How we teach
Small children do not learn from worksheets. They learn by touching, counting, singing and playing. On this page I will show you how a morning works at The Dream World Pre-School. You can also try seven of our activities right here on your phone.
Learning by doing
We follow an integrated, child-centred curriculum. Small-muscle work is done with Montessori materials. Language comes through rhymes, puppets and stories. A child first touches a thing, then learns the word for it.
What our teacher is thinking
- Montessori mode
- self-directed, guided choices
- small group activities
- circle time
- free play
- phonics
- rhymes and finger plays
- puppets and storytelling
At this age the children are much more receptive and are eager to learn new concepts. During this age there is a lot of focus on improving the fine muscle development through Montessori mode. Throughout the day children make self-directed actions (but carefully guided choices), participate in small groups activities, take part in circle time and build the confidence needed to try new things. Children enjoy free play to allow creativity and imagination to flourish. Nursery teachers facilitate opportunities for children to engage in reading, writing, listening and speaking using poems, finger plays, puppets, singing and rhyming.
Six crayons in every child's box
We teach six things every day. Everything else is built on these.
Language and phonics
Letter sounds, rhymes, puppets and story time in English. Hindi and Marathi songs too.
Numbers and thinking
Counting real things like mangoes, blocks and friends. Shapes, sizes and sorting with hands first.
Fine and gross motor skills
Pouring, threading and tracing for small fingers. Running, hoops and yoga for the whole body.
Feelings and friendships
Saying how they feel, waiting for a turn, sharing and saying sorry. Your child becomes confident and kind.
Art, music and movement
Painting, craft, dance, fancy dress and acting. Every child takes part on sports day and in every festival.
The world around us
Festivals of all religions, field trips, seasons, plants and animals.
Seven things your child will do this week
Each one is a real activity from our class, made small for your phone. Tap, drag, trace and listen. In class we do the same with real mangoes, real paint and loud singing.
Tap a letter and hear it
Tap any letter to begin.Blend a word:On the board above tap f, then i, then s, then h
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In Nursery we teach the sound of each letter first. Then children join the sounds and read a whole word on their own.
Write the letter with your finger
Write the letter A on the dots.Before a pencil, children write big letters with one finger, in a sand tray and on rough letter cards. The hand learns the shape of the letter.
Put each shape in the right hole
Drag each shape to the hole of the same shape. With a keyboard, press Enter on a shape to pick it up, use the arrow keys to choose a hole, and press Enter again to put it in.
0 of 3 shapes are in
In class children do this with wooden shapes. It makes the hand and the eye work together. This is needed before a child can hold a pencil.
Mix two colours
Tap two colours to mix them.
At the painting table children mix two colours and see a new colour. They learn the colour name in English, Hindi and Marathi.
Can you put 7 mangoes in the basket?
0zero
Good. 7 more to go.
In class we count real things, like mangoes, blocks and buttons. Then a number is not only a shape on paper. The child understands what 7 means.
Turn a rhyme card
Every morning we start circle time with rhymes in English, Hindi and Marathi. Children learn new words fast when they sing the same rhyme again and again.
Move the sun and see our day
9:00 AM Preschool
Children come in, circle time
Shoes off, a big hello, and we sit in a circle for the morning song.
A small child feels safe when every day is the same. Same songs, same corners, same teachers, every day.
How a skill grows from Playgroup to Senior KG
The same five skills, one mark on the ruler for each class. Read down the ruler to see how your child grows.
- Playgroup2 to 3 years
- Writing
- Holds a crayon in a fist and scribbles
- Numbers
- Counts to five with fingers and sings number rhymes
- Reading
- Looks at picture books and names what they see
- Independence
- Says bye at the gate and asks for help
- Friendship
- Plays beside other children
- Nursery3 to 4 years
- Writing
- Traces lines, curves and the first letter of their name
- Numbers
- Counts objects to ten and sorts by size
- Reading
- Knows letter sounds through phonics
- Independence
- Opens their own tiffin and puts toys back
- Friendship
- Shares a crayon and waits for a turn
- Junior KG4 to 5 years
- Writing
- Writes their own name and most letters
- Numbers
- Counts to twenty, compares more and less, adds with objects
- Reading
- Blends sounds into three-letter words
- Independence
- Follows two-step instructions and finishes a task
- Friendship
- Plays in a group with rules
- Senior KG5 to 6 years
- Writing
- Writes short words and a simple sentence
- Numbers
- Adds and subtracts small numbers, reads numbers to fifty
- Reading
- Reads simple sentences and retells a story in order
- Independence
- Manages bag, bottle and tiffin, ready for Class 1
- Friendship
- Sorts out a small fight with words, not hands
Our classrooms
ABC and 123 are painted on the walls. The days of the week are cut-outs that the children move. The slide is inside the classroom. A child learns the letter B by seeing it forty times a day.
Alphabet and numbers wall 
Days of the week 
Hindi and English letters 
Letters and colours 
The slide corner 
Blue activity tables
Questions parents ask about our teaching
We hear these three questions on almost every first visit.
Mummy, ask about my class!
We use a mixed, child-friendly method. Montessori activities for small fingers, play, letter sounds, rhymes, art, music, stories and outdoor play. The aim is a curious, confident child who is ready for big school.
Come and watch a class
Visit on any weekday morning and sit with us in circle time. Message me for a time. Rajashree Naikwadi, Founder and Centre Head