Punjab education dept introduces monthly activities for pre-primary students

To enhance the creativity and motor skills of the children, the concerned department has released a monthly schedule of co-curricular activities for the 2023-24 session

Considering the overall development of a child, the Punjab education department has instructed government schools across the state to organise an co-curricular activity every month for pre-primary students in the age group of three to six years.

The programme began on April 13. Students were asked to draw a stalk of wheat on a white sheet and decorate it with kernels in Ludhiana. (HT Photo)

To enhance the creativity and motor skills of the children, the concerned department has released a monthly schedule of co-curricular activities for the session 2023-24.

The programme began on April 13 with the first activity asking students to draw a stalk of wheat on the sheet and decorate it with kernels.

Sharing how enthusiastically children participated in the activity, Amarpreet Kaur, head teacher at Government Primary School, Punjab Agricultural University said, “Kids were super excited, especially the urban children who did not know about wheat stalk and kernel. They took great interest in the activity. Few of them were so curious they even got projects made from home as well just by learning from the video shared by teachers.”

Kaur shared that material required for the activity is provided by the school and the assignment is made by the tiny tots during school hours with help of their concerned teachers.

According to the schedule, children will make photo frames in May, collages in July, swing in August, doll in September, mask in October, lantern in November along with bal mela, airplane modelling with the help of wooden clips and sticks in December, paper craft and tricolour badge in January, sports in February, and paper water gun in March followed by their graduation ceremony.

Additionally, an exhibition will be also organised for the activities that the students will do and the school managing committee, parents and other people of the village or locality will also be motivated to participate in it.

Teachers are instructed to help students with these monthly activities. At the same time, instructions have also been given to the school heads to get the activity done on the same day it has been scheduled. The products and artefacts made by the students will be displayed on the display board and also be shared on social media platforms.

Expressing how it will impact children psychologically Pallavi Abhilasha, a psychiatrist at Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, said, “Art is a form of therapy that helps in hand-eye coordination, improves dexterity and fine motor skills. It helps in expressing their feelings in a meaningful and positive. It will enhance their social interaction with children of similar interests improving the bonding between child and parents and also helping with the improvement of self-esteem. On a cognitive level, it will help in improving visual learning memory and decision-making skills.”

Stating that Pre-primary activity will also help children with special needs Pallavi said, “Most children with autism have difficulty in social and verbal communication so art allows people with ASD to use their already visually-minded brains to communicate through artistic media. They can record images and visual data, express ideas, and process memories that they are unable to do verbally. It also helps with sensory stimulation.”

A letter issued by the education department said this initiative will not only increase confidence and creativity in students but will also motivate other young kids and their parents for enrolment in educational institutions.