Another striking feature of this environment is the provision of exclusive areas for collaborative as well as individual study for children, wherein the latter is designated a silent area conducive for pensive moments that is needed for a depth in understanding of everything that they study.
The understanding of the subjects is made simpler with the use of Great Lessons and Key Lessons which forms a major curriculum material, without which the children have to resort to rote memorization which is not an effective learning method. Even dry subjects like History, Geography etc becomes very interesting for children as they too have powerful support materials in the environment.
All the other skills are given the respective importance in their work cycle that is called ‘An Interrupted Work Cycle’ which has a duration of 3 hours everyday. The Elementary Environment of Gardenia nurtures the activities of story writing, poem making, project work, research and community programs with considerable effort and recognize the work of children with due appreciation that encourages them to perform more. Some of the other subjects that are integrated into the learning curriculum of the elementary stream includes crafts, art and performing.
In addition to all these activities the children enjoy, there are frequent ‘Going-outs’, which are trips to designated places integrated as a part of the curriculum. These trips become an important resource point for children to experience real world happenings and its interconnection with the knowledge they acquire while learning. Experiencing the environment and doing various things connected with that learning makes the Elementary phase an important one in the life of children.