#CROCUS2013, the famous CROCUSWORD is up and it is so easy that even I could do it Pls go try good people.

1stPrize: Endangered animals of India by Praba Ram and Meera Sriram, Illustrated by Lavanya Karthik, published by Mango Books

2ndPrize:Ranganna by Arthi Anand-Navneeth from Tulika Books

3rdPrize:What Does Anu See? (a hot off the press copy) Written and Illustrated by Lavanya Karthik

Broadcast starts Oct 23rd.

Oct 23rd, Day 1: Animal Migration
Oct 24th, Day 2: Nomadic/Tribal expressions
Oct 25th, Day 3: Forced/Voluntary migration
Oct 26th, Day 4: Exploration/Making it home

I haven’t moved much. It is not because I get too attached to a place, but it is just that I dread moving.

Moving is a very emotionally intriguing concept to me.

What makes that restless person move voluntarily? Is it the variety? Sense of adventure? Possibilities? Confidence?

What does a person forced to move feel like? Betrayed? Cheated? Sad? Depressed? Opportunities? Determination? Fighting spirit? Sense of moving on? Means to an end?

What makes animals move? What is their intrinsic motivation to do it? Is it hard coded in their gene?

See, it is all about feelings and behind the scenes information to me when it comes to moving.

If you are like me, even if it not like me, this year’s CROCUS brings you a literary treat in terms of ‘MIGRATION’. We have different books that talk about what defines a home, adventurers, explorers, animal migration, refugees, etc. Mark you calendars and join us on Oct 23rd.

Before the books come marching, there are two great posts by fellow ST-ians which are must read. Sandhya, (the lady can write and she) had me at the title, “Not all those who wander are lost…“. Satish serves an awesome slice of life in his post “Migration, Happiness and Other Anecdotes“.

Leaving you with the brilliant poster designed by our resident artist Lavanya…..

My second post for CROCUS 2012, Math In Literature, a resource guide for kindergarten – 1 grade teachers is up on Saffron Tree.

“Math and Literature, by my favorite author Marylin Burns has 22 ideas on how to extend books appropriate for kindergarten and grade 1, to inculcate mathematical thinking…more.

My first post for CROCUS 2012 @ Saffron Tree.

The Librarian Who Measured The Earth is the picture biography of Eratosthenes, a scholar who lived in 3rd century BC. He was a mathematician, geographer, music theorist ….more.

We are winding up CROCUS2011. Its been loads of fun with the five elements theme suggested by Praba.

I wanted to do something diverse this time. So I picked:

AN INTERVIEW WITH Mrs.NIRMALA DIAZ, FOUNDER OF SLOKA WALDORF SCHOOL – Waldorf schools place a high emphasis on nature. This is tricky considering that young children have a egocentric way of thinking and are not ready to view themselves as a small part in the bigger scheme of things. Mrs.Diaz explains beautifully how nature appreciation paves way to a balanced way to nurture and educate young children. An inspirational interview.

MA GANGA AND THE RAZAI BOX – a children’s book that touches on the topics of desertification and soil erosion through mythology. I found the story telling quite innovative.

THE LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS – If you are a teacher, you NEED to read this book. It changes the way you will plan/implement your curriculum. Do I have to tell more?

THE NATURE TEACHER – Doing lesson plans is pure joy. At SaffronTree, we were discussing that we have covered many nature themed books even before we hit upon the FIVE ELEMENTS theme for CROCUS2011 and if there was a way to incorporate all these past posts in to CROCUS2011 without overwhelming the readers it would be swell. This along with Richard Louv’s ‘nature as a teacher for young children’ made this post shape up the way it is right now. Pure joy people! In the near future, I would love to do workshops and share this joy with other people in the teaching community. Wish me the best.

Now go read all the posts @ SaffronTree if you haven’t already.

The older child is playing in her keyboard, a song she sings at school. As she attempts again and again to bring the song to tune, my interest is piqued as to the lyrics of the song.

I ask her about the song, she says that it is the ‘vowel’ song that they sing at school and sings it for me.

On the earth I love to stand, strength from stones I’ve taken,

Striding boldly o’er the land, fearless and unshaken. Aaaaaaaa…..

And in water’s silvery waves, gladly do I revel,

From the fishes I can learn, up and down to travel. Eeeeeeeeee……

Upward to the light I look, where the sun shines brightly,

And with rainbow colors clear, paints the flowers lightly. Iiiiiiiii…..

In the air I love to jump, Oh! that I were flying,

Like a bird with outspread wings, O’er the hilltops gliding. Uuuuuuu….

Gratefully your gifts I hold, in my heart’s deep shrine,

Earth and Water, Air and Light, brothers all of mine. Ooooooo………

What a befitting song to kick start CROCUS2011?!

Hop over to SaffronTree to enjoy the introduction post by Tharini.

I picked up a book by Bronwyn Bancroft, illustrator from the the Bunjalung aborigines of Australia and was thinking how many details are very similar to the Gond style of art. Just in time comes Gita Wolf’s post on ‘The Politics Of Voice‘, a post on folk and tribal art in children’s literature. How can I not do a post on ‘Tribal art in children’s books‘?

Unlike Gita, who talks about the publisher’s perspective on creating a children’s book with tribal art illustrations, I decided to stop with the commonalities I observe in tribal art across the world.

While you are at it, check out the art of Sue Coccia. Very Gond in spirit don’t you think? Thanks to Kodi’s mom for introducing this artist to me.

Three years back while reading Tulika’s Sweet and Salty for Chula and Meija, I distinctly remembered villu pattu artist Subbu Arumugam. The train of thought later lead to the art of story telling. After reading Hanuman’s Ramayana, also by Tulika, the concept of stories being molded by the story teller and how myths came to be, really appealed to me. Inspired by this is the post on Stories of The Flood, my last and final contribution to CROCUS2010.

Bye bye CROCUS2010.

Edited to add: Submitted post for Shruti’s Artsy-Craftsy June 2001 Folk art challenge.

I have done numerous lesson plans for course work. Two years back, one such lesson plan was on Tulika’s Sameer’s House, an all time favorite at home. That is when I realized how today’s kid’s-lit is so versatile and can be integrated in to a classroom setting. The seed was sown.

For CROCUS 2010, my category assignment was arts and crafts. For this I decided to do a post on how Warli can be integrated in to a classroom. Check out my post at Saffron Tree. I am eager to hear back from you all.

I thought being a part of a kid-lit book group was fun. The celebration of CROCUS and the addition of new enthu-cutlets members (y’all know who you are!) has only elevated the fun to a new level.

This Oct 23, we are celebrating CROCUS again. It is going to be a week long celebration. Planning committee, PR team, banner design, press release, categories, review assignment, scheduling, the famous CROCUSWord and much much more galore at ST. It just feels like a wedding, well some one esle’s wedding of course, because it is universal truth that one never has fun in their own wedding.

Without further ado the virtual invite for CROCUS 2010. Clicking on the picture below will take you to CROCUS 2010 posts on Saffron Tree’s website.