Chit Chat

Saumya is back in school and that means she doesn't get enough one on one time with me. For the past few weeks I have been waiting to get here, so I can be alone for few hours and do anything without being answerable to miss smarty pants. It also sounded like a fairytale that would never happen. The day she joined school back, I didn't know what to do at all ! I was excited to be doing something that I loaded myself with much more than I could handle! And while doing my own things, well if you really must know those things were laundry, grocery shopping, re-arranging the kitchen cabinets and cleaning till the last crumb was picked up, yes that is my glamorous life, coming back to the point, so while being busy in my world I kept on missing this little girl who was with me like my shadow at home. I liked the peace and quiet but I missed a cute little face asking me in sweet little voice "what are you doing? why are you putting so much detergent? why did you put that towel in the washer? Why are you smiling? Who were you talking to on the phone? Why? Why are you reading? Why do you want to relax? Why, why , why , why!!!???" You know that feeling when you are doing something and really want to be done and can't wait to be out of it so you can relax but the moment you are finished, all you do is, in your mind, go over all the little details of the thing you just got over with and realize how much you were enjoying that but if I ask you to do it all over again, you would run away? That's where Saumya has left me by going back to school. She was my reading companion, my shopping buddy ( with a critical eye I must say), my kitchen helper, my cheerleader and above a lovely daughter and fabulous person to be with. we shared such good laughs and many times we were simply there around each other. To see her grow up is a joy and I am glad I got to see so much of it over summer. We both made a special bond this summer and I hope we become good friends for life.

Here are some chit chats she did in past few days

1.

Saumya: When is daddy coming home?

Me: I called him but he didn't take the call. It seems he is driving.

Saumya: Did he forget his blue tooth again? We bought him one so he takes our calls!!

Me: Oh, see I didn't even remember he has blue tooth.

Saumya: Well I do! I gifted him on father's day so he can take my calls while driving. !!!!

2.

Me: (she has an extra art class after school today) Saumya, you will be gone for so long today, I am going to miss you.

Saumya: Mamma, I love you a lot too but even if we love we should not keep children home, I am going to learn something and I will be back.

Me: !!!!!! (spellbound)

Saumya: Come here, I will give you a hug.

Me: Thank you Saumya, I am just saying I will miss you, its not that I am sad. It is lovely that you go to school and get to learn so much.

Saumya: Yes, one should not keep anyone away from learning, no matter how much they miss them.

!!!!

"It might feel like eternity but they grow up fast" is not a joke I guess!

image courtesy : google.

Peace Rose

What a beautiful day, with sunlight everywhere, a little warmth in the air and no snow on the ground. Days like this make me ask myself the reason for not moving out to a place which is like this year round. On days like this I go a few minutes earlier then pick up time so I can catch a glimpse of Saumya in the playground. And what did I see today? Saumya had a rose in her hand and was standing face to face with a six year old, D, and was saying something which I couldn't obviously hear. Then D took the rose and said something. And then Saumya took the rose back and went away. But there she is standing face to face another six year old girl, P. And the same thing goes again. IS this done? No, after P she went to C and there the whole thing took place again. What was going on there????
The rose Saumya had in her hand is called "Peace Rose" and it stays in her classroom. Whenever anyone comes up to the teacher with a complaint about another child, instead of jumping into the Q & A of who did it? etc etc., the teacher asks the complainer if she would like to use the peace rose. The grieving person (A) goes back to the person with whom (B) she had a tiff. Seeing the peace rose, both get ready for communication.

A (Holding the peace rose) : B, you did(fill with whatever she/he did) and it made me sad or angry or upset......

In the playground when I couldn't hear, It seems the older girls didn't want to play with 4 year old Saumya and shouted at her, so Saumya was saying D you shouted at me and that made me very very sad.


The peace rose goes to the other person now.

B(Holding the peace rose): I am sorry, I didn't know it will hurt you or make you sad....I will not do it again.
And the peace rose goes back to its place.

