During the Community Unit in Social studies, 4th graders Radhe & Vara had quite a task! Under Mother Madhavi’s guidance, they worked with their younger classmates to plan, map out, and build a replica of the Kalachandji’s community. Four streets were covered, with detailed homes, addresses, parks, businesses, the Community Garden and the ornate Kalachandji’s temple and restaurant!
Work on this all-encompassing project spilled into after-school hours where the kids walked the streets of the community, noting down the exact number of trees, the address numbers, and even the colors of the homes.
The most impressive part was to see student collaboration. Each student took a role and stayed accountable to their teammates. “You can do the trees or the house roofs – that’s what is left now. I’ll do whatever you don’t want to do.” Radhe and Vara showed leadership by delegating expertly, finishing up unwanted tasks and navigating through tight deadlines.
Projects like these give our students a practical application of what they learned all month, and the 21st century soft skills – collaboration, time management, communication – all important for today’s world.
