FAQs Before Joining

My child is not able to articulate himself very well. I am interested in a program which brings out the best in him and he is able to express himself well.
All the programs of Geniekids are OPEN. Although we do not claim to cater to any one specific area of child development of each child - the process ensures that the child gets exposure to VARIOUS aspects of child development.

The Cost of the program is high.
Cost of any program is fairly subjective. We base it on the quality and depth of effort that we put before- during and after the program - on  the contents and facilitation of the program. So what you pay is for extensive research and training and preparation etc of the design and facilitation of the program.

In a period of three weeks, (just 15 days) how much can a child learn?
In one week the child is not expected to LEARN anything.Holiday program are EXPOSURE;programs - the intention is not to teach - but to expose the child and his eight intelligences.

What kind of activities will be done?
We can give you an example we do not tell in advance the actual activities that we will be doing on each day. The main reason for not telling you the activities in advance is that while we plan the session in advance; this plan itself is very open and what we do and how we do is quite dependent on the group of children. This dynamic customization of the activities is what makes us different from everybody else.
The idea is to appeal to the group's interest - rather than coming from a pre-fixed menu. Hence it makes sense that we tell you after the session, which activities were done and how were they done.
Hence what we do is after the session we post a session write up - on a daily basis - so that you come to know exactly the activities that was finally done.
The holiday program is to give a set of exciting and interesting exposures to children. There is no teaching - we use different kinds of mediums to appeal to different interests.
The holiday programs are primarily based on Theory of Multiple Intelligence and will expose the child's to all the eight intelligences. All activities are loaded with FUN and enjoyment. They will be based on music, language, books science, art, craft, numerical activities, kinesthetic and movement activities, clay, theater & drama, social activities etc.

Here is an example activity:
Suppose we start a telling a story and stop in between. Now we ask children to
finish the story as per their wish. Once they finish their story, we ask them to put up a small puppet show of "their" version of the story
- they can make puppets, make a set, add music, add themselves into the show, and so on....

My child did last year the same programme? Will he be benefited If he does this again this year.
Its all about exposure. While the basic structure may be same but the way activities are conducted are different - stimulation, energisers all are designed new. The child also responses to it differently at different levels. Every activity has different levels - if the child has done it once - the child is likely to do it now at a different level.

Do you tell in which way my child is "intelligent"? How would I get one to one feedback about my child?
Holiday programs are for exposure and children to have fun. Hence the emphasis is on "exposure" not on "evaluation" of kids.
Holiday programs are short duration. Since any feedback can only be based on sufficient observation - It is not fair for us to give any feedback about the child in such a short duration. We give feedback in our long term programs like Success Saturday or Khoj (preschool).

Who is the faculty? What training your faculty have?
What is common amongst all our faculty is that all of them have gone though a four month long extensive training program called Train the trainer During the training they are exposed to various ways of working with children with emphasis on
* Understanding the child
* Understanding and exploring various ways of learning
* Understanding effective facilitation
At Geniekids, we all are here by choice, by passion to work with kids. We all come from various profession like computer engineer to pharmacist. It is our conscious decision to work with kids and we bring in lot of commitment, enthusiasm, learning and professionalism in whatever we do. Read about us at www.geniekids.com/aboutus

Do you punish children?
We do not punish. There is no need and we all know it is ineffective :-)
Our whole philosophy is based on respecting the child. Hence most of our strategies are based on empowering the child. Empowerment can be done through preparation, options, understanding feelings and making child responsible for managing their feelings, thoughts and actions, etc. The whole idea is to move with the child. Please read our discipline document.

Do you take children for field trips?
YES - we do. However we do not take children for field trips for the sake of field trips. The field trip is done when it is required by an activity (hence it does not have a prefixed periodicity. The field trip plays a specific role in the whole learning design and hence the kind and content of the field trip is purely driven by the activity.

Do you have competitions - fancy dress, painting etc.
We believe in "participation with experience" - hence do not organize any competitions. In fact any game which is competitive we convert that into cooperative game. We believe cooperation makes the environment more healthy while keeping the learning intact.

My child is shy - will he learn to socialize?
We accept the child as it is - we do not try to force our expectations onto them. However, the positive environment does encourage children in Geniekids to open up and discover the genie within them. And in our view the first and most important step in this positive environment is acceptance of child's current behavior and NOT trying to make him or her *more social*. The more we let them "be", the more the push themselves.

If my child is reluctant to come for the program?
Kindly inform us. In most case we are able to make rapport with child. We may guide you to how to make this happen and any need your assistance in doing so. However realise that a child reluctance could be either due to small reasons (which can be easily taken care of) or due to external factors. In any case for us a child's reluctance is neither a judgment on our program nor on the child. Worst case we cancel the registration and refund the money.

