March-April 2018
Vol 7 - Issue 5 - `100
Life Skills TO LEARN DURING SUMMER BREAK Pg 8
Ask the Expert PARENTING QUESTIONS ANSWERED Pg 32
GROWING UP WITH YOUR
Teenager
Pg 26
FUN MEMORISING TECHNIQUES Pg 42
PACKAGED FRUIT JUICES WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW Pg 36
PURSUITS AND PASSIONS WIN A CANVAS PRINT WORTH RS. 1177 FROM CANVAS CHAMP Details inside Pg 35
Construction and model making Pg 44
EXPLORATION THROUGH PLAY Pg 20 BOOK REVIEWS Pg 50
Cover Story
Life Skills TO LEARN DURING SUMMER BREAK
Our parents did not worry much about us; as long as we did well academically, got our daily dose of exercise, dabbled in a hobby or two and played with other children, they let us be. However, they unconsciously inculcated some life skills in us, which stand us in good stead till today. Our generation is different; we are thinking parents, given to looking up information on how to be a better parent, analysing how each action of ours will impact our children and putting in a lot of effort to ensure that our children grow up to be balanced and well-adjusted individuals. A big part of this includes inculcating the appropriate life skills in our children.
8
March - April 2018
Lifeskills Through Games
LIFESKILLS THROUGH
games SCIENCE IN THE AIR (AND WATER)
20
March - April 2018
The High School Years
Dr. Ali Khwaja is the Founder of Banjara Academy, a unique institution committed to improving the quality of life. He writes books and columns, and is regularly invited to conduct workshops and lectures at prestigious national institutions, schools, and colleges.
GROWING UP with Your
Teenager
Were you surprised at the title of this article? It is not just children who grow into adolescents and then young adults. With every stage, the parent learns and grows to. Read on to understand the teenage high school years better. 26
March - April 2018
Nutrition
Are Fruit Juices
Healthy?
Meera Srinivasan is a food technologist and nutritionist with over 19 years of experience in the food inudstry. She is a core team member at Thinking Forks, a consulting firm, which works with the food industry to bring food and nutrition ideas to life.
Summer is here and it is important to keep our bodies hydrated by drinking a lot of fluids. Water can do the job, but we do crave other beverages at times. And many of us, especially children, who are swayed by attractive advertisements, turn to fruit based drinks. From a nutritional perspective, it is best to eat the whole fruit which provides all the nutrients; however the thirst for fluid does make juices an enticing option! This article will focus on ‘fruit juices and fruit-based drinks’ and help you understand how to make healthier choices in this category.
36
March - April 2018
Parent-Child ActivityEdge
Fun Memorising
Techniques for Children Mrs. Sathya Sunil holds a master’s management degree in education. She is the Founder-Director of Kidz N Brainz, a registered and ISO 9001:2008 certified education institution offering classes in Memory Boosters, Abacus, Vedic Maths/High Speed Maths, Calligraphy, Cursive Hand Writing, English, and Rubik’s Cube for children between five and 18 years.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to recall any piece of information instantly? Our brains already have this ability, it’s just that we haven’t been taught how to use it! Most of us use only a small fraction of our brain’s natural ability. There are many techniques which help one to memorize information such as Association Technique, Link Technique, Peg System, Loci, Mnemonics, Phonetics Technique, Mind Mapping etc I will illustrate VISUALIZATION, LINKING/ ASSOCIATION, CHAIN OR STORY TECHNIQUES in this column. All go hand in hand.
42
March - April 2018
“Visualization” – It is the process of consciously creating an image in your mind of a task, a number, a name, a word or a thought. If you take the time to translate words into a meaningful picture and then hold that picture in your mind for a few seconds, you are more likely to remember the name, the task or the thought. Follow these four steps:
Sl.No
List of objects
List of objects
1
Television
Pen
2
Frock
Duck
3
Rainbow
Mobile phone
4
Computer
Chocolates
5
Chalk piece
Hat
6
Ice Cream
Chair
1. Visualize what you want to remember 2. Enlarge the size 3. Imagine the scene 4. Bring the scene in front of you
7
Bicycle
Book
8
Sunflower
Carpet
9
Ocean
Apple Milk Shake
10
Finger ring
Aeroplane
“Association/Linking” - Suppose I give you a list of ten objects, in pairs and tell you to memorize the names of each pair, how much time would you take? Look at Table 1. If I ask you what is the pairing for ‘Television’, you should be able to tell me it is ‘pen’. It will take a lot of time, won’t it?
