Reach for the stars: Children are encouraged to play together at Aerokids Play School in Sunter, North Jakarta.

For many parents in Indonesia, the idea of babies starting school at the age of 6 months is unthinkable. But they may change their mind once they step into the classroom of Aerokids Play School in Sunter, North Jakarta.

Accompanied by their mothers, babies aged between 6 and 11 months cheerfully play and sing along to songs.

“We introduce different sounds to them. The alphabet is taught through singing. We teach fine-and gross motor activities and sensory arts,” says Aerokids owner Malty Nandwani.

“For this age, [the class] is more of a mom and baby bonding time,” she explains, adding that nannies are allowed to take the place of mothers who are working.

Why the rush to put babies into school? Nandwani notes that babies’ brains are like a pathway with more than 1,000 nerve cells and billions of neurons.

“Many would term this as the ‘golden window of opportunity’ because this is the best time to expose one’s baby to the world and be rewarded with an intelligent child,” she said.

When a child attends classes early, they tend to learn language skills, as well as gross motor and fine motor skills faster. In fact, they even walk earlier, Nandwani added.

“This is why we are encouraging parents to stimulate them because early stimulation shapes a child’s intelligence.”

“When we put on music, we are introducing babies to sounds. We [stimulate the sense of touch] by allowing them to feel different textures. It is very exciting for babies to stimulate their senses.” 

Aerokids teachers also stimulate the toddlers’ taste buds by allowing them to try different foods and foster their sense of smell by exposing them to the scent of different flowers.

Playtime with mom: The children at Aerokids are given activities to improve their basic motor skills.

Montessori way

The school designed a Montessori-based curriculum for four age groups, from 6-month-old babies up to 3-year-old toddlers.

Nandwani and her team also ensure that the babies are exposed to fun and stimulating experiences every day.

“If the theme of the week is doctors, a real doctor will be called to speak in the class. The idea is for the child to get a feel of different kinds of occupations,” she explained.

“We believe in showing real objects because that way, the children can expand their imagination using real-life experiences.”

Nandwani is aware that many parents in Indonesia are still skeptical about enrolling their babies in school.

“Unlike Singapore, Jakarta doesn’t have many schools for tots,” she notes.

However, she is upbeat that in the future, more and more parents will realize the importance of babies going to school.

Creative: Aerokids’ curriculum includes arts and craft activities to develop children’s imagination.

Learn and play

Another prominent school that provides a class for tots is Mighty Minds, which operates four facilities in Jakarta.

Every Infant class engages eight to 12 babies in various activities for an hour and a half. The class is intended for children aged 6 months to 18 months.

“It is geared to create a stimulating environment for them to have an intimate session with their mothers and caregivers in a safe and conducive environment that is rich in language, stories, music and rhymes,” said Mighty Minds cofounder Lilie Kurniawan. “All of which work hand-in-hand to inspire expressive speech.”

The children are encouraged to take attendance by posting a picture of themselves into a pretend mailbox or paste it onto as “school bus”. To do so, they are called in front of the class to instill confidence.

“The activities change every 15 minutes, according to the children’s attention span, and involve explorative play, circle time, sensory activity, arts and crafts, storytelling and music and movement,” Lilie explained.

The school takes much pride in selecting the best teaching tools to make sure the children remain safe.

Items used for its activities are made of jelly, seaweed, crackers or biscuits, while paints are made of flour, food coloring and water.

“It may not taste good, but at least if babies try to eat one of the materials, it is harmless,” Lilie notes.



Snacks and porridges are also provided to teach the students how to eat by themselves alongside their classmates.

The school ensures cleanliness by sanitizing all toys and equipment before and after each class.

“The school also conducts a thorough cleaning every Friday and welcomes parents to see the process should they want to implement it at home.” 

Mighty Minds, which also runs preschool, nursery and kindergarten classes, adheres to the Creative Curriculum from the United States.

“We have independent consultants from Singapore and Australia who help us break down different milestones and their lesson plans,” Lilie said, adding that the school’s advantage is its teaching approach.

“We teach concepts through games, projects, music and other [interactive activities] such as treasure hunts for certain words in the playground or musical chairs.

“We make them think and feel that they are playing but in reality, they are learning. We believe that this way, they will absorb the lessons better and be more excited to attend school the next day.”

Imagination: Mighty Minds incorporates many interactive activities in its curriculum. Among the activities are treasure hunts for certain words in the playground or musical chairs.

— Photos via Aruna Harjani