Penelope Leach- on love and success in life

Whenever I feel angry or depressed about my own parental abilities, I take one of Penelope Leach's books and read. It is sure to lift my mood, and inspire me to be better mother. But nothing has inspired me so much as this one page, when it comes to being anxious about my children's performance academically. Sharing the page as it is.

Nobody loves a loser, but nothing creates a loser faster than the fearing loss of love..

Penelope Leach on Love and success in Life

Anganwadi in Kerala

A large, sunny room with tiny chairs, play equipment, educational toys, educational charts, books and mattresses for afternoon nap kept neatly folded in cupboards. An attached kitchen where nutritious food is being prepared, to be served hot in clean plates. A clean toilet on the other side. A large and shady outdoor play area. About a dozen excited kids singing rhymes or playing or riting on their slates while the teacher keeps an eye on all of them. They are taken good care of from 9.30am to 3.30pm, served nutritious and freshly cooked breakfast, lunch and evening snack, all of this given absolutely free! This is an anganwadi in Thrissur, Kerala.

However this is not the case with most anganwadis in the the state. Most of them function in a small building, with no open areas to play outdoors. They have their own new building with areas as per Government norms. There are regular inspections, so hygiene is ensured. Some, like the one mentioned above, are lucky to be attached to a primary school, where there is ample outdoor play area under the trees. However many of the anganwadis, especially the ones in city areas, have no buildings of their own, and have to function in rented rooms. The amount given by the Government is Rs.1000/-, and insufficient to rent a decent facility. As per the new early childhood education and care policy of the State government, an anganwadi will not be permitted to function in a building which has space less than 500 sq.ft. The local bodies are provided funds to purchase land and construct own buildings for the anganwadis. However, the funds are insufficient-just Rs.50,000 per cent. The functioning of an anganwadi is in the hands of one trained anganwadi worker and one ayah(maid). But they are paid very low wages and are given a lot of other responsibilities like helping with election duties, conducting door-to-door survey etc. All of this affect the quality of pre-school education given in an anganwadi. 
This post describes how the anganwadi where my children go functions. http://tripletshouse.blogspot.in/2015/06/our-anganwadi-in-thrissur.html

Preschool- Anganwadi

I took triplets to anganwadi today. It looked like a preschool of sorts, with around 10 kids attending. Parents are allowed to sit with them if needed, and I saw a child taking his first look at school sitting on his grandmother’s lap. Teacher took the weights of the kids and tried to make them say ‘Good morning’ and tried to make them sit in the small chairs. But they were a highly energized bunch, and ran to the many toy scooters and other play equipment arranged at the back. I left them there, and went to pick them up at noon time (Full day class from Tomorrow only). They were absolutely thrilled- Raman bubbling with what all happened at the school, Kutty role-playing as teacher, Balu singing the new rhyme they learned- it goes like “veedu nalla veedu, njan piranna veedu, ammayund veettil, ammayaanu daivam” (House, the fine house where I was born, where my mother resides, my mother is my God). It seems like they had a wonderful time. :D

Our Anganwadi in Thrissur

During our search for a good playschool we visited three anganwadis in our area in Thrissur. Anganwadi is a beautiful concept – a child-care and mother-care center sponsored by the Government of India. http://www.aanganwadi.org/ says “It caters to children in the 0-6 age group. The word means "courtyard shelter" in Hindi. They were started by the Indian government in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services program to combat child hunger and malnutrition. The Anganwadi system is mainly managed by the Anganwadi worker. She is a health worker chosen from the community and given 4 months training in health, nutrition and child-care. She is in charge of an Anganwadi which covers a population of 1000”. Food is cooked in the anganwadi and given to the children. Even though its primary aim is to fight malnutrition of children from poor families, it serves as a place to impart basic education and serves as a nursery school. Although these are primarily meant for low income and economically weaker sections, anganwadi is open to all. The number of admissions is very less, somehow the people for whom it is intended are either not aware or do not want to send their kids to the Govt facility.

