NANDANAM

Nandanam is a crche plus kindergarten located in Centre Field for up to 60 children

between 2 to 6 years of age. Nandanam, which means garden' in Sanskrit, is
Auroville's second kindergarten started in 2003.
We begin with the understanding that the first principle of true teaching is that nothing can be taught and
that the teacher is not an instructor or a task master but a helper and a guide. Keeping this in mind we
work towards the integral development of the children focusing on their physical, mental, vital and psychic
development, following the guidelines given by The Mother and Sri Aurobindo.

We work a lot through projects since we feel that it is a very effective and holistic tool, starting with topics
that are close to the children and widening the horizon each time.

We essentially and strongly feel that the children should have the freedom to explore the world within and
around them and to grow at their own pace and in their own way, trying always to come in contact with
their psychic being and being guided by it. We have at the same time realized that to prepare them for
this sometimes a guiding hand and even a planned and structured activity can help. So, we try to balance
between these two ways of working as we also try to balance between group activities where they learn
to coordinate with their friends and develop social qualities and individual activities where they have the
freedom to do things in their own way.

In order to do this we have both classroom based activities and center based activities.Sometimes the
children work with their own age group in their classrooms and part of the time they work with mixed age
group in activity centers/corners.

We have craft center, drama center, block center, science center, cooking and gardening center, quiet
room, reading corner, games corner.

We believe that once a child has acquired a thirst for knowledge and a need for self-perfection he can
take charge of his education himself and the teacher can just be a guiding presence when required. We
humbly aspire to do this to the best of our capacity.

We begin with the understanding that The first principle of true teaching is that nothing can be taught and that The
teachers is not an instructor or a task master but a helper and a guide. We work a lot through projects since we feel
that it is a very effective and holistic tool, starting with topics that are close to the children and widening the horizon
each time. We essentially and strongly feel that the children should have the freedom to explore the world within and
around them and to grow at their own pace and in their own way, trying always to come in contact with their psychic
being and being guided by it. So, we try to balance between these two ways of working as we also try to balance
between group activities - where they learn to coordinate with their friends and develop social qualities - and
individual activities where they have the freedom to do things in their own way. In order to do this we have both
classroom based activities and centre based activities - part of the time the children work with their own age group in
their classrooms and part of the time they work with mixed age group in activity centres/corners. We have craft
centre, drama centre, block centre, science centre, cooking and gardening centre, quiet room, reading corner games
corner. Now that the campus is finally complete we would like to focus more on bringing stability to the school, work
on teachers training and have regular study circles so that, by growing in understanding ourselves, we can actually
offer more valid support to the children. As we have said before research in this field is unlimited and unending!

We work a lot through projects since we feel that it is a very effective and holistic tool, starting with topics that are
close to the children and widening the horizon each time.
We essentially and strongly feel that the children should have the freedom to explore the world within and around
them and to grow at their own pace and in their own way, trying always to come in contact with their psychic being
and being guided by it. We have at the same time realized that to prepare them for this sometimes a guiding hand
and even a planned and structured activity can help. So, we try to balance between these two ways of working as we
also try to balance between group activities where they learn to coordinate with their friends and develop social
qualities and individual activities where they have the freedom to do things in their own way.
In order to do this we have both classroom based activities and center based activities.Sometimes the children work
with their own age group in their classrooms and part of the time they work with mixed age group in activity
centers/corners.
We have craft center, drama center, block center, science center, cooking and gardening center, quiet room, reading
corner, games corner.
We believe that once a child has acquired a thirst for knowledge and a need for self-perfection he can take charge of
his education himself and the teacher can just be a guiding presence when required. We humbly aspire to do this to
the best of our capacity.
Nandanam Kindergarten can accommodate 60 students.

Nandanam is a kindergarten for children between 3 to 6 years of age, and is a project that is very close to the Studio's heart. The
Kindergarten is located in the Centrefield Area in Auroville. The different buildings of the Kindergarten were done in Phases in
2006, 2009 and 2013. The built-up area of the school is 570 sq. m.

