I kid you not

The Early Years philosophy of learning through play is based on Sophia’s observations of her children.

At her office at The Early Years, a child development centre Sophia Kasuri started in April 2006 — a glass wall overlooks the ‘play area’ filled with rambunctious children ranging from nine months to three years.

Even through the thick plate-glass, the sounds of children talking, laughing and playing are more than a little audible. When asked at what point she realised she had this love for children, she looked flabbergasted and responded, “It’s not something you realise! You either have it or you don’t.”

And Sophia most definitely claims to have it.

Born in Karachi in 1979, she grew up at a time when the concept of day-care was pretty much non-existent in Pakistan. Even if it had been, however, Kasuri’s mother was insistent on being a hands-on parent. Subsequently, unlike many children of her generation from similar backgrounds, Sophia’s early years were spent in the care of her mother, not a nanny.

“My first few years took place in a joint family system,” she says, “and there were always lots of children around. Even later, when we moved into a separate house, my uncles and aunts all lived nearby. So at least a couple of times a week, I’d have my cousins over or I’d go over to theirs.”

Having completed her Bachelors in Political Science, Economics and History in 1993, Sophia had enrolled in the College of Business Management in Karachi for an MBA, a plan that was placed on the indefinite back-burner when she was introduced to Kasim, scion of the Kasuri family.

Despite joining matrimonial forces with a born educationalist, the idea for a childcare centre did not come to Sophia immediately. “To be honest, I’d always wanted to do something fun with kids. I just didn’t know how, or what to do,” she says. It was only after a chance visit to a music class for toddlers in New York City that the seeds for The Early Years were planted.

“This was before my children had been born. I was visiting my sister, who was having her second child. At the time, her daughter — who was one and a half — was going to these music classes. I tagged along and was simply amazed. The teacher would play instruments and sing songs about the instrumentshe was playing — or use toys and sing about those. It was all about using fun and play to entertain — and educate — the children. I really loved that idea and wanted to do something similar when I had my own kids.”

It wasn’t, however, until after the birth of her son Kyan, that Sophia put her plan into action. “It was in 2005 — my kids were quite young. Lina was two years old and Kyan was just a few months old. There was nowhere I could take the kids — it was too hot to go outdoors and while I could take them swimming, I wanted them to interact with other children as well.”

Sophia turned to her mother-in-law, veteran educationalist Mona Kasuri, and suggested hiring a music teacher to conduct music and play sessions with Kyan and Lina, and perhaps the children of a few friends. Mrs Kasuri instead suggested that Sophia utilise the empty office space adjacent to their house — 6A Main Boulevard — to do something more ambitious. Following six months of preliminary work, The Early Years child development centre opened its doors in April 2006.

The Early Years philosophy — which is based on learning through play and teaching life skills — was based entirely on Sophia’s observations of her children and their needs and desires. While it started off small with just a few friends’ kids, within a month, Early Years had surpassed its initial targets. Today, it is a staple for many working parents in Lahore, hitting a largely ignored and potentially very lucrative niche market.

Sophia is now looking to introduce Gymboree, the world leader in early childhood development, to Pakistani parents.

“Gymboree is a very different concept. Unlike The Early Years, where most of the programmes are designed for parents to drop their children off, Gymboree’s philosophy is based on parent-child interaction,” says Sophia, leaning forward for emphasis. “I first became familiar with Gymboree when I was pregnant with Kyan. I was in the US getting Lina’s hair cut when I saw a Gymboree Play & Music centre. I was curious, so I walked in and what I saw inspired me to try it.”

At the time, Sophia was unaware that one can get a Gymboree franchise and so she went ahead and set up The Early Years, trying her best to implement the involvement of parents. “That philosophy was what I wanted to bring back,” she says.

A conversation with her husband a few years later led to a little research online revealing that Gymboree granted franchises. A few emails, a couple of phone calls, and one visit to the US later, in August 2009, the ball was set rolling.

In January this year, Sophia and Cybil Chowdhry — a fellow Gymboree enthusiast trained in childcare — spent two weeks with Gymboree in the US getting extensive teacher training. “It was an incredible experience,” says Sophia. “Exhausting, but incredible.”

Over the two week period, Sophia and Cybil spent 12 hours a day, six days a week learning everything there is to know about Gymboree and early childhood development. “They taught us everything from operations — how to run a Gymboree centre — to classroom training,” says Sophia. “It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun.”

With the opening of the first Gymboree Play & Music centre in Lahore looming large, Sophia’s current focus is on making sure everything goes off without a hitch. “Even though I’ve already set up one childcare centre, this one is a totally new concept to Pakistan.”

If she’s nervous about whether Gymboree will enjoy the same success as The Early Years, she isn’t letting on. “I don’t need to ‘sell’ the idea,” she says with a relaxed smile. “I think that once the parents come and visit and see the fun their kids can have learning, they’ll love it as much as I do.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th, 2010.