Category: Blogs

My name is Achalesh Ramana. I am 9 years old. I am an open learner at Aarohi. I love to explore and experiment. My parents say I am a keen observer and I quickly grasp things . They also say that I am a happy child. I agree that I am a happy person. I…

Bhargav and Aparna sharing “Even before Achalesh was born, we had liked the concept of Community living. We had explored Homeschooling and Unschooling for Achalesh. While we were at this exploration, we hit upon Open learning at Aarohi. We decided to explore the aspect of both Community living and learning there. Even though it started…

UNEDITED Sreya sharing “I am homeschooled for the past 3 years. This was actually a bold decision made by my parents in order for me to pursue my interests, passion, and things that gave me satisfaction. Though I was attending my dance classes from the age of 7, I wasn’t satisfied with the amount of…

UNEDITED Once upon a time there lived a girl called Pari she used to go to a Aarohi life education trust. Before that she used to go to a school there she used to be very quiet but when she went to Aarohi she got surprised and she thought that it is open for everything.…

JUST WANT TO BRING ATTENTION TO FREE PLAY It’s a myth that just because I am “made to learn something” that will make me more confident. Unless I have the freedom to explore, to think, to express, to make decisions, to make mistakes, it’s unlikely that I will build confidence. Three problems with many structured…

Somewhere on a sunny dayMy box full of paint s callingI began with some itching to paint Dots inspired me One canvas with random lines Then some paints filled up randomly Then some dots filled upThen got bored Left it for a few months Invited all in the family to join me To dot dot…

Where all we’ll find circle living in your house – utensils, toys, knobs, pen caps, faces, fan, cup face, In my glass, football, in my bag, clock, wire plug, dot, fan, glasses, in my painting bowl, mask, google home, painting palette, wifi, bangles, headphones, swimming goggle, holes, earphones, plant pot, holes for pest control, machine,…

This week I’m not going to push myself. I will do whatever I like whenever i want. Some the things i want to do are: Painting and drawing, Record songs, Science experiment (how fast are the vehicles moving in a given distance) Train my dog Write a song / poem Make ice-cream Reading I want…

Monica is 9yrs old, She likes history and a few more like history. They all came together and formed a history club. Shikha is 13yrs old, She likes to observe and absorb nature, she does in her own space Advay is 9yr old, He has been learning electronics and wanted to share with others and…

At O-campus we have two dogs and few cats and hundreds of birds and maybe millions of small ants. We are not counting everything else you can find in a five-acre rural campus, in a co-existing and co-creating community. We also find google here. When people ask us how many facilitators we have, We say…

Breakfast/ Dinner at the campus (with five of us during this pandemic) is a very dynamic and happening space. While lunch is a very calm and individualistic space. We have lots of variety in our meals to take care of all the needs 0f nutrition and protein for footballers, taste buds of all…and also a…

What better way to learn? I decide ~ I do ! I reflect Even in this COVID situation, we work from home and come together as a community to share and be with each other. It’s not about online, it’s about CONNECTIONS! Questioning is akin to looking for different foods, observation is eating it, REFLECTION…

What better way to learn: I decide ~I do ~ and I reflect We began with our DREAMS – dream of what I want to do.Each one decided what they wanted to do at home – some made elaborate plans, some thought daily, some just decided to “go with the flow”.Some of the things from…

The following tips/points are in no particular order What is a productive day for me? For me a productive day would be when I get a really good training session, workout and maybe a recovery session. Write/make a video about something, Do some sketching or learn something new. Normally if I am at Aarohi I…

I got inspired to make a mask after watching this video https://youtu.be/HhNo_IOPOtU I started to make a mask, initially, I thought that I would not be able to follow the exact dimensions – as I am more of an estimated tailor (cut and stitch by intuition rather than measurements). But then I pushed myself to…

