Social and emotional
- Managing feelings and behaviour
- Responding to others with empathy
- Taking part in groups
- Building relationships with adults
Home / About
Every child has great potential. The early years unlock it.
Research in epigenetics suggests a child's genetic potential only comes to life through their experiences, and the experiences of the early years matter most. That idea shapes everything we do at Small Wonders.
Our philosophy and pedagogy
Our programme is a mix of creative activities, each designed to give children just enough support to explore and express themselves in many different ways.
Our own curriculum draws on well-established early-education practice from around the world, with a focus on building focus, logic, teamwork and patience in every child.
Parents are at the centre of each child's learning. We keep evaluation and assessment open, so you can take part in the process too.
Our curriculum is inspired by
- HighScope
- The Creative Curriculum
- Reggio Emilia
- Montessori
A Personalised Learning Plan for every child
Every child learns at their own pace. We get to know each child's interests and plan around them.
Rahul is still getting a grip on crayons and scribbling.
Puja is already drawing straight lines with ease.
Asking both to start writing letters on the same day wouldn't help either of them. A personal plan keeps each child's activities challenging, but never overwhelming.
Eight areas we plan for
Physical
- How the body works, and self-care
- Gross motor control and balance
- Fine motor skills
Thinking skills
- Sustaining attention
- How objects can be used
- Early cause and effect
- Sorting and classifying
Language and communication
- Listening and understanding
- Speaking and conversation
- Phonics and the alphabet
- Early writing
- Enjoying books
Mathematics
- Numbers and counting
- Patterns
- Comparing and measuring
- Shapes and space
Creative arts
- Art and craft
- Music, dance and movement
- Drama and pretend play
Science and technology
- Observing and classifying
- Experimenting and predicting
- Nature and the world around us
- Tinkering with tools
Social studies
- Understanding self and others
- Simple geography
- A sense of time, from here and now to there and then
Spaces, not classrooms
At this age, children learn best by moving between spaces that appeal to all their senses. So instead of classrooms, our campuses are divided into dedicated learning areas, with plenty of room to play indoors and out.
- Blocks
- Toys
- Art
- Sand and water
- Barnyard
- Pretend play
- Pool
- Language
- Music
- Free play
We want school to be a place children love coming to, and don't want to leave.
Parents as partners
Children spend most of their time with you, and learn from everything around them. So we keep you closely involved.
- Learning updates on our app and at regular open houses
- Photos, videos and notes from class activities, shared on the app
- Workshops on child development and parenting
- Help preparing for primary school admission interviews
Educators who keep learning
Children look up to their teachers. They matter more than anything else in the room, so we invest in them.
- Class and child outcome sheets to plan activities around each child
- Clear assessment criteria so educators can keep refining their approach
- Regular workshops on the latest in early education
- 87%
- trained in early childhood education
- 250 hrs
- of training a year
- 7 : 1
- children per educator
Our founders
Gaurav Poddar
Co-founder and Curriculum Director
Gaurav leads curriculum and business development. After XLRI Jamshedpur and a role at Citibank, he moved to Kolkata to run the family business, and set out to change how early education is delivered in the city.
Nikita Poddar
Co-founder and Creative Head
Nikita leads activity and centre design, and looks after school administration. A graduate of ICFAI Hyderabad who worked at ICICI, she also runs her own personalised packaging business, The Décor Trunk.
See it for yourself
Visit a campus with your child, walk through the learning spaces and meet our educators.