Archive for the ‘Children / Kids’ Category

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Penmanship is important!

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

I belong to old school where we think that grammar (even though my grammar is not up to the par and hence I feel more strongly that it’s important) and penmanship is important and should be one of the priorities in early education.

Technology is evolving at a speed of light and it is wonderful. I love it but I do feel that elementary and middle school students should use it for a limited time during the day and it should not be introduced too early in a child’s life! I am of the opinion that creative writing needs to be done with pencil or pen on a paper at elementary level. Also, I fail to appreciate “texting language” when used anywhere other than texting, such as in an email or a posting on facebook. To me, it seems that the writing loses its soul. Writing a letter using a pen/pencil on a paper has its own charm. Moreover, I fear that slowly we will lose the art of writing. Here’s my own example: I am born and brought up in India and studied how to read and write Hindi for about 12 years in school. I moved to US in 1999 and since then I haven’t used Hindi at all. I haven’t written anything in Hindi and I haven’t read anything in Hindi. Today, I’ll be scared to write even one sentence in Hindi. I have lost it. Here’s my husband’s example: When I met him, his handwriting was more beautiful than mine and I could read whatever he wrote very easily. Since a few years, he either dictates or types his notes. Now, his handwriting is not only worst than mine but I can’t decipher a word he writes. I hope you get the point.

So, I make my son, Kabir, practice handwriting. My friend, Sheila, introduced me to the following website (I love this website!) where you can create worksheets for your kid: ESL Writing Wizard

I have created worksheets for my son and used quotes from Shri Mataji (hoping that he will remember these quotes that might come in handy to him in his life). Here are the links to those worksheets. I hope it’s helpful!

http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/wizards/multi_word.php?id=54892

http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/wizards/multi_word.php?id=54893

http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/wizards/multi_word.php?id=54894

http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/wizards/multi_word.php?id=54895

http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/wizards/multi_word.php?id=54896

http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/wizards/multi_word.php?id=54897

http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/wizards/multi_word.php?id=56380

http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/wizards/multi_word.php?id=56381

http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/wizards/multi_word.php?id=56382

http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/wizards/multi_word.php?id=56383

http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/wizards/multi_word.php?id=56384

http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/wizards/multi_word.php?id=56385

http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/wizards/multi_word.php?id=56386

http://www.writingwizard.longcountdown.com/wizards/multi_word.php?id=56387

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What to do with Kid’s arts and crafts?

Saturday, July 9th, 2011

As kids grow, the stack of art and craft grows too overwhelming. So, what to do with all the arts and crafts created by our little Picasso? I bet there is no parent who hasn’t come across this issue.

Some of my friends suggest that they stack them and then at the end of the year, they pick the best ones and trash the rest. I love this idea! One of my friends suggests taking photos of their art and craft and making a photo book. Brilliant idea!

Now, this is what I do. I take photos of all his decent artwork and add it to my blog. This way, I can go back and look at them whenever I want and enjoy them. I do look at them from time to time and I really do enjoy seeing them as I remember how we worked on them together. I save the ones he makes for me and my husband.

Now, I have a big conditioning against wasting paper. So, this is what I do. I get him to do crafts on cards, bookmarks and anything that can be used to give to our friends and family. I use cards for birthdays and thank-you notes. Especially, we make lots of decorated eggs during Easter and ornaments during Christmas for his friends and family. It gives us a purpose to do lots of arts and crafts during the year. Also, I don’t need to trash too much. Above all, I think it’s nice for friends and family to receive a handmade gift from a child. As per my guru, Shri Mataji, the art has the vibrations of its creator. Little children are so pure that anything created by them must have good vibrations and hopefully, anyone who receives a handmade gift from a child may feel the good vibrations and feel happy. There’s one more thing. Most of the time, kids are self centered. They know what they like, what they want and it’s hard for them to think sometimes what others would like. In fact, it’s sometimes hard for the adults, including me, too. Shri Mataji has said, “Giving has the greatest joy and pleasure.” I am hoping to instill this “joy of giving” and “thinking of others” in my kids by making them give handmade gifts to whoever they want. Hope, it works!

What are your ideas? What do you do with your kids’ arts and crafts?

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Painting with Pudding

Monday, June 20th, 2011

Last week, I bought Jello instant pudding mix. Kabir made the pudding as per the directions (using water as I didn’t want to waste milk). Once ready, I divided the pudding between Kabir and Arjun and gave them a piece of wax paper each. Both of them painted on the wax paper using the pudding. Arjun patted on the pudding so hard that it spattered all over. It was such a joy for him that he kept doing it. After a while they started painting on each other’s wax paper. Then they progressed to painting each other. It was utter chaos and complete mess but they were laughing so hard and having so much fun. It was a perfect photograph opportunity but I couldn’t leave them alone as they were slipping when trying to stand up. It was a mess (we did this in our backyard) but so worth it. They were so dirty that I had to hose them down. The thrill of playing in the water was too precious to them. Then they were taken to play in hot water tub. This activity made their day and it made my day to see them laughing so hard that they had tears in their eyes!

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My short experience with Homeschool

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

When I first heard of homeschool, I completely discarded the idea. I assumed that I need to send my kid to a preschool as soon as possible. Then my husband and I met Roan Johnson and her kids struck us as unique. So, we spoke to her. We loved her reasons for homeschooling. I loved the idea that I can just keep my child home and enjoy him and bond with him by learning together. I had never thought of this before. As soon as I heard this, my heart yearned to enjoy him and soak in the bliss of watching him learn. This idea was so unique, exciting and attractive for me. Although, we did worry that he might suffer in the area of social development. Still we wanted to give it a try as I was lucky because I can be a stay-at-home mom. The best part was that we are not obligated and do not plan to homeschool him for his entire school life. So, there is no pressure at all! We are going to take just one year at a time and see what works for us. My husband was not only supportive but encouraging. So, we gave it a try and it is working for us!

I started with doing preschool activities with him and called it school time. I was having lots of fun with him and he was learning on his own. Both of us used to look forward to the school time. School time became our favorite time of the day and his curiosity to learn got deeper and deeper. There were days when we clashed and it ended in tears. There were days when I was too tired and felt that I need help. Yet, the joy and fun on most of the days outweighed the bad days overwhelmingly. The pride in seeing him learn was too sweet and delicious! So, we just continued with it until he was 4 years old. As far as social development is concerned, we made sure that he attends different classes such as music class, gym class, play-dates and so on. When I first left him alone for a music class as soon as he was about to turn 4, he was so excited that he wanted me to leave him outside the class (of course, I didn’t). (more…)

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Ovally Povally

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

Kabir’s assignment was to choose a nursery rhyme and then use it to get inspiration. He had to change the words of the chosen rhyme and come up with a new rhyme. He chose Humpty Dumpty. I share his creation with his permission. This is what he wrote.

Ovally Povally sat on a chair,
Ovally Povally met a big bear;
All the good animals tried to help
But Ovally didn’t stop his yelp.

Kabir says that Ovally Povally is a 4 year old, oval shaped boy.

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