“The Wonder Years Preschool is back yet again this year with their super fun, super exciting and super groovy summer camp.

The Wonder Years Summer Camp focuses on bringing back fun and games into summer camps through innovative activities, science experiments, challenges, frequent outings, trekking and camping trips.

The basic idea behind their Summer Camps is for children to become independent, confident, pick up leaderships skills and work together in team exercises to develop collaborative skills.

The Wonder Years has been conducting their very successful Summer Camps for the last 4 years with more than 70% repeat registrations every year. Seats are limited to 20 at each of their centers at Pongummoodu, Kazhakuttom and Pettah.”

(This blog is submitted by Mr. George Mathew, who is the CEO of a new-age preschool chain based at Trivandrum called “The Wonder Years Preschool”. The author is a researcher on child development and can be contacted at george.mathew@thewonderyears.co.in. For more details, please visit http://www.thewonderyears.co.in)

STOP! This is not an article about the latest rage in Indian music. Rather it’s a call – a call to action… in fact, a desperate call.

Let me start with a story. This is about a friend of mine – lets call him John. He is a year older than me and now a very successful corporate executive with one of the leading credit card/travel companies in the world. But life was not so rosy till about a few years back.
His story goes back to the time when we were kids. John was the elder of 2 children. His younger sister was a good 6 years younger than him and a studious student. He was just the opposite. His father, a mechanical engineer, was a very intelligent contractor and a wealthy man.
Since childhood, John never understood science. He was wired differently. He could not even figure out which hemisphere the Indian sub-continent was in! That is not to say that he had any learning issues. No. He just dint care about things like that. But he could dole out any amount of statistics about cars, bikes, trucks, trains, planes… basically any thing on wheels!
And he was a great (and I mean insanely great) salesman! He could show you a rickety auto rickshaw and sell it to you as the latest model Benz S Class! I am not kidding here, seriously! Oh, the number of times he has talked me, a teetotaler, into driving him and his friends to clubs, waiting for them in the sidelines till dawn and then drive back home, all of them in total intoxicated state sometimes even vomiting all over the car.
Anyway, the point is,John was never meant to be an engineer like his father. He was of a different breed. But sadly, no one noticed or gave a damn about his feelings or about what he wanted to do in life. He was forced to opt for science stream so that he could take up engineering studies. To make matters worse, during his Grade 12 year, his father passed away quiet suddenly. At the end of it, Johndid not clear his chemistry paper in the final CBSE board exam and had to repeat the exam at a later stage.
As is expected, all this put a huge strain on John and his remaining family consisting of his sister in primary school and an unemployed mother. It took a lot of effort to rally around him when almost everyone gave up deeming him a failure and a virtually making him a social outcast. He did appear for the chem. Paper and finally manage to pass it.
As soon as this was over, John was whisked away to Bangalore by his maternal uncle and enrolled for the commerce stream. By this time, he had developed a fiercely independent nature and except for his college fees, he earned his pocket money. Times were tough, but he prevailed and earned more than money… he earned our respect as well.
After completing his B.Com degree, he took a great risk, much to the amazement, frustration and disagreement of all the elders in the family. He took up his AIATA studies. The only people to stand by him were us –his friends. By then, we had begun to trust and admire his free spirited will and judgment.
After successfully completing his first stage of the AIATA course and working for the mandatory 6 months in a travel firm, he migrated for 2 years to a Dubai based travel firm where he did so exceptionally well in customer service and sales that the company promised to send him for the further 2 stages, provided he give them an assurance by a gentleman’s word that he would stay with them a further 3 years after the courses.
What would most people have done? They would have taken up on the offer, and probably left the company when they got better offers. But he thought about the offer. He knew that without the training he was stuck at a certain stage in his career, but if he agreed to the training he would be morally obliged to the company for a lot more than just the 2 years that they asked for. He listened to his heart and took a bold step and resigned!!
Within 2 months he was back home without a job in hand. But as they say, “Fortune favours the brave”. He got a call from a leading credit card company to join their Business Travel team. He took up on the offer and has never needed to look back again! The first year of joining the company, John was selected as the Best sales and service executive in the Asia Pacific region, which includes Indian subcontinent, China, Singapore, Japan and Australia!
So why have I been rambling on for all this while? Well, even today, I find that parents want their children to be either Doctor or Engineers. The shocking bit is that these are parents, who just a decade or so ago were subject to the same type of mental torture that John went through! Luckily for John, things turned out fine mostly because of his sheer determination and hard work to break the mould and succeed. But there are umpteen untold stories of children whose dreams… and careers have been crushed due to this myopic view on life.Have we not heard so many stories of children breaking down or worse,committing suicide because of this pressure cooker mindset?
The world, and India in particular, has changed a lot in the last 2 decades. No longer is it nearly impossible for people in the arts and social streams to make a career for themselves. It’s still difficult, but not impossible. I believe that if that is someone’s passion, then they will go on to making a successful career out of it.
In today’s consumer driven world, it is not enough for a product or service to be functional, it is equally important how it is presented, the styling, the ergonomics. This is true in the case of automobiles or computers or highend electronic gadgets. Tell me, would any of you buy an Ambassador or a Fiat Premier Padmini nowadays (except for maybe antique buffs!)?
Take the case of movies or music or photography. A lot more critically acclaimed movies, music and photos spread thru the internet and are shot , believe it or not, on mobile cameras than the commercial flops that we see around us.
For a society, a culture, a nation to grow, evolve and flourish, it is not enough that it has doctors and engineers. Rather it requires a plethora of trades and careers to hold hands and steam ahead in unison. We need arts, commerce and socio-economic universities as much as we require science and engineering universities.
Please parents, open your eyes, open your hearts, open your minds…let your children decide what they want to be in life. Let them spread their wings and fly. Urge them, cajole them, coerce them but only to try and be the best in their chosen field. Trust that things will work out at the end… for that is all we have at the end of it… a trust, even if you force them to do something they don’t want to do in life.
So, Why this Kolavari (Urge to kill their dreams)… dear parents?

