Kids Summer Summit: Day 2 Highlights

Day 2 of the Kids Summer Summit was a fun-packed, intellect boosting and creativity bolstering webinar. A plethora of sessions captivated everyone as they progressed one after the other. The day kicked off with Mr. Ansul Garg taking over the lead. He is the Director of the Bangalore School of Performing Arts and extremely zealous by nature. He started with an innovative way of talking to kids, and that was through hand gestures.

We could feel a couple of minutes after the start. While the kids started warming by imitating his actions, his young cute little daughter joined him. She did these cozy actions that made the session all the more beautiful to watch. He taught the kids to relax the body through breathing in a newly revamped way. There were games like tongue twisters, freeze in spot, and magic beans. The kids even vividly imagined and played with a big box full of masks. They followed along Mr. Ansul. This power-packed session ended with the kids and Mr. Ansul reciting a poem together with actions.

Next, we had a puppet show by none other than the master Mr. Santhosh Kumar. He is an International Trainer, a Mimic Artist, and a Ventriloquist. It commenced with him amusingly talking to the kids through his puppet. He used them to throw over his voice in a multitude of ways. The curious kids couldn’t contain their thoughts and started by raining a variety of questions over him. He took the questions one by one and answered them through practical actions. He also taught the kids how to go about ventriloquism. He further added how to play with traditional toys and learn through play. Rather than just sitting and using smartphones all day. The conclusion came in the form of thanksgiving.

To get the bodies moving and the blood rushing again, the following session was the Go Alpha Session. It was taken up by Go Alpha instructors Aastha and Sushlesha. Positivity filled the atmosphere through the smiles and attitude of our instructors. There were a lot of fun and creative activities that made everyone participate in it with utmost joy. The added background music worked just right in swinging the kids in rhythm. Coaches alternated exercises with relaxing techniques to calm the bodies of our young champs. The most creative part of this session was the usage of the tumbler for certain activities. It brought a lot of engagement due to the funny activities it had. It ranged from ‘hop n touch’ to ‘bear walk.’ The session concluded with everyone singing and dancing to the rhythm.

The final session of Kids Summer Summit included a panel discussion specially crafted for parents and principals from various preschools from all across the country. The panel members consisted of Ms. Shalini Jaiswal(Director of Academics and Teacher Training at Maple Bear South Asia), Ms. Arti Mohan(Curriculum Head, IPSAA), Ms. Kaneez E Zehra(National Manager of Academic Operations, Firstcry Intellitots Preschool), and Mr. S.K. Rathor(Founder, Chairman & MD of Sanfort Group Of Schools).

The panellists were truly joyful to see the enthusiasm of the kids. They also looked forward to an insightful discussion. The discussion began of how preschools would handle a mixture of the crowd after the schools reopen. Since it would contain kids who learned online, some homeschooled, and finally some hybrid. Ms. Shalini expressed herself that it always has to be two-way communication. Between parents and teachers as to how to handle the kids in this new scenario. She further added that it is a pre-requisite to have instructions crafted as per the needs of a child. Ms. Kaneez, along the same lines, added it truly has to be a parent-teacher relationship to nurture a child for holistic growth. To the question of how to make a preschool stand out, Ms. Arti’s words expressed everyone’s hearts. She said that one does not have to stand but stand with and connect without giving up. Mr. Rathore agreed to the same and emphasized the same.

Ms. Shalini outlined the need for energizers to keep coming in. It is because movement and music form an inseparable part of early childhood. Ms. Kaneez ushered the parents to be involved in their kids’ activities since they always look up to them for everything. She recommended for avoiding burnout, take a breather. It is also imperative to know that not all days are going to be sunny days.

Following the discussion, parents came up with questions. To the question that kids don’t sit in front of screens. They answered that it is necessary to understand that kids are energy balls. It is okay for a child to go on and off the screen, as far as he/she is close by, listening to it. The questions kept coming up, but the answers to them were all interconnected. It ranged from having a joint effort, allowing the kid to self-learn through exploration, and creating a learning ambience at home. The session ended with a phrase from Ms. Kaneez that parenting is evolving and more and more parents are reaching out for guidance. Parents learned that early childhood up to 8 years of age is a crucial time for holistic development. Thus, Kids Summer Summit, 2021, came to an end.