Strawberry Surprise!

 Abhay has always been a picky eater but what he seems to be the pickiest about are fruits! It took me two years to get him to eat an apple! It took us a year more to get him to eat a banana! I know it sounds unreal but true. In fact my pediatrician balked at us accusing us of not trying enough while  suggesting us to buy him water melon with a rhetoric “Which kid does not like a watermelon?”! Till date, Abhay doesn’t eat water melon! Anyway, with his dad’s ingenious tricks and his mom breathing down his neck, Abhay’s list of acceptable fruits started to grow, albeit at a snail’s pace! But one fruit that surprisingly made its way to the top of the list while we were in the US and has stayed there ever since is, strawberry! Strawberries are mostly available all year through in the US, whereas in India they are seasonal and are available only during winter, of course for twice the price! So when the season’s first strawberries arrived at the local grocer, I just had to pick it up even though they cost me a whopping 80 bucks a box! J

 

To celebrate the arrival of the season’s first strawberries, I recalled a book that was read in the story time at the Hillsboro library a couple of years ago. I tried to find the online version of the same, and Voila! I came across this link. A delightful read titled “The Little Mouse, Red Ripe strawberry and the Big Hungry bear” by Don and Audrey Wood. A little mouse is seen scaling up a ladder to pick a red ripe strawberry when he learns about the big hungry who loves red ripe strawberries, and can smell the  ones that have just been picked from even a mile away. As he yanks the fruit off the plant, he hears the  Bear’s footsteps approaching him,  and hears him sniffing for the strawberry. No matter where the strawberry is hidden or who is guarding it, or how it is disguised, the bear will find a way to the red ripe strawberry. Suddenly the mouse realizes that there is only one way to make sure that the bear doesn’t get to it first….ask your little one to guess as you put a red ripe strawberry into his mouth!

The Earth Story.

 

Staying on the subject of creatively stimulating outings for kids, I am quite surprised at what Bangalore has to offer. When we left the US, we were quite skeptical about whether we would be able to find as many child-friendly/enriching activities for kids in India as in the US. But hey!….I’d say “not bad!” and in fact they’re even better as our kids form a part of the mainstream society here as opposed to being on the fringes abroad and so what is offered is even culturally relevant!:-) So whether you catch at a children’s play at the Aha! Children’s theatre at Ranga Shankara, or attend the umpteen number of weekend activities at one of the many children’s libraries such as Hippocampus or Just Books or Easy Lib, etc; or enroll your little one into a sports club or a cricket club or drive to an Amusement Park or the Bannerghatta National park, there are plenty of things to do with your kids in Bangalore. Of course, if all you want to do on a weekend is to shop, and are looking for shopping malls that have a little something for everyone in the family, trust me, even on that front, you will be spoilt for choices in Namma Bengaluru!

A couple of weeks back we took Abhay to the Nehru Planetarium which recently underwent renovation. In fact, the last time I’d been to the Nehru Planetarium was as a part of a school field trip. Like on most Saturdays, this time too we had the usual starting trouble and couldn’t make it on time for the 12.00 PM show (and you can always blame it on Bangalore’s weekend traffic!) but managed to catch the 1.00 PM show on “The dawn of Space”. Though we’ve seen much better shows in the OMSI planetarium in Portland, USA, Abhay seemed to have been intrigued by what he saw as he was bursting with questions! There is also a nice little park with science based playground equipments adjoining the planetarium. Anyway, ever since our visit to the planetarium, Abhay has been fascinated by concepts of space and galaxy and so we picked up “The Earth Story” by Eric Maddern and illustrated by Leo Duff from the British Library. Touted as an ideal book on science for 4 to 5 year olds, this book explains the origins of the Universe, the sun, and the birth of what we call our Mother Earth, with the help of visually stunning images. The author vibrantly illustrates the enormous explosion from which everything began, cooling off into hot clouds of gas that went spinning and swirling into becoming great galaxies out of which the milky-way was born, comprising of a giant yellow star called the sun around which planets revolved. Some planets were small and rocky and too close to the sun, others were too gassy and faraway from the sun. The third planet was just right and it was our planet earth. The author then goes on to explain the earth story from being a lava spouting hot cauldron to a state conducive to life, the origins of which is another story altogether!:-) The Earth Story is a fascinating account of how it all began, not only for Abhay, but also for his parents …….at least it was a quick brush-up on science for his mom!:-)

Abhay's picnic

Last week Abhay went on a school  trip to Lalbagh. I am an old timer when it comes to school picnics  believing that children have much more to learn from conventional outings to museums, botanical gardens, the planetarium or the zoo than the easier option of taking them to a resort! Anyway, when I got to know that Abhay’s school was planning a trip to Lalbagh, I couldn’t help but get nostalgic about my own school trip to Lalbagh in Class V, which now seems like another age!  Since it was literally a stone’s throw off from our school, we went walking and were assisted by the traffic cops at the pedestrian crossing. I still remember the excitement of walking hand-in hand with our assigned partners, giggling at the people who seemed either curious or amused by the sight of over 130 odd young girls marching in twos! Abhay of course didn’t seem amused that we walked all the way to Bangalore’s most famous botanical garden! Well.....life was much simpler back then, with the city less-spread out, much less traffic on the roads and as kids, we had way too less expectations than our kids have today! J

I had him read “Picnic time” by Cynthia Rider and Alex Brychta is a Level 1 B Early Reader, part of the Read at Home series brought out by Oxford University Press. I recently discovered this Early Reader series at the British Council Library that has several stories spread across 4 levels of graded reading with a gradual progression within each level from A to C. Whenever I choose early readers of an Indian publishing house, I always start from the bottom level as I find most of Indian Early Readers lacking in structure as far as graded reading is concerned unlike their western counterparts. For instance, you’re most likely to find a word that is neither a commonly known sight word nor phonetically based in a Level 1 which the kids find it hard to decipher! Whereas, the Early Readers from a British publication or an American publication are based on certain fundamental teaching techniques that are typically characterized by vocabulary repetition and gradual progression from short vowels sounds to long vowels sounds and sight words. Well, in essence, I found that Abhay was able to cruise through a Level 1 B even though he requires help with some Level 1 books of certain Indian publications. Anyway, this particular book is about children getting excited about the picnic to a nearby farm. But when they actually reach the farm and spread out their mat to gorge on their picnic lunch, they are joined by the farm animals too. So what happens? Listen up as your little early reader steps into reading and it’s time for you to ask those annoying “why” questions as the tables turn! :-)

Winter is here..!

