Yamuna Enclave, PanipatAges 2 to 6

Small WondersIkigai

Every child has a strength worth finding early. Our teachers spot it, and then build it into focus, confidence and a hunger to learn.

Book a visit Finding the spark
生き甲斐 Iki, to live · gai, worth
Where
Yamuna Enclave, Panipat
Ages
2 to 6 · Early Years to EY3
Next
Infinia World School

What we believeEvery child already loves something. Our job is to notice it before they can name it.

The idea · Finding the spark

Finding the spark.

In Japan there is a word for the thing that gets you out of bed in the morning: ikigai. It does not have to be one big purpose. It is allowed to be small: the morning air, a cup of tea, somebody noticing you. For a child it is simpler still. It is whatever they cannot wait to get back to.

Grown-ups spend years looking for it. Small children show theirs every day, to anyone who is watching. Our teachers are paid to watch, and to write down what they see.

For parents

What does your child do when nobody is watching?

Pick up to three. This isn’t a test, and there are no wrong answers. It is simply how our teachers start: by noticing.

Pick one to begin.

What it can look like

One spark. One term.

A spark is a question waiting to happen. Here is how one can grow through the same inquiry cycle children meet at Infinia, in a classroom of four-year-olds.

  1. Week 1 Tuning in

    A line of ants by the step.

    A four-year-old stops at the gate every morning to watch them. Her teacher notices her noticing.

  2. Week 4 Finding out

    Six legs. No, eight. No, six.

    A magnifying glass, an ant walk, drawings counted and corrected, and a spoon of sugar against a spoon of salt.

  3. Week 8 Taking action

    Please don’t step on the ants.

    The class paints a sign for the step. Now everyone, parents included, walks around them.

Nobody planned a unit on ants. One child’s spark became the whole class’s inquiry. That is what Ikigai is for.

A place your child learns to ask more

Yamuna Enclave · ages 2 to 6

A day at Ikigai

From hello to home time.

The shape of the morning never changes, which is exactly what lets a child risk something new inside it.

The morning has three movements: a circle to begin, a long stretch in the corner they chose, and a story before home.

  1. Hello at the gate

    A teacher meets every child by name, and asks what they did after school yesterday.

  2. Circle time

    A song, the weather, and one question nobody has the answer to yet.

  3. Choosing time

    Learners choose a corner, and teachers watch for the spark: what they come back to, and why.

  4. Snack together

    Tiffins open, hands washed, and four conversations happening at once.

  5. Outdoors

    Ants on the path, water in the sand, and every question those bring.

  6. Making and music

    Paint, clay, rhymes, and whatever the morning’s spark turned into.

  7. Story and look back

    A story, then every learner says the one thing they want to do again tomorrow.

  8. Home time

    Handed only to the grown-ups you have named.

Our classes

Early Years, one, two and three.

Four steps, from choosing a corner to teaching somebody else what you found there. Each one asks a little more of the child than the last.

  1. Ages 2 to 3

    Early Years

    Finds a corner of their own

    • Chooses a corner and stays in it
    • Lets go of the bag at the gate, and means it
    • Carries one favourite thing from room to room

  2. Ages 3 to 4

    Early Years 1

    Goes back to it, again

    • Picks the same corner three mornings running, and we notice
    • Asks for the song by its name
    • Tries the harder one because it looks harder

  3. Ages 4 to 5

    Early Years 2

    Gets good at the thing they chose

    • Practises what they picked, not what we picked
    • Works with one friend on one idea, all week
    • Keeps a project alive past the bell

  4. Ages 5 to 6

    Early Years 3

    Shows somebody else how

    • Teaches a younger learner the thing they are good at
    • Finishes what they started without being asked
    • Stands up and says what they love, and why

Teachers and care

Every learner, known by name.

Our teachers are trained in early years and in inquiry, and the part of the job we hire for is noticing: which child goes back to which thing, and why.

  • Settling in, gently

    Short first days, the same face at the gate, and a call home whenever it would help. A child who is still worried is not yet ready to choose anything.

  • Small enough to notice

    You cannot spot a spark in a crowd. Groups stay small so the quiet child is watched as closely as the loud one.

  • What they chose today

    At home time you hear what your child chose and what they did with it, not a list of what the class did.

Safe and well

  • Known faces at pick-up

    Children go home only with the grown-ups you have named.

  • Watchful rooms

    CCTV in classrooms and play areas.

  • First aid on site

    Staff trained in first aid for young children.

  • Clean and child-sized

    Washrooms, basins and furniture built for small people.

  • Safe travel

    School transport with a woman attendant on board.

  • Healthy tiffins

    Guidance for parents, and no junk food at school.