How do I, as a parent, give feedback to Geniekids ?
We value every single feedback given to us. If we are not able to give time to you due to our involvement in the program ; please send us a mail ; we will surely respond. Or call us during working hours.
Or give us directly on our website http://geniekids.com/webforms/feedback-children-program

Dropping and picking up time ?
You can drop the child max half an hour BEFORE the start of the program (morning earliest 9:30, afternoon 2pm) and pick up within half and hour after the program (for morning prog max 1:30 and evening program max 6pm). Kindly follow these timings strictly. If you foresee an issue pl make alternate arrangements to get the child picked up.

Do you give certificate?
No we do not - for us our program is not about acquiring a certain set of skills (which would require a certificate) - rather its about giving child meaningful exposure to learn from.

What the child takes home?
is NOT IMPORTANT. As an ideology of our organization we do not focus on carry homes. Your child is even free to not take what he has done or made in the class to home. Please do not judge the child or the program by what the child takes home. Whatever the child does in the session – the child does on his or her own. The whole idea of the program is to encourage child’s independent doing, efforts and judgment. Our programs are not designed to make children carry good looking stuff home. Our programs are designed to instill an attitude of can do, did it myself, my opinion matters, I am special, etc, in the child.

What if my child becomes ill on Monday?
You inform us immediately through sms to 98450-45833. We hope parents will be HONEST and make this request only if the child is actually not well and also was otherwise all set to come. In this case we will try to best compensate that week for the child. We are not making any promise ; only assuring you our best efforts in adjusting the child in a future week which is not full ; which means this adjustment will be purely based on availability.
Please note we cannot refund the amount for weeks missed if we are not informed two days in advance.

Can I change weeks:
Yes you can postpone or prepone (full week only), subject to availability in that age group, in that week, if informed alteast two days before the start of the registered week. -  – which means by Friday for the following Monday. However, few sessions missed out of one week cannot be adjusted in some other week.

What is the cancellation policy
This can be done without any cancellation fee only if we are informed of the same alteast two days before the start of the week – which means by Friday for the
following Monday. Please note the onus of informing rests with you. You can email or call 25202510 or 41161575 or sms to 98450-45833. If informing through email or sms ; pl ensure that you receive acknowledgment from us. We will not be able to refund money for the weeks the child is absent without information to us.

What If my child misses any session?
We cannot compensate for any missing session. However, we do our best to ensure that the child is not lost; in terms of continuity and is able to sink into the activities after an absent day.

How will I know what kind of activities you are doing in the session/ programme ?
The session write up is updated within 24 hours on the website. Click on session write up under the program pages. Choose the program and group to see the writeup.

What should I send with child?
Only some snacks and a water bottle. Please do not send any material or any toy with the child. Also ensure that the child wears simple daily wear clothes; as they are bound to dirty their hands in colours, glue, clay etc.

My child does not like Music activities? What will she do when the music activity is going on?
All activities are open ended - which means children can add, modify and tailor the activity as per their interest. Also the facilitator is armed with options - so that each child's interest can be taken care of.

What will my child gain/ learn?
Holiday programs are all about exposure. What your child will gain will be exposure of all the eight intelligence in a enjoyable environment.

Can you tell me which activity you will do in which week ?
We can give you an example - though do not tell the actual activities we will be doing on each day. That is told to you every day after the
session - through session writeup on our website. The reason for not telling you the activities in advance is often we come into the session with a "set" of activities and the actual activity or the way an activity will be done will depend on the group.
The idea is to appeal to the group's interest - rather than coming from a pre-fixed menu. Hence it makes sense that we tell you after the session, which activities were done and how were they done.

Where are these camps/ programs conducted?
In Bangalore, Geniekids Learning Center:
No 3023 (opposite graphite appartments), 8th Cross, 13th Main (NPS road), HAL 2nd Stage, Bangalore 560008 Phones: 2520-2510, 411-61-575, 98450-45833
Click here to see location map of geniekids center  We do not have any other center.

Can i try out the program for a day? What if I want to cancel registration in between?
After five years of working with children, parents and teachers, geniekids has full confidence in its program. Hence, we feel trial is not necessary. However, for some reason if you have to withdraw your child before or during the weeks registered for, registration amount is refunded on basis of weeks unattended. You need not give the reason for withdrawal, but you will need to inform us before the beginning of a week. We will not be able to refund money for the weeks the child does not come without information to us.

Is each week different? What about continuity between each week?
For each program, each week (Monday to Friday) is an independent, unique week with different activity. Children register in terms of number of weeks. We do not register for part week.

How many children in one group?
With one facilitator, each group upto 5 years consists of maximum of 12 children and for 6+ years maximum of 15 children.

What will my child learn?
The objective here is to expose the child - it is not a skill development program. Each activity gives a meaningful exposure to the child in an enjoyable way.

Will my child have fun?
Surely - Geniekids believes that greatest fun is when children are interested in what they are doing. So while we do not entertain your child, the activities and the process of learning followed by Geniekids is based on child enjoying the whole experience.