How to raise a nature loving kid?

In the last post, I mentioned why I find it important to instil a love for nature in my daughter. Here are little ways in which I do it.

• Nature walk: I prefer taking Anya to a nature trail anyday than to a mall. Fortunately for us, a couple of lakes are close by. At times, we go for a walk around the lake.We collect leaves and pods. Once home, we put them in a jar. Anya pries them open, looks at seeds and paints them. I like to see her playing with natural stuff. The touch and feel of different textures, observing shapes and colors must be leaving an impression on her.We also walk around in our apartment complex and I tell her names of different trees and bushes. She doesn't remember them all, but at least it's a start. She collects fallen flowers and leaves and never returns home without a little collectible these days.

• Bird and animal watching: Kaikondrahalli lake is a lovely place for bird watching. Many activities are also organised there. A few months back, we went for an animal and reptile census and saw a mongoose, eight toads and two newly hatched water snakes! She remembers these things vividly and narrates them later on. It's always better to learn about birds and animals in this manner than just from books. A visit to a zoo, aquarium, farm is also a perfect choice for kids.

• Climbing trees: There aren't many opportunities for tree climbing in an urban setting. The lake comes to our rescue here as well. Kids are natural at climbing. What better way to interact with nature than to perch atop a branch and feel like the queen of the world! Anya remembers this walk and gets excited when she is about to reach her throne.

• Weather game: I am planning to talk about weather to her everyday. Whether it's sunny, windy, rainy.... basically any excuse to discuss natural phenomena like where do clouds come from, where does the rain go? My brother lives in the US and we have told her that in evenings, we send the sun to him and he sends the moon to us! So she knows about time difference. 

• Watching sunrise and sunset: I feel that sunrise and sunset are biggest natural shows on earth, screened once a day, free of cost! Just imagine, if they were not free events, how much would we have been ready to shell out to watch them.We take them for granted just because they occur everyday. My apartment has two balconies and one balcony is witness to a lovely sunrise and the other to a gorgeous sunset. I admit, we hardly watch sunrise, but sunsets are enjoyed more frequently.

Sunrise balcony- getting ready for the show, behind the coconut trees

Sunset balcony- a color splashed goodbye to a sunny day

•  A vacation close to nature: At least once a year, I like to set off for a holiday close to nature - be it beaches, mountains or nature reserves. I haven't found any camping option with kids in India otherwise that's one of the best ways to bond with nature. 

• Watching Discovery, Animal Planet and NatGeo: I am quite conservative when it comes to screen time. I would like to keep A away from iPad, TV and phone as much as possible. She does demand to watch a 'baby channel' everyday. Sometimes, I try to play Discovery, Animal Planet or National Geographic. She is very fascinated with animals and birds and even asks me not to switch channels when she is watching them. Hope this continues. 

• Grow a little Gardener: I have a few pots in my Sunrise balcony. I let Anya dabble into gardening with me at times. When it is time to sow seeds, I involve her. Sometimes, she waters plants.  It does get messy and I don't do it very regularly, but she has a concept and knows a few plants and their uses. For e.g. if she has a little scrape, she comes asking to apply aloe vera from the garden:)

These days, whenever Anya comes back from outdoors, she invariably carries a pod, pebble or leaf for me. It warms my heart no end. She seems to be on the right track and hopefully a nature lover is being nurtured in my home :)

Growing-up-too-fast pangs!

As a parent, there are innumerable moments when you utter 'Oh no, my little one is growing up too fast!'

One such moment was yesterday when Anya came from school and announced solemnly ' I have got homework to do!'. Now she got homework in her Montessori too but it was more like cutting and pasting pictures, coloring and tracing alphabets et al.This time, she had to write numbers 1 and 2 in a proper square shaped blocks which somehow looked more homework-ey and I had that unmistakable feeling that my little girl was growing up fast!

The first time I felt this pang was when at 5 months, she outgrew her 0-3 months clothes. "It was just yesterday that she had arrived in this world and now she is already too old for 0-3 months clothes?" gaped I incredulously and with a stab of sadness. Another instance was when she started walking. I was ecstatic but then the crawling diminished and one fine day it dawned on me that my little baby only walked and did not crawl any more. She had metamorphosed into a toddler :(

Now when I think about those moments, they come marching...

• That moment when she started cooing at other babies rather than other people cooing at her. 
• That moment when she told me that she would go to the play area with her friends and big people were not allowed. She actually started crying when I insisted on following her.
• The first time I caught her under a blanket with the iPad.

