphabetic language using sounds. 

Phonics has been around for a long time, and is one of the most recommended methods of teaching in schools, especially in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE). In fact, American President Benjamin Franklin even attempted to create his own alphabet to replace the existing one.

This article answers the most common questions about phonics and related terms, its use in Indian schools, and how it can be used in the classroom.

What does the term ‘phonics’ actually mean?

Phonics helps teachers and educators develop reading skills in children by linking sounds in a language to the letters and words that represent them. Phonics instruction has a profound impact on young learners’ brains and studies have even shown its effectiveness over other teaching methods.

What are some common terms related to phonics?

Phonological Awareness: This is the awareness of the sound structure of any language. Children can recognise and work with any sound of the spoken language once they develop phonological awareness. For e.g., they can pick out words that rhyme, break up a sentence into words, and more.

Phonemic Awareness: This is the ability to notice and work with individual sounds (or phonemes) in spoken language. For e.g., blending sounds to make words, breaking up words into individual sounds, and more.

Why is phonics so important in early childhood?

Sounding out words becomes easier: Phonics breaks down words into components, helping children ‘read’. Over time, they can even recognise patterns in words and automatically learn to read them correctly.

Links sounds and letters: As the phonics method uses sounds to link to respective letters or letter groups, children know exactly which sound should be produced for each letter or letter group, making the reading process simpler.

Long words become easier to read: Unlike when children learn a language via complete words, phonics breaks down longer words into individual sounds. Young children eventually learn to break down (and read) any long word into sounds even if they do not understand its meaning.

Children gain secondary skills: While phonics primarily aims to develop the reading skill, children also simultaneously learn to think logically (as they read words they don’t understand), and pick up writing skills (during spelling-related phonics exercises).

Why must we ‘teach’ sounds?

Even as children automatically pick up sounds since birth, they are not completely equipped to process the information on their own. For example, children would not automatically know that ‘MAT’ and ‘MAP’ begin with the same sound, or that ‘PAN’ and ‘DAD’ have the same sound of ‘a’. This suggests that children need to know how sounds map to a written system, and for this, they need explicit phonics instruction.

Why not simply teach children to read? Won’t that help them map sounds to written words? 

Being read to is another crucial aspect of foundational learning, but it cannot replace phonics instruction. A study by Evans & Saint-Aubin in 2005 showed that as children were being read to from a storybook, they spent much longer looking at pictures than reading the words or text. It is not realistic to expect young children to learn much about mapping sounds and written words simply from being read to.

How does phonics work in Indian languages?

Most Indian languages are ‘pure phonic languages’, i.e., the word sounds exactly like it is written. Plus, every sound has a specific written representation which does not change. For example, Hindi and Marathi use a Devanagari script, and the sound of each alphabet in this language is distinctly different. अ remains the same pronunciation, whether the word is अनार or अक्षर.

While only a small percentage of Indian schools focus on phonics and related activities at present, this method of instruction has been highly recommended for ECCE in the recently released NIPUN document and the National Education Policy (or NEP 2020), for all languages.

Can phonics be included as a small part of each lesson?

Sounds are already a part of every lesson, and there are quick tricks educators and teachers can use to leverage this for a revision lesson. For example, after a story session, children can count the syllables in each word, they can rhyme with numbers (one-sun), and even simply sound out letters they have learnt previously.

Can parents also help with phonics instruction?

The home environment is crucial to develop holistic foundational skills, say experts. The role of parents in fostering their children’s development is twofold: they introduce children to sound, and play a crucial part in reinforcing teachers’ instructions. Parents can be given a list of words and stories introduced in school, which they can repeat with the children during daily chores and activities. Parents can also ask questions about further letter sound knowledge, like ‘What is the beginning sound of this word?’ or ‘What is the last letter in this word, and what sound does it make?’ Parents unfamiliar with the language can listen to songs and rhymes in the language of instruction with their children, and encourage their little ones to sing along.

What sort of activities can help children develop phonemic awareness? 

