The Magic Years

Went to finalise the play-school for our little girl this morning.

The Magic Years is "designed along the Montessori guidelines and the school uses the Montessori Method of Education". And "it has 200 children from 18 countries".

Most of last two weeks, my better half has been looking for suitable playschools/day care/activity centres. Loads of such places have cropped up in the recent years to cater to the families where both parents are working.

Anand Niketan and Vasant Vihar have a fair share of such too.

There's Little Pearls, run by Pearl Fashion Limited Group. It has a colourful exterior, colourful interiors, gym, LCD TVs and other things to keep children occupied. There's Shemrock Joyland, part of the Shemrock Playschools, with similar splash of colour and activities for children. And there's Happy Feet, as well. All were readily accessible and talked about a child-centred approach and providing a creative and challenging environment. Almost all had a sizable price tag - some absurdly high - for access to this environment.

The concept of Health & Safety - yes, there I go again - is alien. Injury? None of our children have got injured. What if someone did? We have a doctor on call. What about fire? Fire? Why would a fire happen here? What would you do if a fire did break out? We have a maid? What? Will the maid take out all 50-60 kids by herself? A puzzled look.

The Magic Years was the most highly recommended and most difficult to make contact with. We couldn't get past the front gates until someone provided a number and a reference.

A few email exchanges and phone calls later, we were asked to bring along the little one to discuss the admission.

As luck would have it, she wasn't feeling too well and wanted to sleep. So, the parents headed out for the appointment and check the school out.

Once we got past the gates (a sigh of relief), the school looked good. It is built over two floors (study/activity area) and a basement (meal area) - allowing generous space for kids to enjoy painting, solving jigsaw puzzles, writing or reading.

Outside, there is sandpit, a play area and lots of space to run around. The school even offers the little green fingers an opportunity to grow their own plants.

The principal, Shirley Madhavan Kutty, is very sweet and soft-spoken and talked us through the process of admission and education. Kids have a structured way of learning and are in a wider age-group - three to a little over four, in my child's case - and can move from one group to the other.

She explained that the kids could not be taken out because of security concerns. All the staff at the Montessori are educationally qualified and also have First-Aid qualifications. A doctor on call treats cases that go beyond first aid. Anything bigger is managed at the Apollo Cliniq in Vasant Kunj. Or by a paediatrician preferred by the parents.

The mention of phonetics, reading and arithmetic had us wondering how our little girl will cope with it. Will it be too daunting? Will she feel inadequate? Will her confidence take a knock?

We'll see. The most important thing right now is to get her started in a playschool - so she gets the company of kids her age and a channel her energy positively.