Chembur

Happy Weekend Chembur Family.

Choosing a preschool in Chembur shouldn't be this simple. Or perhaps, it shouldn't be this complicated.

With 25+ preschools in the neighbourhood, parents have plenty to compare, location, fees, timings, facilities, activities, curriculum and, increasingly, what a school presents on Instagram.

All of these things matter. But when you're choosing a place where your child may spend some of their most formative years, there is another question worth asking:

What are you actually looking for when you visit a preschool?

We spoke to Sana Bhambani of Safari Kid Chembur, Pooja Savla of ThinkNest Learning and Gayathri Narayanan of Basil Woods Juniors to understand what parents should look beyond when making that choice.

We're starting with Gayathri's perspective, and it begins with something parents may not be able to see immediately.

When parents walk into a preschool, some things are immediately visible.

The classrooms. The space. The worksheets. The activities. The infrastructure. The claims around academics.

But some of the most important things aren't.

Gayathri Narayanan of Basil Woods Juniors points to the developmental foundations that sit underneath a child's visible achievements, attention, sensory development, communication, fine and gross motor skills, emotional regulation, confidence and social interaction.

These can be easy to overlook precisely because they don't always produce something that can be displayed or measured immediately.

A child learning to read or count gives parents something tangible to see. But a child becoming more confident about expressing themselves, learning to regulate their emotions, developing better coordination, communicating with others or becoming comfortable enough to explore independently is also making progress.

It just looks different.

This is also why Gayathri makes a distinction between a teacher and a caring educator.

A teacher can facilitate learning. But a caring educator can create the sense of security a child needs to explore, ask questions, try something new and make mistakes.

That changes what parents might want to observe during a school visit.

Not just what is being taught, but how adults respond to children.

Do children feel comfortable approaching their educators? Are they encouraged to explore? Are they given opportunities to try things themselves? What happens when they get something wrong?

These moments may tell a parent more about the everyday experience of a child than a list of activities on a brochure.

For Gayathri, some of the most meaningful learning can also happen through ordinary time spent at home.

Her advice is uncomplicated: give children meaningful, distraction-free time.

Talk to them. Listen to their answers. Read together. Ask questions. Let them participate in simple household activities.

The point isn't to turn the home into another classroom. It is to recognise that children are constantly observing, communicating, experimenting and making sense of the world around them.

At Basil Woods, that idea of development also extends beyond academic and developmental skills to culture and values.

Festivals, stories, traditions, gratitude, prayer and caring for nature are treated as opportunities for children to develop a connection with their cultural roots.

The school's broader approach brings together academic learning with sensory development, physical activity, creativity, social-emotional development and values. Its philosophy is also influenced by the Hare Krishna movement's emphasis on compassion, devotion, discipline, gratitude and respect for all living beings.

The underlying idea is that the preschool years are not only about preparing a child to perform academically.

They are also about developing the person who will eventually do that learning.

Perhaps that is why one line from Gayathri stayed with us:

“Don't rush childhood, but don't underestimate these years either.”

The early years don't need to look like primary school to be meaningful. A child doesn't need to spend every day producing something measurable for those years to be productive.

There is a lot happening beneath the surface, building confidence, learning to communicate, developing independence, understanding emotions, forming relationships, exploring the world and beginning to understand values.

And those foundations can stay with a child long after the worksheets and preschool activities are forgotten.

So when you visit a preschool, perhaps don't only ask what your child will learn, or what you will be able to see at the end of the day.

Ask: What is this preschool developing in my child that I may not be able to see immediately?

This is the first of our conversations with Chembur preschools about what parents should think about before making that choice.bThere’s more to come.