Simple letter identification activities can be turned into phonic games, by asking children to also sound out the letter. In the same way, sorting activities can be grouped as per rhymes, syllables, beginning sounds, and more. You can even group children in pairs for a ‘partner reading’ exercise, where one child reads a small text and the other closely copies the first. They can then switch roles, helping each other when they stumble.

Learn how to turn even the simplest of items into a learning resource for phonics and language development in next week’s Square Panda Thursday’s webinar. Join the live session on July 29, at 5 pm: https://squarepanda.app.link/e/2907b

Phonics teaches children to be fluent in a language while reading. To be more efficient, this instruction needs to work hand-in-hand with vocabulary instruction and other types of learning for a well-rounded development. From an educational perspective, being able to predict the pronunciation of words using letter-sound knowledge is better than rote learning the pronunciation of all words.

A year ago, the pandemic drove education online, with educational institutions embracing online classes and digital learning in all its forms to deliver learning to their students. Schools and states adopted different means of reaching out to students; some sent home learning materials, others delivered learning via common messaging apps.

Education moved online, but children across various levels and ages in India continue to experience learning loss, particularly in early childhood education. A survey showed most parents are very worried about their young children losing out on essential development in these early years, and thus they are in favour of online schooling. 80% of parents surveyed said online preschooling delivered clear learning outcomes, and 75% of these parents would recommend online learning to their friends and families.

However, remote learning poses challenges even in suitable settings. Add to that a class full of fidgety young learners – those who choose to come at all – and this type of learning becomes harder to sustain.

To be successful, remote teaching and instruction needs to follow similar ideas as regular instruction: clarity, review, and checking for comprehension. At present, the guidelines to conduct online learning are as yet a work in progress. Even so, based on their experience this past year, multiple early education experts and educators have offered pointers on ways to help remote education be as effective as possible.

1) Changing The Mindset (of teachers, children, AND parents)

The very first challenge to online learning is getting children to show up for classes. With several preschools closing permanently, those still active report almost an 80% reduction in enrollment for the school year 2020-21. Parents who were once convinced about the importance of early learning might give preschool a miss now.

What is needed is a strong reminder about the priority of early education, especially for parents. Plus, to effectively guide this conversation, teachers and caregivers must first understand the nature and science of early learning and how it impacts a child’s future. 

Once in the online classroom, teachers need to consider the socio-cultural circumstances of each student as they deliver instructions; they need to develop a structure, objectives, and teaching plans as per this. Establishing a routine and schedule can do wonders for children’s engagement. They learn to expect certain activities and games at certain times, and they feel confident because they know exactly what comes next.

Initiatives across Maharashtra, Odisha, and Chattisgarh have shown that dedicated efforts by governments, schools, educators, and Anganwadi workers can stave off some ill-effects of learning loss in early childhood. We can take inspiration from these efforts and replicate the same in our classrooms.

2) Remote Relationship-Building

Relationships are the bedrock of society, and, in early childhood education, are the basis upon which socio-emotional behaviour develops. Although physical bonding is ill-advised at the moment, educators can devise strategies that enhance bonding in online classes. 

For a social connect, teachers can structure lesson plans that involve the formation of groups, as much as the curriculum allows. Children can be paired up for games and activities, or even simply to lend a helping hand to one another.

To further enhance this social emotional development, it is recommended to connect with the families too, and share a child’s achievements via weekly messages or a phone call. Rotate this responsibility among teachers so one person is not bearing all the burden.

3) Let Simplicity Guide Your Lesson Structure

Online learning offers reduced opportunities to gauge how instructions have been received by students. This makes simple instructions even more crucial to the classroom. Keep the language direct, the instructions uncomplicated, the explanations brief, and the expectations clear.

For reduced hassle, stick to simplicity in all decisions, whether they are logistical (which edtech app is the best to use) or substantive (is the new learning material clear enough).

4) Make Learning Interactive And Engaging

Student engagement is a common requirement in any early learning curriculum, but planning for such engagement is less so.

