Do you cherish those precious moments of having spent time with the things around you? The trees, the sand, those soft and shiny pebbles, the slow snail creeping on the slimy rock beyond the school compound, the flying dragon fly in the air, the pop up flowers (flowers that produced a pop sound on pressing), the swing on the huge branches of the banyan tree, the climbing and slipping down over the steep rocks, etc....
Just like any other mammal on earth, a human child loves to be around with nature, the true companion. Why so? Because...It does not punish you when you fall, it does not tease you when you whine, nor does it applaud you when you win over something. That's the true nature of any teacher. You are right! As long as a child is exposed to his surroundings, leaving him to enjoy the beauty of nature, he will naturally imbibe into his being, the natural process of growth. For those who have been secluded from experiencing the joy of being with nature, should ensure to provide the gift of time with nature. Kids love to build castles in the sand, unlike the adults of whom many try building castles in the air, isn't it strange? Why not? Had the adult, as a child learnt to build a castle in sand, would realize that for a castle to be strong, it needs a strong base, a strong foundation.
Unlike my siblings who feared, I dared to do things differently; finding joy in trying out wierd things...don't laugh at the list that I am going to mention, but yes of course you can enjoy reading and sharing and exploring them ...
Holding cockoraches by its antennae just to scare it away
Capture houseflies on a string during rainy season in a plastic bag and see them escape out through a small hole just to survive
Holing on to huge branches of a tree and swing just to land down with a thud on my nose
Sit on a buffalo to enjoy the ride
Chase a dog, rat, a cat, a butterfly, and watch how each one responded to human presence
Climb the school compound wall where balsams grew during the rainy season and just slip down the slimy mould that grew over the rocks
Hold an earthworm and wriggle it with a stick and see it curl
Block an ant on its way down the hole as it carries it food in its mouth
Hold a flying baby bat and watch the wings and tiny ears just to check how it could see or hear the sounds in the air and found its way
sail small paper boats during rainy season and pray that my boat never drowned down the drain
Throw small pebbles in pool of water to see it ripple and watch how far they reached
Make water balloons and smash it between the friends nose and then just laugh out aloud
use sticky seeds of a fruit and throw it on a friend's dress who wore it unnoticed and went home
Tie the plaits of two front benchers together, and enjoy watching that if one stood up the other was sure to stand too... endless list of crazy and weird things .... I still treasure those sweet memories and a smile just escapes my lips to wonder where those days had gone. Somehow.. I don't know.... if I am really grown up because I really enjoy doing a few such things even now ... :)
Those days are never gone, it is just that we have turned ourselves away from this wonderful friend of ours (NATURE). If you want to bounce back again with your childhood friend then here is a list of things as challenges for you and your kids,.. enjoy ....
So, next time you are out with your friends, try out just a few and share your experiences.... Cheers!!
Why are books taking a backstage? Why is the glory of books lost? What is preventing kids from taking up a book to read? Why is a parent not able to control a child's access to these tech gadgets?
Today is the world of design; a world of digitisaion.
design is taking over and controlling the audience. When we talk of design, it does not just mean the images or colours, it is also about how interestingly the content is structured, organised and supported by other media - audio and video. Books turns a reader to be merely a passive absorber of thoughts and ideas, whereas online games, stories and websites keeps it's audience engaged and active. This is how digitised content is able to rule the hearts of young and old alike.
The learning styles have remained the same, but the learning need has changed. Digitisation is able to capture a larger audience because it takes into consideration all these learning styles. A book with the story of a thirsty crow which was interesting to read and tell some years ago. The same story is going wild on you tube and other sites due to its digitised version. Visuals, images, audio has made the story all the more interesting for a kid to see, hear and read to enjoy it.
What is creating this boom in the digital world? What role are the educators playing to use digital learning platforms to make learning fun and interesting?
Let's get back more on this in the next post. Till then .... Bye
