T-Lab

The school is not an institution for the child but the place where the child is nurtured, given opportunities and taken care of, properly.

Here, in Jingle Bell School our focus primarily is on the growth of the child as a whole. We make sure that we offer them the best of opportunities to learn and grow. In such attempts only, we strive to offer our children as much hands-on activities as possible. Moving forward in the same direction, we make sure that this pyramid of growth has a wider base of opportunities which lead our children towards the apex.

In order to boost their skills and take out their latent talent from within, we have incorporated lots of hands-on activities in our pedagogy i.e. activity centres, BaLA, one of the centre of attraction and Tinkering Lab, the place which children do not want to leave. Mr. Pramod Maithil from Bhopal is our mentor and under his guidance the T-Lab was setup.

Now as its name specifies, T-lab gives our children a wide scope of chance to work and boost their scientific temperament and that too in a playful manner. In other words, it is a hub of creation and innovation. The best thing about working in T-lab is that children learn the productivity and utility of waste materials.

As the week begins, the children eagerly wait for the turn of their T-lab classes. The excitement and joy could be easily seen on their faces and the way their faces brim with confidence after the completion of their work.

They excitedly enter their most beloved space and work with zeal, zest and vigour. Here, they get the freedom to explore each possibility of creating a new thing with autonomy. Our primary focus is not just the boostening of the scientific skills in children but also imbibing in them the values without imposing any restrictions. The values like collaboration, leadership skills, sharing, responsibility, coping up with challenges, etc are inculcated in them naturally.

Here, children of classes 4 and 5 come to work. The children of class 5 work on a full fledged level throughout the session. So, overall we can say that T-lab for children is a wonderland where they can find everything to their amazement and fascination.

Now, lets highlight the major functions of T-lab:

1. Resource Segregation: In order to avoid the hindrance in the work of children, there has been done a proper segregation of the materials according to the nature of the work.

           Here, in Tinkering lab, we have four major working stations:

• Aesthetic lab
• Science area (Stuff and Materials Storage)
• Electricity lab
• Carpentary area

2. Election Process: in the lab, children have the authority to manage the T-lab on their own. So, we facilitate to conduct the elections. After the elections, three teams are created with two children, being the head of each team.

           The teams are:

• Idea team
• Bank team
• Material team

       The idea team ensures the idea of their peers, in one way it approves them. Bank team manages all the transactions of the T-lab currency.

       Material team organizes the stuff available in the lab.

       The teacher acts a facilitator. The teacher just helps them to find the right direction by asking them questions and guiding them at the places needed.

3. Execution and Outcomes: Once children have the autonomy to work on their own, they don’t feel obstructed in any manner and it brings their best qualities to the surface. Their confidence is boosted and they learn to rely on themselves.

        Hopefully, it will always remain children’s work paradise as they get to create anything and everything that they have in their minds.

“Most learning is not the result of instructions. It is the result of unhampered participation and a meaningful way of setting”