A Handkerchief For Peace

Friday marked the end of the exams and we all heaved a sigh of relief! (not that we had worked too hard for the exam, but the fact that it was over was enough for us to rejoice...). The school diary came back full with instructions for the coming week - the last week of the current academic year. We have one week of freedom before we begin the new year...Samhith will go proudly to the second standard...after a much awaited holiday.. But more of that later....

Anyway..... my son is great at telling me what happened in the school, but about 15 days of the event! I get to hear of nothing in time, and am usually lost when other parents call me up asking for some clarification. This time, courtesy my having to pick him up during the exams, I heard that the kids were required to bring along a handkerchief on Monday......something I had, of course, no clue about! When I asked him about it, he answered, "Oh Yes, I knew about it.... and forgot to tell you!" Asked what it was for, he hemmed and hawed for a while before telling me that it was something to do with friendship and messages for peace.. and an exhibition about something called, in his words "amma and asha". It took me a while to understand that he meant "Aman ki Asha"- the current cultural peace initiative between India and Pakistan! (of course, the association of ideas was quite clear - 'Aman' became 'amma', the more familiar word, and 'asha' to him meant his aunt of the same name!)

The campaign at present involves writing peace slogans on handkerchiefs, a project involving schools across both countries, and using them to form a rope to be tied across the border over the trademark barbed wires. I read about this in the paper months ago, but had no idea their school was participating in it, and actually thought that it was already over! You can read more about it on their site, and even add a virtual handkerchief  of your own... Check it out here.

As it happens, we had kept Samhith's handkerchief and colours ready, but in the enthusiasm of exams getting over, he took them out to play, and forgot to put them back into the bag! Thankfully, he didn't cry at school when he realised that he didn't have his stuff, especially thanks to the fact that many of his friends had done the same thing! He came home and sat down to decorate his kerchief, all by himself! 

Here is the final result..........

For those of you who need some explanation, there are mountains, a river, a road and a grassy plain, with two children, one handing a rose to another... 

He wanted to take the kerchief to school and give it to his art teacher,but unfortunately, she was absent, and (as I had expected), the date was past, and they did not accept it. Thankfully, this chap did not cry, but brought it back...... To appease him, I told him that I would feature it on the blog, so please guys, encourage him with your comments.....

Computer skills to the test

One of the subjects Samhith learns in school is ICT - Information and Communication technology! Sounds grand, doesn't it??? In simple language, all that amounts to, is computers.... as of now, basic stuff like what exactly is a computer? what are the different parts? how do you turn it on and off??? All these are stuff Samhith already knows, and so do almost all his friends.....

This term, the new thing of interest was that they were taught to use Paint, something Samhith showed least interest in. For the whole term, when I asked him to draw something on the comp, he responded with vague scribbles and scrawls, and I, as usual, gave up, deciding that the chap was not interested, and would learn when he wanted to... after all, it is just one of his subjects, and one that doesn't even have a proper exam - they just have an oral one.....

Anyway, exams approached, and he was just hanging about, after convincing me that he knew all that had been taught. The day before the ICT Orals, he decided to try out Paint by himself, after a long, long time..... And the results really surprised me, so here they are, for you all to see...... and he had even learnt how to save the file!!!

This one is a bus, as he so obviously states on the drawing itself. And the next one is a stone!

As to the oral exam, apparently he answered all the questions except one. And which was the one which stumped him??? He didn't know what was the 'cursor'!!! An anti-climax, wouldn't you say?????/

Exam time creativity

Exams are on, and school is closing early... More time on our hands means more boredom........and even though Samhith has exams this time, I can't really make him study too hard... he knows what he has learnt through the year, and last minute cramming isn't going to make a difference. Even his teacher is very clear - all he needs to do is improve his handwriting, she says...... after all, it is she who has to go through his answers!!!! Of course, exam time isn't the best time to practice ones handwriting, so he is practically free the whole day, and gets on my nerves. His eyes have been itching for a couple of days now, so he is banned from the TV. All that leaves him are his books and his blocks...... He did manage to read a couple of books, but I despair of him ever becoming a bookworm like me.... The only thing that has managed to keep him in one place are his blocks, and he has come out with some wonderful creations. Here are some of them....

This one started out as a temple, and then he decided to show the interiors.... and this was the result...

This one is also a temple.... his fascination with temples is understandable, especially since we visit temples most of the time, also since he loves stories related to them....

Did you see the cricket set leaning against the temple wall? Those are part of an eraser set which came with the Moov Ointment..... these are part of the Rajasthan Royals memorabilia...... These IPL chaps are crazy, but smart... they are targeting kids really early!

No guesses for this one..... temple again....

And this one, his masterpiece - is a house..... his next favourite topic..... considering that he wants more space for himself, you can just get an idea of the size of the house he dreams of!