Providing lifespan services to individuals with special needs...
Kaleidoscope Learning Centre - Special School
The Kaleidoscope Learning Centre (KLC) is a special school dedicated to serving the needs of the growing number of children with developmental disabilities. The school strives to develop in each student, a self-esteem and respect for others and an appreciation for his/her own unique gifts and talents. The school aims at raising independent, self-reliant individuals who can meet life on their own terms with minimal guidance from their support system.
The school follows a curriculum based on the Rudolf Steiner curriculum that is followed the world over in Waldorf schools. The Waldorf curriculum brings together all elements of a child’s development: the intellectual, the artistic and the spiritual. The curriculum focuses on the stages of development in a child’s life and their needs at different stages. One of the key charecteristics of the curriculum is the understanding of the human being as a whole. The school cultivates a deep bond between the teacher and the child to facilitate learning, thus providing a warm, non-judgmental home-like environment which helps children develop skills appropriate to their developmental stage. What makes the program unique, is that instead of focussing on the content alone, the curative education programme focusses on bringing creativity and common sense to everything that is taught.
Programs at KLC
Kindergarten - Kindergarten is a reception class where children are received with reverence, a place where their journey away from home begins. The focus is on making the classes as enjoyable for a child and interact with each other as one does in their childhood. The nurturing aspects with care to include the challenges of a child with developmental disabilities is what make this an unique approach.
Grade School - Here, we follow the system of elementary school grades, where the teacher accompanies her set of children from grade 1 upto 8. Unlike in regular schooling, here the source of most information is the teacher and not the text book, computer or videos. Currently, we have grades 1, 2, 3A, 3B, and an upper 3, and grade 4. The curative curriculum in the grade school is accompanied by teaching through repetition, rhythm, rehearsal in movement and speech exercises. Occupational therapy and speech therapy are interwoven in the class routine and is an integral part of the comprehensive Waldorf curriculum. Over the grades, they learn a whole variety of children's literature, fairy tales, fables, mythology, history and culture of the world, botany, zoology and the sciences. Practical work such as gardening and construction of a real-life setting are included in these grades.
Pre-vocational - The pre-vocational courses provide children with practical life skills along with functional academics. Almost all children in the school will sooner or later have to find a way to be independent and productive and be included in the mainstream - this course supports the mainstreaming of children to the best extent possible. The subjects taught in this group are more application based where the children and young adolescents in this group learn about themselves, their bodies and their social and communication skills in responding to others. They learn about hygiene and grooming, work ethics, recreational activities and daily life skills. A large part of the day is spent in practical life skills like, cooking, baking, gardening, carpentry, metal work, stitching, printing, weaving, and other craft.
Learn more about Waldorf education...Senior Staff at KLC :
