• Toyna,  Yog

    Door Signs

      Door signs become an important part of defining ourselves as we create our own space in life. Since some years now, Toyna has been hanging notes outside her room door. These signs often reflect her state of thought, action and mind. Sometimes the signs state rules of how to behave in her room and sometimes these are just fun things that she likes. Recently, Yog decided that he ought to have some rules for his room too. In order to emulate his sister, he kept searching for nice stickies to put on his door. But he managed to scavenge only a few small stickies as seen in the picture…

  • Toyna

    I was never a mother before

    Dear Daughter, I am just a mother, as lost as they come I am just a mother, trying to make sense of the stuff I am just a mother, who can possibly never understand Cause, I am just a mother, who was never a mother before   Dear Daughter, I was never a mother before you came in to my life I was never a mother before you smiled into my eyes I was never a mother before till I held you to my chest I was never a mother before who did not know what to do   Dear Daughter, I do not know what to do, to be…

  • Homeschooling,  Toyna

    I am Taught

    I was thinking I was normal as normal as I could be Living in my own world Can’t decide who I am supposed to be To hate or to love To disgust or to like To go under or above Reaching for my goals, moving towards the sky To dance or to fight I was born thinking I was normal As normal as I could be Where people would be telling what is important for me Whether to study or to play To fail or to pass To go or to stay And to stay in which class But I was wrong I am not normal I am lucky as…

  • Homeschooling,  Toyna,  Yog

    Child’s First and Ever Lasting School

    What’s common in Embroidery, Carrot and Cheese Salad and Roughly Chopped Carrot and Cucumber Salad? These are all home projects done by our children without any encouragement/planning/teaching from my side. Embroidery and Carrot Cucumber Salad having been done by 5 year old Yog. Carrot Cheese Salad done by 13 year old Toyna. You may wonder what prompted them to pick up random things like Embroidery and Salad Making. The simple answer is that they saw these skills being practiced by someone at our home. Since these were being done for a period of time only by adults, our children figured it must be something interesting to do. After all, adults…

  • Homeschooling,  Toyna,  Yog

    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…

  • Thoughts and Quotes,  Toyna

    Why should my daughter focus on Career when she may end up being a Full Time Mom, like me?

    After a long and fun summer holidays, school started today. With both kids out for more than just a few hours, I seemed to have all the time in the world for myself. By the time I completed walking, yoga, meditation and breakfast, it was only 10 AM. Without a second thought, I packed my laptop and headed to office. I had not planned for it, but it felt like the natural thing to do. For most working women, it is not a choice, but a routine to get to office. They finish their morning chores in a rush and are in office at the designated hour. For me, it…

  • Thoughts and Quotes,  Toyna

    Believe in Yourself

    This picture says a lot more once you catch the spell error. The artist, my daughter, did the background painstakingly over 3 hours. She then took a short minute to scribble the title. Irrespective of the error, she is proud of her painting and rightfully so. If this isn’t the power of belief in oneself, then I don’t know what is.

  • Toyna

    Stepping into Mama’s Shoes, Literally

    Toyna rushed down from the steps exclaiming in a “No big deal” kind of way, “Mama, I am wearing your Pajamas today!” I turned around to look at her. Indeed, she was wearing my dark green pajamas! My reaction, “Huh! But why? Where are your own pajamas?”   Honestly, this isn’t the first time she has slipped into my wardrobe. She has been doing this for ages now. But till now, she had always either asked my permission to borrow something or hid from me the fact that she took something from my room. Essentially, till now she had considered my things as my property. But today, she crossed that…