Preschool is not an urban phenomenon anymore. An increased number of semi-urban parents - prompted by the idea that an early start would render into learning more - are enthusiastic that their children learn the numbers, alphabet, rhymes, some socializing and a bit of play. As a result, many preschools have been setup with innovative teaching methodologies to provide early education to the toddlers in the semi-urban areas. Located at Panchkula, a planned city in Haryana, The Nurtuary is one such establishment that has been offering a combination of affordable and high quality early childhood education. "With parents becoming more aware and caring about child's development, preschools play an important role

as parent's partner to build a strong foundation for the child. While setting up The Nurtuary, the only objective that we had in mind was the development of the child in an environment where they experience and learn," says Shikha Goyal, Principal, The Nurtuary.

Shikha volunteered as a trainee in some of the reputed preschool chains in the country for about two years before moving ahead with the decision to set up her own school. Today, she is the driving force in planning academics, team motivation and ensuring strict implementation of plans chalked down. "The journey so far has undoubtedly been a good learning curve in every sense. In the past five years, we have learnt a lot about dealing with these children, their ever changing behaviours, challenges faced with them, what works for them and what does not," says Shikha. The right approach and the right curriculum followed by a preschool can be very effective in influencing the child's behaviour. While setting up The Nurtuary, the only objective that Shikha had in mind was the development of the child in an environment where they experience and learn. She says, "We have always believed in the all round development of the child and here our prime focus is on holistic development."

The Nurtuary primarily focuses on the development of different areas including language, cognitive, personal awareness, socio emotional, fine motor skills and gross motor skills. A well-structured curriculum that emphasizes on these six areas helps the preschool to achieve their objective of holistic development. Being a boutique preschool, The Nurtuary's strength lies in their that we can, in terms of our facilitators, curriculum, infrastructure, facilities, teaching aids, technology and the most importantly the environment, individual attention and care. If you are able to provide the right environment to the child, then you are on the right path of nurturing the little minds,” claims Shikha.

At present, The Nurtuary's has 120 kids in the campus, which is 100 percent utilization of the current building capacity. Despite having plans to add one more block in the coming year to increase the capacity to 200 kids, The Nurtuary will be opening new centres in the region based on COCO (Company Owned and Company Operated) model.