I have heard people say that the end of the festive season marks the beginning of winter in India. Sure enough, it’s not even a week since Diwali and it already time to get those warm clothes out, at least in Bangalore. Winter was one of my favorite seasons until I experienced its extreme version in the US! Thankfully, with winters being much milder here than in the most parts of the western world, it can now go back to being my favorite season once again! J Though the winter chill is restricted mostly to early mornings and late evenings, Bangalore is a lot cooler even during the day in the months of November and December. In the US, winter is the time to head indoors whereas in India (at least South India), this is the best time to host any outdoor event as one does not have to worry about the scorching heat! For instance, most schools and colleges host their cultural fests and events during the winter months. Besides, what better time than winter for those silk and nylon fabrics that you can never even dream of wearing during other seasons! It is ideally suited for vacation in India as the weather is most tolerable in even the hottest places in India. Finally, the best excuse to go a little overboard on your caffeine intake as a cup of hot coffee or tea doesn’t taste the same in any other season like it does in winter! :-)

I had picked up this book in advance to be read when the time was right and well, I think the time has come! “Hot Tea and Wam Rugs” by Mala Kumar, Manisha Chaudary and Priya  Kurien, part of the Ritu Chakra series on different seasons brought out by Pratham publications gives a good introduction to winter in India. Narrated in first person, a young girl and her brother are excited to take out their winter school uniforms and wonder what’s in store for them this winter. When their mother takes them to the famous Groundnut fair in Bangalore, held during November, they also learn about the various other winter fairs like Ponkh festival in Gujarat and the Camel Fair in Pushkar and the Desert Fair in Jaisalmer. As she sprints to school wearing her bright blue sweater, she realizes that her hands are cold and notices a frosty cloud come out of her mouth as she talks. She learns from her friend Rajni who hails from Shimla about how children play in the snow and make a giant snowman in the hilly regions, how they can’t get out without their winter gear (OH!…I know that feeling!) and stay warm by drinking hot tea or milk with jaggery. She also can’t wait to snuggle up her grandma with a book, this winter. Winter ushers in the festival of Sankranthi, where specialities are made with sesame seeds and jaggery which help one stay warm in the cold season! So I guess even though it doesn’t snow here, winter still has a lot to offer! Enjoy the winter, everyone!

Happy Diwali!

The biggest Indian festival, Diwali or Deepavali as it is known in South India, is here as a culmination of the festive frenzy that has been around since Dassera! I guess, when it comes to festive season or the holiday season as it is called in the West, it doesn’t matter which part of the world you live in, it’s all the same when it comes to the crazy traffic on the roads, stampede threatening crowds at the stores, markets, malls, and cracker outlets. Man!….even the book store was crowded making me wonder if people are actually reading more during festival time! Anyway, last year, since we were celebrating Diwali after a gap of three years, we felt as if we were re-discovering Diwali in India. This time around, I can say we’ve become more seasoned. For instance, we are no longer annoyed when people burst crackers well past 11 PM or no longer shocked at how much a box of  sparklers or flower pots cost, and no longer upset when four out of six flower pots in a box don’t light up at all!

Anyway, my cynicism should not come in the way of celebrating the true spirit of Diwali and so we indulged Abhay with all the traditional trappings of the festival that celebrates triumph of light over darkness. After some confusion over when does Narakachaturdashi (the first day of Deepavali) actually fall on,  we decided to go ahead and celebrate it the day the State Government says it does, that is today! (whereas the Hindu Almanac declares it tomorrow!) As far as crackers are concerned, our house is probably the only one in which the roles are reversed. Abhay despises bursting crackers because of his legendary aversion to loud noises whereas we insist on lighting at least a few, in order for Abhay to be rid of his Bhay (fear)!

This is the most we could get Abhay to do!

 

As for picture books on Diwali, I must say that there has not been much progress since last year. This week’s “Young World”, the Children’s Supplement of The Hindu, has a write up about Diwali and the way it is celebrated across the country. “Titto and the Fireworks” a CBT publication by Mrinalini Srivastava and illustrated by Saurabh Pandey. I’d picked it up seeing its title but then realized that it wasn’t an ideal book for Abhay, given his phobia for fireworks. Anyway, Titoo is the naughtiest baby parrot who is always trying  to escape his mother’s watchful eye. Titoo is curious about the world outside and longs to fly out just like his brother and sister. Since his wings are yet to develop strength, Titoo’s mom forbids him from flying unaccompanied. Diwali is the day when most birds stay in their nests and so did Titoo and his family. But Titoo somehow manages to get out and perches himself high on a tree branch.  He reaches out higher and higher until he settles on the highest branch to witness what he realizes are fireworks. As he is startled by the sound, he accidentally loses balance and falls off the tree branch when he is caught by a fellow parrot who takes Titoo back home safe. Titoo’s parents though worried at first are relieved that their son had finally learnt a lesson. Not much of a Diwali story save for the message to stay safe this Diwali!” Happy Diwali to everyone!