Speaking about what we do is challenging when there is always so much going on!!
All the more when what’s going on is ever evolving and changing, much of it happening at the spur of the moment… And so, with this disclaimer in mind, here are some routine activities we are likely to be engaged with in Marudam…
Every day will see children (and teachers)…
- Carrying out various duties around the campus, be it garbage collecting, toilet cleaning, sweeping, gardening, helping in the kitchen, preparing snacks or any other chore which needs attending to.
- Physical activities will be different for different age groups, and depending on different teachers can range from Games, Gymnastics, Steiner style physical education, Yoga, Jiujitzu, Silambam, Circus and Juggling, Running, Dance, Strength exercises and more. But as we strongly believe in movement to develop and maintain strong, agile and healthy body and mind, it is something that we definitely try to do every day.
- Of course we also engage with academics on a daily basis. We focus on Languages (English and Tamil), Math and Environment for the younger groups and expand to Geography, History, Science, Social and Contemporary studies as the children grow.
- Snacks and Lunch is an important part of the day, as food is something we take very seriously. We care to feed and be fed as nutritionally, locally, sustainably, organically and tasty as possible! and that takes a lot of love, labour and intention.
Every School Week…
- Starts with an all school assembly, with songs, announcements, clearing of whatever issue may appear, and generally setting the week on a ‘mutual note’
- Continues with a hill day for each group- a full morning outdoors, interacting closely with the natural world. This immense experiential learning is facilitated by our close connection to The Forest Way and its afforestation work on the Arunachala hill, and can take the form of: walking; trekking; berry picking; boulder hopping; helping with nursery work; bird watching; observation; playing nature games; or even just sitting quietly surrounding by the wild. The importance of this day for developing awareness, sensitivity and a growing body of knowledge about the environment is, in our mind, rare and unparalleled.
- has a circle time, a time for each group to look at different topics that came up in the world, or in the group, or within oneself… This is done according to age, inspired by J. Krishnamurty ways of observation and discussion.
- Classes in art, theatre, music and crafts are held once a week for most groups.
- Includes a baking day for school snacks, taken charged by one of the older groups.
- Will see an all-inclusive teachers’ meeting, where discussion of anything, from the practical to the personal; from pedagogy to vision questions will take place.
Every Year…
- The different classes will be going for one or more trips. These can be a few days or even two weeks long ones, with destination such as rain forests in Kerala, Pallava structures and temples in Kanchipuram and Mahabalipuram, or short trips to nearby places such as Chennai, to take part in the Turtle Conservation program and Javadhu hills, to help seed collecting for the afforestation projects. The trip will be connected to what is being studied by the class that year, and are an integral part of our ethos as we believe so much deep and relevant learning, on many levels, can be had in them.
- will see (eaither/or) drama, dance performance, movie productions, as well as various exhibitions.
- All-parents discussion meeting take place once a term. It has become clear to us that these present a wonderful opportunity for a sharing and a dialogue which can facilitate better understanding amongst us all, coming from different backgrounds as we do. We do that by creatively explore seemingly simple and basic themes such as “discipline”, “learning” or “play”, finding out that they might mean very different things for different people.
- Craft Week: Around November/December each year, all regular schedules come to a halt for a week, allowing space for a total immersion in all which is Arts and Crafts. During this mega event we’ll be hosting artisans and resource people coming from near and far to share their respective skills, as well as students from many different schools and home-schooling families who come to join us for the week. Year after year we get uplifted and inspired while witnessing the level of involvement, creativity and concentration that sweeps through the campus as everyone, regardless of age and origin, teaches and learn from everyone else.
- Soon after it is the Mela‘s turn to flower. The Mela is a combination of fun and crafts fair, open to all, with games, food, crafts stalls, performances, and more. The children take active part in the preparation and implementation, which bring endless learnings on practical, relational, artistic and social levels. The event became a feature not only for the school but also for the wider community, as people from villages around, Tiruvannamalai town with its extensive foreigner population and even guests from other districts all gather and enjoy the offerings while at the same time giving active support to the artisans and the arts.
