Precious feedbacks of parents of our old and existing students. Opinions welcome.
Read More......Friday, February 13, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
FAQs About Class Apart.
Q. What is Class Apart?
A. As the name suggests, It is a class that stands out from others. Infact, calling it a class is perhaps a mismoner. It is a one hour programme for your child, that aims at expanding his mental horizons. At Class Apart, your child will be exposed to a new topic every week. The topics might range from Solar System to Human Evolution to Olympics to political systems. Basically, The whole gamut of information that a child is exposed to, but never properly explained, would be explained. The topic will then be reinforced via a story and a hands on activity. Children will also be required to assemble and present weekly news in front of the class. The news will then be discusssed and deciphered for the benefit of kids.
Q. How do I know what's going on?
A. The Class Apart is a community, not only of kids, but of parents as well. The Parents will be kept in the loop, through this blog. It would be updated every week, right after the class. You will also recieve an email about the class every week.
Q. What does my child need to bring along?
A. We request that you make a seperate 'Class Apart' bag for the child. She must have the following in it:
1. A Scrap book big enough to paste A4 size papers.
2. A pencil Box with shaperned pencils, eraser, scale.
3. A box of oil pastels
4. Kid Safe scissors and Camlin krafty glue.
Q. What is the age criteria for Class Apart?
A. We are accepting children from class I to class IV.
Q. Do all the children attend the same class?
A. I believe that we should not control the level of information reaching the child, for we may err in judging his/her capabilities. So, Though the children will attend the same "information session", their grasp and understanding of the material would obviously vary with the age. They may be given different activities according to their skill levels. For example, if the activity for the day is crossword, the difficulty level of a grade 1 child's crossword would be different from the older kids.
Registration for Class Apart Open
A Class Truly Apart.
For Uniworld Gardens, Gurgaon.
Starting in January, a class for children of grade 1-4,
For stimulating their Mental Aptitude,
General Awareness, Public speaking and Lateral Thinking Skills.
A Fun-Learn Way to Current Affairs and GK.
The Advantage of Knowing More
A different topic each week, spanning science, history, General interest, Current Affairs etc.
Classes of just an hour a week.
Detailed Handouts on each topic for easy recall.
A dedicated Blog with additional information on each topic for parents and children.
Each session to have information, related story time, mental activities and weekly news.
Quiz competitions as the class progresses.
Class by :
Garima Gupta, T 5 /1004
ex- Times NIE consultant
Times columnist for childrens’ section
IMS faculty.
Call 987 116 3330 or mail at garimako@gmail.com for registration/ more information. Limited Batch size.
Garima Gupta
The Person called Garima..
I am a versatile person, a little bit into everything. I am on a journey ( the one you call life!) to find my calling.. Still searching.
I graduated in 1997 from Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from Govt. Engg. College,. Bhopal. I subsequently worked for CDoT for 4 years in Telecom Software development. Soon found out that my calling was definitely elsewhere. I appeared for MBA entrance exams in 2002 and was selected in every school I applied to, namely IIM Ahmadabad and ISB Hyderabad. I subsequently took up teaching at IMS (India’s leading Coaching Institute). I also worked as a columnist for an e-zine, and later with Times Of Oman. My weekly column - "StoryTime with Garima Aunty" was extremely popular in Oman. I conducted freelance workshops for Students on behalf of Times Of India NIE gp. I have been a prize-winning debater, poet, table-tennis player and fashion model. I have compeered live TV shows, choreographed events and published articles on the web and in print. I have also won individual and team first prize in Table Tennis at the district level for three consecutive years.
And More: I now live in Gurgaon, with my husband, a son, a daughter and a laptop.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The Magic Of Stories
The magic of stories, For the UniWorld Gardens Batch fifth class.
The Magic of Stories
Stories are our windows in the worlds unknown. Stories teach us language, culture, history, morals and imagination.
Classics Stories :
Some of the stories that a must for a child to know are :
Cinderella, SnowWhite and Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Shoemaker and the Elves, , Pinocchio, 101 Dalmatians, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Rabbit, Alice in the Wonderland, The little match girl, Little red riding hood Hensel and Gretel and Thumbelina.
