Food for thought- teach our kids to cook 10 recipes

Day 16: Dec 22nd 2013

What are we feeding ourselves and our kids is the most nerve wrecking topic in this age of short cuts and fast food. With instant food at our door step, we are going away from the old way of cooking our own food with fresh ingredients. It's a pity to write the word, 'old' here. What are we teaching our kids? Just imagine the state of health of our kids when they reach the age of 30. Whenever we talk about health issues, low stamina, lethargy and increasing medical bills we often compare ourselves with our parents who at this age are also more active and live a healthier lifestyle. I can foresee our children having a conversation 20 years from now;

"My parents at the age of 30 were able to walk and sit on computer for hours together. Cooking used to be a weekly thing. Now we are not even able to recognize half of the fresh produce, cook occasionally, can't sit properly, are fat, can't concentrate for a longer span, already have back aches, diabetes and heart disease at the AGE OF 25. "

Why do we wait for a disaster to happen when we know what is right for us. There are few who want their kids to eat healthy and fresh food without preservatives and added sugar but themselves can't leave the habit of eating junk food. Until when can they do it?  Once our children grow they see what we eat and will stop eating what we expect them to eat. Let us not wait for a heart attack to happen to make ourselves realize the repercussions of unhealthy food we eat everyday. 

http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver.html

Here is an eye opener for all of us who think our stomach to be garbage bin where we stuff ourselves with  food containing high amounts of sugar, fat, sodium and carbohydrates. The message of the talk is very subtle but strong.

" I wish for everyone to help create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people to fight obesity." - James Oliver

Untold stories

Day 15: Dec 21st 2012

We have one life unfolding multiple stories describing our precious moments, adventures, challenges and various emotions. We love to share the ones that are happy and foremost acceptable by the social structure. What about the untold stories that are close to our hearts but are never revealed. They are full of depth, giving ourselves an identity and exploring our strengths. They are made up of sacrifices, courage, shame, perseverance and are so close to our hearts that we so much want the whole world to hear them . Still we force ourselves to keep them as our secret asset.

We often think, how people that surround you directly or indirectly related will react after listening to your story? Will your good human image be threatened on one hand or will you get sympathies? But one biggest advantage you may get is to know of someone who has a similar story to tell. You are not alone and will be thankful to yourself  for sharing the story. 

-gathering guts to tell my story

Special one to nobody

Day 14: Dec 20th 2013

Today my son had his very first stage performance in his school. There were 12 kids on the stage and what we realized that center of attraction at home is a nobody on stage. He is lost in the crowd and we are thinking what would he be feeling standing there. So many questions might be hovering in his young mind.

What am I doing? 

Why are so many people staring at me?

Are my parents looking at me? 

Why can't I dance or sing the way I want?

Should I do the same steps as my friend standing next to me or something of my own?

At home, we as parents pay so much attention as to what our kid does. Right from saying a new word or sentence, singing rhymes, new actions to what fears he/she might have. But among so many kids on stage, he is just another kid trying to follow the teacher instructions. He is still very young to understand meaning of stage fear, confidence and giving his best. 

As a mom, I know he has a long way to go and as he grows up, he will have to survive facing crowd and competition, playing/performing at his best and struggling to establish his own identity.  It is definitely going to be a challenge for him to become special not only at home but also in the environment he will be exposed to.  

-You are and will be the best, my son

If you are happy, say it loudly!

Day 13: Dec 19th 2013

We all want one important thing in our lives and that is happiness. But isn't it strange, once we get it, we want to hide it because we have the fear of it going away from us. We long for it, and when we have it we don't want to share it with others. Is it our culture and traditions that impact our emotions to control it from not revealing it to even our close friends and relatives?

It is really suffocating sometimes to confine ourselves in a closed box. You so much want to scream and share it with the whole world but there are so many factors that stop you from doing it. The struggles, fears and courage that takes you to the path of happiness is beyond our control. So why to hide it due to fear of losing it. Losing it again is not in our control.  It is something like you are gifted a very expensive perfume you always wanted. But keeping it locked in the cupboard is not going to reveal its true essence. Cherishing something and controlling yourself from those small pleasures of life are two opposite sides of the mirror. 

Break the controlling part of the mirror and cherish every moment by making yourself look beautiful from inside and outside.

 We teach our toddlers that when you are happy clap your hands. Then why do we restrain ourselves from not reacting to it. 

-If you are happy, say it loudly! 

Kids grow up so fast

Day 12: Dec 18th 2013

Wondering what this picture is all about? My 27 months old son is into pretend play now a days. His favorite companion, Neelu was feeling sleepy. He took out his night wear from his wardrobe and made Neelu wear it and made him sleep. It seems yesterday when I used to do the same for my son. 

There are certain cherish able moments that often surprise me as to how can a 2 year old grow up so fast emotionally. He loves to colour, one day he was sitting down and asked his 7 months pregnant mom to sit with him. I told him, I cannot sit down. His immediate reply was, " are you in pain, Mumma?  Sit on the chair. "

To what extent can we impose our schooling experience on our kids?

Day 11: Dec 16th 2013

  How the future of learning will be? Our schooling experience and learning process have made us like machines and as children we were never connected to our hidden talents. We were always trained to work only towards examination and impressing teachers. Now I understand the true meaning of cut throat competition. Slogging and rote learning the same Science topic hundred times, looking for all possible guides and previous years' state level examination papers, and repenting to an extent of punishing yourself for leaving a question behind are just few impacts we had that totally killed our creative side. 

  After watching these two eye and mind opening ted talks, I believe we are in true sense using only our heads to provide so much structure in educating young minds and ignoring their rest part of the body. 

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_build_a_school_in_the_cloud.html

  I often hear that Asian parents are most nagging when it comes to teaching Math and Science to their kids. I would agree to it as we have been wired in the same way by our parents and teachers. A simple instance that happened sometime back. A 12 year old was given a zero for writing a definition in his own words. He understood the concept but grammatically the definition was wrong. The teacher expected it to be written in exact words as in the text book. The teacher doesn't realize this small instance can be devastating and can hinder his willingness to explore and create things on his own. Just imagine the whole schooling experience being full of such instances. 

   Where are we taking the learning, backwards when we had limited know how and resources to fill our empty minds? How can we as parents tackle such situation so that we don't put undue pressure on our kids to perform well? How can we change so that we can help our kids to be proactive and not just preys to examination? Ignoring the school structure is also not a possible solution as our kids have to survive the curriculum and peer pressure. But we don't want them to get entangled in the maze of rat race and forget their in born talents. The only thought that comes as of now in my mind is when the bridge comes, we will cross it.

-a worried parent

An educator within me....

Day 10: Dec 15th 2013

   I quit my teaching job four years ago. I still remember those days when getting tired from work had an altogether different charm.Sharing my knowledge, creating lessons that were engaging and treating each child as a capable and equal individual has been the sweetest experiences I ever had. Though the teaching period was short for me, I developed a strong connection with my students and co teachers. 

   I so much wish to get the opportunity of educating young minds again. By the end of the day you feel you have not only helped a child to learn academically but also to make them realize their strengths. Understanding the maze that a young mind builds within himself/herself  is really challenging. We as teachers are in a dilemma and there is always a fear of over protecting them. 

Here are few lines that I wrote long time back

I found a way,
I changed for myself.
I broke up with silly thoughts, 
Instead made wisdom my friend.
My dream of making a difference is coming true,
As I have found a teacher within me.
Now all I need is a finishing touch, 
A touch that would make me a role model

-a mom and an educator