Our spaces

Made for small people.

Corners, not rows. The room is laid out so a child has something to choose between, and so we can see what they chose.

A learner at a low table, choosing between a xylophone, a wooden truck and a bead frame.
01ClassroomsCorners a child can choose between, so teachers can see what they choose.
Two learners sharing a picture book at a wooden desk, heads together.
02Reading cornerWhere a spark often starts: one book, read eleven times.
Two learners standing in the doorway of the wooden playhouse.
03Play areaThe playhouse, the climbing frame, and the first time a child says: watch me.
A learner outdoors with both hands painted in every colour.
04Art and makingPaint on both hands, and a child who wants to show you before she washes them.
Five learners lying on the grass, chins in their hands, smiling at the camera.
05OutdoorsAnts, leaves, puddles, and the questions they bring.

What families ask

The questions parents actually ask.

  1. 01

    Will she cry at drop-off?

    Many children do at first. At Ikigai a worried child is not asked to choose anything yet: short first days, the same face at the gate, and a call home whenever it would help.

    Small Wonders · Ikigai

  2. 02

    What if my child’s spark is not an academic one?

    That is fine. A spark can be ants, blocks, singing or sweeping. Teachers follow it into counting, drawing, talking and making, so the learning grows from what your child loves.

    Small Wonders · Ikigai

  3. 03

    How will I know what happened all morning?

    At home time you hear what your child chose and what they did with it, not a list of what the class did.

    Small Wonders · Ikigai

  4. 04

    Will he be ready for Grade 1?

    Ready means able to ask for help and to keep going without it. Ikigai learners leave EY3 knowing what they enjoy and how to stay with it. Many carry on at Infinia.

    Small Wonders · Ikigai

  5. 05

    What if she never finds a spark?

    Then we keep offering things to try. A spark at three is often a different spark at five, and nobody is rushed to pick one.

    Small Wonders · Ikigai

  6. 06

    Is Ikigai only for creative children?

    No. A spark can be sorting, counting, building or asking why. Teachers follow whatever each child keeps coming back to.

    Small Wonders · Ikigai

Admissions

Joining Ikigai, in four steps.

  1. 1

    Visit

    Book a visit and spend a morning with us. See the rooms, meet the teachers, watch a class.

  2. 2

    Meet

    A short, relaxed conversation with the head, while your child plays.

  3. 3

    Apply

    Fill in the form and share a few documents. We will guide you through it.

  4. 4

    Settle in

    A gentle start: shorter days in the first week, and a teacher who already knows your child.

Request a visit

Come and see a morning in class.

We use this only to arrange your visit. Or skip the form: WhatsApp us.

Practical questions

What ages do you take?

Two to six. Early Years from age 2, then EY1, EY2 and EY3, at Yamuna Enclave.

How do new learners settle in?

Gently, and without hurrying the part that matters. Shorter days at first and the same teacher every morning, because a child who is still anxious will not choose anything. Most are settled within a few weeks.

How do you teach?

Through inquiry, and through choice. Learners wonder, find out, make sense of it and act, and what they choose to do it with is watched closely, because that is where a spark shows up. The same four moves they will meet again at Infinia.

Where does the word “ikigai” come from?

You may have seen it drawn as four overlapping circles: what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, what you can be paid for. That version is a popular diagram from the West, not a traditional Japanese one. The word itself is older and simpler: a reason to get up in the morning, and it is allowed to be small. We keep both in mind.

What happens after Early Years 3?

They go on to Grade 1, usually knowing something about what they like. Many of our families choose Infinia World School, the only IB World School within 100 km, which teaches the IB programmes from Early Years through to Grade 8.

How do I book a visit?

Message Yamuna Enclave on WhatsApp, or call. The number is just below.

Visit Small Wonders Ikigai

Yamuna Enclave.

The newest idea in the Small Wonders family, built on twenty years of the first. Bright rooms, small classes and teachers who know every child’s spark by name.

Call or WhatsApp9138 222 700
Book a visit on WhatsApp Directions
Address
Yamuna Enclave, Panipat
Ages
2 to 6

After Ikigai

A spark at four. A question for life.

At Infinia, the questions get bigger and the learners get braver, but the habit is the same one they started here: notice something, wonder about it, find out.

  1. Ages 2 to 6Small Wonders IkigaiFind the spark
  2. Grades 1 to 8Infinia World SchoolIB Primary and Middle Years, all the way up
See the inquiry cycle at Infinia

Two more ideas

The other Small Wonders kindergartens.

01Model Town · since 2002 Kindergarten The First Gifts Explore 03Sector 12, HUDA Kaizen One Fold at a Time Explore