Jumbo Kids is part of the Podar Education Group , which is a
dynamic, constantly evolving nucleus, imparting education at
various levels, and was established in 1927, that is more than
80 yrs in the education field.
The first president of the Podar Group was Mahatma Gandhi and we
are proud to follow his educational philosophy in nurturing
children.

Mahatma Gandhi said that,’ Real education consists in drawing
out the best out of yourself’, and that is what we aim to do
at
Podar Jumbo Kids. We don’t test or rank children or make them
aware of their faults and weakness, instead we help them
identify
their potential and create happy learners by implementing the
Head, Heart and Hand philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi.

When children experience this kind of an environment then it is
definitely not a school it is a nurturing play house- Podar
Jumbo
Kids.

At Jumbo Kids we use the best from Tagore (drama and nature),
Montessori (learn independently, Vygotsky (let the child use
mind
tools like questioning, logic), Glenn Doman (sight reading that
will enhance spelling and writing skills). When children are
taught like this then reading, writing and number work happen
naturally and do not have to be forced on the child leading to
life long stress.

Anything that is stressful for children is not part of Jumbo
Kids, the way we interact with them, the way we help them
communicate, the way we let them explore are all based on
scientific brain research and lead to the development of life
long learners.

This kind of education at PJK that is patterned on the
individual
needs of each child has been termed ‘KIDUCATION’—an
education which is flexible and which has tailored for each
child.

And so we partner with parents with our parenting workshops,
parenting articles and parenting books. As our Director Ms Swati
Popat Vats says, “The two people who take care of children
(parents and teachers) must be empowered about child development
techniques and trained to understand the long term implications
of incorrect teaching and parenting.”
The Trustee of the Podar Group Dr. Pavan Podar says, “India is
diverse and while the structure behind our system of learning is
the same, we believe that learning is an everyday process and
should suit the needs of the child, and tune it to the
environment he/she comes from. Over the years we’ve nurtured
toppers all over the country only because of this attitude
towards academics and life skills.”

Learning is fun. Find out the Jumbo Kids way
Our director is member of n.a.e.y.c –Washington and is a
celebrated international educationist in the field of preschool
education. She has written numerous books for parents, teachers
and children.
At Jumbo Kids we believe that each child has a unique learning
style and we respect this uniqueness. When a child does any
activity at Jumbo Kids, you can be sure that it is contributing
directly to the child's physical, emotional or intellectual
development.
Overall at Jumbo Kids in everything the child, does, learns or
experiences, there is behind it a lot of planning based on
educational theories.
Our aim at Jumbo Kids? Not only to be the largest chain of
preschools but to become the largest chain that gives back
‘childhood’ to children.
In short, what does JUMBO KIDS stand for? Here is the answer-

J- oyful experiences for children
U- understanding every child’s needs
M- Making learning fun
B- Brain based learning environments.
O- Organized activities
K- Knowledgeable about parenting
I- Intelligences developed- all nine
D- Developmentally Appropriate Practices
S- Specialists in life skills

Children don’t need ‘preschools’! They need ‘nurturing
environments’ that help enhance their all round growth to give
them a lifelong foundation of healthy development.

It is a sad ‘fad’ to make children as young as 2 and 3 years
hold a pencil and write letters and numbers. It is sadder that
at
an age when children have not developed their social skills they
are interviewed in the name of education. It is ever sadder when
children are packed off to ‘preschools’ that focus only on
formal teaching and not on learning life skills.

Jumbo Kids has evolved a unique system of education
‘Kiducation', which means, it follows the child's needs
according to the growing developmental stage.
The teachers are taught to reason and question any new/old idea
before applying it in the classroom; to think from the point of
view of the child’s age and needs.
Old songs, ideas, concepts are removed if they confuse or
disturb
children. Age old nursery rhymes and fairy tales or folk tales
are changed or incorporated to suit present day needs and to
bring about positive teaching with them.
THE CURRICULUM AT JUMBO KIDS

At Jumbo Kids emphasis is on all 5 skills necessary to nurture
children, namely –

Physical skills
Emotional skills
Communicative skills
Cognitive skills
Social skills

Hence the curriculum at Jumbo Kids is developmentally
appropriate
- which means, it keeps in mind the developmental stage and need
of every child and teaches him/her accordingly. Hence a child is
motivated to race against himself/herself and improve past
performance and not compete with his/her friends.

A unique method is followed in teaching writing: the use of 3
lines instead of the age old four line method for teaching
children writing.

