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 in Beed. Like so many other schools, it is an English medium school that is attended by children from non English-speaking families. It's a huge challenge for the teachers, one that we can barely begin to tackle. Walk through the corridors and you'll hear a mix of Marathi and Hindi, with just about a word of English thrown in.And so, my workshop was on Communicative English with Functional Grammar. Led by an enthusiastic vice principal, the teachers came forward to participate, interact and share. They laughed as they donned roles of reporters and sportspeople. … [Read more...]
Summer Camp – Cedarwood Afterschool
For all those who have been asking me whether I have any workshops planned for the summer ... I'm doing four exciting weeks under the banner of the Cedarwood Afterschool Program at Magarpatta City.The modules I'm conducting include - - A five-day reading workshop for the age-group 7-12 - A five-day writing workshop for the age-group 7-12Do call Cedarwood for details! … [Read more...]
The Crazy Travelogue – V
Coping with a new language, staying with people I did not know and attending school with friends who were much better at French than I was was too trying an experience for me to have written about my experience every day. I wanted to write, but it was all good intentions and nothing more.On the 13th of June, 2004, though, our adventure actually began - three young Indian girls backpacking through Europe. I will never forget those two weeks. Unbelievable, educational weeks. We reached Milan at 9 in the morning and did not know where to begin. We did not speak Italian and we needed to find a youth hostel.We got off the train and walked purposefully down the platform just like all the other people with a destination. There was no other way we could go. And we reached the end of the platform.We exchanged glances, looked around, and learned out first Italian words - ufficio … [Read more...]
Imagine and Innovate: A Workshop on Books for Children
Workshop Outline: How do books come alive? What happens in the mind of the writer, and how does it finally reach the hands of the reader? "Imagine and Innovate" explores each step of the journey: from the idea to the making of the book. Children will come together to create a story, design and make a book, and learn what copyright is. It will be a morning of imagination, creativity and learning: a writing workshop for all children aged about 8-13. Overview: 1. A memory game to get to know one another. 2. Make up a story together; design your own book. 3. Learn about publishing, copyright, and the options for children who write. Date: Saturday, 28th February, 2015. Time: 11 am - 1 pm Fee: Rs 500 per child Age-group: 8-13 Venue: The Cultural Centre, Pune To register: Send an email to tcc@prelocate.com with your name and contact number. [Email subject: Imagine and … [Read more...]
Day Two: Storytelling Workshop
We read aloud, acted, spoke, coloured, stamped and drew. I heard two stories about a zoo, and we read a lovely story about two rabbits and a fairy princess. What a feast of stories it was! The three-day storytelling workshop had: 1. Tikki tikki tembo 2. The Witch and her Two Daughters (adapted from two folktales by Varsha Seshan) 3. The Three Engines 4. The Hunter and his Five Sons 5. The Little Corner Shop (by Varsha Seshan) 6. The Fox and the Farm (by Varsha Seshan) 7. The Lady of the Lake (loosely based on a traditional tale) 8. A Bear that Growls (loosely based on a traditional tale)Coming up:Vocabulary Workshop Dates: Today and tomorrow, 27th and 28th August, 2014 Venue: Friends Library, Salunke Vihar Road Time: 4 pm to 5:30 pm Age-group: 8-12 Fee: Rs 350 … [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...]
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...]
Talking to Children
In one of the places where I used to teach dance, children from various backgrounds often had trouble communicating with me. They spoke little or no English and sometimes, little or no Hindi, Tamil or Marathi. Problems occurred when they spoke just one language if that one was not one I understood.I remember one such girl. She spoke just Telugu, and perhaps because of her language difficulties, she was extremely diffident. She stood very still, watching and listening, never contributing to conversation. She listened to children asking for permission to go and drink water. Finally, mustering up her courage, she came up to me and asked, "Miss, mumblemumblemum water?"I smiled and granted permission. That was the first time she had spoken, so I merely said, "Yes."The next class, once again, "Miss, mumblemumblemum water?"Once again, I replied, "Yes."When she asked me the … [Read more...]
The Awful English Language
Teaching English is impossible. Words like 'enough' are enough to put anyone off, but they don't even begin to scratch the surface. It so happened during one class that I had to pronounce all the words - though, thought, although, rough and plough. The hilarity and bewilderment are impossible to forget.One particular class stands out in my memory as I write this. I remember once being asked what the word 'hook' means. I painstakingly explained the hook and the eye, as well as the hook you hang clothes on in the bathroom, and the hook often associated with the missing hand of a pirate. With my drawing-skills, it requires unlimited imagination to understand what I'm trying to communicate. I felt pretty victorious because my communication was successful, and because I had thought of all three usages. I then asked what the context was because there was still utter non-comprehension in the … [Read more...]