It's only the parents who get these pangs because the little ones are extremely happy basking in the glory of growing up. 'I am bigger than you!' is her constant reminder to us these days. A little message to her:

"Grow up into a lovely lady

Just don't grow up too fast

For I want to enjoy these moments

And make them longer last!"

What have been your 'growing-up-too-fast' moments, dear reader? Do share. 

The School Opens

Can you guess the day on which Anya's school started? It was 5th June- World Environment Day. I was so delighted. Green beginnings?

There was a lot of excitement on first day of school as little ones turned up in their new uniforms and gear. The school was only for an hour for the first couple of days. After leaving the little ones with teachers, we parents waited outside and befriended each other. Anya's friend had accompanied her so she happily went inside. When they came out after an hour, they were quite excited to have received a toffee and a sticker.

For a week after that, the school functioned for only a couple of hours. We used to take the school bus in mornings and come back by auto. After dropping the kids, a bunch of Moms used to hang out in a closeby garden and it had become a nice two hour interaction session. Though mornings were a madness, I used to look forward to these two hours of socialisation.  Then came the book collection day. We all got busy in covering and labelling the books, drawing lines and margins in copies. The almanac was filled and handed over, bus routes finalised, phone numbers exchanged. It was a busy week.

Now, regular school hours are in place and Anya has started commuting both ways by bus. She has been going happily till now. Every day, she comes back and regales us with her new learnings and experiences. Her observations invariably start with 'B(P)ata hai....' '(Do you know?)'. Recital of a rhyme, chanting of a mantra, sharing of an anecdote - all this delights me and my husband no end. To add to her charming ways, she now has a new thread of questions for us. She asks "Jab aap chhote the to aap kaunse color ka bag le jaate the?" "(When you were little, what was the color of your bag?" The same is repeated for snack box, water bottle, mode of transportation, contents of snack box....This series is asked once to Mamma and then to Papa. It does transport us back to our own school days.

My darling daughter, as you embark on this journey of fun and learning, I wish you a very happy, fun-filled and stress-free schooling. May the process of learning always be enjoyable.

Back-to-school supplies

After an enjoyable summer break, it's already time for schools to reopen. When the summer vacations started, I was a little apprehensive of keeping Anya engaged. But it turned out to be ok. I didn't enrol her in any summer camp, yet she managed to stay entertained by visiting friends' places and inviting them over, by going to a beach vacation, by playing Mom to her dolls (and even me) and taking them for a vacation, painting and coloring and listening to lots and lots of stories.

Now that it's time to go back to school, we have to start collecting supplies. Anya would be joining NPS-K and we are very excited about her new school. We have already bought her uniform and shoes. Now it's time to take stock of other necessities.

1.Steel snack box- Though she already has a couple of lunch boxes, I am looking for a steel one. I am concerned about packing hot snacks in plastic boxes. So while it's ok to pack a cold sandwich, fruits, nuts or biscuits in a plastic one, I need a steel one for dosa, poha or paratha. I think I will go for a Milton SS casserole style box I saw at a friend's place.

2. Steel water bottle - Last year, I used to give a BPA-free Nalgene or Thermos bottle to her but sometimes she couldn't put on the cap properly. This would leave spillage in her bag. To avoid this, plus to make a switch from plastic to steel, I would like to buy a new steel bottle. I searched a few shops here but either the bottle was too big or the brand unknown. Then I spotted this Thermos Funtainer with her fellow bus mates. It is the perfect size and doesn't leak. Those kids have been using it for an year now. I have to wait till someone gets it from the US because it is very expensive in India.

3.School bag- Planning to reuse the ones from last year till I gauge the full requirement. 

PS: We got a very good deal at 70% discount sale at Mom & Me. maybe, buying after the rush was over, helped us get a good deal.

Indian Birthday Parties and IST

If you have been to an Indian birthday party and if you've been punctual, congratulations and sorry. Congratulations, because you've just entered the Limca book of records and sorry because you've nothing much to do other than to twiddling your thumbs or yup, gazing into your mobile screen.

We have a system in which punctuality is punished and unpunctuality, rewarded. Those who are on time have to wait for the unpunctual ones as games or performances can't start till the host has a full house.

People who are unpunctual get the best of both worlds as they don't miss a thing plus they get more time to get dressed or finish a few chores. Plus they look fresher while you've wilted like an unwatered flower during that wait time. In fact, if you are the last one, you have to wait the least! No doubt after a while, even punctual people switch categories.

