The authors of Flickering Flames, an anthology of short stories and poems, were part of the Pune International Literary Festival (PILF) 2016! The young girls, all in the age-group 11-13, got the opportunity to read excerpts from their work at an event that welcomed a range of eminent speakers and writers. Of the thirteen members of the Writers’ Club at […]
Weekend Workshops at Bengaluru
The joy of travelling is when I can mix leisure with work. Last weekend was a long weekend, and in Karnataka, it was longer still because of Varralakshmi Poojai. Many were apparently traveeling, yet, several turned up for both workshops I conducted. At Atta Galatta, Koramangala, I conducted a creative writing workshop for the age-group 9-13. It […]
Creative Writing at Vidya Valley School
In the pouring rain, we made our way across the city to a school far, far away. It was beautiful. Greenery all around us, streams in the most unexpected places – this was not a part of the city I knew. I’d heard about Vidya Valley, and met a few students from the school at […]
Creative Writing Workshop in Bengaluru
Last year, I conducted a reading workshop at Atta Galatta, and I knew I had to go back there and do something else! The place is perfect, the ambiance charming and the children I met were lovely. So now it’s time to do something else, something new! Conducting the Writers’ Club at St. Mary’s School has […]
Reading Challenge at MGM Clover Dale
The Imagination Box, which I wrote about yesterday, as well as the books I’ll be writing about in the days ahead, were part of the Reading Challenge organised by the British Library. As always, I enjoyed myself thoroughly conducting a series of workshops at MGM Clover Dale High School in Aurangabad. The theme for their Reading Challenge […]
Author Visit
Yesterday, the Writers’ Club at St. Mary’s School welcomed Leela Gour Broome, author of Flute in the Forest and Red Kite Adventure. Mrs Broome introduced her two books and spoke to the children about the process of writing them. “I’m not a fan of fantasy,” she said when the children asked her what she reads. “I think […]
Workshop on Communicative English
The six-hour journey from Pune to Beed was lovely. I love travelling in the monsoon through pouring rain, looking at all the shades of green passing by. I love the hills in the rain. They’re so full of life, so different from the parched summer browns! My workshop last weekend was with Gurukul English School […]
Workshop at Mane’s International School, Ratnagiri
People on the road selling karvand, mangoes and jackfruit. The lilting language that makes me listen to the tune rather than the meaning. The dark sand and the crashing waves. Joy! And Mane’s International School was beautiful. It’s a small school as of now, just a baby. There are mango trees everywhere, and the principal spoke […]
Storytelling Workshop at Palm Groves
A group of parents got together and invited me to conduct a weeklong storytelling workshop at a housing society. Storytelling has never been more fun! Working with my own stories is a lovely experience in itself, and when the story comes with its own kit … The enjoyment reaches new levels! Here’s a group of children […]
Record Breakers at Cathedral Vidya School
Another set of Reading Challenge workshops came to an end yesterday. This time, the theme was ‘Record Breakers’, and the school that took it on was Cathedral Vidya School, Lonavala. Working with fifteen bright children from classes five to eight filled me with joy! Lipograms and pangrams brought much hilarity … The activity started in all seriousness and then […]
Travel the World: A Journey through Stories
I’m conducting a storytelling workshop this weekend at the British Library, Pune. Overview Every culture creates its own stories: to entertain young children, to teach them, and to attempt to explain the world. Through interactive storytelling, this workshop will give young children a glimpse of different cultures, allowing them to taste a little of the world! Day One […]
Reading and Writing Workshops at SGI, Kolhapur!
I spent three days at Sanjay Ghodawat International School, Kolhapur, and conducted a series of reading and writing workshops with 204 children as part of the British Library’s Reading Challenge programme. We worked on myths from around the world, read aloud Fragoline and the Midnight Dream and George and the Dragon, played with idioms, wrote stories … What fun it […]
Flickering Flames – Now Available!
During the last academic year, a group of girls from St. Mary’s School worked with me at the Writers’ Club. They imagined, wrote and rewrote. Now, their work is available in the form of an anthology of poems and short stories! Flickering Flames, written by girls from classes VI and VII of St. Mary’s School, is now available online. The […]
Writers’ Club – The Last Session
A whole year with my first batch of the Writers’ Club at St. Mary’s School is over! We’ve written all kinds of things. I’ve put a few pieces up on my blog; I’ve made the girls write and rewrite, write and rewrite … We did poetry, prose and drama. We worked with back stories, plot and […]
Reading Challenge at Dr Kalmadi Shamrao High School
Today was the closing ceremony of the Reading Challenge Programme at Dr Kalmadi Shamrao High School. Look at all the proud faces! I conducted two workshops for the children: one on idioms, the other on myths from different parts of the world. During the first one, we solved a crossword puzzle, played team games differentiating between idioms and proverbs, and […]
Let’s Break Some Records!
Of late, I’ve been too busy to post updates about events I conduct, but here’s a quick heads-up. I’m conducting a workshop at the British Library tomorrow! Explore novel records that you can see yourself setting! Work on all four language skills – reading, writing, listening and speaking. Interact with other children with varied interests. […]
Workshop at Ahmedabad
Here are a couple of photos from the workshop I conducted at FD School, Ahmedabad, under the banner of Ratna Sagar. It was a lovely experience, working with enthusiastic teachers. We worked on the story of Pinocchio, exploring integrated learning and the importance of conducting different kinds of activities while teaching. We spoke about reading and why we enjoy reading. […]
Reading Day
Helen O’ Grady’s Navi Mumbai chapter invited me to be part of its Reading Day celebrations in honour of Dr Kalam’s birthday. What a crazy day I had with enthusiastic children from St. Mary’s School, Koparkhairane, and Gold Crest High, Vashi! The children were full of questions. One commented, “Most authors now don’t really write; they type. […]
Reflection
The IB methodology taught me the importance of reflecting on what we have learnt. I often keep that in mind as I conduct workshops, in the hope that reflection will help participants consciously use what they learn in their lives ahead. The girls from St. Mary’s have now attended eight sessions of the Writing Club. […]
The Gruffalo’s Child