Dont be afraid to take the plunge!

Some children take to swimming like duck to water and Abhay is certainly not one of them! Right from his infancy, Abhay was like a fish out of water when in water!:-) Giving him a bath was one of my biggest challenges as a new mom! Believe me I would have put on ear plugs, if I had them handy! Every day as we gave him a bath, he’d break new records in the intensity level of his screams. Only when we came to the US, he got more comfortable with bath and began enjoying bubble baths. So I felt relieved that my son was not scared of the water after all. When he was three and a half years old, I enrolled him into swimming lessons and that’s when I realized how wrong I was!  It’s been a year since and Abhay is still at the first level (Catfish1) when all the others, have moved up the swim ladder! I understand that there's no hurry, but at some point of time, a catfish has to grow into a blowfish!:-)

So today I read two books on two penguins who share one thing in common - their fear of swimming. The first one being “Don’t be Afraid, Little Pip” by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman, in which Pip, a little penguin is not sure about wanting to swim as he believes birds should fly instead. The reality is Pip is afraid of the mighty ocean that is home to creatures like octopus, giant sea plants and coral forests. So Pip bunks her swim class and wanders around the shore when she sees a giant Albatross from whom she takes flying lessons. Eager to put her training into work, she spreads her wings and jumps from the edge of the sea, hoping to fly, but lands in water instead. With a little help from her friend, Pip finally learns to kick her legs and flap her wings and manages to swim in the ocean! As she swoops past octopus, sea plants and coral reefs, she realizes that swimming feels like flying, after all! 

The second is my favorite, “Sergio makes a Splash” by Edel Rodriguez. Sergio, a penguin loves playing in the rain, relaxing in the bath tub and frolicking with water in general, but is petrified of  swimming in the ocean. On a school field trip to the ocean, Sergio is nervous about getting into the water. Even with his floats on, his snorkel and his life vest on, he is not so keen on taking the plunge. When all his classmates dive into the ocean, its now Sergio’s turn. Taking a deep breath, closing his eyes, edging towards the rim, he jumps into the water and disappears into the ocean. As everyone waits with baited breath, he pops out of the water with a big splash and an even bigger smile! So you’ve got a little hydrophobic at home, read to him about Sergio and have him take a splash!

Liking myself!

In order to be happy, it is essential to feel good about oneself. Im sure all of us can relate to not being content with who we are at some point in time. We’ve all felt miserable about either our looks, or wardrobe, or our abilities or the lack of, our routine or the lack of, our roots, residence, so on and so forth. In other words, we’ve all been through a phase when our self esteem was the lowest. Im sure you don’t want to go there again, but you’ve at least got a story to tell your little one when he or she is in the dumps. Anyway, I feel it’s never too early to plant the childhood roots of adult happiness and it all begins with building self-esteem.

Today I read a book by the famous duo of Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell titled “Im gonna like me –Letting off a little self esteem”. Alternating between a boy’s and a girl’s point of view, this vibrantly illustrated book demonstrates the importance of liking yourself. A little boy likes himself even when his smile reveals two of his fallen teeth, or when he’s called up to answer the question in class and his answer is wrong, or when he trips and hurts himself, or, when he is not the first in race, or when he cleans up his room or takes out the trash, or plays with his little brother or when he tries out new things, including his grandma’s octopus stew! He knows he’s loved and liking himself is the best way to show it! In the end, he sums up “Im gonna like me, I already do. How about you?”  This question got Abhay thinking, as he asked me “Amma, what does not liking me, mean?”:-)

Work first or Play first?

All work no play makes Jack a dull boy or All play no work makes Jack a dull boy! Remember this? Im not sure which one is the correct one but for the moment, take your pick! As a student, I prefer the former and as a parent or teacher, I guess I’d cite the latter more! As your child grows up, besides the routine activities that need follow-up, another will be added to the list – schoolwork or homework! Believe me, that’s a whole new ball game! If possible I’d want to postpone the same indefinitely! But life is not like TV that allows you skip or swap channels! So in between Abhay’s multiple activities in the evening, I have to somehow make sure he does his school work. The order of what comes first is always a bone of contention between the two of us, with Abhay choosing play and I opting for work first! Years ago, when I saw my aunt expecting her son to first finish his homework before play, I vowed never to do that to my son! Now here I am imposing that same rule! I kind of see her point with children being most attentive before they tire themselves. With parenting, you really have to suffer through the experience to understand. Feel it to believe it!!