The interesting part is that every mom struggles with the same issue when she is hosting a party. But all is forgotten when she is the guest. 

How to put an end to this menace? It's very deep rooted and quite difficult to end but we have to start somewhere. My suggestions:

1. Keep the time realistic. Speak to friends to know when they can actually make it.

2. When giving an invite, mention the start as well as the end time. 

3. Have some activities or games planned for punctual guests. Hand out prizes after late comers have arrived so that they know what they missed ;)

4. Declare a very appealing early bird prize. I always keep a prize for the one who arrived first. This creates quite a flutter and even the laggards are seen competing!

 

5. Don't forget to thank the punctual ones for their punctuality in thank you notes. This will encourage them to be punctual at your next party too.

The culture of unpunctuality is steeped so deep that even hosts don't take themselves seriously. A friend told me about a party where the hosts invited their guests at 6 pm. She reached on time only to find that even the hosts hadn't arrived. When they arrived after a while, my friend helped them set up and get ready! I wouldn't blame that friend to go late to parties after that! 

Pull up your socks and banners, people! Unpunctuality is uncool. 

Happening Bangalore

One of the things that I enjoyed abroad but missed in Bangalore were fun events which were free. You just had to walk to the town centre and there would be music, theatre or dance being performed, a juggler displaying his talent, a man on stilts....you get the picture. Significant days would be celebrated by activities and treats for both kids and adults.

Now in Bangalore, I find myself ferrying Anya around from one such event to another. Sample this. In the last three months, we have been to:

• A magic show and a pet interaction session sponsored by an upcoming school. Anya also got to dance with her favorite cartoon characters, play games and paint to her heart's content. 

• A story telling and puppet session at Kaikondrahalli lake.

• A brilliant play on Tenalirama by Bangalore Little Theatre on World Theatre Day.

• A bird and reptile census at Kaikondrahalli lake. (We spotted a mongoose, 8 toads and 2 newly hatched water snakes.)

• Cycle Day: I just visited this event with a friend. I didn't take Anya along this time but next time, she is surely going with me. It's an event organised on last Sunday of every month wherein cycles are rented for free. A stretch of road is cordoned off from traffic and made free for various activities. You can cycle a pre-planned stretch of a few kilometres and afterwards participate in traditional street games like pallankuzhi, hopscotch, skipping rope etc and various other activities. I was thrilled to bits to see games like ashta-changa and chippas drawn on the road. Some people were busy making a rangoli, others were drawing graffiti with chalk. There was a workshop on quilling, a slow cycling competition, endurance games, skateboarding.....you could try your hand at many things and there were volunteers to help you around. It was a morning very well spent and I missed Anya umpteen number of times. She would have loved cycling or making graffiti with chalk. Though there wasn't enough time to indulge in all activities, we managed to cycle, learn a little quilling, compete for slow cycling and try our hands( rather feet) at skateboarding. 

 Bangalore is happening and we are loving every bit of it!!

March, evenetful March

As March marches towards its conclusion, I have to admit, it has been a happy-happy month!
In the first week of March, we heard the unexpected news. Anya got admission into NPS-K.

Now all parents who have gone through finding the right school for their kids, would know the importance of getting admission into a school of their choice. If you are in Bangalore, getting into NPS is considered a big deal. There are parents who want nothing but NPS for their kids and try several tactics to get into one. Then there are others who don't bother about NPS as it is said to be highly academically oriented. We had taken the middle path. We just filled the admission form but took no pains to find out how we could get her admitted or try visiting the authorities. There are discussion boards dedicated to decrypting selection criteria of NPS. Nobody knows their criteria for sure but there are many guesses. I had heard that professionally qualified but SAHM is a positive. A financially well paying job for Dad also works in one's favour.

I can't comment on the selection criteria but here is what we are:
1. Me and my husband are both MBAs.
2. We are a single income family. My husband works in IT for an MNC.
3. I used to work earlier, but gave up my job after Anya.
4. We live 11 kms away from the school
5. Anya will be 3.9 years old when she joins LKG in June.
6. She went to a Montessori in neighbourhood and has finished her Mont 1- just today!

When I got the news, I just couldn't believe it! I was so happy. In fact, it felt like a huge achievement- as huge as when Dinesh got into IIM-A.

The weekend after this news, Anya performed in her first ever annual function. Now that deserves another blog post altogether.