Shrinking Vanita is a delightful read, full of laughter, madness and the unshakeable belief that children can and will save the world! With a little help, of course. From a puppy called Giggles and a bag full of fridge magnets. Three days to go before a gigantic killer asteroid will end life on Earth! Everyone […]
Reflections – Part 2
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the first series of reflections, written by children from my first batch of the creative writing programme. The idea of a reflective statement is something that I came to appreciate when I was teaching the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. While I was teaching, however, many students hated […]
A Few More Writing Activities
A few days ago, I posted five writing activities that I created last month; here are a few more. I find that short activities of this sort are wonderful ways both to get started and to wind down. Finishing a workshop with some sort of activity leaves participants feeling energized, rather than exhausted. Quick ones […]
Five Writing Activities for Children (and Adults!)
As I was preparing to launch my online creative writing programme, I posted one writing activity per day on social media, and I loved the responses I received. Writing activities can be so much fun, and not just for children. They work just as well for adults who want to sit down and start writing […]
Stories of Space Robots and Rockets
A couple of weeks ago, I found myself thinking – an online writing programme is not a lit fest. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to invite people who would be able to do something entirely new? What could I do to bring in a new kind of story? And here was my answer: How can I […]
Writing Stories with Nalini Sorensen
Guest sessions are full of fun! Yesterday, I went on not one, but several writing journeys with children’s book author Nalini Sorensen. What did I take back from my journeys? Several things, actually! For one, I love Nalini’s phrase ‘story eyes’. Just like Nalini, the question I hear most often is ‘where do you get […]
Online Reading Programme
I’ve been working with the British Library’s reading challenge for a long time. I’ve worked with a range of themes – Circus Stars, Mythical Maze, Record Breakers, The Big Friendly Read, Animal Agents … And I’ve enjoyed each one. I love the range of books the British Library has, and the reading challenge collection is […]
Reflections – Part 1
During the course of any creative writing programme I conduct, about two or three times, I ask children to stop and reflect on everything they’ve felt and everything they’ve done during their sessions with me. Now that we’re one month into my online programme, it was time. And as usual, I could not stop smiling […]
Writing Stories with Nalini Sorensen
Each morning, among the first things I do is visit my creative writing forum. I love it. I love that every day, there are new pieces to read, all shared by young writers who are part of my online creative writing programme. I’ve done four sessions with one batch and three with another; it’s time […]
How to Write a Limerick
What is a limerick? A limerick is a (usually humorous) five-line poem with a strict AABBA rhyme scheme. It’s fun to write and, usually, fun to read. I’ve always loved limericks by Edward Lear, and over the past few years, I’ve read many, many more. Do you remember the nursery rhyme ‘Hickory Dickory Dock’? That […]
Creative Writing with Children
Every time I work with children on creative writing, I realise why I enjoy it so much. Each interaction is full of laughter, fun, and most joyous of all–moments when children finally understand something and it shows on their faces. I’m still elated after yesterday’s online creative writing session! Since I launched the programme on […]
Online Creative Writing Programme (ages 9 to 11)
Please note that registrations are now closed for this batch. To find out about the next batch for this age-group, please fill this form, or follow me on my social media handles – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Outline Different kinds of poetry Making a story engaging Creating believable characters Working with plot and setting Genre […]
Online Creative Writing Programme (ages 12 to 14)
Please note that registrations are now closed for this batch. To find out about the next batch for this age-group, please fill this form, or follow me on my social media handles – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. “I’ve written five poems. Will you read them?” “I’ve written three stories. How can I get them published?” […]
The Chat Box
I love virtual school visits. I enjoy talking to children about my books, encouraging them to explore reading and writing, and taking them through my journey as a writer. Visiting schools virtually was such a novel experience that I wrote an essay for The Curious Reader about it. But of course, as virtual visits go […]
The Writers’ Club 2019-20
I can’t quite believe it’s been five years with the Writers’ Club at St. Mary’s School. I remember we had a maths teacher in class V who had been teaching there for FOUR YEARS. And I thought that it was pretty much forever. I’m there now. My first batch was created for the sesquicentennial celebrations, […]
World Read Aloud Day 2020
Five days late, but why can’t every day be read aloud day? I happened to have a session with my Writers’ Club on World Read Aloud Day, so each of the girls chose something to read. It was delightful! Above all, I was struck by how well most of them read, without burying their faces […]
A Theme-Based Reading Programme
A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog post for StoryWeaver about a training programme I have been conducting for the last three years for librarians in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, and the ways in which I use StoryWeaver and Pratham Books for the reading programme they implement in schools. I have grown so […]
Dear Fictional Character
Yesterday, to round off our letter-writing activity, we wrote two more letters. One began with ‘Dear Reader’, and this is an activity I’ve done more times than I can count. I tweaked it slightly this time because of the idea of posting their letters to them. Instead of telling them that what they wrote would […]
Letter-Writing at the Writers’ Club
I’ve been waiting to do this activity ever since I thought of it, and it was well worth the wait — particularly because two children said this was the best Writers’ Club session ever! Receiving a letter is lovely. I enjoy every part of it – the anticipation, seeing something in the postbox, seeing that […]
Characters at the Writers’ Club
Excitement is so contagious! The Writers’ Club was full of energy today because of two activities we did based on the idea of how characters come alive to readers. A week ago, I asked the girls to think of a character they would like to present to the rest of the club. We had a […]