Abhay's summer holidays at Srishti!

 Now that summer vacation is on full-swing for most kids, it’s time to bring on the summer camp frenzy once again! I guess in today’s world, summer holidays no longer mean extended family reunions in ancestral or native places like it was for us while we were growing up!  Frankly, if I could, I wouldn’t mind packing off to my mother’s place with my son during his summer vacation! With the exception of teaching that affords a month or two vacation during summer, most of the other professions don’t allow for any concessions simply because our little ones have summer vacation! So what does that leave us with? Sending our kids off to grandparents’ if the latter are physically and mentally agile enough to handle our brats or enrolling them into summer camps! Abhay though is lucky as he gets to spend his summer vacation doing both – spending the whole of April in his grandparents’ farm, the old fashioned way and attending a sports camp in his school during May, in keeping in with the contemporary trend! So over the last weekend, I dropped off Abhay at my father’s farm house at Dharmasthala, where he gets to be pampered, babied and fussed over during the first month of his vacation only to be brought down to  reality the next month!

 

As I was due to return to Bangalore , I had him read “Kiki summer holidays” for young readers by Radha H.S, an Early Reader in Rebus style. This is a collection of four interesting stories, narrated in Rebus style, on Kiki’s adventures during summer holidays spent along with grandparents. A Rebus Story uses pictures or symbols to represent a word or a part of the word.  This early reader  series brought out by Unisun publications has been described to have key nouns colourfully illustrated, striking visuals and narratives that incorporate repetition and reinforcement to ensure learning while encouraging creativity. All stories also carry an important message on conservation of essential resources like water and electricity, recycling, and keeping the environment clean. Our personal favorite is “A very hot night” wherein Kiki’s negligence in leaving the lights and fan on, exhausting the battery back-up of their UPS on a day that was later discovered to be “No Electricity day” had them sweating the whole night! So Kiki learns a lesson the hard way! Phew!….I guess with Bangalore’s soaring temperatures and frequent power cuts, we can all probably relate to “A very hot night”! Here’s hoping Abhay doesn’t encounter the same during the “No Electricity days” that occur almost every week at “Srishti”! Anyway, here’s wishing my little Kiki a great vacation at his grandparents’ farm house!