In addition to these, some exposure to these well-known story collections is desirable:
1. Panchatantra: Written by Pt. Vishnu Sharma to educate dimwit sons of a king, these tales provide practical knowledge and rules to live life by.
2. Aesop’s Fables: Aesop was a slave in ancient Greece. His collection of stories is one of the most popular in the world, with stories like The Hare and the Tortiose and The Boy who cried Wolf.
3. Arabian Nights: The stories told by the intelligent wife of the Iranian king Shahrjan, in order to escape her execution in the morning. These contain classics like Alibaba and 40 theives, Aladdin and Sindbad.
4. Jataka Tales: The stories from the previous births of Gautam Buddha.
The Art of StoryTelling:
Storytelling is a subtle art than we can use to captivate anyone’s attention. In fact, once you master the art of storytelling, you’ll find it of immense value in day to day conversations as well.
Some key pointers:
1. Know your Story : not necessarily by heart. But you should know the start, the end, and the basic plot of the story for sure.
2. Know your audience: Is it only your child? Is it a group of young kids. What age?
3. Make sure they fit : The Story should be suitable for the target Audience.
4. Amplify emotions in the dialogues: Speak the sentences with appropriate emotional dose. The emotion (happy, angry, sad, disgusted, disappointed, hopeful..) should be clear in the tome you use.
5. Accent your voice according to the character : An old witch would sound very different from a little boy, no?
Choosing a story:
Books are one of the best investments, and the bookstores are full of materials for kids. Some books, though, are printed for adults to buy for their kids, and some books are for kids to enjoy. Know the difference. Choose a book that slightly challenges the present vocabulary of your child. Internet is a good source of some nice stories as well. The Apple story I chose for the class can be found here : http://www.thevirtualvine.com/thelittleredhouse.html
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Forces of Nature
The Fury and the force of Nature. For the Uniworld Gardens Batch fourth class. In case of Natural disasters, Prevention is just not possible. So, Preparation is the best course of action. One should always keep a 'survival kit' ready for such unforeseen circumstances. A basic Survival kit will contain -
The Nature is the biggest force. It’s fury can be devastating, deadly, and awesome! We discuss some key natural disasters in this class.
It is interesting to notice that many a times, one natural disaster triggers another, or they often happen together. Earthquakes can be accompanied by Volcanic activity, and they can trigger Tsunamis and Avalnaches. Hurricanes can spin off Tornadoes, Flooding or Fires. Each tiny change in the Earth’s dynamic and alive system can affect something else in the atmosphere.
1. Earthquakes: 
The ground shakes and moves, without warning. The buildings and trees fall; bridges break, and huge cracks appear in the ground.
Although the ground we walk on seems solid, it is actually moving!! The earth in divided into approx. 20 ‘parts’ called Tectonic Plates. The Tectonic plates are constantly shifting and moving, over a hot molten interior called mantle. The place where these plates meet is called a ‘fault’. When these plates rub together, the friction causes immense energy, that manifests itself as an Earthquake. Earthquakes generally happen along these fault lines. Epicenter is the place on Earth from where the vibrations spread out.
They are measured on the Richter scale – 1 being the mildest one that mostly goes unnoticed. An earthquake of magnitude 7 or more in a populated area is very devastating, resulting in huge loss of life and property.
2. Volcanoes: Volcanoes are also a result of Earth’s internal seismic activities, much like earthquakes. In fact, most of the Volcanoes are situated along the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, which is on a major fault line. 
Inside the Earth’s core is hot molten rock, called Magma. When the magma rises to the surface of the Earth, it is called Lava. Volcano is basically a hole in the Earth that allows lava to come out. Volcanoes can be classified as active, dormant and extinct.
Volcanoes can be deadly- lava , hot stones, Lahar and the volcanic ash and smoke can kill anything that comes in their way. But volcanoes can also be useful; the early earth was shaped by volcanic activity, the volcanic soil is very fertile too.
