More summer fun 2010 posts.

Do you want to know?

Okay, I will give you a picture, can any one guess how we did this?

Thanks for your comments. It is spin art. I also showed them how to splash paint to add colors to the finished spin art. Kids were super excited and Chula kept saying, “Amma you are doing just like Jackson Pollack”. I have a feeling that this splashing will come back to bite me.

What is the deal with Google? They acquired Slide? Now I have this ugly super poke pets ad in the slide show. Click on the X to close the ad. Move mouse over the pictures for captions.

More summer fun 2010 posts.

So what does one do with two little girls for 10 weeks?

That is 70 days. Time up and awake comes to 840 hours.

TV/PBS kids games/Wii, not that big at home. It is mainly to give myself a break. We have only one reader and one that pretends to be a reader 🙂

We did the usual playdates, block building, drawing, coloring, free play, gardening, bubble blowing, side walk chalk, easel painting, rangoli, trampoline, bubble bath, wading pool, parks, hikes, bicycle ride around the neighborhood, libraries, museums, exploratarium, cross words, puzzles, I spy, planetarium, doctor office trips(Yep, double bronchitis for the whole family including the adults in the middle of summer! Who would’ve thunked?!) botanical garden, camping trips.  Still did not add up to 840 hours! No siree Bob, it did not.

And that is when I read about the ‘Simon Says’ game and thought that it would be interesting to do at home. I wanted to do shapes – one shape a day. My main goal is to talk to the girls about the different shapes and for them to look around them and see what shapes they can identify in our environment.

The first day we did circles. Red circle, blue circle, multicolored circle, red circle inside a blue circle, how many circles can you fit inside the biggest circle, draw three circles all three touching, color the smallest blue circle, color outside the green circle….the girls just went with the flow and had a ball.

The next day we did hearts. The girls quickly took over. Heart = love. I love my family. ‘Mieja look I drew you in my heart, that means I love you’, ‘I am making a flower for you’, ‘I am drawing a family in love’….. I stepped back, picked up a book and answered only when I was specifically called for.

What did we do on the third day? Duh! Triangles, of course. Mieja had difficulty making the third line straight so that it intersected the first two, while Chula was already doing the triangle things she knows – pizza, triangle maze, ice cream cone, ice cream sundae, flower with triangle petals (okay that was a far one, but whatever) etc. So I had to branch off, giving different instructions for them. Chula wanted to warli. She did one warli image, then our family in warli holding hands and dancing. When she said that she wanted to do spiral warli, I made o-o-o-o-o-o- in a spiral and she figured out how to do the triangles and how to make them hold hands. She walked around the paper, rolled around the paper, looked at angles that would put a cinematographer to shame, but she did it. Mieja wanted to do warli family and was getting upset that she couldn’t do it like her sister. After much talking that it has to be ‘her’ work and must be something ‘she’ enjoys doing, she did do a family with square and rectangle bodies. But she was happy that she made her own family.

Fourth day we must have done squares. But we took a break 🙂

….it is about time to read books on slavery.

Approximately four months back, my amma went to Boston for a week. She came back late wednesday night and the next day, just as I was leaving for school, I gave her a quick update of what is in the fridge, chores that were half done etc. Basic handing over the domestic chores routine. I finished my update with, “Amma, can you make sure that the kids gets their school clothes and shoes on in the next five minutes?” Chula who was standing next to me the whole time immediately said, “Amma, you are treating patti like a slave.”

Apparently at school, during passover time, they had had a discussion about slavery in Egypt, slavery in America and Dr.King. So the child did know what she was talking about and was ready for books about slavery. I picked up some books from the library, of course after launching a full scale lecture that my mom is here on her own accord and can walk away at any time but wouldn’t because she is here for love and not against her will.

Back Of The Bus by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

This is the story of Rosa Parks through the eyes of a six year old boy. The little boy is sitting at the back of the bus, like he is “supposed” to, with his mama and playing with a marble. His mama keeps giving him stern non-verbal messages to keep the marble inside his shirt pocket. The boy notices Mrs.Parks sitting at the front of the bus. He is confused.

She don’t belong up front like that,
and them folks all know it.
But she’s sitting right there,
her eyes all fierce like a lightnin’ storm,
like maybe she does belong up there.
And I start thinkin’ maybe she does too.

