Yamaha PSR i455-- The new keyboard

Baby has been learning keyboard for the last 3 months now and she has received good encouragement from her teacher Mr.Edmond of Edmond Music Fine Arts, Bangalore. She started learning on a small 4-Octave keyboard which was lying idle with us for the last 10yrs. After seeing her fast learning, Sir had asked us to pick up Yamaha PSR i455 and we did...just before Dasara.

Picked it from Reynolds, Brigade Road, Bangalore along with the bag. Supposed to be the best price available in Bangalore.

Birds Freedom

While in Car...in slow moving traffic, Om suddenly had this thought

Om: I wish I was a bird
I: Why Om?
Om: They dont have to stop  when the signal turns red and can sit wherever they want.

Teachers appreciation

Om's first Parent Teacher meeting this year (UKG) and it made us parents feel so proud. 

Teachers welcomed us with a big smile and first thing they told us was nothing to worry about Om, he's one the best child. All his assessments had Good/ Excellent markings. But best of all the appreciation from the teachers was for his good behavior in class and helping teachers out whenever other kids in class would make too much noise. 

Another important thing that teacher mentioned was..he's the only child who asks the teachers how they are when they return from their sick leaves making them forget about all their illness.

Singing at Governor's residence-- Rajbhavan

Thanks to Freedom International School, Mrs.Rama K Murthy & Mr.Abhilash Sastry for giving my daughter an experience & a lifetime opportunity of studio recording & singing in front of the Governor of Karnataka- Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala on October 02, 2014.

Last 10 days have been hectic and with a bout of stomach upset for my daughter. But she's managed it well with her practice sessions and DD studio recording sessions.

Kids are singing dedi hume azaadi bina khadag bina dhaal from the movie Jagruthi.

With this experience she's also had her 1st time experience of traveling by city bus with her school friends to go to her music ma'am's place. 


The same is going to be telecasted on DD Chandana on October 2, 2014 between 9.00P.M.. 

Proud of you my baby for having achieved so much at such young age :) 

I managed to record but the video size is too large to be uploaded here :-S

Drawing competition: Independence Day

 

This was the first Drawing/ Coloring competition for Om. He didnt win any prize, but the enthusiasm he showed in participating was worth everything. The competition was organised at our Club and the theme we were told initially was Colors of Independence...but then the themes changed when we reached the venue. 

For Om it was just a coloring competition and Ahana was given Unity in Diversity. Neat work done by both.

Artista 2014

Ahanas submission for Artista 2014

The above picture was painted by Ahana at Artista 2014. The theme given was Landscape. She won the 1st place in Engligh Medium--Medium level Artista Painting competition winning herself Rs.1500/-.

ARTISTA 2014 Deepika Inter school (DCL) Painting Competition conducted on 20^th July 2014 (Sunday).

VENUE: Christ University (Near Forum mall Koramangala)

http://dclbangalore.wordpress.com/2014/08/15/artista-2014-results/

Waiting to see the Winners certificate & prize.

AHAna’s experience

AHA volunteer auditions on 5^th July 2014 for performing at the launch of AHA International theatre festival on the 10^th of July 2014.…

Auditions....

Children were asked to think of a character, describe it and name it.

Act as if the child is pulling out something from an imaginary box and act in such a way that the audience is able to guess what it is.

Create a rhyme describing the character the child has thought of.

Auditions done...

Children geared up for preparing the script for their play. And Anuja Ghosalkar’s way of getting the kids to own the script was to use their characters & dialogues for the play. 2hrs of practice everyday for 5 days and children were ready to perform at Rangashankara on the 10^th of July. 2 songs included  in the play of which one was written by Ahana and for another tune was from her again. Their show which lasted for about 10 mins was executed very well by every child.

Getting ready for the play

Post makeup

Kids with Anuja

Meditation before the play

The Dressing Room

Sets at Rangashankara

Launch of Butterfly Kisses

Video recording of the song

Word Meanings

Om was trying to create his own story...mentioned the word Cannibal
Amma: Om do you know what is the meaning of Cannibal?
Om: Yesss...(with a look that said, why are you asking me such silly questions)
Amma: So why dont you tell me the meanining
Om: Human eating people
Amma & Appa...shocked 

And why are we shocked here...coz Ahana surprisingly didnt know the meaning to this :-D. For a change Om had something to boast about lol

Om watching Chhota Bheem in hindi
Appa hears the word Antariksh in the background and asks...
Appa: Om do you know what is the meaning of Antariksh?
Om: Space
Appa & Amma..shocked!!

