BALAGRAMAM – THE CHILDREN’S HERITAGE AND NATURE CAMP
18 to 23 APRIL 2017 at Salagramam, School of Bhagavad Gita, Trivandrum
Balagramam – the Children’s Heritage and Nature Camp – is here again, at Salagramam, to welcome children to an atmosphere of love, learning and laughter.

Click here to send an enquiry about the camp.
http://schoolkutti.com/summer-camps/summer-camps-details.php?id=154

Conceptualised and guided personally by Swami Sandeepananda Giri, with the support of experts from the fields of culture and education, Balagramam will initiate children on to a journey of discovery of themselves and the universe which they are part of.
The Camp, which is fully residential, will be held from 18 to 23 APRIL 2017.

In the relaxed and happy atmosphere of Salagramam, children learn to care and share with others, accept, adjust and appreciate themselves and the world around them. At the camp, they will be introduced to the richness of our heritage and scriptures. They will be taught to respect values and develop behavioral skills. Games, outdoor activities, yoga and meditation will strengthen them with physical and mental health. Lessons in Sanskrit, dance, music and crafts will enrich their talents. Along with team work, they develop a sense of identity, responsibility, self confidence and efficient time management.
In short, Balagramam strives to kindle the creative spirit within each child to attain the fullest potential.

Age Limit: Children from 5 to 16 years can participate. They will be divided into groups according to age.
Accommodation: Children will be accommodated in dormitories. There will be separate dormitories for boys and girls.
Reporting at Camp:
Travel to and back from the ashram will have to be made by the participants themselves. Children accompanied by parent/guardian will have to report by 9.30 A.M on 18th April 2017.Parents / guardians will have to leave the campus after the inaugural session.

Proposed Activities :
#Yoga and Meditation # Introduction to Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures # Introduction to Dance, Music, Art, Literature # Craft workshop # Interactive sessions and meeting with well- known cultural personalities # Creative sessions on Dramatics and Speaking # Talent time #Outdoor activities and games # Picnic- One day picnic- cum- study tour to a nearby place of interest.
Medium of communication: Malayalam and English
Supervision and Safety: We fully appreciate the concerns of parents when their children are away from home. Parents may rest assured that the camp and the children will be under the supervision of adult volunteers and coordinators. There will be a Doctor on call and first aid facilities are also available.
Food:
All meals and snacks will be served at the camp .Food will be vegetarian – simple and nutritious.
Dress code and items to be brought
Children, both boys and girls will wear white kurta-pyjama, which they will have to bring with them to the camp. They will have to bring at least 2 sets to wear during the day. Other items to be brought by the children 

1. Night wear
2. Sufficient set of under clothes
3. Towel
4. Bedsheet
5. Toilet kit with toothpaste and brush, soap and comb.

End of Camp Activities
The camp concludes by the evening of 23rd April 2017. Certificates will be awarded to participants. All campers will share what they have learned in this cultural experience by participating in a special program for family and friends. All parents and friends are invited to attend this performance.
Camp Donation
Camp Donation is Rs 5000 per child, which will cover all camp expenses including stay, food and materials. 
Mode of Payment
Please make the payment either by DD or cheque favoring School of Bhagavad Gita OR Bank Transfer to our A/c No:541501010050179, Union Bank Of India, Thycaud Branch, Trivandrum.
IFS Code – UBIN0556823 , Account Holder – School of Bhagavad Gita.
Payments by CASH may be made by registering at our office.

Registration 
Online registration – www.sobg.org
Or fill in attached form and send it to:
School of Bhagavad Gita, Kundamankadavu, Thirumala P.O, Trivandrum- 695006
Phones : 0471-2367299 , 9446033331, 9061125265
Or email to admin@sobg.org

VIDYAMRITAM started in July 2012 , when a group of like minded people got together for bringing sustainable changes in the society from the grassroots level. They help children at orphanages develop the basic life skills through a structured curriculum.

As a part of their curriculum, they have developed a BOOK BUDDY program for building /reviving libraries at the orphanages. Through this program they aim at developing 21st century skills for children at orphanages.

It would be great if you could please contribute the following, or spread the word amongst your friends (especially to those who are shifting or revamping their home); and be a part of this humble venture

-Book shelves
-Bean Bags
-Mats/Rugs
– Paint

They promote second hand items as long as they are in good condition.