What purpose does this serve?
First of all, no one ever gets hurt by thinking that the teacher did not take their side. Kids, as young as 4 year old learn to tackle their own problems. They are not afraid to approach the older kid because they have a peace rose in hand, a symbol of patching up, of mellowing down, of letting go and most importantly of being friends again. Instead of answering back violently, they learn to solve their problems with communication. Which seriously, we all can use some!

pic. courtesy www.cctheo.org

UN Day

Maria Montessori witnessed two world wars which made her a proponent of world peace and she is often described as "citizen of the world". Peace education is an important part of Montessori curriculum that is imparted right from the preschool stage when the mind is still absorbent and has no preconceived notions about other cultures. Children learn about continents and countries of the world and also about the lifestyles of people living there. Festivals throughout the world are celebrated int he classroom with the help of parents participation. Keeping up with the same spirit of global education, Our daughter's school celebrated United Nations Day yesterday. It was a family event with potluck dinner where every family brought a dish representing their homeland, then there was Parade of Nations where everyone dressed up in their traditional clothes and went down the aisle and then on the stage to greet the crowd in their native language. This was followed by cultural performances from India, China, Taiwan, France and Iran. The head of the school concluded the evening beautifully with the song "This land is your land, this land is my land" while playing along the guitar.
PARADE OF NATIONS












DANCE FROM INDIA



DANCE FROM CHINA


DANCE FROM TAIWAN


FENCING REPRESENTING FRANCE



DANCE FROM IRAN


HEAD OF SCHOOL PLAYING GUITAR

Musical Recycle

Saumya likes to make things. Things like putting a big oval bead at the end of a string which becomes her fishing line and sitting on her blocks wagon that is her boat and then she goes fishing.
This is when she got a big bite and had to pull hard and fast! All those wooden beads on the carpet are the fish in the lake.

She usually steers away from the intended use of things and tries to make something else. For past few days she has been collecting her yogurt containers
Today she filled them up with beadsThese are push pin kind of beads that are a part of a puzzle where you push in the beads while matching it with the color to make it into a pattern. She has spent a lot of time with this puzzle and is now trying to find other uses for it. So she filled her yogurt containers with these beads to make Maracas! While trying to shake those maracas and enjoy the music but seeing those falling out one by one for lack of a cover, she got the idea of covering them with "the shiny thing in which Mamma sometimes pack her bread for office" a.k.a Aluminium foil. So there we have our own handmade maracas! Seems it's going to be a musical weekend
at our house!
Sunday we will be heading off the Welcome Back Fall Festival at her school!
What are you planning to do this weekend besides getting soaked up in the rain?

Apple Trouble

Today was my turn to volunteer at my daughter's school. I was in the library, reading story to kids and helping them check out the books. I was a bit apprehensive about how would Saumya behave with me around. But it went very well. She gave me such a naughty smile while listening to the story. Being around with kids in a school setting reminded me of the time when I was a kindergarten teacher. How the little ones want to touch you, just be near you. Whatever you say are the golden words for them and the ones, who look like non listening are actually grasping every bit and reproduce it at home for their parents. We read a story Apple Trouble Hedgehog has finished building a cozy nest for winter. Unfortunately, a ripe apple falls from the tree above and gets stuck in her spines, making it impossible for her to fit in her new digs. She has several friends to whom she can go for advice, but their instructions simply make her situation worse. She ends up with other bits and pieces stuck to her body in addition to the apple -- including nuts, a pear, a dried leaf, and some berries. Then she meets another animal that is able to ease her situation by eating everything stuck to her. It was a very cute story! Then we did an activity where children were asked to put the pictures of things that fell on the hedgehog in a sequence.
I am thankful to the school for letting me be a part.

image courtesy http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51m750W3D2L._SS400_.jpg

Lunch - Day 2

The first full day at school went well. It's a new environment, all the faces around her are strangers for now. Must be hard to make the way through. At the time of pick up, my daughter was exhausted "Mamma let's reach home and relax on the bed together, it was a long long day and I am very tired" It was a long day but it must have felt much longer as she didn't each much. The school has no trash policy so the leftovers are sent back in the box. Works for me as I get to know exactly how much she ate. According to her lunch was good, so why didn't she eat "My belly said that's it for lunch" Oh well.
Her lunch today has Arhar Dal Parantha (Lentil flatbread), Oven Roasted Baby Red Potatoes and Strawberries. I am not keeping my fingers crossed but kind of expecting it to go better than yesterday.

