As I entered my sisters house I heard my niece shriek and rush past me to the balcony. I ran behind her worried that she might be hurt. But little I did I understand the difference of a joyful shriek and painful shriek. Well my niece was indeed shrieking in joy about the development in the fenugreek plant she had planted a week back. She sat with me nearly for an hour listing out all the possible ways she can use the fenugreek for. This might sound like a cute story but what surprised me here was the ability of a nine year old to understand the importance of nurturing and caring for a tender plant. What we are looking forward with the next generation might be the compensation for all the loss from the previous generations.
Barelysix years old my nephew comes home with a sapling and asks me to accompany him in planting the sapling.This is the homework they are given these days.At a fragile age the kids are made to understand every step in the process of growing and protecting the plants. Gone are the days when kids used to swing with the banyan root. Kids these days are pointing out scientific reasons to why one should not swing with the banyan roots- swinging stops their growth. Surprising isn't it? Well partially we have to appreciate the role of schools played in helping the kids gain insight into the such complicated concepts in an easy way. The process of photosynthesis which I learnt through diagrammatic representations is know being taught to kids by asking them to grown a plant. Like always getting messy is fun for kids. Its like a little adventure and it doesn't stop there. They question and try to understand every bit of the process. They also go back and google to find more information about the plants.
Like learning about photosynthesis by actually growing a plant was not enough they only plant Tulsi, Mint and other such plants with medicinal properties. They have the tendency to observe and intake the information at one go and immediately they want to practically test it out. Its like they are being trained to be Ayurveda doctors as they already know what is the purpose of Tulsi and likes. The kind of activities they are involved also surrounds the topic of going green. A visit to the Vedanthangal to understand and study the various kinds of birds which migrate to Chennai. This is a mere weekend get away. If its summer vacation a visit to Nagarhole in Karnataka to walk in the dense jungle and understand the kind of environment the wild animals live in and also the occasional woos and awws at the colourful birds, butterflies and animals is worth every bit. And I learnt the types of wild animals through charts. The next time I meet my niece I wont be surprised if she feeds me with a spoon full of Kashayam for bad cold.
Barelysix years old my nephew comes home with a sapling and asks me to accompany him in planting the sapling.This is the homework they are given these days.At a fragile age the kids are made to understand every step in the process of growing and protecting the plants. Gone are the days when kids used to swing with the banyan root. Kids these days are pointing out scientific reasons to why one should not swing with the banyan roots- swinging stops their growth. Surprising isn't it? Well partially we have to appreciate the role of schools played in helping the kids gain insight into the such complicated concepts in an easy way. The process of photosynthesis which I learnt through diagrammatic representations is know being taught to kids by asking them to grown a plant. Like always getting messy is fun for kids. Its like a little adventure and it doesn't stop there. They question and try to understand every bit of the process. They also go back and google to find more information about the plants.
Like learning about photosynthesis by actually growing a plant was not enough they only plant Tulsi, Mint and other such plants with medicinal properties. They have the tendency to observe and intake the information at one go and immediately they want to practically test it out. Its like they are being trained to be Ayurveda doctors as they already know what is the purpose of Tulsi and likes. The kind of activities they are involved also surrounds the topic of going green. A visit to the Vedanthangal to understand and study the various kinds of birds which migrate to Chennai. This is a mere weekend get away. If its summer vacation a visit to Nagarhole in Karnataka to walk in the dense jungle and understand the kind of environment the wild animals live in and also the occasional woos and awws at the colourful birds, butterflies and animals is worth every bit. And I learnt the types of wild animals through charts. The next time I meet my niece I wont be surprised if she feeds me with a spoon full of Kashayam for bad cold.
Nice to know that more kids are into the green thing and its usefulness, and more than that appreciating life.
ReplyDelete(but the fun of swinging on the banyan tree root should not be missed out.....remember Malgudi days?)
True. No one can forget the Malgudi days fun :)
ReplyDelete