The Exploration

Well... in case any of you have been wondering about the lull in the action, let me assure you that the passion hasn't decreased....

We have been working on exploring ourselves, exploration being our speciality :-) . Its that time of the year when we renew our ideas, ideology and identity. So a break in the regular work we do and a time to explore the world around us.

Its all been through travel and reading and loads of get-togethers. Meeting different people and working with different people on different sets of activities for a different perspective on life.

The team at Little Explorers have also been exploring the world with the differently abled. And what a different world it is from ours... Thats an experience that you need to experience to understand.

With all that happening, we will bounce back - renewed and full of energy.

Just explore until then....

Treasure hunt

Ever gone on a scavenger hunt with a bunch of kids who can unearth daggers in a book store or draw connections between lions and bumblebees?

All this and more at the event which was meant to be a simple hunt for books at the Crossword store.
 
The kids had a whale of a time unearthing clues ranging from fish and names of continents... and finding relevant material to substantiate their answers.

They then put together the pieces to find India's very own and perhaps the very first superman in the world.....

Yes, you guessed the answer  Hanuman!! Two x Two hands couldn't hold the stuff they got in for THAT answer - books, CDs, toys, pictures, posters, magazines, and even an enacting with a mace and a puffed up mouth!

It was a scavenger hunt that ended up being truly a treasure!!

Re-Public Day Again

As it goes, the workshops are on, the modules are revamped and along the way, the urge to indulge in something different again grips us.

Creative juices flow and work with the re-invention of the patriotism, re-visiting history, re-doing a regular programme of flag-hoisting and singing with full gusto, re-freshing the memory of the days when we were kids... all the re- come together to push us to a public  gathering on Republic Day - involving kids AND their parents AND dogs AND others! A real re-PUBLIC day.

The enthusiasm of the kids far outclasses our planning. And over a 100 kids register and have to be "fitted in". So flow the performances - a march past, tableau, dances, songs, poem recitation, a quiz with a twist of music and the standard drawing and colouring competition that the kids so enjoy.

With less than two weeks and less than two dozen parent volunteer it is challenge and loads of work.... which we thoroughly enjoy. Daily march past, singing and dancing, getting together songs and questions that can tickle both the mind and the senses, and the constant "Aunty, when do we practice?" from even the "littlest" ones keeps us going.

A tiring fire-fighting final follows but the accolades at the end of it just take the breath away. Its an event equally enjoyed by the adults and The little explorers.

Have a look at http://picasaweb.google.com/thelittleexplorers and hope the excitement catches you too. :-)

Holidays are here!!!

The Summer activity really took off. We had loads of fun and so did the kids.

The young ones created an ocean with animals, enjoyed a little culture and music, literally jumped over the geography of India, made up some stories and words and even cooked some stuff as part of inventions and discoveries. We were exhausted at the end of the week, but not so the kids.

Then we had a kiddies batch, who enjoyed going on a plant hunt, getting wet with water animals and colouring things in the most unimaginable colours possible.

And another batch of older kids who partied all the way making balloon people, potato heads and a whole village in the mountains!! And of course, sat through our knowledge lessons and watched the videos and trained their brains.

Get a feel of the masti on http://picasaweb.google.com/thelittleexplorers

After a hectic month, we decided to go on a break. A loooooong break....

Summer of '10

A workshop on the cards... Lots of brainwaves, a well planned schedule, an engaging module with fun yet informative sessions worked out, and a neat poster later...

Still wondering how to advertise...
Maybe your kids will wanna join us. Send them over.

Summer of Magic & Mystery with:

1. Star Trek - Journey through Space
2. Mysterious Spells - Play with WORDS.
3. Magic Potions - Science behind it all.
4. Wonky Wizards - World of Mad Scientists.
5. Quizzitch - Investigate and Solve

5-day worshops from 12th April - 30th April
At:  Dosti Flamingos, Parel-Sewree,
And other locations at Mumbai


Will update you soon on how these go....

Crossing over to Crossword, the bookstore

Crossword happened!!! It was a big thrill and challenge to be met.

The co-ordinator scheduled the session at one of their "Elite" Outlet and continuously prodded us to be there well before time. Nervous but enthusiastic, we in turn, reached almost an hour early. All spruced up (models and us :)), but still not sure whether it looked good enough...

As the kids came filtering in, some urged us to start early. More and more kids kept joining in and we reached a number of almost 40. As we laid out our model, to our surprise, we had parents peering in, more curious than their kids. They were actually clicking photgraphs of the model on their cell phones.

Eureka!!! We had made it and most importantly made it well!!

If you want to see them check our link at
http://picasaweb.google.com/thelittleexplorers/crossword

How do you think we moved on

After a successful first batch, we were teeming with more ideas... and this deep urge to REACH OUT!


And so started the sessions at Muktangan, an NGO working with the children of government run municipal schools.

A lot of time spent contemplating on whether we would need to conduct the session in Hindi and on our own ability to transform words like Camouflage to Chalavaran... We reached Muktangan to find the kids fluent in the Queen's language.  It is so heartening to see how the schools and teachers have adapted themselves to newer forms of teaching.

Its been an eye-opener - the refreshing change in outlook, and the enthusiasm to learn;  a challenge tailoring ourselves and the topics to appeal and enchant the young kids. It's been a lot of fun working with these kids and discovering a new part of ourselves.