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Homeschooling Topic – Weather
Yog: Mama, Winter is coming.When will it snow in Hyderabad ? Mama: It only snows in regions which are far from the equator or are very high up from the ground. I am sorry but it doesn’t snow in Hyderabad. Yog: Why? Mama: Because Hyderabad is near to the equator and it does not have any mountains as well. Yog thinking about the facts at hand for some time: Are the mountains growing? Mama: Yes, the mountains are growing slowly. Yog: Then after the mountains grow, will there be snow in Hyderabad? Mama: No Yog! The mountains are growing but not in Hyderabad. I don’t think there will be snow…
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Homeschooling Topic – Photosynthesis
Yog collected lots of twigs and used Popsicle sticks in the park today. He brought all of them to the car as well. I casually asked – Yog, what will you do with all this? Yog: I will burn them. Me (shocked): You know we should not burn things. It causes pollution Yog: No Mama! When I burn these, Carbon dioxide will come out. All the plants at our home are hungry. They need to eat carbon dioxide as their food. I am going to make food for them by burning these. Me silent for a moment. It takes time for my aged mind to process such arguments. Me coming…
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Our Family Learning Goals
Choosing the right curriculum is one of the most important decision a parent can make. Most parents wonder which curriculum would best meet the needs of their child. We have CBSE, State Boards, IGCSE, NIOS and IB curriculum to choose from. I am sure I have missed a few curriculum in this list that even I am not aware of. For a subject like Maths, we have Vedic Maths, Kumon, Singapore Maths, Abacus, Russian Maths methods (and many more) that we can leverage. Given so many options, how do parents decide which method is best suited for their child? How do parents decide which curriculum is best suited for their…
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Homeschooling Topic – Religion
A few days ago, we passed a graveyard on the road and Yog wanted to know what it is. So I explained that in some religions when a person dies, he/she is buried. As expected Yog’s next question was – What is a Religion? I explained that it a set of things that we believe in. For e.g, we are Hindus so we go to the temple and worship our God. We do not bury our dead but we burn their body. Today, while we were eating dinner, Yog asked, “Are we Muslims?” I shook my head and said, “No, we are not Muslims. I told you what religion we…
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I Signed The Dotted Line To Take Ownership Of My Son
I formally started homeschooling my son, about 15 days ago, at the end of the Dushera Holidays. The first 3 days were completely chaotic trying to find a rhythm and pattern. By the end of each day, my son and I were both pulling our hair apart. I was obviously wondering if this is the right way to go for both of us. They say perseverance pays and it did, in our case too. Soon we took off the ground and started flying smoothly. Since then, each day that goes by in the Homeschooling routine, I feel more relaxed and confident that homeschooling is the way to go for my…
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I was once a Star
When I was perhaps in 4th grade, my school organised a play as part of our Annual Day celebrations. The play was called, “I have a Dream”. Roughly 50 children participated in the play, most of them dressed like trees, flowers or butterflies creating the colorful background for the main story. Three days before the Annual Day, our class teacher called all the class out for rehearsals. Everyone left for their respective rehearsal. I was left alone in the class. I had no rehearsal to go to. I had not been picked for any role or any chore as part of the Annual Day celebrations. My teacher was baffled. How…