Start of school again

Baby moves to fifth and baba moves to UKG.
Put baby for keyboard classes. And still searching for a flute/ tabla classes for baba. Need something closer to home.
Its a month since school started and Baba got home Spotty (Soft toy- a Dog). Given for best behaved child for a particular week. He was Star of the week and got to take home Spotty for the weekend.
I missed clicking a picture of his with Spotty. Hopefully he will get it again. I see the competitive spirit he has to get as many stars as possible in a day from his teachers.

Who's the new Girlfriend

Happy Ugadi...

My bro-in-law visited us yesterday for dinner and along with him came Shonu their Labrador.
Like any other Lab, Shonu is also always super excited when she sees anyone who is willing to play with her and in that excitement of her she went and gave my baba a kiss on his mouth.
Baba started jumping saying cheee cheeee why did she do that..
I took a chance to tease him and said Shonu likes you, she's your new girlfriend.
So Baba said, noooo she is not my girlfriend, I dont like her. Only Radhika is my girlfriend because I like her . :-D

Summer 2014 hiccup

How do I keep the kids busy?
Summer Camps is the answer...
But who has the time to drop & pick the kids?
This year I note, that all camps start only after 9.00A.M. 
What are working parents going to do?
Every class charges Rs.2000-2500 per hour for 10-15 days class?
How do I keep 2 kids engaged for atleast 3hrs in a summer camp if the charges are this high?
Every class proclaims that they are the best...
How do I decide which is the best?

I am still searching for something that will keep Ahana n Om busy for the month of April without being too heavy on the pockets. I hope I am able to finalize on something in the next 2-3 days.

Some Summer Camps I came across::

• Karnataka Chitrakala parishat-

Age group- 7-16

Charges- Rs. 2500

Days- Monday-Friday

Date- April 7- May 23

Timing- 10.30-12.30

• http://www.karnataka.com/bangalore/summer-camps-and-workshops-in-bangalore/
• http://www.inexel.org/sum_ad_jingle.shtml
• http://www.flip-book-online.com/FBO/Youreka/
• Summer Camp at Club- keeps the kids busy from 9.00AM-12.00PM
• Summer camp at Discover Kids - keeps the kids busy from 9.00-12.00PM
• Freedom International School has a series of Summer camps orgnised- each class charges 2k-2.5k
• Ranga Shankara has some interesting programs going on in Summer Express. But the timings are such that the parent has to be off-work during working hours and keep driving around dropping n picking up kids.

Update:
Baby wanted football :-D So she's got it. 1 1/2 hrs of running behind the ball.
Baba has been sent for 3hrs of summer camp at Club. 
Have to find out what he learnt. 

Bonding

While I have been thinking that Baby is the sensitive one, and Baba the typical boy, I got to witness the sensitive & caring side of him.

Om and Ahana were home after school and I was checking with him about his Pool splash playtime that he had at school. He was excitingly talking about the fun he had in school and Ahana suddenly burst out crying.  It was the day of her Mathematics examination. She was upset that she had lost 6 marks straight without being able to attempt the last two questions. She had a 1hr 45mins examination without having a clock in the class or the invigorator announcing the timings. What had upset her the most was, the teacher had snatched away the papers on first bell, without giving them the extra 5 mins that the kids should have got. And the worst part, she knew the answer to the last 6 marks. Now..this was the story behind her crying..

While all of this was being narrated by Ahana (with tears rolling down), Om ran to Ahana hugged her first..then came back running to me and asked me why she is crying. I told him that she was upset about her exam. He again ran back to Ahana and asked her to stop crying.."Ahana please alabeda" and again came to me asking me to tell her to stop crying. The otherwise happy face was now sad to see his sister crying so bad.

Am happy that while the kids continue to fight over petty things, they still have the bonding that the siblings should have.

