The methods we use with our children vary according to their age and the content we’re trying to cover with them. Overall we’re striving to keep the process of learning as natural and grounded in the children’s world as possible. With many parts of the curriculum, this means play- or activity-based learning works best. As the children get older we move from play and games, to activities and toward project based learning. Essentially, over time we’re trying to move toward more integrated ways in which the kids can piece knowledge together within a context where that knowledge has practical application or becomes useful in another way.

Sometimes though, knowledge which is useful and necessary (for academic progression, or as a basis for useful learning in the future), just needs to be learned. Sometimes, there is no getting away from just having to knuckle down, practice exercises or memorise things. These aspects of our curriculum aren’t well suited to the activity and project-based learning described above, so after lunch, we have more formalised subject-based learning with our older children to supplement the more practical and integrated teaching they have in the mornings.

We try not to be dogmatic about the methods used, but to encourage those which are most enabling to the children. We prefer methods which allow the children to grasp concepts easily; those which integrate ideas, encourage decision making, democratic processes, reflection and team-work in the children. Sometimes though we get back to the basics of schools around the world, as it’s the best thing we can come up with!

As with everything at Hunar Ghar, the methods we use are always evolving and the teachers need a lot of support to continue to improve and make reality at Hunar Ghar a reflection of our aspirations. We are creating an hindi-language activity database, so the teachers have a resource that gives them a variety of methods to cover the curriculum we have. Again, we could do with any help available in developing this database or contributing to it.