How are your kids doing adjusting back to school?

Musical Notes

Today when I said bye to my doll at the preschool, she became all teary eyed and ran to me. I didn't know what to say or do because we haven't been in this situation before. She marches into the school all chirpy and cheery and that is what exactly happened today as well but it took a new turn when I was about to depart. She said that she wants to come home with me and even after trying plenty to make my through her thought process I couldn't gather the reason that led us into this emotional fix. I left when she was sobbing while hugging her teacher. I was continually thinking and trying to solve this puzzle. My heart wasn't ready to let my mind rest, the feet were working their way down the school stairs but it seemed as if someone is asking me to turn back and go in and just grab my doll in my arms, where she really wants to be. By the time I reached the car, my vision was cloudy with tears that filled up my eyes. These little droplets never let me down, they behave like my best friend who is always there when I am in an emotional parenting dilemma. I turned the car on and along with that the music got turned on as well. "Do Naina Ek Kahani, Thoda sa Badal, Thoda sa Pani" from the 1984 hit movie masoom. a mother is putting her daughters to bed and singing this beautiful song. I love this song a lot. In my music CD this songs comes right after the famous Lakdi Ki kathi . My daughter listens to it every morning she goes to school and then we turn the music off but today sh insisted on listening to the song that their mamma sings. Through the whole song she didn't say a word, which is unusual for her chatty self! We reached school and I saw her lost in thoughts. Her eyes had that far away expression. I had to, kind of wake her up, to break her thought process and ask her to come out of the car. But I didn't make much of it at that time. On my drive back home from the school, when the song was on, it occurred to me that every time I listen to this beautiful song, I get so gullible for no reason and feel like taking her in my arms. It seemed to have the same impact on my daughter. She wanted to be with me. She understand and speaks lot of Hindi but I am still not sure if she understands the whole song. Was this the reason of the difficult drop off? I cheered myself for solving the mystery but at the same time felt guilt pangs for introducing the tender little heart to such strong emotions.
At pick up time she was her normal cheery self and the moment she stepped in the car, the request to turn the Mamma song came. Again, it made her spellbound and when we reached home, the song wasn't over yet. She asked me to not to turn the car off until the song finishes. So we sat in the garage.
I guess it's time for me to lose that CD now!

Follow the child

Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future - Maria Montessori

I consider parenting a perpetual challenge. Its as if you are in a hurdle race and for crossing one, you are rewarded by another. We spent last few months, yes it took months, deciding on the kind of school we want our daughter to attend. And we are thrilled for our preschooler who will be joining a great Montessori School in the area this fall. How did we decide we want to take this route? For starters, I have been a Montessori trained teacher and believe it works wonders in flowering little ones potential. The method doesn't claim to make your child a genius, no one can do that. The central idea of the theory is to give each individual the chance to become an independent, secure and balanced human being. Children are exposed to variety of material that facilitate learning but aren't forced to learn. The teacher's role in a Montessori classroom is of an active observer who would only step in if help is needed. The teacher doesn't control the class rather the choices are only limited by the available material in the environment. The program is designed to allow development at one's own pace. I was such a slow learner in math and the fastest in other areas but no one in school allowed me to spend that much needed extra time to understand the mathematical formulas. The teacher just kept on moving forward because she had to complete the syllabus. I hated math throughout school. It seems such a no-brainer that how can one expect a similar pace of learning when there are 30 individuals in a class! Montessori respects individual differences and the environment provides children with an ability to work at their own pace in an unhurried and unstressed way. Dr Maria says "Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment". When we toured the school, the whole time I kept on thinking that how lucky our daughter would be if she gets to spend time in such a beautiful environment and how I wished if I could go to school all over again!