3. Tsunami: Tsunamis are caused by Earthquakes at sea.
When a huge earthquake vertically jolts the seabed by several meters, a lot of water is displaced- which starts travelling towards the coast in a straight line. The Tsunami wave is huge by the time it reaches the coast and can cause a lot of damage. The only warning sign of a Tsunami is that the waterline retreats just before a Tsunami, exposing hundreds of meters of seabed.
4. Avalanche: 
An avalanche is restricted to mountaineous areas with a lot of fresh, loose snow. This snow can start falling at the slightest disturbance, and gains mass and momentum as it rolls down the slopes. An Avalanche can cover a whole village in no time.
5. Hurricane: 
Hurricanes, also known as cyclones or Typhoons, are large rotating storms, built around an area of very low pressure. They are accompanied with lots of rain and very fast winds. The center of the hurricane is called an ‘eye’ , which is rather calm . Hurricanes lose their strength when they make a landfall. The hurricanes are divided in categories from 1 to 5, 5 being the strongest hurricane.
6. Tornado: Tornadoes are an intresting phenomenon restricted mostly to a part of the US, called the Tornado alley.
Tornadoes are the most violent storms known to us, the wind speeds are so high that cannot be measured. A Tornado is a powerful column of spiralling winds, hanging down like a tail from the storm clouds. A powerful tornado can uproot trees and tear apart buildings that come in its way.
7. Floods: Wh
en a normally dry area is submerged in water, it is known as a flood. Floods can happen slowly, due to seasonal heavy rains, or hurricanes. They can also arrive suddenly, known as flash floods. Flash Floods can happen due to a dam burst, earthquake or Tsunami, or as in a recent case, sudden course change of a river.
Spoil-proof Food and bottled water for three days, Medicines, Blanket, Torch, Swiss Army knife, Whistle and Cell phone.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Spectacular Space
Amazing Universe !! For the Uniworld Gardens Batch third class.
Universe can not be described as huge, enormous or gigantic. It is all that, and more. To our senses, it truly is infinite. The scale of everything in the universe is huge, as you will shortly see.
GRAVITY:
But first, we need to understand the single most important force in the Universe, Gravity. Gravity is what keeps us grounded to Earth. But not only Earth, every big object exerts Gravity. Bigger a body, greater the gravitational force. This force not only keeps us from flying off to space, but also keeps the satellites around the planets, planets around the Sun, the Sun around the center of our Galaxy , and so on.
SOLAR SYSTEM:
All the ‘things’ in space – planets, stars, moons, etc. – are all collectively called heavenly bodies. The one we know best? Our Earth! Isn’t Earth big? So much of land, and then three times of that water. Well, if you consider the Sun, and the Solar System, Earth would actually come across as quite tiny.
Our closest neighbour in space is moon, Earth’s natural satellite, and about a quarter its size. The solar System has 8 ( earlier 9 ) planets.
In order of their distances from the Sun, they are:
1. Mercury: Closest, No moons, No atmosphere, Rocky Planet.
2. Venus: Hottest Planet, Thick Atmosphere, No Moons, Rocky Planet.
3. Earth: Only known life sustaining planet, At just the right distance from Sun, 1 Moon, Rocky, blue Planet.
4. Mars: Mild, Earth like Temperatures, Frozen Polar Cap water, 2 Moons, Rocky Red Planet.
5. Jupiter: Biggest Planet, 63 Moons, Gaseous Planet.
6. Saturn: Beautiful, Thin, Wide Rings, 34 Moons including Titan, Gaseous Planet.
7. Uranus: Spins on its side, 27 moons.
8. Neptune : A lot like Uranus, 13 moons, Ice Planet.
9. Pluto: Dwarf Planet, 3 moons, Icy.
Remember them by using the mnemonic:
My Very Educated Mother Just Showed Us Nine Planets.
There are also Asteroids, Meteors, Meteorites: Rocks flying around the space.
