Play and Learn

The centres suit the purposes of working parents,many of whom often have little spare time to engage with their children. This is where the centres step in,offering serious,meaningful but fun courses designed by professionals and teachers.

Gurpreet Sekhon is the director of the all-new Jelly Bean Junction in Sector 35,a specialised multiple activity centre for children. “We fill the gap between home and school,making sure the children learn in a safe and fun environment,” she says,while showing us around the chess room,yoga and aerobics studio,music room and library. The emphasis is on the social,physical and mental needs of a child,imparting lessons in social etiquette,mental math,story-telling and elocution,memory techniques and dance. “We allow the children free space and time to choose their areas of interest,” she says,adding that flexible timings and a drop and pick facility are available too.

Tiny Feet,Giant Leaps is the brainchild of Aman Patwalia and Deepali Nangia. The focus here is on developing social skills through classes,making children,including toddlers,learn how to share,think out of the box,be more independent and confident. “Kids grow up too quickly these days and we want them to stay young just a little bit longer,’’ say the duo. “Innovation is the key,the reason why we use a diversity of multi-media methodologies. Children will explore the world,learn how to cook and bake,make and break things,stretch and perform and make friends,’’ adds Nangia. Having young children of their own makes it easier for them to design schedules. “We want them to be sensitive to things around them,so that they grow up to be responsible adults of tomorrow,’’ says Patwalia. For example,as part of recent Earth Day celebrations,the kids had been taken out for a nature walk,planted saplings,watched a short movie on global climate change and talked about how they could help make a difference.

Kids Own in Sector 17 had been the first to introduce the concept of an indoor activity space. Equipped with advanced but safe props,they now have interesting creative add-ons to take the concept a step further. Art and craft,story-telling,flexible timings and a healthy menu are expected to create interest,says proprietor Tarun Sibal. “We want the kids to learn tangible things that they can execute at home. We don’t want them to sit idle and be entertained,but make things happen for themselves,’’ he says,pointing out indoor sports facilities like golf,tennis and basketball available here.

Pause ,set up by former IT professional Shalini Sharma,claims that it is not a school,nursery or an institute. The goal is to nurture,inspire and guide young learners to discover the world for themselves. “We inspire children to live up to their true potential and our year-long programs supplement school education,” she says. “When they learn through self-discovery,they learn in a deeper way,’’ she adds.