Children's imaginations are simply wonderful.Today, I met - a porcupine who dreamed of being a pillow - a hen that had three wings and could not fly - a snail that ran marathons - a dinosaur with twenty legs - a mouse that went to school and many more.Two by two, these animals had conversations. Another wonderful reading workshop at the British Library is over. I can't wait for the next. … [Read more...]
Read Something New! – Day Three
The second-last session of Read Something New! just came to an end. We had limericks, nonsense verse, drama, mimes and group rhymes. Our author in focus this week was Michael Morpurgo; next week, we're going to talk about Dick King-Smith.Read Something New! Venue: British Library, Pune … [Read more...]
Read Something New!
Holiday over; I am back to work. Sometimes, I wonder which I enjoy more - the holiday or the work!Session 3 of my reading workshop Read Something New! at the British Library Pune is tomorrow. We are going to be talking about Michael Morpurgo, and I am excited.Read Something New! - Session 3 Venue: British Library, Pune Age-group: 9-12 Time: 3-5 pm Dates: 17th & 24th August and 7th & 14th September … [Read more...]
Photographs from Yesterday’s Workshops
Sunday morning saw the end of my two-day workshop, Weekend with Words, at JustBooks Aundh. With Word Search, Word-Building and Word Train, we came to the end of a fun workshop!At the British Library, we had a day based on Roald Dahl!Today, we have: Storytelling Workshop Time: 11 am to noon Age-group: 5-8 Venue: Friends Library, Salunke Vihar Road Registration Fee: Rs. 350 … [Read more...]
Two Workshops Yesterday!
Here are some of the photographs from yesterday's workshops! Weekend with Words by Varsha Seshan at JustBooks AundhStorytelling with Varsha at Friends LibraryMark the next ones!JustBooks, Aundh: The second session of Weekend with Words is today at 10:30 am British Library: The second session of Read Something New! is today at 3 pm Coming up ... Storytelling Workshop Venue: Friends Library, Salunke Vihar Road, Pune Age-group: 5-8 Dates: 25th and 26th August, 2014 Time: 6:30-7:30 pm Registration fee: Rs 350 See you there! … [Read more...]
Day One: Read Something New!
Spending a Sunday afternoon with enthusiastic children at the British Library is such a joy!The idea of this workshop was to get over Geronimo Stilton and Wimpy Kid, and begin to read something new. I know too many children who finish their Geronimo Stiltons and then say they have nothing more to read.With twenty children in the library with me, we began with a game of names. Children chose names for themselves - names of characters, books or authors. I had in my room, a range of children, from Hermione Granger to Amelia Jane. All twenty ran from person to person, trying to figure out who was who, whispering, discussing ideas, trying to remember all the names ...And then there was Dahl. With The Crocodile, The Porcupine and The Tummy Beast, we had an hour of poetry. They pieced bits of the poems together and then recited them. We left the workshop there, with the promise of more … [Read more...]
Workshops Ahead
Here is what my next two weekends look like!Workshop Details Weekend with Words: Age-group: 9-12 Registration Fee: Rs. 500 Read Something New! Age-group: 8-12 Registration fee: Rs. 1,200 for members; Rs. 2,200 for non-members (complimentary six-month gold membership with each registration) Storytelling with Varsha: Postponed from 15th August 2014 to 23rd August 2014 Age-group: 5-8 Free entry! … [Read more...]
Read Something New!
Back to British Library with my next reading workshop!Dates: 17th August, 24th August, 7th September and 14th September Time: 3 pm - 5 pm Age-group: 9-12 Registration fee: Rs. 1,200 for members; Rs. 2,200 for non-members (You get a complimentary Gold 6-month membership free when you register)See you there! … [Read more...]
Winding Up – Creepy House Reading Challenge
Today, I will be part of the award distribution, the final get-together of all the participants of the Creepy House Reading Challenge at the British Library, Pune.Four workshops over the course of two months with children aged anywhere between 5 and 13. What fun it was!We'll talk about what we learned, how we can take things forward and what we can do with books in our lives ahead.And then, I have the honour of having been invited to give certificates and medals to the children who successfully completed the challenge. Looking forward to another lovely morning! … [Read more...]