Today I read or rather helped Abhay to read “Truck Buddies” by Melinda Melton Crow that not only conveys the message but also doubles up as a reading exercise for your early readers. At Level 1 in Stone Arch readers series, this book contains easy vocabulary with simple sentences and repetition of words that motivates your rookie reader to keep on reading. Dump Truck wants to play with his buddies Green Truck and Blue Truck who are busy at work. Dump truck is visibly upset that his friends choose work over play instead. Seeing their sad friend, Green Truck and Blue Truck offer to play with Dump Truck so long as he helps them finish work first. So Dump Truck joins in and they all complete their work in no time and its soon time for play! Notwithstanding the book I read, I honestly feel that ‘work first and play later’ is a mantra we all live by as adults and I don’t see the hurry in imposing the same on a four year old! Anyway, I still think my aunt was wrong!:-)

Being Different

 I attended a workshop on “Sharing books with children” at the local library today that featured the ideal books to be read to kids at different stages of their early childhood. It was nice to have them share tips on picking the right book for your baby, toddler or pre-schooler. What they missed out was picking the right picture book for you!:-) I'm not kidding when I say that some picture books actually teach you a valuable lesson that may perhaps escape your little one. I read one such book today that not only engages kids but inspires adults too.

Today I read “Argus” by Michelle Knudsen and illustrated by Andrea Wesson, a book that celebrates being different! At Science class, each kid is handed an egg and to Sally’s dismay, her egg  is unlike everyone else’s. When she brings this to the attention of the teacher Mrs. Henshaw, the teacher asks her not to be difficult and points out that some eggs just look different. When all the eggs hatch into sweet little chicks, Sally’s egg hatches into a creature looking like a green dragon with yellow eyes. When all the kids gather around poking fun at Sally’s supposed chick, Mrs. Henshaw, their teacher, chides them asking them not to be difficult.  As everyone charts the growth of their chicks, Sally is instructed to do the same with her chick whom she names “Argus”. When all the kids admire, pet and draw cute pictures of their chicks, Sally wonders how she ended up with Argus who is too big for her to pet, too wild to let him mingle with the other chicks, and too hideous to draw a cute picture of. But one day, when Argus goes missing, she expects to feel relieved and happy to be rid of this black sheep. But instead she finds herself missing Argus and fearing for his safety. The whole class then embarks on a search and rescue operation for Argus who is found digging holes in someone’s front yard looking for bugs! Sally is delighted to have her ‘chick’ back! When all the kids put up their chicks’ growth charts, Sally’s chart looks different as hers is the only graph that measures how much she loves Argus. I love this book as it beautifully conveys such a simple message avoiding all the usual clichés. Argus didn’t have to prove anything to be loved by Sally. He was just himself – so being different need not be difficult!

100 and not out!

Today I’ve completed a mini-milestone in my blogging history – my 100^th post!  Of course, I know it’s really not a big deal when compared to people who’ve been blogging for years now. When I started this little blog, I was not sure if I could live up to its title but I tried hard to keep up and read at least 5-6 picture books per week. Some of my friends have asked me if I read to my son every day and the answer being “Yes, I try to”. It’s just not me but millions of parents do too, especially in places like the US. Reading to your child is such an integral part of a parent’s life, and trust me when I say it really pays to start early. Moreover, it’s not too hard to find picture books to read every day, thanks to the amazing US public library system! It doesn’t cost you even a penny to lay your hands on the best of children’s literature at your local library. I wish we had something like this in India too as it will certainly be a challenge to keep up when we move back to Bangalore in a few months from now!  Anyway, here’s hoping for the best!

Today, I helped Abhay read Fancy Nancy’s “The 100^th day of School” by Jane O’Connor and pictures based on the art of Robin Preiss Glasser, a Level 1 beginning reader series. It will soon be the 100^th day of school and everyone in class is doing something special for the day. Her friend Bree is wearing a hat with 100 feathers, Robert is sporting his 100 stamps collection, Lionel has made a ball out of 100 rubber bands. Nancy is clueless as to what her contribution will be. Her parents are eager to help but their ideas don’t seem innovative enough for Fancy Nancy! Finally, she finds inspiration from an unexpected source that makes way to the most creative contribution on the occasion  of the 100^th day of school. But class favorite is the teacher Ms. Glass’s contribution  – 100 books to read before the end of the school term. No prizes for guessing what my contribution to “One Story a day’ will be – 100 more books to read in the next 100 days! Thanks to all the readers who keep this blog going!:-)