Just as in a physical classroom, young children need opportunities to develop all the foundational skills — motor skills, cognitive skills, reasoning, socio-emotional skills, foundational literacy and numeracy — in online classrooms too. Avoid conducting simpler reading and listening exercises; actively pepper your learning modules with quizzes, puzzles, and interactive question-and-answer sessions. These sessions act as review lessons, helping children retain their learning. Some teachers across India have taken the initiative and started recording small lessons before class. They then pause these at key moments to incorporate mini-games and play-based activities for higher engagement.

5) Humanise The Digital Space

Child-friendly spaces always have a colourful and fun theme, so why should an online classroom be any different?

If you use an online platform like ZOOM or Skype to teach, you can check if the background is customisable. Or, you can simply add a few little toys, colourful hand paintings, and even letter and number cutouts for a ‘classroom’ feel. This can be customised as per the age of your learners. Invite questions about the children’s background too (in case of live video lessons), and involve parents in creating fun learning spaces for children, so they exhibit more enthusiasm for learning. 

Lessons via chat-messaging services can be enlivened by the use of emojis; recorded lessons can have some engaging anecdotes to add humour; physical resources for children can be repurposed (read: painted or reprinted) to add in pops of colour.

Are you a parent? If so, here are 4 tips that can help you balance schooling at home with working from home.

While incorporating each idea mentioned here might be challenging, bearing them in mind is prudent. As we learn more about how online learning works, these lessons can help us reach children in every corner of India, creating a truly literate future for our country.

See how Square Panda India can help you build a robust ECCE ecosystem in your state, district, or school: ecce.squarepanda.in

Touch. Sight. Sound. Hearing. Taste. 

A child’s experience in this world is one of multisensory stimulation. It is likely that evolution itself supports optimal functioning in such an environment. While all children reach their developmental goals at different paces, research suggests multisensory learning is one of the most effective strategies to enhance the learning experience.

*About ‘Multisensory’ And ‘Multisensory Learning’: The term ‘multisensory’ means using more than one sense at a time, while ‘multisensory learning’ incorporates learning techniques that use multiple senses at the same time. For example: Adding audio or visual aids into teaching and assignments. Not every lesson does (or needs to) include each sense, but such an approach does require more than one sense to be stimulated at a time for better learning outcomes.

Multisensory activities are based on the concept of ‘whole brain learning’, which is the belief that the best way to teach concepts is to involve all areas of the brain. In his book, the Theory of Neuronal Group Selection (1987), American biologist Gerald Edelman wrote that more elaborate brain connections are formed with multisensory learning as compared to single sensory learning, greatly enhancing comprehension and retention. To learn more about connections in the brain and how they help with memory retention, consider reading how to help children retain learning.

Multisensory learning also proves effective to different types of learners: visual learners, auditory learners, tactile learners, and physical or kinesthetic learners. This ensures multisensory instruction reaches every learner in the classroom.

To help children enhance their multisensory awareness, we curated simple multisensory learning activities that tie into early childhood education and can be easily incorporated into the classroom or home:

Note: Each activity can be used (and tweaked) depending on children’s learning levels and interests.

Activity Name: Handprint Birds

You Will Need:

• Paint
• Glue
• White paper
• Coloured pencils and/or crayons
• Kid-safe scissors

Method: Paint children’s palms with one colour, and their fingers multiple colors like red, yellow, and green. Guide them to place their hands, palms down, on a sheet of white paper to create a handprint. On the thumb area, help them draw a beak using colored pencils or crayons. Draw an eye, a pair of feet, and you have a handprint bird! You can cut this out and make a sign or card, too.

