With the aim of rediscovering the role of toys in cognitive development of children, an Educational Toy Making Workshop was organised by Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights in association with St. Joseph's Sr. Sec. School, Sector 44 D, Chandigarh on the theme ' Enjoyable Learning' to mark the beginning of the Children’s Day celebrations.
The main aim was to equip the teachers from the neighbouring schools in the art of creating toys with the help of low-cost materials that are environmentally sustainable and that ignite creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving skills in children.Around 50 schools participated in the workshop.
The workshop commenced with the inauguration of the programme by Ma'am Harjinder Kaur, Chairperson, CCPCR. At the outset coloring book on UNCRC on Child Rights was released by the Chief Guest Sh. Harsuhinder Pal Singh Brar, PCS, Director School Education, Chandigarh Administration to be circulated among the masses.
While sharing the ideology behind the workshop with her powerful message, she set the tone of the workshop. All the distinguished speakers were presented with planters, and a special token of love was bestowed on Mrs. Harjinder Kaur. (CCPCR) Principal Ms. Monica Chawla shared the experience of the actual implementation of the program.
She elaborated on the way forward in seeking to foster the creation of large toys according to the school curriculum as the key resource person. The Chief Guest lauded the initiative for touching new milestones in teaching and learning and sharing their best practises in order to make the learning process effective and interesting.
The session proved to be a happy amalgamation of enthusiasm and creative ideas from the resource person and the attendees as well. Participants, divided into groups, were introduced to various types of toy making and game experiments for young learners in order to create a joyful learning experience for both teachers and students.
Demonstration sessions were conducted by the heads of departments and the practitioner teachers on making toys and presenting good practises in the schools. Every group added their efforts and created games using different kinds of material.
In the end, the workshop concluded with every group explaining their work and showcasing the games and props they had made. It was followed by an assessment of how successfully the participants had incorporated the learning from the session into their teaching methodologies.
The school principal, Ms. Monica Chawla, was felicitated with an appreciation award for sharing her expertise and revolutionizing the pedagogical tools with innovative methods and practises in the Educational Toy Making Workshop under the Girl's India Project of CCPCR. The heads of departments, Ms Aarti Malhotra (English), Ms Rama Garg (Mathematics), and Ms Jyoti (Science), were also rewarded by Ma'am Harjinder Kaur of the CCPCR for mentoring and successfully executing the workshop.
The revered school director, Mr. Paramdeep Sir, appreciated the CCPCR team for their vision and mission to equip all the children with the required 21st century skills. The CCPCR congratulated all the participants present on their willingness to learn by being an active part of this workshop. She further said in her message that a "handholding" session will be organised where the resource persons will observe the practical use of "toy pedagogy."