Team Vidyamritam
Inspire. Empower. Liberate

For details please visit www.vidyamritam.org

Contact us at info@vidyamritam.org,
9072301986, 9656912991

Schoolkutti.com Children’s Library conducted a unique exam preparation workshop ‘Exam Busters’ that includes expert advice and games that guided children in the following areas.

– Applying memory technique
– Managing time effectively
– Developing positive body language and confidence
– Eliminating stress

It was facilitated by Dr. Anish N R K (Psychiatrist in charge of Child Clinic, Government Mental Health Center).

Dr. Anish started by asking the children a question – how much can your brain store? When a baby is born itself, it has many neurons. However, connections are made as the child grows up. Capacity of the brain is actually not limited as many people think. It was interesting to hear that memory is like a huge library with unlimited storage. Receiving books (Registration), Storing books (Retention) and Retrieving books (Recall).

Chances of registering into the brain can be increased by sending information through multiple channels such as saying it aloud, writing, drawing, imagining, researching, converting, questioning and quizzing based on it and also by teaching it to others.

Students can be categorized into auditory learners and visual learners. Dr. Anish gave useful tips for both types of learners. He pointed out that concentration is very important to register details well. He spoke about various exercises and yogasanas such as Vrikshasana (tree pose) that can improve concentration skills.

He also mentioned that it is normal to forget things. If information is well connected, it is easy to retain the details. So it is important to rehearse using various techniques such as flash cards. Memory games are good to practice recall. He explained memory techniques such as flash cards, acronyms and associations.

Dr. Anish added that memory card games and brain exercises such as crosswords, sudoku and chess also help in brain development. Children had fun playing some memory games to exercise their brain.

Most importantly, he advised the children not to cram for an exam because this only keeps information in the short term memory and adds to your stress. Always prepare for an exam well in advance. Sleeping well and eating right is also essential to keep the brain fresh.

Last, but not the least, there is no point in being restrained by our own thoughts. Be confident of your own capabilities and success is going to be yours.

Today’s was the last session of the Astronomy Workshop ‘Celestial Wonders’ by Aswin Jacob at Schoolkutti.com Children’s Library. Children were full of excitement and eager to learn something new.

Rainbow Colors

Aswin started with a discussion about how the white color is composed of many constituent colors and about the experiment that is done using the Newton’s disc. After that, he spoke about how a camera works. Then the children had great fun trying to build a pinhole camera.

Telescopes as Time Machines

It was good to know the the story behind the invention of telescope, the inventors and about the different components of telescope. Children also learned about the purpose of the hubble space telescope, how it works and why it is superior to the normal telescopes on earth.

This series of Astronomy Workshops was a unique learning experience for the children.

Did you think that spiders are insects? No, neither are millipedes and centipedes. What happens when a wasp attacks a cockroach? It was interesting to know that the venom attacks the neurotransmitters of the cockroach that blocks its escape response. The stung cockroach is not only paralyzed,its motivation to run also is gone. The wasp drags the cockroach and lays eggs on it so that the larvae can feed on it later.

What should you do to reduce the chances of getting stung by a wasp? Hold still with your eyes closed. Rapid movement startles the insect and encourages stinging.

Belgica antarctica, the Antarctic midge, is a species of flightless midge, endemic to the continent of Antarctica. At 2–6 mm (0.079–0.24 in) long, it is the largest purely terrestrial animal on the continent, as well as its only insect.

Children learned all this and much more in the Weavers – The Curious World of Insects Workshop – at Schoolkutti.com Children’s Library on 22nd January, 2017. Geetha Iyer, Biologist, Education Consultant and Author brought together little-known aspects of insect life.

Kids had fun trying to identify and learning about the various insects in the photographs that were displayed.

Today’s topic in the ‘Celestial Wonders’ program was ‘Discovering the Milky Way’. Here is a quick look at few of the discussions we had.

How can we see the milky way if we are inside it? Isn’t it like trying to take a picture of the outside of your house while being IN your house? Because we are inside the Milky Way, we don’t get to take any pictures of it from an angle above it, but we only get pictures in which we see the structure of the Milky Way edge-on, from inside of it.

Exactly how far is an object when we say that an object is light years away? What do we understand when we look at objects that are light years away through a telescope? It was interesting to learn that the distance to Proxima Centauri is only four light years. However, it takes the light from our stellar next door neighbor four years to get to Earth.

