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Showing posts from December, 2011

A journey

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I started a new journey in 2011 A journey that I planned With books, stories and creativity And all that that made me spark! Snapshots of all the activities that I did in the library , fun, creativity and loads of hard work...good happy times...

Scaling your Understanding

I found another interesting tool to use with children, especially when we are struggling to understand them and be understood as well... Ask for your child to rate your understanding of them on a scale of 1 to 10. I did Daughter is so used to me this way; she gives me a look (after I explain that she needs to give me a score on a scale of 1 to10, based on how much she believes I understand her) and says ..."8" ooo...I like that I think but aloud I give her a complimentary look and ask: "are you sure?" (not sure I should have done that) so far so good, but should I doubt her initial judgement...am I not giving her a very warped signal that she may be wrong and has to rethink?....lines of worry... but...it is fine I asked as she says: "maybe 7"..."hmmm...between 7 and 8" wow, I like this....so now I know my understanding can dip and dance, up and down...and my empathy is labile...and she knows it too...super!! On to son...

It starts with me!

Pouring over some storytelling sites and activities, I veered off to look at how Stories and Telling impact learning, creativity and development. It does and Indian history is choc-o-block with stories of how stories were used as tools for learning!! I don't have to delve too much there, that's stuff we already know. What most people dont know is how far it can impact learning.... Stories actually impact us at a very subconscious level. It is not about reading print or telling children fairy tales, the impact of sharing personal stories of childhood, growing up stories, stories of success and failure, stories of Heroes from reality and mythology, all add up to the "building up of character". The best part is that this "Character" is what determines how successful a person becomes in life. I am going to write about "character building" and more on that later; I even have a story that I often tell, which fits perfectly into the facets that this

Religious...where are we?

Early morning rhythm; husband up by 4;30 am, (yes he is one person who utilizes the "Brahma muhurtham" very well!)  Up at that time, he reads and reflects and plans his work day, as I snuggle cosily into my blanket, trying to squeeze in some extra hours of blissful sleep. Yet today as I stood there in front of the stove, stirring and chopping, getting those meal plans ready and done, a word kept popping up;...magnificent...merciful.... and my mind went back to college and then furthur to school. Raised in a Tam-Bram household we usually woke up to the strong smell of filter "kaapi" and and if we had snuggled in longer, some aromatic agarbhathi/dhoop. Suprabhatham or nadaswaram played on a radio that was invariable turned up too loud and woke us up by 5 am, but we tossed and turned refusing to allow the external noises and voices to penetrate our internal slumber. Praying and worship was a part of our existence that we took for granted. I questioned it for a