Eventful weekend

February 08, 2014

Event: Orange belt exam

Om had to appear for his Orange belt exam. Parents were asked to leave the kids at school by 8.30a.m. and pick them up at 4.00p.m. While we wondered what the kids would have to do in an all day event, it turned out that there were 150 students appearing for various belt exams. First half of morning was all about warming up, taking 4-5 rounds of assembly area doing duck walks & frog jumps. By the time the kids were done with this, I could see every child complaining to his/her parent about thigh pain/ leg pain/ muscle pain. I asked Om to just sit and relax and then the children were called back to practice kata's and kicks. Since we had Ahana's PTA meet and art class, we had to be on the move. At 12.30, I insisted we go back and see Om as I wanted to make sure he was alright even with his bad health. After checking with Keerthi Sir, Om's trainer, l got to know lunch was done and Om had not eaten anything. So rushed to the basement to feed him some and sent him back to the crowd. Learnt that belt exam had already been completed in the morning. Next was championship round where 3 kids of same belt would be called at a time and asked to show kata's. Om showed jodan jodan and won the silver. Radhika his friend who had also participated in this event had won a bronze in the girls round...I expected the same with Om. And why so..if you are wondering...then..he, Radhika and 2 other kids were the only ones in their age group participating for Orange belt. Rest were older kids. But surprisingly he amazed us with a silver :). Happy for him..somewhere it would have increased self confidence. Tired after an all day event, appaji & I had to rush for another event at 5.00p.m. so rushed home, gave Om a hot water bath and we headed out..

February 09, 2014

Event: Ahana's U C MAS, Abacus, Graduation day ceremony.

While I was contemplating if I should take a rick or drive, appaji insisted that I dont waste money on an auto and use the GPS to take me to the venue: G.M Rejoyz, 8th Cross, 8th Main, Malleshwaram. Last moment I decided to drive and under tremendous pressure of not losing way and going in circles on "one way" roads of Bangalore, using Google maps and having Ahana as my navigator, we managed to reach the venue by 10.45a.m. The event began only at 11.45 as the chief guests arrived late and the auditorium was overflowing. A short demo on how kids of 3rd and 4th standard mental maths was given..amazing most parents like me :) . Post the demo, the 8th term completion certificates & mementos were given away to the kids and both Ahana & I rushed to take a click of hers in her robe before it could be taken back. Post the pics we rushed towards Jayanagar for city level art competition.
I now want Ahana to go back to Abacus, atleast for refresher course to keep her active. Someday I hope I am able to convince her to complete grand level.

Event: City level art competition organised by Akriti

From Malleshwaram to Jayangar, we managed to reach the venue Rani Saraladevi school an hour before the competition time. Lunch time...so we decided to grab a quick and quiet bite at Coffee day. Ahana was very happy with her meal...Spinach corn cheese sandwich, Chocolate fantasy cake & Juice. It was nice mommy n baby time we shared I think. By 2.45 we were done and went to the venue. 
Topics given were Culture/ heritage of India or Funny faces. We had prepared Ahana for Holi as a theme with help of Internet. She found it difficult to put the themes given by her art teacher, on paper. So the colorful painting with eyes that you see in the pic above is what she submitted. I got to know from her art teacher Mrs.Forum Joshi, that approximately 500 kids have participated. When we were there, there were about 50+ kids who were busy completing their art and I noticed that Ahana was the only one who had used water colors. Rest had used color pencil/ oil pastel/ sketch pen as their medium. 
Thank you Mrs.Forum Joshi- Color Palette Art Institute for giving Ahana opportunities to bring out her art skills.

Lakshmi baramma

Yesterday evening appaji asked Ahana to sing bhagyada lakshmi baramma and Ahana insisted that all of us sing with her. 
All of sang...Bhagyada Lakshmi baramma
Om immediately stepped in and said hogbeda lakshmi baramma

Gippy Comes home

That little fellow in Om's hand is Gippy the Giraffe. Given by the class teacher to the child who has behaved and performed well in class in a particular week. If chosen, the child gets to keep Gippy for the weekend and get it back to school on Monday.
Last Friday Om came back home with Gippy :-). He was so proud of his achievement..
When I asked him why he had got Gippy, he said ma'am gave it to him because he asked his class to keep quiet and not make noise...

Little things...makes a child proud & confident.. & ofcourse happy.

Posting some of his drawings as and when he makes...dont want to miss out on publishing his artistic skills that he's gaining after seeing his sis's paintings.

Chhota Bheem

Dragon

Word Meanings

Yesterday appaji was sitting with Om and making him read three letter words. And Om successfully managed to read most of the words in the word list given by his teacher.
While going through the word list, appaji also asked him meaning of few words and the smart answers came out then :-)

Appaji: What is HUT?
Om: Like Pizza Hut.
Appaji: Laughs out loud.
Om: I know...its like house.

Appaji: What is TUG?
Om: We pull the rope.

Appaji: What is JOB?
Om: I do my job very quickly.

We liked the way he was able to explain the meaning of words with help of sentences....

