Every parent wants the best for their child - we do everything in our power to provide the best of opportunities to our children. This starts at quite a young age - sending your child to the best schools, giving them access to the best of resources, spending quality time with them to give them the best possible direction, as they grow older, sending them to the best of colleges, and so on and so forth. In this process, subconsciously or consciously, unintentionally, or sometimes intentionally, we tend to lose perspective. This may happen in two ways - Living Our Aspirations Through Our Children Parents living their own dreams through their children is not something new - this is something which is probably as old as time. It is perfectly natural to want our children to have better lives than we did, but sometimes, we end up with passing on our own aspirations to our children. This may be subconsciously done, but ends up guiding our choices right from the beginning. Making Comparisons A

Typically, when we talk about a child going to preschool, we focus on four key aspects -  Peer Group Interaction This is possibly the most important aspect for a parent when sending their child to preschool. Their child's exposure to peers, and helping them learn to make friends is a key aspect of their growth and development. While this remains true for a major portion of their growing years, the foundation for this is laid as early as 12 months (for children going to day care) and 18 months to 2 years (for children going directly to preschool). It is for the same reason that parents also take their children to parks and organize playdates at home - introduce peer group interaction. A preschool adds on an element of structure and assured peer group on a regular basis. Exposure to an Environment Away from the Comfort Zone of Home Home is where the heart is, but home is also where the comfort is. It is the safe space of every child, the only world they know till the time they step o

As we continue to deal with Covid, I am witnessing a whole variety of situations - at home, with friends and colleagues, neighbours, our parent body and so much more. My takeaways so far - 1. Maintain a positive outlook as far as humanly possible, especially if you are able to manage with homecare. Stress helps no one, on the contrary, it may be detrimental to your health and those close to you. 2. Help those that you can - with verified leads, medicines, hospital beds etc. I have personally seen my networks rally and bring help wherever needed. 3. Mask up! Please do not assume that you are safe just because you have been vaccinated or one report has come in negative. Till the virus can incubate, you are at risk, especially if there is even one case at home. Watch out for any symptoms, and even if there are no symptoms, maintain your chart - temperature, SPO2, pulse and any medication (even if just supplements) prescribed by your doctor. 4. Find a doctor - one who is available on call

The last one month has been tough all round. Friends, family, colleagues, children, their parents - every other household has a Covid story to tell. Someone in the family has Covid, you yourself have covid, perhaps a neighbour, a loved one - no individual is left unscathed. Either you are convalescing, or you are managing a household with Covid, or you are dealing with the loss of someone close, or if by the grace of God you are not dealing with any of the three, then you have been a Samaritan to those who need help. Morning Glorie has been no different in this regard. MG family is suffering too - some of our team members are dealing with Covid - either personally, or in their close families, so are our children's families. Things have been difficult - parents are struggling at home as they have small kids to take care of, while the teachers are managing their health too. It is in times like these that MG family truly feels like a family. The outpouring of love and support from all

  "My child does not recognize certain alphabets" "My child tends to shy away whenever we have guests at home" "My child does not show interest in number recognition, but loves to mess around in sand" "My child loves to speak, but when I ask her to speak vocabulary with a particular alphabet, she goes silent" "My child understands shapes, but is unable to find them in his surroundings" Notice the difference in the implications of these statements - they represent some examples of the difference between what we call concrete vs abstract learning during the early years at Morning Glorie, play school in Gurgaon, and online homeschooling in India. All too often, we tend to focus on learning which can be measured, which is concrete. What we tend to forget is, every experience, new or repeated, is a learning - this is truer during the early years of life, though it is something to ponder on and incorporate in our own lives irrespective of age