All ’Bout Children: Wholesome education for preschoolers
Newly renovated and ready for the children
Taking a spirited step into advancing early childhood education in Sri Lanka, the All ‘Bout Children pre-school which is affiliated to the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) was inaugurated on January 31 in the premises of the Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind.
The opening ceremony began with a prayer by the Bishop of Colombo and Chairman (Board of Trustees) of the Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind, Rt. Rev. Dhiloraj Canagasabey along with the lighting of the traditional lamp by the members of the joint board and guests. They included; Nirmalenee Gupta (Founder, All ’Bout Children), Deepa Melvani (Administrator, All ’Bout Children), Ray Abeywardena, Susila Hensman, Shubhani Jayawardana, Chandra Schaffter (Chairman, Executive Committee), Manisha Peiris (Chairperson, Education Oversight Committee), Nirmali Wickremesinghe (Manager, School for the Deaf) and Nirosh De Silva (Chairman-Resource Development Committee & Manager, School for the Blind).
Nirmalenee Gupta, a qualified AMI teacher and one of the first adults to pursue Montessori training at St. Bridget’s Convent, Colombo back then will head the new school.
Having received an opportunity to teach pre- school students in Minnesota, U.S.A in the late ‘60s, in 1973 she along with her husband Vijay B. Gupta launched their own early childhood education centre in the U.S. named All ’Bout Children. A non-profit organization, the school catered to the needs of children aged 2 1/2 to 14. Ms. Gupta taught the children aged 2 ½ to 6 while classes for the older children were handled by her husband.
Founder, All ‘Bout Children Nirmalenee Gupta showing visitors the facilities
The desire to serve her motherland, inspired her to open All ’Bout Children here for children aged 2 1/2 to 6 years at a newly renovated building at the Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind. “I had a very good education in Sri Lanka. I always felt I needed to give back in some way to help the country. My sister suggested ‘why don’t you start a school for underprivileged children so they could receive an English based education in the montessori’,” she recalled. Another friend mentioned that there was a great need for a montessori for children with learning disabilities such as autism, processing difficulties, dyslexia etc. “Thereby with the help of Shubhani Jayawardhana I set up a non-profit organization. This is how it all started.”
The Montessori provides education at a nominal cost to all children, especially those with financial constraints. The school has customised stationery and equipment for each student.
The new classrooms can accommodate 25 children in each class, and each child will receive individual attention. There are five classrooms with an apartment upstairs that provides accommodation for the teachers. The building is equipped with standardised sanitary facilities according to the requirements of different age categories, along with a children’s play area and playground. Students with learning difficulties will also be accepted.
“We provide a wholesome knowledge, starting with basic household activities to basic mathematics, basic geometry and basic geography based preschool activities, languages, arts and crafts …. the list goes on,” Ms. Gupta added.
Enrolments are open now! The school can be contacted through hotline number 0112632228 or via email address: allboutchildren20@yahoo.com.