The one functioning in the Govt School is closest to us, and also it seemed to have the most enthusiastic teacher-ayah team. So we went there to have a detailed look. The first thing we noticed was the rough floor- unpolished terracotta. And my kids are so used to glazed tiles and soft floors. Then there are only coir mats for an afternoon nap, on the floor. My kids don’t sleep even when they lie on a comfortable bed. Then it is slightly dark inside, unlike the very well lit interiors of private preschools. However, the place is clean. They cook food using clean water; the kitchen is attached to the main room. Breakfast is a pancake or cereal cooked using a powder provided by the Government. It is a mix of nine different grains and gram. Highly nutritious it seems. Thy give it at around 10 am, but if the kids come after breakfast from home, they give it a snack at around 11 am. Lunch is rice and green gram cooked together in gruel form. If the kids want to bring their own lunch, or any curry for lunch, they can do it. I mean we can do almost whatever we want in anganwadi, very much unlike a private play school. After lunch is nap time, till 3 pm. When they wake up, they are given a snack made of broken wheat. If the kid does not want to eat it, he can take it home. At 3.30 pm, they close.

During the time between meals the kids are taught rhymes, action songs, moral stories, proverbs etc. They have prescribed syllabus- very simple stuff like ‘Teach about family, friends and relationships in the first month, School, garden and flowers and birds in the second month’ etc. By the end of the year the child learns to identify and may be write a few alphabets and learns to count till 20 or so. Then they can move on to lower kindergarten. The care and food here in an anganwadi is absolutely free, against Rs.3000/- to Rs.5000/- per month per child in a private preschool.

If it works well, it is a great concept- the anganwadi. The child is given nutritious food freshly cooked and free of cost. Basic education is given with no pressure whatsoever, and the timing and rules are also relaxed, befitting the adjusting pre-schooler. It is hygienic; there is regular inspection by the supervisors. However, it all depends on the particular anganwadi worker’s attitude. We found that some of them are very, very dedicated, and wanted to do whatever was possible for them; while some others were totally indifferent or downright discouraging- no wonder the number of kids are only 1-4 in each anganwadi. In fact, we were ready to help in whatever way we could- I mean we are getting free child care, free food (if our kids eat it), and free basic education, during the working hours when we both had to go. Since all other play schools and day care centers cost quite a lot we were saving a lot of money for three kids. So we were ready to spend money on improving the basic infrastructure of the anganwadi room if in case they needed anything. But we saw that good facilities were provided by the Govt.- good books, alphabets and picture charts, maps, activity stuff, toys, chairs, storage shelves, mats, buckets, bowls, plates etc. All they needed was a little more lighting. However not all anganwadis are fortunate like this. The main issues faced by anganwadis in Kerala are given in this post http://tripletshouse.blogspot.in/2016/01/anganwadi-in-kerala.html

Preschools in Kerala - what is best for my Triplets?

Early education or the education a child gets before he or she starts school is very important. So I went through information and parents' reviews about various preschools in Kerala, and tried to decide what was best for my triplets. Here playschool or preschool starts at age three, lower kindergarten at age four and upper kindergarten at age five. At six to six a half years they start first standard or primary school. 

In this highly competitive world, parents tend to consider preschool as school itself, where the child is made to read and write, thus giving him or her an academic background intended to give a head start in school. However I believe that the lasting value of preschool education is not that it gives a head start in school, but a head start in life. I think preschools are or should be more for developing socializing skills, to meet with other kids of the same age and learn to play and share together. At home the young child is always instructed to do things in a particular way. Preschool is the place where the child is free from his or her parents' supervision for the first time, and where he or she learns to take decisions about how to behave, how to be hygienic, how to talk to others, how to eat without having food all over the place and many such small things. They will have an adult to watch over them, to advise and help and comfort when needed, but that person is not their parent, so they cannot make too much of tantrums. I also wish for my triplets to go to a preschool where playing outdoors is encouraged.

So how do I get to begin their education in the right way? And what exactly is the right way, if there is one? At three years they are extremely receptive. I mean I sing a rhyme to them and the second time they sing along. I show them an animal picture and they catch the name in both English and Malayalam, they ask what sound the animal makes and they get it the second time I tell them. I get angry at something they’ve done, I threaten to beat them, and the next moment I see one of them threatening the other with the same words. Sometimes when they repeat my own words I feel so ashamed at having uttered them. So, yes, they are indeed blotting papers, absolutely pure, absolutely innocent and absolutely willing to learn and the big question is what to teach, how, when and where.

