Road-tripping and green-tripping

Another post along the green trail. This talks about something my kids and I enjoyed while on the road - mainly highways in Kerala.

And that is, stopping to look at various kinds of cash crops. Understanding what is the process from plant produce to bank balance.We stopped at two plantations: a rubber plantation and a tea plantation. And the kids got a good lesson from their grandfather on how rubber is tapped...

Seeing how rubber cutting is done

and how tea is grown, plucked, dried, packed, sold and consumed...

Tea Gardens at Kumily, Kerala

So this is what I would suggest to all of you who go on road trips with your children. Stop. Smell the roses. And show your children that rubber is not factory made, neither does tea come from a box.

P.S. As you can see, my photoshop skills are not good. Where I wanted to blur the kids' faces, I have instead given them some brown masks :) 

Make your child green/brown

And here I am, writing after many months. Today's post is along the green trail. It's about children and gardening.

Kids seem to have this natural affinity towards mud, whether on their hands or on their faces, and definitely on their clothes. But instead of fighting this affinity, why not encourage it? Why not let the little ones help you while you are repotting, or pruning, or even watering your plants?

Little ones in the garden - Thanks Tadan for the pic

Lots of opportunity there - for you to breathe in fresh air with your kids, improve their plant vocabulary, teach them science in a practical way, show them how effort can be rewarded with tangible returns...

So lets do our part in bringing up little human beings who want to give back to this earth, and not just take-take-take all the time. Do make sure you plant at least one plant with your child in your lifetime... the green lesson.

P.S. The brown smudge on the children's faces is not thematical mud - it is my sad Photoshop attempt at smudging. :)

I Spy and I Hear

Today's post is another tip. Or two.

I want to tell you about two games I play with the children when there are no toys, books, electronic-items-with-screens or such external distractions. These games don't need any extra equipment other than the ones God has given us.

Game #1: I Spy


Image courtesy: thephotoforum.com



One is the I SPY game. We play this usually when we are in a moving vehicle. I say three things that are outside the vehicle, and the kids have to find them. Examples are

1. A lady wearing a saree
2. An Airtel sign
3. A medical shop
4. A coconut tree
5. 10 white cars

All things/people that are abundantly found, but one doesn't really notice them until one has to really search for them. When an item on the list is found, the children have to point them out to me and I have to see it. Only then does it qualify to  be struck off the list. Once the children complete one list, I tell them the next three to find, and so on.

We have played this for hours, both on city roads as well as highways. It is a good game to play when there are lots of children in the car. Be prepared for excited screaming and arguments about how the adults can't see what the kids can see. Mass hallucinations, sometimes. This game helps to keep that dreaded question away... "Are we there yet?"

Game #2: I hear

Image courtesy: www.safbaby.com

The second game has to do with sounds. In this noisy world, we don't realize how we are bombarded with sounds and voices. Until we and the children stop doing all else, and just listen.

This game can be played anywhere. All have to close eyes, stop talking and listen. And say what are the different sounds they hear. Where you play the game changes the sounds you hear. A quiet urban evening at home sounds very different from noon in a forest. Even the same place sounds different at different parts of the day.

I have found that chidren's ears can be tuned to the finer sounds in life. And they sometimes hear sounds that adult ears have filtered out. Of course, be prepared for imaginary sounds also. Another fun aspect of this game is verbalizing sounds, rather than just repeating the sound. For example, not saying" I hear tick-tick", but "I hear the ticking of the clock". A quick vocabulary-increasing exercise too!

Am reminded of this song:

O be careful little eyes what you see

O be careful little eyes what you see

For the Father up above

Is looking down in love

So be careful little eyes what you see

O be careful little ears what you hear

O be careful little ears what you hear

For the Father up above

Is looking down in love

So be careful little ears what you hear

Hear it on YouTube.

Simple Pen and Paper

Today's post is not about a place to visit in Bangalore. It's more a tip for moms who need to keep their toddler busy for some time.

The simple Pen and Paper.

The other day, my three year old was bored as she attended the four year old's Rhyme Time. And the pen and paper kept her occupied for at least 20 minutes (which is like hours in a three-year-old's time zone!). Of course, it was good bonding time for her and me... the letters were written by me and she liked to recognize them.

Children have a fascination for pens. Is it because they have an overdose of crayons, colour pencils, sketch pens and paints? Is it because pens are seen as an adult implement, are usually in the 'no-zone' and so are all the more appealing? The Eve side of all children? A philosophical aside....