Learning Outcomes: Fine motor skills, colour identification, creative exploration

Activity Name: Colored Corn Art

You Will Need:

• Glue stick
• 1 cup of regular corn kernels
• Vinegar
• Water
• Food coloring
• Containers for mixing food coloring (bowls, plastic cups, etc)
• A sheet of paper

Method: Fill half the container(s) with water and add an equal amount of vinegar to it. Ask children to choose food coloring(s) of their choice, and mix them into the container(s). Then add in a small amount (about half a cup) of corn kernels and leave them to soak overnight. The next day, ask the children to dry the corn kernels with paper towels. Ask each child to get a glue stick, a sheet of paper, and some of the colored corn. Encourage them to use some creativity to make fun designs with the different colors! (Note: it’s easier to add glue to the sheet and then stick the corn to it.)
Learning outcomes: Fine motor skills, socio-emotional development (patience), creativity

*Not recommended for younger children as there is a choking hazard.

Activity Name: Apple Basket Word Sort

You Will Need:

• Red or green paper
• Colored pencils or markers
• A basket
• Kid-safe scissors

Method: On apple-shaped cutouts (created by children from red and/or green paper), write CVC (i.e., consonant-vowel-consonant) words like MAP and HAT. Write as many words as the children can identify at their age. Mix up these ‘paper apples’ and place a basket in front of children. Call out the words at random and ask them to pick the right apple cutout and place it in the basket.

Modification: Repurpose this to enhance foundational numeracy skills; switch out the words for numbers.

Learning Outcomes: Vocabulary, colour identification, sorting, creativity, fine motor skills

*For online classes, you can ask parents to help you. 

Activity Name: Popsicle Scarecrow 

You Will Need:

• Glue
• Popsicle sticks
• Pens/pencils/crayons
• Buttons, beads, threads, ribbons (for extra ‘decoration’)

Method: Ask children for help in protecting the garden. They need to make a popsicle person to scare away pests like crows and mynahs. Glue the narrow sides of 4-5 popsicle sticks side-by-side, to make the body. Break one popsicle in half to make the arms, and glue them lengthwise. Use two popsicle sticks as the legs. Draw on some features, and even stick cotton or thread for the hair. Add to the multisensory approach by putting this scarecrow into a real garden, if you can access one. If not, you can even put it into a potted plant.
Learning Outcomes: Fine motor skills, creativity, environmental awareness

Activity Name: Road Trip

You Will Need:

• Toy vehicle (car, truck, etc) OR you can use any random object as a ‘vehicle’
• A plain sheet of paper
• Pen/pencil/crayons
• Tiny popsicle people
• Matchboxes
• Small cotton balls/balls of paper

Method: Take your little learners on an imaginary road trip. Draw a winding road on the paper. Decorate the sheet with matchboxes (for buildings and houses), add in some cotton/crushed paper as rocks and boulders. Drawn fields that are guarded by scarecrows or farms with scarecrow people in them. Place the vehicle at the start of the road; ask children to move it along the path. As they travel from place to place, ask them to create stories, identify the elements, and gradually make their own little roadmap.

Modification: Improve early literacy skills by writing names on buildings (school, hospital, etc.), and asking children to read, and later spell it themselves.

Learning Outcomes: Imagination, creativity, fine motor skills, storytelling, early literacy skills

Activity Name: Button Tree

You Will Need:

• Multicolored buttons (red, yellow, orange, brown, green)
• Colored pencils, crayons, and markers
• Glue stick

Method: Trace out a tree trunk and branches together with children. Give them glue sticks and ask them to glue buttons to the branches to make a colourful button tree.

*You can use cotton balls, rolled up bits of paper, actual dried leaves, or anything else to make this tree.

Modification: In later levels, you can ask children to group particular colours together, add fruits, little hand painted birds, and anything else they can think of.

Learning Outcomes: Fine motor skills, colour identification, sorting and grouping, environmental awareness, creativity, exploration and imagination, observation.

To drive their intrinsic motivation to keep coming back and learning, children need to engage with the learning process. This is where multisensory activities and instructions fit in; they present information through more than one sensory system at a time, encouraging optimal learning.

At Square Panda, we understand the value of multisensory learning. Our programs — for children and for educators — include content that uses all the learning pathways in the brain (auditory/visual, kinesthetic/tactile) to enhance multisensory exploration for robust educational outcomes in early childhood education. Learn more about our holistic NEP 2020-aligned programs: ecce.squarepanda.in

Share a video of your little learners working on the above activities, and we’ll make sure to mention you on our social media.