History and todays organisation:

Nandanam Kindergarten started in 2003 as a need of the growing community of Auroville. It already existed sharing
the space with another Aurovillian primary school, but the campus was not big enough to hold both.
Nandanam kindergarten moved to a little hut with very basic infrastructure, and thanks to tremendous fundraising
efforts over years, it has evolved to a beautiful building and campus.
Vision and Missions:
Nandanam Kindergarten aspires to provide an enriching environment and offer activities that may help the integral
development of the children. It also aspires to accommodate the individual needs of the children and provide them
space for free exploration so that they may gradually take more initiative for their learning experience and feel the joy
of self discovery and the discovery of the world around them.
Leaders & Team
The teachers in the school are Aurovillians, Newcomers and some long term volunteers who resonate with the
Charter of Auroville and attempt to manifest it in their lives according to their understanding and their capacities. The
community of Auroville is like a big family where children are always welcome. There are many field trips where the
children explore their community and also, sometimes, community members are invited to the school to share with
the children their skills.

Location:Centerfield, Auroville
Internal affiliation: Under SAIER

url : https://www.tfod.in/photo-space/10069/nandanam-entrance-space (for pics)

KINDERGARTEN

Architect Narrative

The Kindergarten is for 60-65 children of 3-7 years of age belonging to different nationalities. This is an International township in making in
south India with residents from about 30 countries of the world. The kindergarten had functioned for almost 8 years out of temporary huts, so
finally when a complex was to be designed there was an active input from the teachers and the children in designing process.

The children with the teaching staff prepared material

(written and visual) which was exhibited and debated on. As the architect of the project, I participated in some of these exercises. The main
design guidelines that emerged was: the spaces of the classroom should allow multiple usage pattern as there was to be no teacher-student
hierarchy, each class room should link to a central space that would act as a assembly and the circulation space between classrooms, and the
third important element was that every space in the complex would physically link to the landscape outside.

The design that emerged was layout of rooms around a central space to the scale of a child to lessen the trauma on his/her first experience of
spending time away from a non-domestic environment without an intimate adult around.
The sizes of the rooms were designed such that it allows the children to use it in a non-structured manner, allowing large or small groups to
work. The furniture is all floor seating with cushions and low tables that could be moved around. The pin boards are placed between deep
windows that double as seats where 2-3 children can sit, this makes these spaces become spaces of interaction rather than only display.

The teaching process as put forward by the teachers and the children when the design guidelines were formed was the rooms should allow a
free progress system of teaching which allows each child to learn at his/her own pace. In this the design of the classrooms has fulfilled its
brief as the users find flexibility within the built environment that allows them a wide range of usage.

The educational facility includes more than the reading/writing and play. The fact of having personalized green space attached to each
classroom has allowed the kindergarten to develop further their program of gardening, building activity and nature projects. The craft and art
areas have been successful, in fact they use the new art and craft room for marathon block building sessions organized by the children as
they find the space challenging. The body awareness and expression activities of dance, music and theatre takes place in the multipurpose
space that flows out through the little reading room to the central assembly. The theater and music activities in this space is easier on the
child as the space is fully open to the gardens taking away the feeling of being watched by the rest of the class. In terms of accommodating
the program of activities we have attempted to structure the whole complex into an informal layout for flexibility and this is well appreciated
by the range of activities within the spaces.

Dr. Heidi Watts, Ph,D, Director, Education, Antioch university.