We started sending them to a day-care. We kept putting off sending them due to their small size, health problems like cold, allergies and all, but the talk of the ‘school’ was going on in the family for quite some time and they were very excited when the big day arrived. So we dressed them up, took snacks and all, and me and Ramesh took them to ‘school’.  There were 12 kids that day in the day-care.  My triplets were overjoyed seeing the other kids and toys and all, and immediately went to play and run around. There are a few toys- animals, scooters, building blocks etc. The staffs are warm and welcoming. The staff (girls, around 20-25 years old) told us that they would feed lunch by noon itself, and nap time is from 12.30- 3 pm, after which they can have the snacks that they have brought along from home. If they stay longer (the day-care closes at 5.30 pm only), they will be allowed to play outside. There is a cute slide, seesaw and some swings outside. We were not allowed to sit there for long as it might disturb the other kids, so we left. Ramesh was much more nervous than I was, so he dropped me at the library and came back and waited at the gate till 12.30, picked them up and came to the library. We went home, kids thoroughly excited and happy.

Next couple of days I dropped them off in the morning and picked them up early afternoon. Things went smooth as I did not have anything else to do. But then my vacation ended and I had no option but to pack lunch for them. After lunch all the kids were supposed to nap. But my threesome simply wouldn’t sleep but run around, trying the patience of the staff at the day-care. The staffs were sweet about it as much as they could, but I am sure they lost their patience after a while. Whatever the reason, triplets are reluctant to go to ‘school’ anymore, unless I pick them up before nap time. They also have a bit of stomach upset etc.

Anyway, this month (June) we need to find a playschool too, as they are three years old and they have to start kindergarten next June. We found that they have outgrown day-care, and are mentally ready for some serious education, although nothing forced. The day-care that they go to now has a playschool too, where classes will start in two weeks. Once playschool starts, all the older kids- 3 ¼ years and above (that includes my triplets too)- will go upstairs to the playschool. Playschool timing is from 9.30 am-12.30 pm, after which if we want they will let the kids sit at the day-care downstairs. In the playschool there is a uniform, kids have their own bag, books, pens etc., and they will be taught alphabets, counting etc., in preparation for LKG (Lower Kindergarten) next year. It is a fairly good place, not too expensive, they have a good play area and the staffs are good. However the number of kids is 25, which we find a little too many.  So we decided to wait a bit before sending them to this particular playschool.

During our search for a good playschool we visited three anganwadis in our proximity. Although these are primarily meant for low income and economically weaker sections, anganwadi is open to all. The number of admissions is very less, somehow the people for whom it is intended are either not aware or do not want to send their kids to the Govt facility. Somehow I found anganwadis very appealing, and we discussed sending our triplets to the one near our house. One of my colleagues used to send her kid to an anganwadi, and she said they take good care of the kids; they serve good food, hot and clean. At first my whole family was absolutely against it. Then as we talked about the pros and cons, my father supported me, and finally we reached a consensus that we will send them to an anganwadi for a month, see how it turns out, and if needed, by July 1^st, we will send them to one of the private playschools. This one month will be enough to decide which playschool has minimum admission so that they get special care and attention (most playschools are overcrowded- three caretakers looking after 25 three-year-old kids is not at all comfortable). So I and Ramesh went around looking for the right anganwadi. Among the three we visited, one is functioning in a class room in a Government school, one in a small shed behind a house in a crowded mixed use area, and the third one in a brand new single-storey building of around 200 sq ft, tightly squeezed between two houses in a very crowded low-income residential street. All three had one teacher (a middle aged lady) and one ayah (maid) who cooks and cleans. The maximum number of kids that come to an anganwadi is ten it seems, however the maximum number we found was five- they too, come in an irregular basis. 
The one functioning in the Govt School is closest to us, and also it seemed to have the most enthusiastic teacher-ayah team. So we went there to have a detailed look. So we zeroed in on this- just ten minutes walking distance.

I think in the first few days we can see how things work out. If the kids are OK with the teachers, timings, food etc., we can continue here till LKG. Otherwise after a month or so we can shift them to one of the private playschools.