Comets: Icy core, Long Dusty Tail, Hailey’s comet every 76 years. Tail can either be in front or back of the core.
GALAXY:
Galaxies are a group of stars- billions of stars, huddled together, revolving around the center of the galaxy.
Solar System forms a part of our galaxy, The Milky way, which is a spiral galaxy.
The Sun and The Stars.
Sun, or Sol, is our star. But it is not exceptional in any way if one considers the Universe. Sun is a medium-sized star on one of the arms of Milky Way. Stars can be much smaller, or much bigger than the Sun. 
Space consists of a lot of empty space, and interstellar medium made mostly of a gas called Hydrogen. This ‘cloud’ of dust and gas is called a Nebula. When a portion in the Nebula compresses, the gases heat up immensely, and a rotating gas globule is born. This rotating globule finally settles into a central core (the Star) and surrounding planets, asteroids, etc.
Stars don’t live forever. When their fuel runs out, they die. According to their sizes, they can become a White dwarf or a neutron star/ Black Hole following a supernova explosion.
THE START:
How did it all start? With a big bang, literally. All the galaxies in Universe are moving away from each other, like dots on an inflating balloon. It must have all, therefore, started with a super-huge explosion, often called as The Big Bang.
THE EXPLORATION:
How do we know all this? Astronauts have only gone as far as the moon. Then, how we know all that we know about the Universe? The scientists use a lot of equipments to ‘see’ space. Unmanned spaceships, probes, and Telescopes, all help to enhance our understanding of the space. Hubble Space Telescope, for example, has sent invaluable data about the space.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Types of Government.
For the second class of Uniworld Gardens Batch.
Click 'Read more' undrneath to, well, read more!
Types of Governments.
When a lot of people live together, they need a set of rules and a system to take care of their common needs and grievances. This is the basis of formation of a government. A government is a complex of political institution, laws and customs through which a country is governed.
Governments can be of many types. These are:
1. Monarchy: A government headed by a King or a Queen is called a monarchy. The King has complete authority, and exercises this authority through his officials. A Monarchy is an example of absolutism. However, a ‘token’ monarchy is also prevalent, where the King/Queen acts just as a constitutional head of the country, and the real power lies in the power of elected officers. Example, Gulf countries, U.K.
2. Dictatorship: This is another example of absolutism. The power here, lies not with a king, but the dictator, who is usually a military head. E.g. : Cuba, N. Korea.
3. Imperialism: Imperialism occurs when a stronger nation takes over a weaker nation, and starts dominating all economical, political and cultural decisions. E.g. The British rule over India till 1947.
4. Theocracy: This is a system in which religion plays a major role in the government. A religious organization or its officials control the government. E.g. Iran, Saudi Arabia.
5. Communism : Communism , as an idea, was introduced by Karl Marx. In a communist country, all land, factories etc. Are controlled directly by the government. Communists oppose capitalism, where people can own property and goods, supposedly in proportion to their merit. In a communist country, there is no private property and goods are owned and used by all, as needed. E.g. , China.
6. Democracy: The most popular of all political systems today, Democracy is literally, the rule of people. Citizens of a society come together, and decide everything among themselves using majority decisions. Direct democracy works well only in very small groups.
7. Republic: In a larger group of people, representative democracy, or Republic is required. People choose amongst themselves some specific persons as their representatives. These representatives then sit together and take the required decisions. The representatives are accountable to general public and can be changed when they fall out of the favour. Eg., India, USA.
8. Anarchy: It is a situation when there is no Government. This can happen in a country after a civil war, when a number of rival groups are trying to take control of the country. Anarchists are people who think government is a bad thing. E.g. Somalia.
What is a Constitution?
the basic principles and laws of a nation, state, or social group that determine the powers and duties of the government and guarantee certain rights to the people in it. It is a written instrument embodying the rules of a political or social organization
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The new 7 wonders of the World.
The world is a wonderful place, full of great monuments that stand testimony to Human imagination and resilience. Only a few of these monuments make it to the coveted list of Wonders of the World.