(She is a regular visiting advisor to the Auroville Kindergarten from USA)
e kindergarten is housed in a new building, designed to their specification,
and is located in the city area. It is a large, airy, one story building, with the
4 classrooms, dining room, library, a childrens toilet room and large open
activity area opening off a central, circular entrance cum assembly hall.
The building is of warm red sand bricks with deep window seats and
accents of wood, like the classroom doors, painted in bright colors.
Behind the orange door you will find the Orange group and so on.
The Auroville kindergarten resonates with the three simple but
profound principles: Nothing can be taught. Work from the near
to the far. Mind must be consulted in its own growth. Children
learn by doing, not by being taught. The atmosphere in the school
is warm and loving, the children feel very secure and at ease. A
natural friendship develops between children of different cultures
and nationalities thereby promoting a sense of human unity. All the
teachers get to interact with all the children at some point during the
day. This helps to create a sense of wholeness and integration in
the relationships between the teachers and the children. In the large
circular central space one wall is devoted to a large bulletin board
where volunteers arrange every week an attractive display to illustrate
a concept. On the other wall there is a very large aquarium at the childs
eye level where fish float dreamily amongst the underwater ferns. The
physical activity and the energy needs of the young are well accommodated.
The large activity room sometimes has dance or movement class, otherwice
children may be in there playing their own games. The playground, in the back
of the building, has swings and a large climbing apparatus. There is a washing
area and a large contained outdoor sand area for sand play. A swimming pool
provides opportunity for welcome relief as the days grow hotter. Flowers and
small child planted gardens surround the buildings. It is truly a kinder-garten,
a childrens garden.

url: http://www.auroville.org/contents/1068 ( neriya psychology info irukku check karo )

AIKIYAM

Aikiyam School in New Creation serves 260 children from the villages near Auroville,
with classes from pre-crche to grade 8. There are around 20 children in each class.
Most children are from economically disadvantaged families.
Aikiyam School started in the early 1980s. It was then called New Creation School, and was later
renamed New Creation Bilingual School as classes were given in both English and Tamil. Originally it
was a small boarding school for children from the traditional and impoverished village of Kuilapalayam,
where the only mode of transport besides walking was by bullock cart, or, for the better off, by bicycle.
Today both the village and the school have changed.

Presently, Aikiyam School is a day-school under SAIIERs Auroville Outreach School Board. The
curriculum includes all of the standard academic subjects as well as art, music, dancing, physical
education, computer education, carpentry and crafts. The school also has a program for children with
special needs. Parents are expected to make a donation of between Rs2,000 and Rs3,000 per year to
cover books, material and some of the other expenses. Auroville contributes by covering the
maintenances of Aurovilians working in the school, plus a regular budget for some of the costs. For the
rest we depend on donations.

Classes are small and the majority of permanent teachers are Tamil, with a few international teachers as
well. The school relies partly on help from international volunteer teachers, especially for developing
fluency in English. Since 2005 the school has a management team that works in close collaboration with
the schools principal and teachers.

In 2007 the school received provisional affiliation for a period of three years from the Central Board of
Secondary Education (CBSE). Later this affiliation was extended until March 2016. The CBSE program
promotes creative education at all levels through the application of learning by doing. Being a CBSE
school means that the children will no longer have to sit for State Board exams based on rote learning in
grade eight but will write exams approved by CBSE in grade ten at New Era Secondary School (NESS),
an Auroville-run CBSE high school for children from both the villages and Auroville. For those children
who want to go to a State Board high school instead of continuing the CBSE curriculum at NESS, Aikiyam
School is entitled by CBSE to give a recognised school transfer certificate.

Thanks to some of our friends and the social service department (known as BMZ) of the German
Government, the school has been able to make some significant additions and improvements to the
campus. In 2008 we were able to build a kitchen and dining area. Two years later we completed a
building which houses the library, science lab and two classrooms. One of these classrooms is used for
children who need supportive learning. The other is for the 8th grade, which allowed us to turn the
previous 8th grade classroom into an art room. Also in 2010 we renovated and enlarged our original
UFO buildings. In 2011 we added an assembly space above the dining area, and created a special
playground for the kindergarten block.

We are now in 2015 and are in the process of constructing a 2-building project which will give us
more classrooms, more toilets, an office and a teachers resource centre. We feel truly blessed

TLC

This small informal school is based on the understanding that life and learning are
essentially an adventure, and the community at large is a school, TLC
acknowledges that Auroville has already acquired a wealth of communicable skills in
many fields, and anyone who has skills or enthusiasm to share, is invited to
participate in the evolving project. Avoiding the concept of classes, TLC involves
the children into the local environment, while the emphasis on outdoors and physical
activities quite literally puts intelligence into the childrens hands. With informal
campuses spread out over several of Aurovilles communities, TLC is presently
attended by about a dozen children in the broad age group of 7 14 years.
 ASDF

Specific Aims
The aim of TLC (which began in 2009) is to create a space where children and adults by living and
working together can grow more conscious of their inmost being and learn to know, to perfect and
transform their instrument (body, life and mind) into the light of the spirit. To move from this half-conscious
life to the level of integral living through a growing understanding of what is Integral Education is central to
our beliefs.

