© 2021 | THINK ALTERNATE

Think Alternate curriculum

A 21st century skills- Story based journaling curriculum

The idea of the Think Alternate curriculum is to empower

you, the parent/ caregiver/ teacher to engage with your
child/ ward/ student in a meaningful manner, to supplement Journaling for children
their learning outside the classroom in the most effective way
while emphasizing on play and real-life learning. By
providing you a child led, and parent facilitated curriculum, ~NURTURING A GROWTH
based on story telling and book reading, we offer an open
MINDSET~
ended framework for parents who wish to homeschool their
kids or supplement the kids learning at home, beyond formal
education. Think Alternate curriculum is
a 21st century skills story
Our Philosophy
based curriculum
Each to his / her own learning style

Contrary to our understanding of intelligence, which would • Journal

be generally understood as “intellect”, intelligences are of 8
types, as enlisted in the "multiple intelligences theory" by
• Journaling accessories
Howard Gardner. Understanding the way a child learns, • Activities rhythm planner
which intelligences are most dominant- is the rst step to • Curriculum activities built
designing a curriculum for a child. The methodology used in
this curriculum is Montessori-inspired and allows for around the story
exibility to tailor to your teaching style and the child’s • Journaling prompts
learning style. There is no “one shoe ts all” in learning and
that is the thinking proposed here. • Goals checklist
Essentially the curriculum is based on 21st century skills
such as critical thinking, creative thinking, problem solving
and collaborative thinking - none of which are being taught in
the traditional schooling systems available in India today.
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 FAQs
WHAT IS A STORY BASED
F requently asked Questions
CURRICULUM?
Curriculum designed around reading of a popular story
book; all activities in the curriculum are 21st century skills
building activities linked back to the story of choice.
WHAT IS A JOURNALING MODULE?
Our curriculum is open ended. There are no right answers,
just directions to lead a child to explorations across
disciplines using creative thinking, critical problem solving,
collaboration and computational thinking (21st century
skills). Each child will learn and explore at his own pace and
hence, a journal or scrapbook becomes a more open medium
of expression than the tight spaces of a worksheet or
workbook. Using a journal allows the child to link forward
and backwards to topics of interest, pick and choose
activities from the list as per his choice and interest and
leave room to come back to these explorations at a later
point in the future. Journals are a powerful form of self
expression and journaling for kids is sure to become a
powerhouse of ideas.
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WHAT DOES THE JOURNALING KIT
CONTAIN?
Each curriculum kit comes with
1. A journal
2. Growth mindset journaling accessories
3. Activity rhythm planners for the parent/ facilitator
4. The story book on which the curriculum is based
(optional)
5. 15 + activities woven into the story, catering to multiple
intelligences and based on 21st century skills.
IS THERE A TIMELINE FOR
COMPLETION OF A MODULE ?
We estimate it takes 2 months to 2 years for a child to
complete all activities within each module. Each child learns
at a different pace and we must allow for letting the child
lead his own learning. Come back to the activities and
journal every time you read the storybook and conduct a few
more activities and ll in the journal at your own unique
pace. A rhythm planner is included to help you link your
past journaling with the future plans.

 How to Use

U sing the Think Alternate Curriculum

Inculcate a growth mindset
Think Alternate curriculum encourages the adaptation of a
journaling activity rhythm that is exible as opposed to a xed
A growth mindset is the belief that our intelligence and
schedule. Every child is different and when it comes to learning,
abilities can be improved with effort and the right
no one shoe ts all.Go ahead an plan this journaling module as
strategies.
per your and your child’s learning style. The activity overview
A fixed mindset, on the other hand, is the belief that our
will give you a list of activities, goals at each level, and skills
intelligence and abilities are more or less stable and
achievement targeted. Though the list has been structured to
unchangeable.
move from concept to concept in a pre designed order, you may
choose any activity for the day. Try to generally stick to the

I
ntroduce growth mindset with journaling stickers.
order of activities listed.
Offer one sticker for each day or each activity. Talk
Allow 1 to 7 days for each activity. Offer the activity to the child.
about what the note means. Also talk about how
If the child is not ready or receptive for a particular activity,
the mind grows. The brain rewires itself every time it gets
make a note to come back to it later. You may choose to leave it
new information and with each round of practice. It is not
incomplete halfway through and choose to come back to it at
xed.
another point in time.

N
otice it when your child displays growth mindset.
It is expected that each journaling module takes 2 months to 2
Appreciate it. Use the power of YET. Appreciate
years depending on the age and abilities of an individual child.
the effort rather than the outcome.
There is no prescribed timeline to complete the module. Come
odel a growth mindset. Discuss your struggles with
back to it every few months and try out something new.
Think Alternate curriculum is a 21st century skills story based M your child. Name feelings. Help to connect feelings
with a mindset. Learn from the mindset.
curriculum. This offers you and your child an opportunity to

R
epeat these af rmations with your child regularly.
learn something new every time you read the storybook and
This empowers the child and allows growth
serves as a stimulus to come back to another journaling activity
mindset to become an internal dialogue and belief
along with the reading.
system.
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 Growth Mindset stickers

G rowth Mindset af rmations

You are loved

everyday

You are my
world!
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