Footprints 2 Footprints Anweshana Montessori House Of Children Anweshana Montessori House Of Children, No. 154, 9th Cross, Prakruthi Layout, 5th Block, Hennur Main Road, Bangalore - 560043.
3 Footprints Anweshana-the beginnings I vividly remember the first time I walked into a Montessori environment. It was in the year 1990 when my search for the ‘right’ school for my son had taken me to Sishugriha Montessori house of children. I was thrilled by the novelty of what I saw! After interacting with the principal, Late Mrs. Sunanda Nagananda, I knew that my search for a school that is not confined to blackboards, textbooks and rote learning had come to a joyful end. I enrolled my son into the school and there began my passion to learn more about the method. I keenly observed the Montessori environment, read books authored by Dr. Maria Montessori and completed the Montessori training course under the guidance of Mrs. Meenakshi Sivaramkrishnan. At that time there were only about ten Montessori houses of children in Bangalore and I could see that there was a dire need for more Montessori schools. I grappled with the idea of opening one myself as the thought of neglecting my children was too painful. However my husband stood by me and empowered by his constant support and encouragement we started a house of children and named it Anweshana which means “to explore”. Anweshana had its beginnings in the year 1993, in a small rented house with 12 pre-primary children, my dear friend and co-educator Mrs. Shubha, Saraswathi and myself. A year later we moved into our own campus in Banaswadi. During that time, not many people had heard about the Montessori method of education. We got all the Montessori materials from Kaybee Manufacturing Company but that was not enough. So I had to wear many hats- working with children and familiarising parents about the method during the day; organising the environment and shopping for material in the evening and making material for Language and Culture late into the night. Gradually our team grew. I pursued my Elementary Montessori course along with Mrs. Rama who was a parent of Anweshana and together we started the elementary environment in 1997. We were soon joined by Mrs.Jayashree who has been my constant support. Our present campus in Hennur was at that point barren land with boggy soil. With a lot of effort, we managed to transform it into a green campus and moved in 2002. As Anweshana steps into it’s 27th year, I am filled with gratitude towards our entire team of educators, non-teaching staff, parents and children who have made this journey meaningful. Our journey through the years has been exciting, fulfilling, challenging and a true learning experience. There is a lot that I have learnt while working with children of different age groups. The children have shown me the beauty of living in the moment, the thrill in every day discoveries, the equality in interpersonal interactions, the creativity of an uninhibited mind and the joy of exploring nature’s abundance. This is the innate nature of children and in fact all of us. But for us adults, this innate nature has been buried beneath several layers of conditioning that we have acquired over the years. Children have naturally absorbent and observant minds. So, it is very easy for us to unintentionally pass on our acquired insecurities, fears, judgments and desires to children without even realizing it. We need to be watchful of what we say and do, because children observe our casual remarks and actions and use them to construct their ideas of the world around them. The society is merely a reflection of what is going on inside each and every one of us. So, let us do our part by leading a more conscious life where we take some time out from the frenzy of our daily lives and reflect upon the impact of our thoughts, words and actions on ourselves, our children, our neighbors, the society and the environment. - Bharathi D, Educator The child, making use of all that he finds around him, shapes himself for the future - Dr Maria Montessori
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