FAQ’s

At Dew Drops Academy, we have

1. Primary – from Age 2 years to Age 6 Years
2. Lower Elementary – From Age 6 Years to Age 9 Years
3. Upper Elementary – From Age 9 Years to Age 12 Years
4. Adolescent – From Age 12 to Age 16 Years

The best teacher in our school is another child. Our children will learn so much more from each other than from an Adult. A mixed-age classroom is where students of different age groups work together on a topic. They might all be at different levels of understanding, however, the interactions in the mixed age group make things easier for the younger lot to grasp. Presentations for individual age groups are normal, however, the younger children in the group get to experience the work of senior students.

At Dew Drops Academy, we have 30 to 35 students in one environment.

Our Adults at Dew Drops Academy are trained to observe unconditionally, thereby creating space for the children to be themselves. The Adult decides when and how to introduce a new challenge/lesson/topic to a child and when to review the previous lesson if the skills are yet to be acquired by the child.

Kindly refer to the previous question.

Dew Drops Academy has an environment where children choose what they want to learn. Children will experience independence, discipline, and concentration when they have the freedom to choose their activity or leaning within any topic.

It is normal for some children not to have an interest in some subjects/topics. At Dew Drops Academy we encourage children to pursue their area of deep interest. Sometimes children may go so deep in a topic that they may have covered knowledge in that subject far beyond their age. This sense of achievement opens up their mind to the Adult’s suggestions and they may even take up the topics in which they showed little interest previously. Also, when children see their friends pick-up a topic and enjoy it, the group wants to join in.

We include almost all the topics present in CBSE, ICSE, IGCSE, and State boards. However our approach to any of these topics is not rote, it is experientially performed by the learners.

Dew Drops Academy is accredited by Karnataka State Board and our children will write KSEEB exams.

Yes, it is true.

Over the years we have observed that children are more motivated to learn when working on something of their choice and at their own pace. Our children have a choice about the subject or topic of learning. Our Adults generally give the initial presentation of the relevant topic after which the children continue working on it. As this continues, further questions which come up are addressed in the form of additional presentations/research/discussions.

Beginning with the Elementary level, each year, our children set their own learning goals, create personal work plans and also record day-to-day activities under the Adult’s supervision. This helps them to plan and revisit if they are on track. All of this also leads to taking responsibility which promotes a child’s self-discipline.

We get this question from parents all the time. We understand the concern, each parent wants to give their best to their child. No one would like to see their children fall behind.

At Dew Drops Academy, we believe in “Trust the Process” and more importantly “Trust the Child”. Every child is constructing himself all the time, with or without the help of school, teachers, parents. We have to trust the child’s process of development.

Also, to answer this question directly, although students are free to work at their own pace, they’re not doing it alone. Our Adults closely observe & supervise each child and provide materials and activities that advance his learning by building on the skills and knowledge already gained.

This gentle guidance helps each child master the challenge at hand while protecting him from moving on before he’s ready, which is often what causes children to “fall behind”. Children are challenged appropriately in each area of the curriculum to ensure that skills and competencies are fully developed and they are able to pursue their own unique interests.

Yes & No.

Standardized Tests & Exams are for quality checks in the factory where they do mass production of goods. Here at Dew Drops Academy, we are not looking at doing mass production of students passing out and joining colleges.

We believe that every child is unique and has unique capabilities to attain greater success in life. There exists a special connection between each of the children and our Adults. This connection leads to the children being challenged, questioned, confused, answered based on their unique goals and expertise. Our children are tested every single day.

Regardless of which environment the child comes from (be it Traditional, Waldorf, Home Schooling or Montessori), questions about the transition from school to college will always arise. For Montessori children, it will be very easy to adjust to any new environment because they are intrinsically flexible and adaptable.

Also, having worked in mixed age group environments which are just like the society, they are bound to be comfortable in any situation they are put into.

If you are talking purely about regular tests and exams which happens in the outside academic world, Montessori children do go through the entire process of preparing for the board exams and they are very much aware of what to expect.

The only comparison in the Montessori environment is possible between a particular child’s previous work and current work. In Montessori, it’s about the child working from one level of challenges to another level of challenges.