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Over the years, India has seen a wonderful trend emerge. 

First, Amazon India’s Reading Trends Report released in 2017 showed book sales picking up across all levels in India – English books in Metro and Tier I cities and translations in rural areas. Later, they also claimed a steady growth of book sales over the past five years, with adult non-fiction growing by 22.8% and young adult (fiction) book sales rising by 21.4%. 

Then, in 2020, Nielsen released a report on the Impact of COVID-19 on the India Book Consumer and found that reading time has increased from nine hours a week to 16 hours a week.

This trend is not a surprising one, given that India has been a seat of learning, literature, and knowledge since ancient times. Reading is a prime source of information and knowledge, and these past book sales show us just how much Indians love this activity.

This trend has even touched the lives of children in India, as Scholastic has found. This independent publisher regularly surveys young children aged 6 to 17 across India to provide insight about reading habits among this population. Their latest report – published in 2020 – found that 92% of the surveyed children read books for fun at least one day in the week. Their survey further found that younger children love reading short stories with pictures, and their interests leaned towards comics, fairy tales, books that made them laugh. Slightly older children (aged 9-11 and 12-14) want books that tell the truth about life, and have smart, courageous characters. 

The young Indian reader is well on their way to becoming a literate adult who reads for fun. However, much of the data collected so far only reflects certain segments of the population. The popularity of this activity needs to reach even the hinterland before we can say that our children are developing a reading habit.

Why Reading Is Important, Especially In Early Childhood

• Kids that cannot read, cannot learn. Reading is the basis of learning; geography, history, and even math problems require good reading skills. Additionally, studies by UNESCO in 2012 show that kids who cannot read according to their level by the time they are in the third grade often drop out of school altogether.
• Reading makes you smarter. Reading helps enhance the learning process. Each page opens up a new world; new words enhance an ever-increasing vocabulary; even childrens’ confidence gets a boost. This is why we require more people who are learning to read right from childhood, and developing reading skills, to build a more literate India.
• Research into reading often talks about how it enriches minds, imparts wisdom, and even helps shape readers’ personalities to a certain extent. In fact, Harvard Business Review publishes that having a good reading ability and a regular reading habit makes you better placed to be a business leader.

As a nation of readers, we need to bring these emergent literacy skills to our young children and inculcate a strong reading habit in them.

Inculcating A Reading Habit In Young Children

The reading habit — like the reading trend itself — is constantly evolving. Reading does not always have to be on paper anymore; there are other means to access books for children: ebooks, edutainment apps, and even audiobooks can be leveraged to deliver content to young readers. 

Reading needs to be treated like a favoured friend and given constant and devoted attention. This learned activity can start with quick word-of-mouth stories and move to other mediums that children are comfortable with. 

See how much effort it really takes for the brain to learn to read.

Book Recommendations For India’s Multilingual & Multicultural Children

📒 The Gopi Diaries by Sudha Murty
Available In: English
Who can read it: Anyone aged 2-4
What is it about: This three-book series is told in the voice of the main character – Gopi the dog. The series follows Gopi as he gets adopted into a brand-new home, and then describes the world and the people around him.
Where to get it: Amazon, Flipkart

👣 पायल खो गई or Payal Is Lost by Maheen Mirza and Shivani Taneja
Available In: Hindi
Who can read it: Anyone aged 2-6
What is it about: Exactly what the title promises.
Little Payal is lost, and the children of her basti are searching near and far to find her. Until finally, they find her in the most unlikely place…
A sweet tale written for children who are just beginning to read, Payal Kho Gai is a simple tale filled with animation that is intentionally vague to further engage target readers’ imaginations.
Where to get it: Amazon

