24 Dec 2021,

For me one of the most exciting times of the year is when it ends. It's time to take stock of things accumulated, memories collected and experiences had. Shelve the ones we want to keep in our memory chamber and discard the ones we don’t want to carry for the next year. Essentially speaking it is like housekeeping one's mind.

This has been an interesting year with lots of events and wonderful memories at LC. Besides being under the constant shadow of scrutiny and precaution, we have managed to survive and also thrive in it. We can say that ours were the only kids who were one of the least affected ones during this pandemic. Even though we are not done with it yet, we are staying strong.

Few highlights of this week…

Kothligad, Peth

Looks like this is going to be one of our traditions in LC to have an annual trekking trip with parents. In 2019, we went to Koraigad, but then we were a much smaller group. Now we are growing and thriving. We missed all those who couldn’t join us this time and hope we keep this tradition alive for years to come. With the amount of fun we have had, it looks like this memory will not fade for some time. It was also observed that there is enough self-entertaining potential to sustain us for a much longer trip. So we will definitely explore that.

Monday after the trip was an ooh-aah-ouch day. Few didn’t come and were recuperating. While the ones who were here chit-chatted and played cards and board games. No one climbed the jungle gym. We also did stretching and meditation.

Project day

Compared to last month, this time it was better with respect to the quality and dressing. Though there were a few who didn’t adequately prepare for the day, some also forgot it was project day. The topics were as usual elaborate and varied, Jantar Mantar, Clothes, Adolf Hitler, Samrat Ashok, Goa, Pi, Ostrich, Gymnastics, Param Vir Chakra, Minecraft, Internet, Rajasthan, Magic Show, Science Experiment, Taj Mahal, Charminar and Spiders.

This time we gave critical reviews to all the adolescents. Making presentations had reduced to a 30 minute effort with google searching the word and cutting/pasting the pictures on the slides. The purpose of research and discovery of knowledge became secondary and also forgotten in some cases. So we have tried to scrutinise their presentations this time. Next time, we have asked everyone to explore other aspects of presentations like, poster making, making flip charts or books, using self as a mode of display and presentation. Let’s see if this flies!

Gymnastics

There were some goofy characters this time during gymnastics. One of the pups was running up and down the room when Vinayak Sir asked everyone to spot jog. He simply couldn’t stand still. A 10 year old apparently challenged someone for a backwalker and later on fell on the face when his turn came. As usual there’s our Miss Funny Faces who is ready to make everyone laugh at any situation.

Nature Systems

This session had an elaborate discussion on leaves. We have so far covered: how to prepare potting soil, plant seeds and periodically water them. What is photosynthesis? And what happens when we keep the plant away from sunlight? Ever heard of chlorophyll, xanthophyll and carotene, these are names of pigments that make the different colours of leaves.

National Mathematics Day

Some of us did math for a change for an hour to commemorate the birth anniversary of Ramanujan. Few of the older kids have become very regular in finishing their math homework and following their morning routine of doing 20 mins of math in LC.

Guest

Vihaana, who is 5 years old, is doing her trial period currently with us. She likes to play and loves doing water colours.

We didn’t have any Friday food this week.

Signing off from 2021. A very Happy New year to you all. Hope to restart in the new year’s with a longer schedule (fingers crossed!)