OUR PLAYSCHOOL
In our playschool the 2 year olds learn the Reggio Emilia way
which is a time tested playway method used successfully in many
countries over the world. The Reggio approach advocates the
hundred ways a child can communicate and the need to learn
through experiences.
OUR NURSERY
In our nursery the 3 years olds learn arithmetic and sensorial
activities and exercises of practical life through the
Montessori
method.
OUR JUNIOR KG
In our Junior KG, the four year olds follow the Steiner way
using
the 3 Rs - Rhythm, Reverence and Repetition, gardening and
cooking activities that help them for maths and writing of small
letters. We do phonics and elocution which enhances the child's
speech and spelling.
OUR SENIOR KG
In our Senior KG, the five year olds follow the Reggio Emilia
method and learn to link things together. They also do sight
word
reading and sentence reading through the Glenndoman way. They do
2-3 letter words and sentence writing. Addition and Subtraction
is also done.
This is how we cultivate nine intelligences in our children:
(maybe grouped with the intelligence chart?)

Linguistic Intelligence
Dramatisation, Elocution, Role play.
Mathematical and Logical Intelligence
Science experiments, Science feely box, Puzzles, Shape
sorter, cooking, gardening, Montessori equipment.
Visual and Spatial Intelligence
Cutting, Lacing and Scissoring
Bodily Kinaeshthetic Intelligence
Parachute play, music and movement, sand and waterplay,
obstacle race.
Musical Intelligence
Interactive charts, sound cylinders, musical instruments and
songs.
Interpersonal Intelligence
Lego and Blocks for constructive group play, clean up time.
Intrapersonal Intelligence
Drama time, Morning Message, Reverence.
Spiritual
Caring for Environment, Sharing.
Naturalist
Gardening, uses of water, no circus/zoo - safari's instead.

The Day At Podar Jumbo Kids

Starts with Prayers--

We start the day with the national anthem and before snack time
children say a few lines about thanking god for the food. No one
religion is given emphasis at Podar Jumbo Kids, all are given
equal importance.

Freeplay - where a child is free to choose his activity this
is important as providing choices is good for the pre frontal
lobe in the brain and prefrontal lobe controls functions like
decision making etc
Circle time - where children engage in musical play, rhymes,
and finger play rhymes that help in impulse control, listening,
eye hand control, reading and sequencing
Activity time - art activities, drawing, craft, colouring,
engaging activities like activity sheets, phonic program,
numeracy skills development and literacy skills development etc
for holistic development of all senses and skills
Snack time - diet activates memory , here children imbibe
table manners and healthy food habits
Show and tell - a child’s urge to explore his world, his
environment and get his millions of questions answered is
fulfilled in this part of the day
Outdoor play - water play, sand play, parachute play and a
host of activities that will develop the child’s growing pro
social skills
Wind up and reverence - talking and sharing about ones day
and ending it on a note of relaxation and yoga.

Some unique activities at Podar Jumbo Kids -

Water play - essential for fine motor development and relaxed
exploration needs
Sandplay - essential for eye hand co-ordination, tactile
experiences and exploration
Parachute play - helps develop both the fine and gross motor
skills, helps enhance the child’s listening skills and ability
to follow instructions. Good also for developing pro social
behaviour
Block play With assorted kids of blocks we help the child
enhance his color, shape size and weight recognition; assisting
them in hand-eye co-ordination, sequencing, sorting and more.
Readers make leaders A special reading corner - specific
books that a child can spend his time productively looking at
pictures and choosing from a number of international
publications
as well as Indian children’s literature.
Glenndoman reading - a time tested internationally acclaimed
method to develop sight reading skills
Yoga - for relaxation, rejuvenation, fun and frolic
Drama/elocution - enhances the growing language development
and expression skills
Art exploration - with activities like painting, collage,
drawing, clay art, spray painting, tissue art, warli art,
madhubani and much, much more. Kids will have a ball getting
paint all over their hands and fingers.
Field trips - so essential to support the child’s growing
exploration needs about his environment.
Puppet shows - exposes children to essential language skills,
promotes thinking skills , engages them in listening to language
and essential conflict resolution skills. Puppets engage all the
9 intelligences and are hence the apt ingredient of an early
childhood program
Role play - will engage children to understand the world,
their family, people who help them and aid them in understanding
the roles that people play and will also develop a child’s
growing symbolic play which will help him with literacy,
numeracy
and other essential skills.

Address :
85 PAREL POST OFFICE LANE,
OFF DR. AMBEDKAR ROAD,
PAREL (EAST),
MUMBAI - 400 012

Phone : 022-43330000

Emai Address : phkparel@podar.org