learning to play the game of life well

An alternative PLAYschool for 2-6 year olds and a microschool* for 6+ year olds located in Khar, Mumbai.

What do we do?

We offer a progressive, play-based early education program inspired by the Finnish model and adapted to an Indian setting. The focus is on whole child development, with an understanding that kids truly learn best through doing - through play, meaningful exploration, activities, the arts, music and movement and not through passive instruction and standardized classrooms. We started with the Finnish early education curriculum and built on it. Four years in, we have adapted it to flesh out our own philosophy, pedagogy, observation framework, and essentially our way of thinking about what children need. You can read more about it in our playbook. You can learn more about our early years program here. If you are interested in learning more about alternative schooling and why we think kids need alternatives like Comini, please read our parent primer.

Why choose an alternative school?

What is a PLAYschool/ microschool

Our early years program (2-6 yrs) is centered around PLAY - the real kind (ie self-directed and self-chosen freeplay) and through playful activities hands-on guided activities. Ask any of our kids and they will corroborate that all they do in school is play.

Our microschool (6+ year olds; our oldest is currently 12 and we plan to go all the way to 10th grade) is an alternative to "big school". We use developmentally appropriate practices to create a relevant, progressive curriculum which is fun and meaningful. And don't get us wrong - we will take, and ace, an end-of-school exam like the IGCSE.

Find more details in the FAQ section

Please Note: We're proudly independent and not an accredited school under Indian law - it's how we create meaningful alternatives in education. Please read the full disclaimer.

Why an alternative microschool?

The alternative label naturally raises a few eyebrows and questions. What is it an alternative to, and why is one needed? Conventional schooling with age-group segregated classrooms and passive, one-directional instruction were suited for an earlier era. The world has changed -- rapidly -- and so has our understanding of it and what makes adults and children tick. All of these point to a need for a radical rethinking of schooling and education. There are many existing alternative schooling approaches. Montessori, Waldorf, and Reggio Emilia are a few of the better known examples. Many have long and storied histories, and passionate parents and educators for enthusiastic advocates. We think there is plenty that is great in each of these approaches, but also areas where we would sample one over the other. You can read more about alternative schooling and Comini's take on it in our parent primer.

Our goal is to offer a well-rounded set of activities that gets kids to experience with their minds and bodies -- to play in the mud and study the itty-bitty stuff that live in it; about guitars and sitars; to learn to be kind and be one of a kind.

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