Globally we are living in a time when we can see that change is coming, in every aspect of society. Many schools have temporarily closed around the world, and as parents and educators we are reflecting on how to offer our children a new, more meaningful form of education. Together with a small team of educators living and working in Auroville, we have created Aurogames - activities through which children can develop inner and outer awareness, in creativity and joy.
Auroculture
Aurogames were originally created by Auroculture (Helga Ahy), a woman of Austrian origin. Her adventure in game creation began in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in the 1970s. She worked on inspiration, sometimes through nights until a game materialized. This process of working through inspiration continued even after she moved to Auroville in 1990s.
Read more about Auroculture: https://www.auroville.org/contents/4890
In a letter written by Auroculture in 2009, she writes:
“The children that are being born now and from now on are the children that belong to the future, but the education they receive is based at its best on the present. The coming age will be an age that is completely different from what is known to us now. New ways, means and materials are needed for this new age – pregnant with the new world we suffer the labour pains of the new creation because we have not yet had the experience of it. Some receive glimpses of what is needed, but these are only small fragments. Each one of us has to bring its best for the whole so that it can manifest in its totality.” She continues to write about her games, “It’s high time now that these treasures should find the way to the children of the future. Through all the years Mother always assures me, that the people who will be part to realize the project are already being prepared by her and will come together at the right time.”
With the support and blessings of Auroculture, in 2015 the games were passed on to Kalvi to be researched and developed further. Kalvi is an Auroville activity dedicated to research supporting the understanding and implementation of Integral Education. To conduct the research, our team at Kalvi has worked with children as young as three and adults well into their 80s, listening, observing and documenting. Until her passing in 2020, Auroculture was in connection with the development of her original game prototypes into a number of activities. She was pleased that the games were expanding and trusted that they would reach children of around the world.
Research
Our research showed that when the games are presented in a sequential order with increasing complexity, quite extraordinary things happened. Children began to focus on what they were doing. Most children had moments of selective focused attention - their attention was focused the game, to the exclusion of other sensory inputs. All aspects of sight and vision improved. They developed the following capacities: look and see and understand what was in front of them, flexibility, notice mistakes, see differences in mirror image cards, and move between looking at fine details and shifting to seeing the entire pattern. Once they had developed these capacities they learned to “turn off” some sensory inputs. For example, they learned to focus on a pattern while ignoring the colors.
Working with Aurogames
Working with children engaging in Aurogames is almost like a dance. One has to “be present” with the child, focused on non-verbal cues, seeing their engagement and offering the activities at a level where they are challenged, but not so much that they disengage. No activity should be too easy. If something seems easy for a particular child, innovate a challenge. For example, if a child is matching puzzles with ease, tell her/him to remember all of the patterns they match. When finished, they can be encouraged to make novel patterns, without looking back to compare what they had done. Adding the element of looking to see and remember – engages the child in what they are doing.
Aurogames are never played in a competitive way. There are areas in life where competition is important and children have plenty of opportunities to compete. With Aurogames, we have found that working alone or cooperatively fosters focus, harmony, motivation, and a more joyful play is supported. With children that have difficulty staying focused, it is helpful to start supporting them one on one. Otherwise they will look around and see what others are doing. If they were having difficulties, they may compare themselves to others and then disengage. Once children develop their focus and confidence, many children can be in a room playing Aurogames alone or cooperatively with another. The atmosphere is harmonious and focused. If chatter begins, challenge kids to work together without talking. A whole new level of communication and relating to each other and the game evolves.
We have found that it's incredibly rewarding to see the changes that begin to happen in children while they're engaged in Aurogames and would like more children to have the opportunity to benefit.
Our Team
Auroculture passed over her creations to our care, with love and great confidence in our ability to further the work she started.
Paula has worked as a class teacher in Auroville schools since 15 years. She is a registered nurse, has a B.A. in Psychology, a Diploma in Ayurveda and Neurodramatic Play.
Maya has worked in the field of education in Auroville since 10 years, and prior to that for as many years in public Montessori schools in Sweden. She has a B.Ed. in Science of General Education - Mathematics/Science, a B.Ed in Science of Education - Integral Education/Montessori/Learning Study, and an ongoing M.A. in Education for Sustainable Development.
Sara has recently joined the team. She has worked with children in Auroville schools since 8 year. She has a B.Ed. in Science of Education - Integral Education, and has many years experience and training working with children with special needs.
We also have dedicated graphic artists supporting the ongoing process of converting Auroculture’s original handmade Aurogames prototypes into soft copies, as well as graphic design of the new games and activities that we develop with inspiration from the originals.
For more information
https://www.facebook.com/AurogamesAuroville
https://www.instagram.com/aurogames/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6IcoyUd4l8DHr1DAO4OxTA
Get your own Aurogames
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Aurogames-Auroville (download)
https://www.auroville.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=kalvi (shipping)
Support our work
We welcome financial support to enable the graphic design of the original handmade Aurogame prototypes, as well as our research to deepen the knowledge and understanding of the games.
If you have an Auroville Financial Service account, you can transfer a donation to Kalvi account 252350.
If you live in India or abroad you can send your donation via http://www.auroville.com/donations/ with the description Aurogames – Kalvi. (Please inform us at the time of sending.)
If you have any questions or would like to know more about our research please do contact us at aurogames-kalvi@auroville.org.in
With love and gratitude
Maya and Paula
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