He is scared when the police is called when Mrs.Parks refuses to give up her seat. He asks his mama,

“We in trouble Mama?” I say all soft.
“No we ain’t,” she says. “Don’t you worry none.
Tomorrow all this’ll be forgot.”

But I got somethin’ in me,
all pale and punchy,
sayin’ it won’t be.

Don’t know why.
But instead of feelin’ all shaky,
I feel a little strong.
Like Mama’s chin.

I take out my marble
and start to hide it in my squeezy-tight fist.
But instead, I hold it up to the light,
right out in the open.
That thing shines all brown and golden in the sunlight,
like it’s smilin’, I think.
‘Cuz it ain’t gotta hide no more.

I was extremely touched. I love the way the author uses the marble as an allegory.

Every time Chula reads the book on her own she gets the same expression on her face and when asked she said that she felt very sad for the boy because he had to sit at the back just because he had dark skin.

More books about slavery
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by E.B.Lewis
Henry’s Freedom Box By Ellen Levine, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People To Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Kadir Nelson.

Asked Mieja every 10 seconds for the past week. What was so special about Saturday(July 31, 2010)? It was ‘The Wiggles’ show at San Jose HP Pavillion. The children knew that we got tickets for the show and were thrilled beyond words. After showing her the calendar for the 1000th time, I got a bit tired of the routine. So I fake-gasped and told her, “Yesterday was Saturday. Remember we went to see The Wiggles??!! You were so tired because of the excitement that you slept through the show.” The expression on her face was priceless ;-P

Anyways, Saturday arrived and we went with bells on to the see The Wiggles. The auditorium was 80% full, the crowd was excited but not the kind of excitement that leaves you drained and tired. The Wiggles were friendly, all four walked through the aisles and waved to the kids. Even though we had the cheapest $10 tickets, we still were blessed with a darshan. Murray walked through the row directly in front of us and actually made eye contact. Some seasoned parents bought roses for Dorothy and bones for Ruff. Among the songs they sang, I could identify the iconic Fruit Salad Yummy Yummy and Hot Potato. Forgive me my Wiggles acuity is not as good as the girls. A good, relaxing show.

Mieja after having hyperventilated about The Wiggles for a whole week, was unusually quite. She asked me, “Can go home and have TV?”. When I glared at her she repeated the question, “Can we go home and watch TV please?” So I quit glaring and politely said no.

If any one interested, Ringling Bothers Circus is in San Jose(HP Pavillion) from Aug 18 – Aug 22. A quick tip, get tickets directly from HP Pavillion. The ticket office is open 10.00AM – 3.00PM. There is two hour parking right opposite to the ticket office on S.Autum Street. They charge only facility fee of $1/ticket. Where as Ticketmaster is a whole different story. I was dumbfounded by their day light robbery. They charge approximately 45% convenience fee/ticket and a service fee/ticket on top of that. Seriously???!!!

I discovered Ms.Ravishankar only four months back. When I first saw the books authored by her on Tara catalog, I did confuse her with Anoushka Shankar, the sitar player. Live mint sorted me out proper. I started reading more about her and the title Dr.Seuss of India had me riveted.

The first Ravishankar book we read at home, The Rumor – published by Karadi, charmed the pants off us and left us wanting for more. Luckily we found a couple of her books in our library.

Elephants Never Forget!
Anushka Ravishankar. Illustrations by Christiane Pieper.

The story is simple. An elephant calf gets separated from its mother after a storm and is adopted by a heard of buffaloes. He grows up as a member of the buffalo herd. When he encounters an elephant herd few years later, will he choose to go with the elephants or will he remain with the buffaloes?

The simple story has been made interesting by the typical Anushaka Ravishankar’s style of story telling.

“He needed some water
To wash himself clean.
The buffaloes looked so calm, so serene.
The water was lovely, cool and green.”

What endeared this book to me was not just the rhyming verse. To me the elephant growing up with animals totally different from him, forming his identity and in the end deciding his zone of comfort was very similar to immigrant children forming identity.

To market! To market!
Anushka Ravishankar. Illustrations by Emanuele Sanziani.

