Yesterday’s WordPlay was very special as we also included stories and discussion based on books in Malayalam.

We chose the Malayalam version of the book ‘I’m so sleepy’ about Bahadur, the little elephant, who has forgotten how to sleep.Worried, and very, very sleepy he goes to his animal friends for help. But they all sleep in their own different ways — elephants don’t sleep like that! We shared this adorable children’s book with the little ones and then thoroughly enjoyed re-creating Bahadur through a fun craft activity. Had fun playing the game ‘oru meen poyi , randu meen poyi….. 10 meenine pidiche ‘ – it’s a great way to get young kids to focus on counting in malayalam.

In English, the ‘The Mixed-Up Chameleon’ by Eric Carle was an instant hit with the children. This book attempts to educate children on the differences between various animals by presenting a morally enlightening story that features a chameleon. We also enjoyed singing some fantastic songs in both languages. Finally, each of them was sitting with a book of his/her choice going through the pictures or reading. We are definitely making progress in developing early literacy skills, imagination and a love for books in these children.