Art is one of the most expressive and popular medium known to mankind. In order to foster creativity, enhance aesthetic values and allow a free expression of ideas, children are introduced to drawing and painting at a very young age in our school. Pottery also is an integral part of our curriculum for classes I to V.

Based on the CBSE requirements, the school has drawn out a detailed programme of work for all classes from lower primary to high school.

To enhance fine motor skills, eye – hand coordination and fine muscular co-ordination, activities like clay modelling, origami, craft and shading with colours are introduced in the primary level.

This aids the child to improve co-ordination of small muscles and finger dexterity. Working with natural clay helps improves their small muscle motor coordination and indirectly helps them to have a neater handwriting and a firmer grip of their pencils. The ethnically designed pottery room and its serene ambience is a source of inspiration for the children. The work done by the kids are regularly displayed here during parent-teacher meetings.

Sri Kumaran Children’s Home (CBSE) is one among thousands of schools around the world today to incorporate “Quality Circle Time” in the school.

This unique concept has been widely acknowledged as a very powerful tool in today’s schools. Developed by Ms Jenny Mosley, a freelance consultant and qualified teacher with over 30 years experience in mainstream and special education, Circle Time helps children develop their self-esteem and self-confidence. In the school setting, Circle Time method involves all participants sitting in a circle and taking responsibility to solve the problems and issues brought out by them. Participants take turns to speak, listen and bring their concerns or ideas to the circle.

The very act of sitting in a circle emphasises unity, equality, and encourages the qualities of honesty and trust. It helps children to express their feelings calmly and become more clear, direct and honest with each other. Circle Time ensures that everyone feels valued while simultaneously promoting personal/collective responsibility and better behaviour. It also helps develop listening skills, empathy, patience, tolerance, understanding, personal integrity and self-discipline. The teacher adopts a facilitative role in order to encourage the participants to feel that they too have the authority to solve the relationship problems that have cropped up.

English Language enhancement through labs

The newly introduced Literature Club engages the students of class III. It has various activities to improve and focus on language- both oral and written. It makes the children aware of the functional, formal and spoken language and how language differs in each form. A module is framed for each form and each module has specific language tasks and related activities. For example, under oral language the module contains announcements, speech, lectures, news and conversation.

Language Lab is a class where effort is made to improve the language skills according to the ability of the student. The students in the class are divided into three groups according to their language ability and three teachers handle the class, each with one group of children.

Extra reinforcement is given to the group that needs more attention and practice (spelling rules, usage of proper sentence, comprehension and so on.)

Challenging language tasks like creative writing, writing and comprehending poems are given to the skilled group. Regular work like listening and reading comprehension and paragraph writing is given to the other group. The language needs of the children are fulfilled by such grouping.

Shlokas or Sanskrit verses are good indicators of Indian culture and values. Shloka chanting helps the reader in better pronunciation of letters and words, thereby influencing the respective mother tongue. It also improves memory and concentration and gives the person who is reciting, a good insight into the language.

We, as a school, ensure that children learn more about their culture through the various stotras and about values through subhashitas. In standards I, II and III children are taught Vishnu Sahasranama, Hayagreeva Stotra, Hanuman Chalisa and a few more. As they move to standards IV and V, they take part in Shloka recitation competitions, a part of the school literary festival. From Standard VI, children are taught Subhashitas, which again forms a part of the literary fest.

The school believes, truly and completely, that there is nothing as important and pure as knowledge. This belief helps us give a firm and strong foundation our children, thereby creating a bright future for them.

Learning in the outdoors is very insightful and significant for children. The influence of watching colourful birds, observing the different forms of leaves or cloud formation is astounding on budding minds. Nature walks in their immediate school environment is an exciting extension to their academic learning.

Studying of plant life, rocks and minerals and bird watching are some outdoor sessions that interest students of classes I, II and III.

Students of class III are part of these drama classes. Helen O'Grady Drama System is a self - development program for children, which lays special emphasis on the development of Speech and Communication skills of children leading to an eloquent and confident personality!

They help and encourage children develop confidence and communication skills.

How does it work ?

A global curriculum is followed and drama classes are conducted during school hours. The emphasis is on the overall development of a child’s personality giving importance to speech, pronunciation, emotions, body language and expression. The curriculum helps the child develop effective social interaction. ( www.helenogrady.com ).

There is no better way to learn moral values, tradition and mythology other than demonstrating this to children. . Anupama Hoskere, a professional dancer and puppetry enthusiast, narrates stories from Indian mythology through puppetry. Children love to hear stories from the Panchatantra, Mahabharatha and Ramayana. This experiment with a professional puppeteer has been a huge hit with the children.

Mrs. Gladis Shankar, a very talented personality in the field of developing soft skills, is identifying hindrance in children’s development and helping them overcome it in a subtle way through dance, drama, art and other activities.

"Music is where the heart is" goes the saying. Children are introduced to music very early in school. It inculcates in them a sense of appreciation of our rich cultural heritage. These children in lower classes are taught to appreciate Indian music.

Students at Kumarans are discovering that thinking and concentration skills can be improved while having fun. This is exactly what the chess professional Mr. N Srinath Sastry, is doing in the chess class which has been introduced from 2008 for class III. Children look forward to the weekly sessions of chess and soon we may have a budding grandmaster in our midst!