Snow...to be missed!

As the countdown to our move (back to India) begins, Im making a list of things to get or activities to do before we head back. Once I’m back in Bangalore, there will be lot things about the US that I’ll sadly miss and a lot more I will be glad to miss.  I’m more than happy to miss the long rainy winters; I certainly won’t miss feigning interest when someone talks about the Red Sox or Cleveland Browns or the Pittsburg Steelers! I will be happy to miss the dearth of vegetarian menu options in an American Restaurant; I surely won’t miss being tied to a single cell phone for 12 months (for people who dont know....Its only in places like India you can change your cell phone every week without being saddled with a penalty)! That said, my ‘sad to miss” list isn’t getting any shorter either…and topping the list is driving on US roads!

Anyway, another activity that we may not get to do in the near future is playing in snow. So over the last weekend, we made a day trip to Mount St. Helens and had the opportunity to snowball each other and strike out one on our US bucket list!:-) Since Abhay enjoyed the snow, I had him read a book titled “Snow Trouble” by Melinda Melton Crow, a level 1 in Stone Arch Reader series. Three trucks – green truck, blue truck and dump truck go up the snow mountain when blue truck skids and slides on the ice path and calls out for help. The dump truck decides to help and gets some sand and the green truck makes a snow pile and together they help prevent their buddy from sliding down the snow mountain. Not much of a story weaved in, but this Early Reader series makes an excellent read for emergent readers like Abhay who get a sense of accomplishment as they reach the last page. As soon as Abhay finished reading this book, he turned to the back cover and requested for more titles shown therein. I couldn’t help but feel proud of my little reader! ( Of course ...not to forget...touchwood!)

'I'm scared ....to read"!

June 5^th 2011

Most of the days, I pick out a book that is similar to Abhay’s situation but today a situation was created because of a book.  A situation that could have been avoided had I not read the book to Abhay!  Reading the book cost us our precious Sunday evening! One of our friends had gifted Abhay a Nature exploration set that came with a miniature tent meant to be spread out indoors that Abhay simply loved. Unfortunately, his room in the new apartment wasn’t big enough to accommodate his favorite hideout that was lying folded somewhere in the loft…..until Abhay read this book! Thanks to this book, we spent half our Sunday looking for it and when we finally managed to find it, we spent the other half looking for a missing part that was crucial to its set-up! So the lesson learned is to look before you leap meaning have a look at the book you plan to read to see what it may entail or how many of your weekends it may cost!

The book accused of robbing me of my quiet Sunday afternoon is “Im not Scared” by Kirsten Hall and illustrated by Jan Holub. This book is a “My First Reader” in the Scholastic Early reader series.   Well, I thought this book will help my son overcome his fear of little things like bumble bees or climbing trees or sleeping without a night light, all of which the boys shown in the book are not scared of. Little did I know that from now on, I'll be the one who will be scared of reading anything to him! Anyway, the two boys are seen acting all brave and fearless as they set up their tent in the garden with the intention of camping out all night without a light. But as they hear an owl hoot near-by, both of them admit to being scared after all and abandon their camping plans and run home to sleep in the comfort of their parent’s bed! Abhay too wanted to spread out a tent in his room similar to the one  shown in the book and I’m hoping that’s where the similarity ends!

I need help!

Most toddlers and pre-schoolers develop a sense of independence that is no doubt desirable but may  also prove to be a nuisance at times. Typically, they want to do things all by themselves when it’s clearly impossible and the times they can really afford to be self reliant, they'll need help. For instance, most American kids self feed by the age of two whereas our Indian kids need help all the way till four and sometimes beyond!  Whereas, most toddlers or preschoolers do not have a traffic sense and yet refuse to hold hands when crossing the road. Most kids aged 3-4 are big enough to sleep on their own, but they still long to cuddle in their parents’ bed and this is especially true of Abhay! Whereas, most four year olds are not competent enough to handle some electronic appliances like the iron box or the blue ray player and still they insist on operating them like adults!