I DECIDE is the process to invite the child to take the learning responsibility in his/her hands. As a family you need to rethink your images about the children – they are neither small, not big – they are they and that’s all…capable and equal partners. Once you change your images, you may change your…

Is motivation a myth?15yrs old Dhtupad sharing his notes about motivation My notes/understanding from the article WHY YOU DON’T NEED MOTIVATION TO TRAINMotivation is like the weather, sometimes it’s raining and hailing heavily some times it’s bright and sunny. You can’t control your motivation it comes and goes whenever it feels like it (Unless you…

Education is not about outsourcing, but about CO-CREATING. The need for Aarohi-X arose from the situation of social distancing. We began the process by finding the needs of the children and the parents in the community. We came together several times (online) to listen to understand and co-create the Aarohi-X. X stands for extending the…

Planning is a process, a tool to bring democracy in the environment – I DECIDE is the freedom to choose while I PLAN is the responsibility associated with that freedom. Each family gives a different shape. Planning is not only for the child – it’s a process, but it’s also a way of life for…

In our home, we had a stepped clothes cupboard in the kid’s room. Our kids would keep their clothes at different heights as they would grow in height and decide for themselves what they wanted to wear. From an early age (2-3 yrs old) they would choose their clothing.When I look at their childhood pics…

We asked, “what Basic skills we need to survive in the situation like COVID-19, And the list came up Cooking and Homecare Research and finding information Able to spend time with self Able to develop an interest Know how to keep self safe Self-care Basic skills at Aarohi are part of our LIVING – We…

Each one of us is different and that adds up value to each other as a team – Strengths WE FACILITATORS collectively use are Focus, Persistent, Consistent, Open to feedback, Love you learn, Honesty, Hardworking, Observing session prep, Listening to the discussion, Connecting to experiences, Little questioning, Reading little, Understanding way, reflecting own pattern. Open…

Democracy cannot be learned, it can be experienced. Our most aspirational endeavor – to create and keep Aarohi as a democratic space. We are experimenting with any form of interactions, communications, interventions, and systems – all targeted to make the community truly interdependent – with co-creation, co-learning, and co-existence as key parameters Reviewing is an…

Activity Club had 4 parts – Games / Research / Reading and Doing Experiences.The review is done by children and all comments were thoughts from their experience in Activity Club. GAMES We played a variety of games – Business, TT, Routes of Spices in Globe, Juggling, Bowling, Pictionary, Suduko, Memory game, Tower of Hanoi, Emotions…

In oneself lies the whole world and if you know how to look and learn, the door is there and the key is in your hand. Nobody on earth can give you either the key or the door to open, except yourself. Jiddu Krishnamurti A reflection is exactly that – looking at oneself (in the…

Experience of Deep – Diving by some kids at Aarohi was A window to experience that I can design my own learning around my interest. Film making, Dance, Music, Business through making and selling products, Business Through understanding the market (stock market) were some of the interest taken up by different children REVIEW of the…

Ajesh, a Parent shared “Will not be able to find words to express all that I felt during the week at the campus, but let me try collecting. Lots of learning, doing, thinking, creation, playing, mentoring, being mentored, “children, children & children “, expanded friend circle, rethinking development, football, pranks, falling sick, loose motion, “enjoying…

Passion found – Shock phaseIt was Early 2017 that we were asking Aadarsh about his hobbies. Our 2nd child Siddarth used to do multiple craftworks like Origami. We were curious to know what Aadarsh wanted to do as part of his hobby time. He never replied after severalinquiries but one evening he mentioned that “cooking”…

Dewey’s thoughts on DOING. He says “Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results – Dewey” Our Thoughts Doing leads to various levels of learning When we DO for the child, we take away the opportunity for the…

Pari is 8yrs old, she is a self-directed learner at Aarohi. With a dream of excelling in gymnastics, she spends her time with art and clay, learning various things with friends including drama and dance. This 8yr old is not too small to be Aarohi’s official receptionist. She is capable: To Dream, To Think, To…