We would like to establish a methodology whereby the community of Auroville becomes a real world
environment to awaken a desire for life-long learning.

We would like to take the personality integrally into the working field.
We would like to address the aim of life not as a formal subject but as a latent question inspiring every
experience. This is especially important in a time of drastic changes where it is the learners who inherit
the future, while the learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.
We would like to create a space where the child especially can keep the sacred, magical feelings and
perceptions he or she has naturally; and invite him or her to express and explore this sense of
connectedness and feeling everything alive.
We would like to follow the individual needs of the child as they emerge out of their experiences, next to
the collective experiences. We dont want to create a brilliant student but a living soul. In Mothers words
the purpose of education is to foster the childrens bright spontaneity that makes learning a joyous
discovery.

Background of Project
a. Description of the need in the context of the location:
Auroville is an international city in the making with the purpose of realising human unity. More than 2000
people are gathered here attracted by this ideal and the Charter of Auroville. We see Auroville as a place
where children and adults have access to a great variety of different environments, each having a specific
gift to share.

We see the community of Auroville as a school in itself and we believe that by the exposure to these
different environments, children will naturally engage in a process of learning, develop faculties, and will
be able to create their own conditions for growth and happiness.

We would like to make a very concrete step towards having Auroville as the learning field and open the
doors of the classrooms into the wider community, using Aurovilles richness and conscious research as
our main learning resource.

b. Relevance to Auroville:
It enhances the quality of life in Auroville as each environment becomes a place where different groups,
children and adults, of the community meet in a process of learning. We hope it will lead us to bring more
awareness in what we do, creating a space for a united consciousness to emerge within our collective.

As Auroville is the place for research, we feel drawn to explore an education that engages us in every
part of our lives and of our being.

We feel that experiments in small groups of people are also important and if successful, could grow
larger. As spirituality means ultimately that every individual has his own religion, education would mean
that every individual has his or her own way of learning.
 Unique Contribution of TLC to the Entire Educational Sector

Provides an educational structure that is community based

Uses the outdoors extensively as a primary teacher
Dissolves the barriers between home and school, learning and non-learning times allowing flexible
schedules
Caters to individualized curriculum based on specific interests and drives of each child
Fosters the personal growth of all involved parents, teachers and children, creating a learning
community
Promotes mixed age groups.

Future Progress
Today we are forced to ask how our educational systems can be transformed into one that is truly
appropriate for our time. Since lifelong learning is now essential to survival, how can people of all ages
learn how to learn, unlearn, and relearn? How can they develop skills to deal with complexity and
challenges that have never before existed? How can schools that were created for another time meet the
needs of an increasingly diverse population of students? Can schools alone meet these needs? In
considering these questions, let us look at new possibilities for individuals, learning communities, and an
emerging learning society. It is important to see that our DIFFERENCES CONNECT.

Viewed from a different perspective, individual and national differences may be seen as complementary
strengths. In The Unschooled Mind, Howard Gardner notes that we are as much creatures of our culture
as we are creatures of our brain. Cultures where most people are actively involved in the arts, cultures
where academic achievement is most highly valued, and cultures where survival skills are essential to life
produce populations with different skills and abilities that have been learned in different ways. Of course,
such diversity exists within cultures as well.

When these differences are understood and valued they can bring people together in ways that may form
the basis of learning communities. The ancient Greeks had a word for such organizations. In their
Paedeia everyone was a learner and everyone was a teacher, and the whole community was
responsible for the learning of its people. The formation of such models is essential today as we see
increasing needs for greater interpersonal and international understanding. Few would question that
individuals, communities, and countries must find better ways to collaborate on learning about and
helping to solve critical ecological, environmental, economic, educational, technological, and health
challenges. Learning of a whole community is a vision for our future.