Today I came across a book that tells your little one that it is okay to get help. “I need a little Help” written by Kathy Schulz and illustrated Ann Iosa is an Emergent Level book in the Rookie reader series that your pre schooler may be able to read with a little help! :-) A little boy does not hesitate to ask for his mommy’s help to tie his shoe lace or read the newspaper or to fix his broken toy or to zip his coat or find his seat in the movie theatre. When his mommy assists him to all of the above, he once again seeks her help to share his savory snack. Hmm……I too wouldn’t mind helping Abhay  finish his box of M & M’s and when I offered, no prizes for guessing what his reply was!  

Elephant and Piggie!

Today we picked up Abhay’s current favorite, an Elephant and Piggie book by Mo Willems. For people who don’t know, the Elephant and Piggie books can be called  the pre-schooler’s Harry Potter and just like Harry Potter, parents enjoy the series as much as their little ones! Just like Harry Potter, you can’t wait for the next one to be out! Just like Harry Potter, people queue up outside the children’s corner of the book store waiting for the latest in the series and just like Harry Potter you have to go through a long waiting list at the library to be able to borrow the book! Children’s books are a serious business! 

As the title suggests, Elephant and Pig are best friends and every book is about their experiences and experiments together. You can’t but love the sharp and witty dialogues complemented by the hilarious illustrations of Mo Willems. Today we read the delightful book “Can I play too” that Abhay found ‘laugh out loud’ funny! Elephant and Piggie play the catch the ball when a snake appears and asks if he can join in too. Both elephant and piggie seem puzzled and directly ask the snake how he plans to catch the ball when he has no arms. The snake then reveals his sense of humor as he exclaims “I do not have arms?”, when they both realize he's only pulling their leg! :-) Nevertheless, they give it a shot and how they manage to play despite the odds is what you and your little one will read about. Abhay was amused at the ending and even began to imitate the snake as this morning I saw wrap himself in a towel after bath and say “I so not have arms and cannot pick out my own clothes’!

Raising Mom and Dad!

As a parent raising kids abroad, if there’s one thing you are jealous about parents raising kids in India, it is the support system they enjoy and you wish you could enjoy too!! Especially, if you have your own parents or in laws living in the same place, you have a babysitter on call ….and that too for free! Of course, you have day cares during the weekday, but what if you want to attend a concert or catch a non-family movie at night or during the weekend? If it were Bangalore, I had to debate whether to drop off Abhay at my parent’s or leave them home with my in-laws or drive him to my sister-in-law’s or any other relatives’ house!  What are my options here in the US?  Pay $ 35-40 an hour to an American teenager to watch over Abhay!  In that case, it is not uncommon to wonder if it’s necessary to go out in the first place! SO what are we left with…..go to concerts or musicals like Sesame Street or Disney musicals or movies like Cars or Alice in the Wonderland! Anyway, off late we’ve found the solution ….of course like all other solutions, this one too must be used sparingly! My friend Sowmya who’s son is Abhay’s best friend has been more than willing to take Abhay in when we go for a movie like “Hangover II”. Thanks a lot Sowmya……I guess this was our first movie together as a ‘couple’  in the last three years! So over the past weekend, it was my turn to return the favor and I was more than happy to have two boisterous boys as an audience for my in house story time! 

You will not believe it when I say that the book I read to the boys is titled “How to raise mom and dad – Instructions from someone who has figured it out” by Jost Lerman and illustrated by Greg Clarke. A hilarious book that’ll confuse your little one and remind you of the time you were once kids, plotting against your own parents. A big sister tells her baby brother how to help mom and dad to become the parents you want them to be – parents who pack chips and cookies for lunch, who do your homework, who clean up after you and who let you lstay up late! That’s not all; she tries to convince her brother that in doing so, it is best not only for them but also for mom and dad! It is ideal to wake them up early in the morning, not by going over to their room but by shouting for them as loudly as possible; Distracting them while driving; Helping them stay fit by messing up the house so they get their daily exercise when cleaning up; Keeping the bathroom clean by sloshing water all around when taking a bath or running out without a towel and thereby washing the floor; At bedtime, tiring them as much as possible, by asking for water (even when not thirsty) or getting out of bed at regular intervals and blaming it on feeling itchy or having bad dreams, so that they fall asleep as soon they hit the bed!  Both Abhay and Suhas at first didn’t quite understand what the book was all about and once they did, they were not sure how to react! But you smile at their innocence when they try to compete with each other even when I ask “So who will leave toys lying around like the big sister said in the book?” and both of them raise their hands looking at each other!