Curriculum · Pandavleni, Nashik
A road map from two to Std. I.
Everything your child does here is planned, and planned in order. Each year sets up the one after it, and the last year sets up Std. I. Alka Singh and Sushila Chandrashekhar started the school in 2013 and plan the year between them, with thirty years of teaching each.
Book a VisitWhy we plan
Purpose behind the playing
Playful learning means every single thing we put in front of a child has a reason behind it. The sand tray, the song, the story at the end of the morning. A teacher chose each one for what it does at that age. That is what makes the play purposeful.
- The teacher knows the morning before it starts
- Which topic is being taught today, and how it will be taught. That is settled before the children walk in through the gate.
- Every activity has a reason
- We can tell you why your child spent twenty minutes pouring water from one jug into another, and what it was building.
- The years join up
- Playgroup sets up nursery, nursery sets up junior KG, and senior KG sets up Std. I. Those links are drawn on purpose.
- It gets looked at again
- The plan is reviewed and upgraded each year, so a child who has been with us since playgroup keeps meeting work that is new to them.
The shape of a morning
What happens between nine and noon
The morning runs to the same shape every day, which is what settles a small child. Children are greeted as they arrive and play until the whole school is in. Then all four classes come together for the assembly: prayers, the National Anthem, and poems and songs. After that they go to their rooms.
- 9:20 – 10:30
- The topic of the day, chosen by the class teacher, then written work. Patterns, capital and small letters, numbers, spellings, counting.
- 10:30 – 10:50
- Tiffin, all four classes together.
- 10:50 – 11:00
- Free play.
- 11:00 – 11:50
- Oral work and making things. Letters and numbers said aloud, craft, drawing and colouring, picture recognition, organised games indoors or out in the yard.
- 11:50
- All four classes assemble to close the day.
- 12:00
- Children are seated in the van in order, or handed over at the gate. A child goes to nobody but the adult named for that pickup, unless the family has told us otherwise.
One named activity a day
Straight after the assembly, every day of the week has something of its own. The children know which day is which.
- MondayStory tellingA story told aloud to the whole school.
- TuesdayNature walkA walk around the campus. The children look at the different plants and clear whatever litter has blown in.
- WednesdayYogaEasy asanas, practised straight after the assembly.
- ThursdaySand playTime in the sand, outdoors.
- FridayScrapbookEach class works on its scrapbook.
Who plans it
The two people behind the year
The plan is written before the year starts, and it is written by people who have spent a long time in classrooms.
Co-founder & Director
Alka Singh
Thirty years teaching
Alka started North Star Academy with Sushila Chandrashekhar in 2013, and runs it today. She keeps the school small on purpose, small enough that the teachers know every child properly and nobody is in a hurry.
Co-founder & Academics Head
Sushila Chandrashekhar
MSc Microbiology · 30+ years teaching
Sushila started the school with Alka and has spent more than thirty years in classrooms. She looks after the year plan, sits in on lessons, and works with the teachers on how they teach. She also keeps the record of where each child has got to, so if you want to talk about your child's learning, she is the one to ask.
How it works in the classroom
One theme, taught four ways
Take a rainy day. The whole school might be working on it in the same week, and it looks different in every room, because a two-year-old and a five-year-old need different things from the same idea.
The theme comes back as the child grows. The work moves up with them, so a child who has been here since playgroup is not handed the same activity twice.
Books and materials
Our own syllabus, built book by book
We call in books from about five publishers before a year starts, read through them, and take the best part of each. Those pieces are then put together into our own syllabus for every level.
About five publishers, every time
Before a year is planned we call in sample books from around five publications and read through all of them properly.
The strongest part of each
One book may be very good on phonics and thin on numbers. We take the phonics from that one and find the numbers elsewhere.
A syllabus for each level
The chosen pieces are put together into our own portion for playgroup, nursery, junior KG and senior KG. The books serve the plan rather than setting it.
“Curriculum planning is the core of any successful school.”
Alka Singh · Founder & Director
Questions parents ask
The curriculum, answered plainly
Which curriculum does North Star Academy follow?
Our own, planned here level by level from playgroup up to senior KG. We build it from books we choose ourselves instead of teaching one publisher's package as it comes. What the whole plan is written towards is a child who walks into Std. I ready for it and still interested in finding things out.
Which books do you use?
We look at books from about five publishers and take the strongest parts of each, so the set changes as better books appear. Ask us during a visit and we will show you the actual books your child's class is working from.
What does a typical morning look like?
Children are greeted as they arrive and play until the whole school is in. Then all four classes come together for the assembly: prayers, the National Anthem, poems and songs. Written work runs from about 9:20 to 10:30, tiffin is at 10:30, free play at 10:50, and oral work and making things from 11:00 until 11:50. The day closes at noon, when children are seated in the van or handed over at the gate.
What are the special activities during the week?
One a day, straight after the assembly. Story telling on Monday, a nature walk around the campus on Tuesday, yoga on Wednesday, sand play on Thursday and scrapbook work on Friday.
Do all the age groups do the same activities?
They share the theme. The activity is built for the age in each room. A rainy day means water trays and a song in playgroup, and a measured rain jar and the water cycle in senior KG. Same idea, different work, and it moves up each year so nothing gets repeated.
How does the curriculum prepare a child for 1st standard?
By working backwards from it. Reading, numbers, sitting down with a task and finishing it, working alongside other children. Senior KG is built around the things a Std. I teacher hopes a child arrives with.
Who plans the curriculum?
Alka Singh and Sushila Chandrashekhar, who started the school together in 2013, along with the teachers who will be teaching it. They have thirty years of teaching each, and the year is planned before it begins.
What does the academics head do?
Sushila Chandrashekhar co-founded the school, holds an MSc in Microbiology and has taught for more than thirty years. She works on the year plan, trains the teachers and observes their classes, and keeps track of how each child is progressing. She is who you talk to at a parents' meeting about your child's learning.
Is it worksheets and drills?
No. It is planned play. Each activity is chosen for the age of the children doing it, and the teacher can tell you what it is for.
Come and see a morning.
The plan is easier to see than to describe. Come in on a weekday morning, watch a class for a while, and ask the teacher why she is doing what she is doing. She will have an answer.
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