(Mr. George Mathew is the CEO of a new-age preschool chain based at Trivandrum called “The Wonder Years Preschool”. The author is a researcher on child development and can be contacted at george.mathew@thewonderyears.co.in. For more details please visit http://www.thewonderyears.co.in)

Every child has something to say, but how many are ready to speak out in the presence of others? How do we help children to overcome stage fear and express themselves freely in front of an audience? The key is to start slow and then build up the techniques as the kids learn the essential skills of public speaking through fun games and activities.

Mr. Rajesh (Raj) Nair is doing just that at Schoolkutti.com Children’s Library on saturdays. Raj is a distinguished toastmaster (DTM) from toastmasters.org and is passionate about working with children. His aim is not just help them speak well, but also to give them important life skills and attributes like confidence and self-belief.

It was an amazing experience for our children – to be able to express their thoughts and feelings without any fear. By doing less study and by doing more practice, children got more confident and excited about the whole thing. This is what our young participants had to say -“The classes are a lot of fun! We learned a lot about presenting in front of crowds and projecting our thoughts. We also enjoyed making new friends.”

Creative writing is something that kids should not be taught in a regular class, the aim should be to guide children on how to connect with their imagination and sense of wonder and put that into writing. That is exactly what Prof. Elsy Satheesan encouraged 8 to 14 year olds to do at Schoolkutti.com children’s library on Jan 31. The entire experience was open-ended and collaborative where children were given a chance to explore, experience and enjoy the art of writing rather than being just taught how to write well.

Of course, just one session cannot turn your child into an amazing writer. However, we hope that our 2 hour workshop would have got your child excited about writing.

As told by Smt. K.Uma, M.Sc., R.D (Registered Nutrition Consultant & Certified Yoga Trainer):

When taught in a fun way children enjoy , understand and accept things better, that is what we do in fun yoga classes. The world is going so fast and all are going behind it. Even children are also trapped in that. Here we teach children to become more aware about their body and mind, the precious gift from Almighty and our duty is to take care of it with healthy eating habits, active lifestyle, making our mind happy by doing good things.

When there is competition , fear comes to their minds which in turn spoils their creativity, imagination and their real talents. But through fun yoga classes we teach them yoga in a non competitive environment so that we help them discover their own potential and which in turn they develop self confidence.

Children enjoy doing yoga here because we do not force them to do anything neither we expect perfection. Children enjoy doing yoga through music, dance, stories and games.

Our wholehearted welcome to all loving children to experience the magic of yoga our age old Indian tradition.

Uma’s Nutriyoga is conducting a Fantastic Feb Weekend Childrens Yoga camp at Trivandrum on all Saturdays of February 2015 from 10 am-11.30 am. Fees is Rs. 500/- per month or Rs.150/- per session.

