Navratri is a vibrant and colourful 9-day celebration. It is a festival of music, dance, colours, and joy.

At Podar Prep, Navratri is more than just a festival—it's a holistic celebration of our children's minds and the qualities that help them navigate life. Over six days, we associate the festivities with nine types of intelligence, aiming to explain and instill these in our learners.

1. Naturalistic Intelligence: We nurture an awareness of nature, helping children recognise the importance of growing and preserving plants and trees. This fosters a sense of responsibility toward the environment.
2. Intrapersonal Intelligence: This enables children to understand and manage their own emotions, thoughts, and actions. It involves self-reflection, and the ability to recognise and regulate personal feelings.
3. Interpersonal Intelligence: This enables children to appreciate others by understanding and respecting their feelings and emotions, thus developing empathy and emotional intelligence.
4. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence: This helps children develop a strong sense of timing and coordination, enhancing their motor skills. It allows them to participate in various physical activities, games, and sports with improved agility and control.
5. Mathematical Intelligence: We cultivate logical thinking, pattern recognition, and an understanding of different formations. Strengthening mathematical abilities enhances their problem-solving skills and analytical thinking.
6. Musical Intelligence: Music plays a crucial role in soothing and calming children. It provides emotional comfort, motivates, and energizes them, making it a powerful tool for both relaxation and inspiration.
7. Linguistic Intelligence: We help children grasp the meanings of various words and expressions, strengthening their communication and language skills—essential for effective interaction and expression.
8. Spiritual Intelligence: Considered a significant 'ratna' (gem), it prepares children for life's journey by helping them remain both realistic and visionary. This nurtures a deeper understanding of purpose and values, guiding them through challenges and opportunities.
9. Visual-Spatial Intelligence: We encourage creative thinking and imagination, allowing children to visualize and conceptualize ideas effectively.

During Ganesh Chaturthi we are reminded that life should be filled with growth and learning. He encourages us to embrace challenges with fun and find enjoyment in the simple things.

At Podar Prep, we celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi to teach our children about overcoming challenges with strength of mind, learning from mistakes, sharing knowledge, being kind to others, feeling safe, and being satisfied.

Ganesh Chaturthi was celebrated with the theme “Growing and learning”.

Onam is a vibrant and joyous festival celebrated in the state of Kerala, India. Onam is a time for families and communities to come together, celebrate the harvest season, and enjoy traditional customs and festivities.

At Podar Prep, we believe in celebrating Onam to instil the values of inclusivity, respect, and the joy of celebrating together. By embracing such cultural celebrations, Podar Prep aims to create a nurturing environment where diversity is celebrated, and every child feels valued and included.

Onam was celebrated with the theme “Onam – celebrating with dance, music, and joy”.

Indian Independence Day, celebrated on 15th August, marks the day when India gained freedom from British rule in 1947. It's a time to honour the spirit of unity, diversity, and patriotism that binds us together as Indians.

On Independence Day, we celebrate not only our freedom but also the legacy passed down through the grandparents.

Therefore, at Podar Prep, Independence Day takes on a special meaning. This fusion of Independence Day with Grandparents is to help families realize that culture, tradition, and patriotism have to be handed down from present generations to future generations. Our legacy of Independence is best learnt from grandparents by their grandchildren.

What if a child does not have Grandparents or they are not able to attend?

At Podar Prep we are sensitive to such issues and we urge parents to try and bring along the grandparents. If it is not possible, then they can connect with the grandparents on a video call during some activities or let the child bring along their photographs. Do explain to your child, why the grandparents were not able to come.

13th August is celebrated as International Left Handers Day. This day was first observed in 1976 by Dean R Campbell, founder of the Lefthanders International, Inc.

We celebrate Left-Handers Day at Podar Prep as ‘Left is right fun fiesta’. During this event children only use their left hand, to understand and empathies with Left Handers. This event also helped us educate about supporting left-handed children in the classrooms and community by becoming sensitive to their needs and celebration of the Left Handers Day event is a step in this direction.

Mud play is one of the most amazing open-ended nature play activities for children, that never gets old (even for older children like us). There is research as to why kids have an inbuilt need to play in mud. There is evidence suggesting that mud play is a basic biological need, and this type of play has many physical, psychological, and emotional benefits for children. Here are the reasons:

• Mud makes you happy
• Mud play builds creativity
• Key milestone development achieved through mud play
• Foundational learning through mud play
• Mud play can reduce childhood anxiety and stress
• Mud play creates childhood memories
• Mud builds a connection with nature
• Mud is therapeutic!

We at Podar Prep believe in enhancing all the areas of development for children by using different means for learning. Play for children is a fun way of learning and exploring. At our celebration of International Mud Day, we give children the opportunity to play and have fun in mud with their parents.

Yoga is like an exercise for your mind and body together. It originated in India. For young children, yoga offers a multitude of benefits, including:

• Improves their overall flexibility and coordination
• Enhances their focus, concentration, and self-regulation
• Boosts their self-confidence and body awareness
• And most importantly, cultivates mindfulness.

We celebrate it because we know that the early years are brain development years, and yoga activities help strengthen the body and brain.

The air is getting cooler,
The holidays are near,
A time for celebration
With friends we hold so dear!

Santa awaits to be at Podar Prep but this time not only for our children but children with their buddies. Yes! Parents accompanied children with their buddy and motivated the participation of buddies we named this as – Winter Wonderland – My Buddy day.

During our childhood, most of us were afraid of something or the other. Some of the most common fears are fear of the dark, fear of creepy crawlies, bats, shadows, and imaginary things etc. At Podar Prep, we want to provide our children the opportunity to understand these fears in a safe environment. Podar Prep provided this wonderful opportunity to our children at our celebration - Unhalloween – Lets conquer our fears.

When children are given the opportunity to confront their fears that they have, they are able to see things in a new perspective. When we face our fears and overcome them, we feel stronger, happier, and more capable of appreciating the excitement of the moment.

Podar Prep is celebrating Gandhiji and Shastriji Jayanti with the theme “Homage to Bapu and Shastriji”. So come with your child to experience the life journey of Bapuji and Shastriji through various activities related to them.

Where Gandhiji promoted truth, non-violence, and equality; Shastriji promoted the White Revolution – a national campaign to increase the production and supply of milk – by supporting the Amul milk co-operative at Anand, Gujarat, and Green revolution- which led to an increase in food grain production, especially in the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

Both are heroes that our children must grow up knowing and relating to. Children need good role models during their growing years but we often limit their vision only to celluloid heroes. It’s time to give your child real life heroes, inspiring role models, so let us begin with Bapu and Shastriji as your child’s heroes.

Mud play is one of the most amazing open ended nature play activity for children, that never gets old (even for older children like us).

There is a research as to why kids have an inbuilt need to play in mud.

There is evidence suggesting that mud play is a basic biological need, and this type of play has many physical, psychological and emotional benefits for children and here are the reasons:

• Mud makes you happy
• Mud play builds creativity
• Key milestone development achieved through mud play
• Foundational learning through mud play
• Mud play can reduce childhood anxiety and stress
• Mud play creates childhood memories
• Mud builds a connection with nature
• Mud is therapeutic!

We at Podar Prep believe in enhancing all the areas of development for children by using different means for learning. Play for children is a fun way of learning and exploring. At our celebration of International Mud Day, we give children the opportunity to play and have fun in mud with their parents.