Open Skiez - Experiential Learning for Life skills
At Openskiez we choose to teach kids important life skills like collaboration, resilience, problem solving, overcoming obstacles, and nature appreciation through experiential learning. Experiential Learning method helps kids learn these important life skills easily and in turn builds their confidence and self-esteem.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
Apr 27th to May 1st 2023
A unique experience for your child, this program will introduce him/her to essential life skills through an experiential learning program with the world's best teacher - Nature
Parent–Child Trek: Our programs are designed to take children out of their comfort zones, and give them a variety of experiences that test their mental endurance and sometimes even physical capabilities and what better than the EBC trek to achieve this with the high of a sense of accomplishment & achievement!
A unique experience for your child, this program will introduce him/her to essential life skills through an experiential learning program with the world's best teacher - Nature
A unique experience for your child, this program will introduce him/her to essential life skills through an experiential learning program with the world's best teacher - Nature
WHY OPEN SKIEZ?
Open Skies is an opportunity to immerse yourself in the great outdoors and learn how to become a leader. We offer opportunities for you to experience new adventures, challenge yourself physically and emotionally, discover your passions and grow as a person.
know moreMeet the founders
The founders are established corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, mountaineers, and athletes who are also educators, outdoor enthusiasts, and nature & environment lovers. But above all, we are parents who recognize the need in today’s children to connect with their inner selves, dig into their reserves, accept and respond to life’s challenges successfully
Vikas Dimri
An inspiration for many Vikas is an Everester, Ironman, and banker rolled into one. He's possibly the only Indian to have scaled the mighty Everest and completed a full Ironman race in the same year. He's also a complete fitness buff, never missing his workouts, and happy to give up the good easy life for one of discipline. With his “Limitless” philosophy Vikas is responsible in driving the Openskiez programs towards the desired outcomes and perfection while making it fun and enjoyable for children
Rahul Kulkarni
Rahul loves to take the path less traveled, exploring and experimenting with life and going with the flow. He loves challenges and can work in absolute chaos, is not afraid of failure and his yardstick of success is entirely personal, one of the reasons why within 6 years of completing his masters in management, he chose to start his own venture and one that he is still running successfully. He is an outdoor enthusiast, a triathlete & Ironman, and someone who loves rock and jazz. Rahul brings in his competence & experience of Learning & Development and training to Openskiez as curriculum expert, apart from his love for the outdoors and sport.
Leena Kulkarni
An avid trekker, nature lover, and triathlete, who’s also a President Award-winning guide, Leena channelizes her versatility, creativity, and love for children into this venture. An Engineer, management postgraduate, and now ex-banker with over 2 decades of well-rounded experience with corporate and her own business, she thrives in the unfamiliar and loves to explore. When she’s not traveling or busy with the multiple demands of executing the Openskiez programs, she can be found at her home in Mumbai penning down short stories, her travel experiences through her blogs, and expressing herself through watercolor art or just being.PARENT TESTIMONIALS
We focus on teaching children important life skills through experiential learning with the outdoors as a medium.
Frequently asked questions
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Our outdoor experiential learning program is designed to develop a range of life skills. Each day is carefully designed with diverse activities such as yoga & meditation, short & long treks, games, group activities, individual tasks, challenges, nature appreciation, introspection & experience sharing sessions.
The day will start early at 6AM and the children will go through the day’s schedule with activities of varying intensity. Appropriate rest periods along with timely meal breaks are factored in the schedule. The children will be in bed early around 9PM so that they have adequate rest to start off the next day afresh.
Emphasis is on the child taking initiative, achieving set goals, analyzing & learning. Feedback from the faculty is inbuilt during & post sessions on all days.
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We will undertake a short trek during this period. The trek requires a basic level of fitness and is well suited for beginners & children. Our objective is to strike a balance between creating adequate challenges for the children to take them out of their comfort zones at the same time ensuring that the environment is absolutely safe for them.
The program actually starts much before the day of the trek. We will engage with you much before your day of arrival at the camp with pre trek preparation covering areas such as physical fitness, diet & nutrition, packing for the camp etc. There will be an assessment of the child’s ability to adapt to the rigor of the program much before they pack their bags to travel. There will also be a post program engagement to help sustain and adopt the learning into everyday life.
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The program is built around giving an exposure to children in nature. We would definitely be away from the crowded cities and urban centers into wilderness. There will be local flora & fauna such as insects & moths more than bigger wildlife.