Contact : Mrs. Uma Kalyani 944 64 75 180

Visit us at Uma’s Nutriyoga

Schoolkutti.com Children’s Library is coming up with yet another workshop to give an introduction to children as to what is creative writing. The session will be led by Retired English Professor and poet Smt. Elsy Satheesan. She will explain how one writer or artist is basically different from another, how every one is unique etc. There will be tips and suggestions for pouring down ideas into paper followed by a writing session. It will be a kind of ‘free-for-all’ session, which means that the children can try any genre they like – poetry, story, essay, a day from their life, can be anything they choose. There will be evaluation or comments based on the language, style of writing and their overall performance. She will also read aloud from her own poems as examples of creativity.

Photo Courtesy: Smt. Kalyani Vallath (Vallath TES)

Archaeologist and Writer Dr. Bina Thomas conducted a reading session for the children of Trivandrum on Jan 3 at Schoolkutti.com Children’s Library. Her first book for children ‘Anaconda in My Backyard and Other Stories’ was released last month at Kanakakkunnu Palace Grounds by popular author Smt. Khyrunnisa A.

In this book, Bina has chosen to write about social issues as she feels that the urban middle class children are shielded from ground reality. She interacted with the children, asking them thought provoking questions and and bestowing them valuable insights on the topic of social awareness without being preachy.

On January 3, 2015, Dr. Bina Thomas will be reading from her new children’s book ‘Anaconda in my Backyard and other stories’ at Schoolkutti.com Children’s Library. This will be followed by an interactive session where children can share their little deeds of kindness and hope. Children can ask her about archaeology, and heritage. You also get the chance to pick up a copy of the book at the venue. For more information, call 9847320281 or 7561840542

Click here to register online

The book is a collection of short stories written for children by Bina, who is an archaeologist by profession. Each story tries to sensitize children to the environment, child labour, inequality and civic and social issues. The stories and the cover have been illustrated by Rakesh P. Nair and the book was published by Folio.

“The stories move through a spectrum of value-based models of good citizenship, ranging from concern for the environment and nature to confronting issues such as child labour and sound pollution and the spreading of joy and goodwill through spontaneous acts of mercy, honesty and generosity,” writes Paul Zacharia in his foreword to the book.

The book was released by Prof. Khyrunnisa A at the book fair in Kanakakkunnu on December 21 (Picture Courtesy: DC)

Schoolkutti.com organised a quiz contest, Schoolkutti Master Brains 2014 at Schoolkutti.com Children’s Library on December 7th, for children in the age group of 10-13 years. Mr. Snehaj Srinivas who is the chief coordinator of Quiz Kerala was the quiz master. The event also included a presentation on how to become a good quizzer.

Questions to test the knowledge of students on current affairs, personalities and events from all over the world, were asked. After the initial written round, 12 students were selected for the final oral round. Parvathy Sunil of Christ Nagar International School and Jyotsna Nair of L’ecole Chempaka, Edavacode emerged winners.

Schoolkutti.com Children’s Library presents weekend Science Workshops for Children in January 2015. Titled ‘Young Scientists’, this is a a unique programme that sparks passion for science through fun projects. The workshop will be facilitated by Green Butterfly Edu and will be conducted at Schoolkutti.com Children’s Library.

The following activities will be covered in the workshop.

1. Introduce kids to the structure of DNA
Model Type: Still Model
Materials Used: Straw , color cello tape
Take Home: Completed model and Worksheet
What they learn: How DNA builds our genes

2. Have fun with hands-on learning about the digestive system!
Model Type: Still Model
Materials Used:Ceiling board , plastic sheet, cotton and water bottle
Take Home: Completed model and Worksheet
What they learn: The parts of the digestive system and their functions

3. Want to show your kids the wonders of Sand Clock?
Model Type: Working Model
Materials Used: 2 Bottles , fine sand , stick, and plastic sheet
Take Home: Completed model and Worksheet
What they learn: To make a sand clock and learn to measure the time it keeps.

4. Candle Power
Model Type: Working Model
Materials Used: candle , wire, 2 nails, magnets, motor
Take Home: Completed model and Worksheet
What they learn: How to make electricity from candles

Dates: Jan 10, 17, 24, 31
Time: 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM

Age: 8 to 12 years

Admission:
Rs. 1000/-

Click here to register

Call 9847320281 for more information.