Table 1
Pursuits and Passions
Model construction involves building a 3D form or model, using a set of small pieces, based on some instructions, or from pure imagination...think origami, robotics, aero-modelling and LEGO®. Model construction is a great form of ‘edutainment’; it is interesting, there are millions of models to experiment with, and it pushes the boundaries of the child’s creativity. Children delight in the miniature worlds that they can create, which are reflections of the actual world they live in—ships, windmills, tow-trucks, garbage trucks, airplanes…. These models can help them understand how the world around them works. But that’s not all. This pleasing pastime offers a host of other benefits to the growing child.
Benefits of model construction
The skills gained from model construction can help transform a child into an aware, creative and life-long learner. The putting together of small pieces improves the dexterity and nimbleness of children’s hands and fingers, improving motor skill development. Nimble fingers can help a child in a surprising number of areas, from writing well, to typing faster on the computer keyboard, to playing a musical instrument deftly. Model construction sparks children’s spatial understanding; that is, it helps them visualise objects in relation to each other and themselves. Spatial understanding is critical in problem solving skills, allowing you to analyse the problem from different angles. By its very nature, model construction teaches children structured and logical thinking. One cannot stress enough the utility of building blocks and pieces to a subject like mathematics; teaching the child to logically sort, categorise and arrange, contributing to numerical thinking. Concentration is enhanced. It is no easy task for a toddler to sit down in one place and build something out of scratch. Model construction teaches her to choose, try, discard and try again in a focused manner, until the task is complete. This kind of focus and concentration transfers into classroom learning as well. Creativity and imagination are given a boost. When children are given multiple small pieces to fit together and are left alone to do it, each child will use the same pieces to construct something unique using their ingenuity. Like other activities that have a tangible end result, this too increases children’s self-confidence, by allowing them to work independently to create something new at the end of it. Learning a particular type of modelling, such as robotics or aero-modelling, can pique an older child’s interest in subjects like physics, mathematics and electronics. In short, model construction helps in the learning of skills that are related to executive functions or the ‘management’ controls of our brains, such as the ability of a child to focus on a task and ignore distractions, and to set goals and evaluate progress in accomplishing this goal. Finally, it also contributes to a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment in achieving their goals. March - April 2018
45
Book Reviews
Books for Children 6-9 years 3-5 years Book: Dragon Tales Author: Dav Pilkey Publisher: Scholastic Dragon is a simple and friendly, but lonely, blue dragon who lives in a tiny home. The author takes us through Dragon’s journey through life, meeting unlikely allies in the most unexpected places. This book is a compilation of three, great, short stories “A Friend for Dragon”, “Dragon Gets By”, and “Dragon’s Fat Cat”, which are sure to enthrall adults and children alike. With an extra twist of humour added in, these stories are a must-read for anyone who is or has a pre-schooler at home. Pilkey’s stories are brimming with all kinds of emotions, from the thrill of getting a new pet, to the grogginess of waking up early to the agonising loss of a friend. The first story starts with Dragon going outside to find himself a new friend. After many unsuccessful attempts, he finds the perfect companion for him….an apple. Dragon is overjoyed at having someone he can share his troubles with. In “Dragon Gets By”, Pilkey introduces the reader to Dragon’s average, rather eventful day. Dragon’s simplicity and innocence in this story is a gut buster! The final story, “Dragon’s Fat Cat” is about Dragon’s new friendship with a cat that shows up one, snowy day on Dragon’s porch. These tales capture the hearts of all with the carefree disposition of the cute and delightful Dragon. His simplicity and gullibility are especially endearing.
50
March - April 2018
Book: The Jungle Book Author: Rudyard Kipling Publisher: The Children’s Golden Library Mowgli is a pretty normal, average boy. Except he lives in the jungle, with wolves for parents and a panther, a mongoose, a white seal and a bear. This classic is a must-read for adventurous children and adults alike. Mowgli was entrusted to the care of the wolves by Bagheera, the black panther. Having lived in the heart of the jungle for all of his childhood, he had no idea about his own race, and their seemingly wicked ambitions. And that is just fine by him. He loves the jungle way and is accepted as one of their own by the wolves. However, Mowgli’s life takes a sudden turn for the worse when Shere Khan arrives and orders him to leave the jungle. Set in the jungles of India, The Jungle Book is a touching story about just how long a boy can keep his innocence and the difficulties of growing up into a man.