🦠 Germ Academy by Rea Malhotra Mukhtyar
Available in: English
Who can read it: Anyone aged 3-8
What is it about: Written by a teacher, this book is geared towards helping adults explain the pandemic to little kids, in a way that does not seem overwhelming at all. The author states that this book has something for everyone, from “pop-culture references and scientific formulae to cleanliness tips and silly sounds.”
Where to get it: Amazon, Crossword

🧆 Hot, Hot Roti for Dada-ji by Farhana Zia
Available in: English (Hindi words interwoven for a multilingual experience)
Who can read it: Anyone aged 4-8
What is it about: Aneel is an excited little boy…his Dada-ji is coming to stay with him all the way from India. 
This multi-cultural tale effortlessly weaves in Hindi and English terms into a warm family tale with incredible illustrations. At the heart of it is the relationship between grandfather and grandson, and a lesson on how food fills your tummy and warms your heart.
Where to get it: Amazon

👩‍🦱 I Hate my Curly Hair by Diyva Anand
Available in: English
Who can read it: Anyone aged 5-7
What is it about: It’s never too early to start teaching children about body positivity and self-acceptance. Diyva Anand’s poem aims to do exactly that, in a humorous tale about a little girl and her hate for her long curly hair.
Where to get it: Amazon

👡 Phani’s Funny Chappals By Sridala Swami
Available in: Hindi, Oriya, Gondi, Kannada, Tamil, French, Chinese, English
Who can read it: Anyone aged 5-9
What is it about: Phani’s footwear causes all the trouble in this book. All he wants to do is be an obedient boy and a good student, but his chappals won’t let him!
Where to get it: StoryWeaver

🐬 Putul and the Dolphins by Mariam Karim-Ahlawat
Available in: Bengali, Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu
Who can read it: Anyone aged 5-14
What is it about: Introduce children to nature and the environment with Puchku, a girl who lives by the Ganga river in Bengal. Her chance meeting with two dolphins sets the stage for a lovely folksy tale about life in a village, and the close relationship people share with animals.
Where to get it: Amazon, Flipkart (in certain languages)

🧑‍🦯 Kanna Panna By Zai Whitaker
Available in: Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati
Who can read it: Anyone aged 5-14
What is it about: When the lights go out and his family cannot get out of the cave temple, little Kanna comes to the rescue. The presence (or lack of) lights do not make any difference to Kanna, as he cannot see anyway. The author changes the common perception about ‘disability’, creating a warm, strong, and funny protagonist to teach children about visual impairment.
Where to get it: Amazon

🐆 Leopard in Mumbai by Lubaina Bandukwala and Allen Shaw
Available in: English
Who can read it: Anyone aged 6-15
What is it about: A new tourist is in town, and she’s causing quite a stir! Why, though? All she wants to do is everyday touristy things in Mumbai, but she can’t figure out why everyone is so nervous? Maybe it’s because she’s a leopard? 
What is it about: A new tourist is in town, and she’s causing quite a stir! Why, though? All she wants to do is everyday touristy things in Mumbai, but she can’t figure out why everyone is so nervous? Maybe it’s because she’s a leopard? 
Supported by hilarious illustrations by Allen Shaw, Lubaina Bandukwala’s funny take on the leopard sightings in Mumbai are a breath of fresh air, and make you see wildlife (and conservation) in a different light.
Where to get it: Amazon, Karaditales

👹 Moin and the Monster by Anushka Ravishankar
Available in: English
Who can read it: Anyone aged 8-10
What is it about: Moin was sleeping peacefully in his room until he heard a noise under his bed. Now, he has to share a home with a monster that loves to sing, eat bananas, and create new hairstyles. All this while trying to keep this a secret! Award-winning author Anushka Ravishankar crafts a wickedly funny tale that reviews rate as ‘laugh-out-loud.’
Where to get it: Amazon, Flipkart, Google Play Books (audiobook)

If you are looking to engage beginner readers, why not try out the Square Panda Early English Learning App, which you can download for free on the App Store and Play Store?

Want to develop your students’ foundational literacy skills or learn more about the programs Square Panda India has to offer? Visit ecce.squarepanda.in.