Dressed Ethnic for Heritage Day @ School

I am brave

Class Rep

Day before yesterday Om came home from school and announced that he & his classmate Divya had been made class monitors. 
Was very happy to hear this...but wondered what a LKG class monitor was expected to do.
Asked him this, and he said, they had to help ma'am by distributing Pencils & notebooks to his classmates and collect the completed copies and give it back to their class teacher.

Christmas & New Year holiday

We are just through with 10 days of Christmas holidays. This time I decided to take off with kids and spend time with them. Idea was that all of us spend time together as a family, but appaji decided to stay back because of "work pressure". I decided to take kids to Mlore by bus instead sitting here and letting them get bored. On our way to Mlore the bus stopped somewhere near Hassan for a Toilet break. Ahana got up to visit and Om followed. So I decided to take them together. I sent Ahana in first, then Om. I then handed over my bag to Om asking him to stand outside with his big sister while I visited and came. When I came out I was surprised not to find the kids. Ran towards the bus which was parked few meters opposite the toilet. Kids were missing! And realization dawned that kids were really missing!!! Driver wondered and asked what I was looking for..and I had to tell him that my kids were missing. I frantically ran into another bus parked next to ours, but the kids werent there too. The next thought was, what if the kids have been picked up by someone or are in a bus which has already left. Thats when the driver shouted out telling me that he could see some kids walking. phew...my kids were safe. Ahana had felt cold at 2.00AM and hence decided to take Om back to the bus (wrong bus). Had to remind her the basics...look before you get in somewhere. Be careful. While I was lecturing Ahana, Om quickly added..Yes amma I told ahana that our bus is 11. Whatever happened was a learning for me- dont leave the kids alone without proper instructions.

Now back to holiday...Ahana only had art & craft homework. 

Om had too much to write. While the note from the teachers had asked us to revise alphabets for dictation, the amount of homework given was just enough to keep the boy busy. He wasnt willing to sit with his books any further. But guess what..he's got V.Good in dictation :-). So, at Mlore, we visited my grandmother...kids great-granny who is now 87. Ahana was gifted a nice hand-stitched top by her great-grandmother. Notice the smoking done near the neck...so pretty.

Top stitched by Mlore Doddamma

Ahana made the Rajasthani Puppet show art for submitting at school. And after we came back to Blore finally some idea flashed for making the craft..rolled up color paper ball craft..she put in the thought of the bird & the colors to use..

Busy with art work

Paper craft

Harry Potter Bookmark by Ahana

Woodpecker with chick (see hatched egg)

Om's Xmas Koli(Hen)

Rs.90 horse

Next day was spent watching Dhoom-3 with my aunt & Ahana's fav Pri akka. Om was the only one who enjoyed the movie. Om also managed to get a good looking plastic horse from his granny.

The following day we decided to visit Pilikula National Park. A good first time rushed up bus experience for the kids. Ahana had complaints about travelling in an uncomfortable bus, while Om enjoyed the journey & experience. The moment we entered Pilikula we had a cute little monkey busy eating Orange and then monkeying around in his cell. Throughout the visit what Om remembered was the cute monkey which liked the Orange just like him :-). Next fascination was the Lions..Om saw it and growled...surprisingly the Lions growled back..Om immediately added..Amma the Lion is copying me. Lol.. We dined outside at a hotel and came back home tired. Next morning was the beginning of 5 day tummy trouble for Om. Severe Diarrhoea is what hit him. While we were worried about the weakness he was going through, he kept monkeying around whenever his spirits were high. We managed to travel back to Blore with a diaper on. Poor baby managed to control himself through the journey and took 2 more days in Blore to recover fully. 

Monkeying even with illness

Off to Pilikula

December 31st- The Happy New Year night & Mohan Ajja's Bday...we dined outside at Tomatina. Otherwise a good place to dine with quick service, this night turned out to be a 2hour dinner time. 15 mins wait for 2nd round of rotis, 20 mins wait for the bill...but overall a good evening spent with Sandeep mama & Shwetha mami. Ajja was gifted a cellphone & a bookmark with his picture made by Ahana.

Dinner@Tomatina

Happy Bday & Happy New Year to Ajja

Observant Om

I notice that Om is turning out to be a sharp kid. I pray that he continues this way...
The maid had cleaned the kids washroom and left our bottle of harpic there yesterday. Today he walked into the washroom and saw this new bottle kept there and asked me if I had bought this new for his washroom :-)
This is just a small example of the change he noticed.