We take great precaution to ensure that all our trek routes & campsites are safe for children. The routes are well recced with campsite locations specifically chosen keeping safety aspects in mind. The campsite layout is done such that all children will be safe through out protected by guides & instructors around them
During the time of the year these are also popular destinations for avid trekkers, so we can expect a few more campsites near us. We will also have an emergency vehicle stationed at the closest road head at all times during the program.
Our expedition team of guides & instructors are experienced trekkers having done several high-altitude treks, are certified by ABVIMAS (one of the leading mountaineering institutes in India) and are trained to handle any emergencies / provide first aid.
All the movement outside campsites happens during daylight in the first half of the day. During the second half post lunch all activities are at the fixed campsite, thereby minimizing risks.
- Summers are quite cool, with the maximum temperature of 25 degrees Celsius and minimum of 10 degrees. Evening can be windy and sometimes with un-expected rainfall.
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The program is designed to take the children out of their comfort zone. They will be staying in basic facilities such as tents at the campsite. The campsite will have other facilities such as mess tent, kitchen, and toilet tents.
We have ensured that the tents as well as other infrastructure is of the best quality, while it is basic (which we intend by design) it will still be quite comfortable.
We have our own kitchen & kitchen staff. The food will be healthy & hygienic at the same time suitable to children. Breakfast is always wholesome with foods like Poha/ Upma/ Bread and eggs/ Cornflakes and muesli with spreads of Jam, Butter and Nutella. Milk and hot chocolate are always available for the kids to keep them warm and generally indulge. Lunch menus depend on the day’s activities. If trekking, packed lunch is served, else hot lunch is served
Dinner has courses of hot soups, vegetables, rice and chapatis and also dessert on certain days What we mean to say is food is taken care of and we ensure that the kids are well fed and nourished. We know some of the kids can be very picky when it comes to food habits, but again the idea is to get them to adjust & adapt to the environment without making it a bad experience.
Overall, the campsite is clean, hygienic and we will encourage the children to participate in keeping it that way through out the program. Living in harmony with nature and ensuring that the surroundings are taken care of is integral to the curriculum.
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We work with children aged 7+ through to 16 years.
Young children in the ages 7 to 11 are full of wonder and curiosity and learn by employing all their faculties and experiencing the world around best.
At these age groups children are mouldable and receptive to information and behavioural skill inputs, and thus interventions are extremely beneficial.
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Children in our programs go through a mix of activities like outdoor classroom sessions, group and team games and exercises, physical workouts, adventure activities like Rock climbing, valley and river crossing etc, trail walks and treks. Most children are able to do these activities. We also have a step up and step down possible for most activities to ensure that participation across all.
If any child has a challenge of any kind, our trained instructors will ensure he/she is assisted and able to complete the activity, suggest a similar activity (step down) or allow the child to rest it out.
- The parents have an option of dropping the child to the nearest base location for the program or in case of sizeable groups from locations we have our representatives travelling with the group. These will need to be discussed on a program to program basis.
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At Open Skiez, the safety of your child is paramount. Our high instructor to child ratio ensures that children are supervised and this also allows us to give personal attention to each child to also ensure that program outcomes are met.
Our instructors are all gender sensitized, come with good references and have been handling children for many years. Infact, they add the fun element to our groups and children love them.
We also always have a lady instructor for all our activities and programs.
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A few children (especially if away from home the first time) initially take time to adjust, but as the day winds down they make new friends, the pleasant open outdoor settings and all the games and fun help them get comfortable and adapt easily to the outdoor camp atmosphere. We’ve had most children telling us they wanted to extend their stay at our programs and spend more time with their new found friends.
It's usually parents who find the separation difficult. To such parents, we’d like to say, trust in your child and allow him/her to find his bearings on his/her own. You will be doing the right thing.
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We have a strict ‘No gadgets’ policy. No phones, expensive gadgets like cameras, laptops or tabs are allowed. There is no requirement for any of these in our programs, and these only serve as distractions.
Parents are given the numbers of our instructors for each program as well as call timings, and are free to call during those hours.
- If there’s an emergency, our team (at the base ) and even at the program campsites are usually reachable at most hours, unless they’re at an advanced base camp or an activity location (temporary) for a short duration. Messages can be communicated to our base location team and we will ensure it is relayed in time.
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We welcome all children into our programs. We also believe that the group should be as diverse and inclusive as possible.
If your child has special needs, you are requested to document it in our Registration Form in advance and also speak with our Program Directors/ Founders, so that we can understand those needs and prepare in advance to ensure your child has a good time and is comfortable throughout the program and you are anxiety free.