I still remember my tri-weekly trips to the vegetable market with my dad. A buzzing Indian bazaar is not exactly a theme park, yet I found it very entertaining. Walking along the aisles touching the fresh vegetables, observing the art of bargaining, being mesmerized by the art of peddling(Doesn’t even the mundane tea and coffee has a magic to it when the peddler calls out in his deep voice – teeeeeee-kaapi-kaapi-kaapi-kaapi-kaapeeeee ?), the smell of fresh flowers and a quick pass by darshan at the local road side temple……

The essence of my experience is captured effectively in rhyme and in illustration in To Market! To Market! It brings out powerful nostalgia. It brings fleeting images of a five year old me walking to the old Saidapet market holding my dad’s fingers. I remembered this one particular trip where I was busy looking around and reached out for my father’s fingers and he shook me off rather rudely which made me look up at his face only to realize that in my trance, I had lost my dad and was trying to go home with a stranger! It brings out the child in me.

Contrary to her claim to fame as India’s ‘nonsense verse’ writer, Ms.Ravishankar personally made a lot of sense to me.

Mieja sits on her chair, holding FUNTIME RIDDLES ( by Marilyn Helmer and Jane Kurisu ) and with 150% focus reads:

What ship do prize winning athletes sail on?
Championship.

What is common to a cake and a baseball game?
They both need a good batter.

Why are basketball courts wet?
Because all the players dribble.

Why are football stadiums always cool?
Because the seats are filled with fans.

She is very calm, very composed. There are no pauses and no laughs. Because she does not understand. Heck she can’t even read! She repeats entirely from memory, from what she has recorded away in her brain by listening to what her older sister has read to her. Its hilarious to watch this child read a jokes and riddles book like some one reading SUN TV news.

BTW the riddle book is good. Do check it out.

Chula understands the jokes, I can tell. She is at a stage where she understands both slapstick as well as the subtle semantic/phonological jokes. We also picked up from the library SILLY KNOCK-KNOCKS( author Joseph Rosenbloom, illustrated by Steve Harpster ) and all of the jokes are subtle phonological ones and go right over my head, but Chula gets it. I will give you a sample:
Knock-Knock
Who’s there?
Canoe.
Canoe who?
Canoe please get off my foot?
( Ammmmaaaa… *some serious eye rolling* it is just like CAN YOU please get off my foot. Did you even think about that? *sending more attitude my way* ) For my part, I irritate her further by saying that I understand the wordplay, but what is so funny in a knock-knock joke?

Tell me folks, is it a cultural thing? I don’t get it. Probably will never, because I did not grow up with it?

PS: Recordings of Mieja “reading” books.

PPS: A riddle for you all. Who can jump taller than the tall mountain? ( Clue: If you are a Dora enthusiast or have one at home, you will know the answer. )

At some point of time, all parents would have witnessed their child telling no. After the NO, comes the power struggles and the temper tantrums. It is an universal phenomenon and experts console parents saying that they are witnessing the terrible twos and that it shall pass …..in to tremendously terrifying threes, frightening fours, frustrating fives, shocking six….. my amma swears that I am going through a tiresome thirty three phase right now and is waiting with all toes and fingers crossed for ‘my phase’ to get over. The phases are a complicated play of wanting to establish an identity and earning respect and approval. The best thing for a parent to do is to step back and realize that they are not alone. The very thought that zillions of parents, irrespective of time or culture are going through the same thing at the same time gives immense strength and patience.

This is the gist of the book beautifully conceptualized and illustrated by Mr.Warburton. Little Noah is sitting wearing his diaper and playing. In comes mommy and says that it is time to leave. Even before she explains where, Noah says no, not once not twice, but a 1000 times.

no..NO…reverse-no-on, grumpy-mad-gritting-his-teeth-NO, cool-come-on-make-me-NO, big-72-point-bold-no, No-way-jose, nooope. He proceeds to say no in russian, greek, hindi, old norse, chinese, inuit, tagalog, sign language etc. Little Noah is so innovative that he says no in creative ways such as using the carrots and peas on his dinner plate to spell out no!, as skywriting, he texts no, morse code(dah dit dah dah dah -. —).

If you think it is hilarious, you must look at Noah’s face when his mom shrugs her shoulders and says, ‘Ok, fine. If you don’t want to go to the PLAYGROUND, you can stay here.’ 🙂

Found the whole book as an animation here.