Let's Play Jump Start-2014

LETS PLAY JUMP START-2014 26TH AUGUST 2014

Venue: The INDIA INTERNATIONAL CENTRE, Lodhi Estate.

Participants: Ms. Neelima Oberoi and Ms. Rajika Dixit

On 26th August 2014, a workshop was organised by the German Book Office, New Delhi. This workshop was a part of a two-day event called LETS PLAY JUMP START- 2014 conducted by PRATHAM books in collaboration with Goodluck publishers. The objective of the workshop was to bring together experts from amongst authors and the education and media fields. To develop a dialogue and explore the different facets of a play and its intersections with storytelling, imagination, technology and reality, that will translate into better content for children.

The workshop was anchored by Ms. Amukta Mahapatra and Ms. Asha Nehemiah. Ms. Amukta is an independent consultant who has been involved with school education for the past few decades. She now works with UNICEF on CCE. Ms. Asha is an illustrator and an author who writes picture books, chapter books and short stories.

Over 80 teachers from different schools and social workers from NGOs and the radio were present for the workshop. Keeping the tagline of the workshop as play is childrens work, the workshop proceeded as follows.

Teachers were asked to act like kids between 3 and 8 years.

They were asked to sit away from their friends and colleagues so that they get an opportunity to meet and interact with new people.

Ms. Asha talked about the importance of music in class and played the song chidiya chidiya udti jaye. She also said that every child is the same in terms of needs and but the source is different. For example, a child might wish speed by dreaming of a running horse, while another child may wish for the same by dreaming of a space jet.

The teachers were divided into groups and were asked to perform different activities in circle time. They were also told about how to utilise the limited space in a classroom. Some of the activities were:

Pass the ball and mimic the actions

Repeat different opposites( up down, narrow wide etc) with actions

To make alphabets and numbers with the help of the hands and legs.

Display JAI HIND through a human chain in two minutes

The next part of the workshop dealt with understanding the changing needs of children and giving them 'watchful freedom'. Ms. Amukta talked about the various tendencies of a child:-

Need to explore (starting from the home to school)

To create a pattern ( for example the daily routine of a child wake up, brush your teeth, take a bath, wear your uniform, eat breakfast and go to school. )

To be able to use intelligence ( create, imagine, think, match and sort) and to make it a practice.

Striving for perfection ( striving is more important than achieving perfection)

To communicate and relate to one another.

The resource person said Children dont grow like trees, they grow like butterflies. She also talked about the need for a spontaneous environment and an environment that is approachable to the child.

In the last section of the workshop, two important activities were conducted:

To prepare a story with props provided and perform it in groups.

To prepare a collage on the given theme with the stationary provided in groups.

There was an open house discussion on the reason why the workshop was conducted i.e to create a community of such practitioners so that ideas can be shared and debated in order to improve the quality of the content being produced. It is hoped that all those who participated in JUMPSTART took back something of value an idea, a thought, a contact a conversation that will work as a catalyst for their own work with childrens' content.

Compiled by Ms. Rajika Dixit