We talked about dwarf galaxies, which are small galaxies composed of about 100 million up to several billion stars, a small number compared to the Milky Way’s 200–400 billion stars. Our milky way is expected to now grow mainly by eating smaller galaxies, rather than by collecting gas.

It was quite interesting to find out how the radiation from the sun reaches the earth. The magnetic field around earth protects our body’s DNA from being affected by this radiation. A very small change in our DNA can even affect the way we look.

Children were also curious to know how the planets, moons and asteroids in the Solar System were formed. After debating over some interesting theories and watching informative videos, we came to the end of the session.

Did you know…
– Dance flies of the family Empididae have been courting their mates for eons by presenting them with silk-wrapped prey as nuptial gifts.
– There are at least twenty-three different categories of silk, each the result of natural selection and an independent evolutionary pathway.
– Some moth-caterpillars will walk only on a path of silk, leaving human monarchy a tad inferior surely.
– Silk is an excellent material for select surgical procedures.

Schoolkutti.com Children’s Library is conducting an interactive session based on the book ‘The Weavers – The Curious World of Insects’ by Prof. Geetha Iyer (Author, Teacher and Wild Life Enthusiast) for children of age 8 to 14 years on January 22nd Sunday. Since life evolved on this planet, there have been six major extinctions and insects – since their arrival 400 million years ago – have been amongst them! How did they survive when species after species went extinct? In a world that is fast collapsing to global warming and climate change, there is now an increased interest in knowing the secrets of insect survival. With silken thread forming the central motif, The Weavers brings together little-known aspects of insect life.

Geetha Iyer is an ardent wildlife watcher, naturalist, author, teacher, and consultant in the twin fields of education and environment. A Zoology graduate with a Ph.D. in Education from Madras University, she has several years of experience in the area of designing and executing science and environment education curriculum. She enjoys writing about bringing biodiversity into the classroom and regularly conducts workshops about the environment, education and natural history.

Venue: Schoolkutti.com Children’s Library, Trivandrum
Dates: Jan 22 (Sunday)
Time: 4 to 5:30 PM
Fee: Rs. 150/- for members and Rs.200/- for non members

Call 9847320281 or 4015293 for more information.

Click here to register
http://schoolkutti.com/events/schoolkutti-events-details.php?id=110&districtId=1

What are the rings around the planet Saturn? What causes the fire inside the belly of Sun? What is spectroscopy? What are the different elements that are required for life to sustain on a planet? Why is Mars called the Red Planet? All these interesting questions were answered by Aswin Jacobs in the introductory session of Astronomy Workshop, which started at Schoolkutti.com Children’s Library today. Children were excited to learn that fire in the sun is not caused by burning like we see on earth, but due to the various nuclear reactions.

Today’s topic was ‘Lift off into Space’. Children tried to imagine how fast they would need to throw an object in such a way that the object does not return and remains in the outer space. All of them remembered what happens if they let the air out of a balloon – the air goes one way and the balloon moves in the opposite direction. Aswin explained that rockets work in pretty much the same way. Exhaust gases coming out of the engine nozzle at high speed push the rocket forward. Children enjoyed watching the accompanying videos.

Kids loved learning a wide range of fun facts about space and astronomy. They were not afraid to ask questions at any point and the session was quite successful in stimulating their curiosity and in expanding their cosmic perspective.

Schoolkutti.com is conducting a reading club for young children and the club functions on Saturdays from 10:30 AM to 12 PM. The reading club is led by Sulfa Mazood who holds an M.A in English Literature.

The club gets into the following activities.
– Read aloud sessions
– Role plays
– Guided reading
– Vocabulary activities
– Puzzles from the Hindu Young World and Robin Age Children’s Newspapers

Here are some interesting facts about our reading club.
1. Our reading clubs are designed to be fun for children and will be interesting even for the most reluctant readers
2. The program is open to all 6 to 11 year olds regardless of their reading level.
3. We promote reading for enjoyment.
4. We help choose the right books for your child.
5. We encourage you not to miss any session. However, you need to pay only for the sessions that your child is able to attend.

For the sessions to be effective, we also encourage parents to read to their children regularly. Reading aloud and sharing stories with your child is a great way to spend time together. This is not only beneficial for your child, but can also be the best way to bond with your child.

We want every member of our reading club who finishes a Book to say “PLEASE GIVE ME ANOTHER BOOK.”

Call 9847320281 for details.

Click here to register.
http://schoolkutti.com/events/schoolkutti-events-details.php?id=96&districtId=1