What are these wonders? What qualifies them to be put in the elite list of seven?The number 7 was chosen, because ancient Greeks believe number 7 to be a symbol of perfection. And these lists are a record of near perfect monuments that stand testimony to Human imagination, artistry and grit.
The new7 wonders of the world were chosen from a worldwide poll. The Pyramids of Giza, which is the only surviving true member of the ancient list too, finds an honourable mention along with these 7. These wonders are:
1. T
he Great Wall of China, China. The Great Wall of China, at 6400 kms is the longest man made structure in the world. It’s said that it is the only man made thing visible from the space. The great wall of China was built , rebuilt and maintained to protect the people of central China from the attacks of Huns and the nomad tribes. Millions of soldiers guarded the Wall from checkposts, and a lot many died in the centuries long construction of this mega wall.2. 
Petra, Jordan. The hidden city of Petra in Jordan was built by the Nabateans, an Arab Tribe. It has buildings carved in the sandstone mountain cliffs. Petra was visited by a perennial stream of water, and flash floods. Nabateans built dams, cisterns and other innovations to store this water for long periods of time, thus creating an artificial oasis. Petra also had excellent natural defences, surrounded by tall mountain cliff, with narrow entrance (Siq) to the city. 3. 
Machu Pichu, Peru. Machu Pichu is a remarkably preserved archaeological site of the Inca empire. It was built by the Incas at a secluded mountain ridge atop Urubamba valley, completely invisible from below, and defended by a very difficult approach. The city of Machu Pichu, therefore, remained hidden from subsequent Spanish conquerors, who destroyed all other Inca sites. It was primarily forgotten, and shrouded by thick jungle growth until rediscovered by Hiram Birgham, an American historian in 1911. Machu Pichu boasts of the traditional dry-stone architecture of the Incas, where walls are constructed just by putting snug fitting stones on top of each other, without using mortar. These stones, some as heavy as 50 tons, fit so well that even a knife blade can’t be inserted between them. Machu Pichu was watered by perennial streams and had enough agricultural space to feed 4 times its population.4. 
Chichen Itza, Mexico. Chichen Itza, the famous temple city was the political and economic centre of the Mayan Civilization. The Maya civilization was an advanced society with a fully written language. The stepped, stone pyramid of Chichen Itza, also called the Pyramid of Kukulcan, is the last and the greatest of Mayan Temples. A shadow of the serpent God, Kukulcan forms on the steps of the Pyramid on every equinox.5. 
The TajMahal, India. TajMahal, the tomb of Emperor ShahJahan and his beloved queen Mumtaz Mahal is a crowning jewel in Muslim Art. ShahJahan was the 5th Mughal emperor of India. On the banks of river Yamuna, completely made of marble, and boasting of intricate and ornate gemstone work, Taj is regarded as a monument of love. Ustad Ahmad Lahauri is often credited as the chief Architect of The TajMahal.6. Roman Colosseum, Italy.
Built bang in the middle of Rome, the Colosseum was the classic amphitheatre. Almost all sports stadium till date copy the original design of the Colosseum. It was made to hold Gladiatorial contests, mock sea battles, executions, etc. It can hold upto 80,000 people. Though partially destroyed by earthquakes and stone robbers, it is still a classic symbol of the Roman Empire.7. 
Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Brazil. The newest of all wonders, this statue is located atop a hill in Rio de Janeiro. Made in 1931 of reinforced concrete and soapstone, it is tallest of its kind in the world. The statue of Jesus Christ, with welcoming open arms, has become a symbol of Christianity.*. 
The Pyramid of Khufu, Egypt. Built as a tomb for the Pharaoh Khufu, The largest of all pyramids stands 4500 years old. It was the tallest man made building till 19th century until Eiffel Tower broke the record. The Pyramid of Khufu points almost exactly to the north, and has remarkably accurate measurements for its age. The complex has 3 pyramids : Pyramid of Khufu, Pyramid of Khafre, and Pyramid of Menkaure, and a statue of human headed Lion, called the Sphinx.
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