Scrapbook for School

Its been a while since I have posted anything here, and that was mostly because I was waiting for Samhith to sit down and write something by himself. That doesnt look like its happening very soon, so I finally decided to post something myself.... 

This was a  scrapbook we made for school - one of the rare occasions when they asked us to do something at home! Samhith was all excited about it, since it happens to be one of his favourite topics, but we didn't have too much time since he was going off for his camp and then we were going out of town. We had just a couple of days in hand, and so we sat down and decided what we were going to do. Samhith of course, was very clear about the buildings he definitely wanted to write about, and also the fact that he wanted to write as little as possible. 

He also wanted me to take colour printouts of the buildings he wanted, which I flatly refused, telling him that he had to settle for the buildings he could find in the magazines, just like we used to. So the first thing we did was unearth all the travel magazines we had been storing, and cut out all the pics we liked. Next came the crucial point - How to write and What to write? Samhith wanted the individual titles to stand out, and since his handwriting isn't too good, he wanted me to write. Once more, I reminded him that this was HIS work, and his alone, and I was not doing anything except guide him. We had meanwhile decided on a collage for the cover page, and so I suggested that we could use words cut out from the magazines to make up the titles. So once again, we headed for the magazines, this time in search of words and letters. The words we didn't find, he eventually typed out, used some interesting fonts and printed the list out. To give him credit, he cut most of the pics himself, and also stuck them on the paper - hmm yes, the paper - we went from store to store looking for just the right kind of paper before we settled on these handmade ones. 

To cut a long story short, the scrapbook was completed in record time! Here is what it looked like......  Click on the image for a better view. 

Open publication - Free publishing - More kids

If you are wondering why I have put it up so late, and why some letters are missing, it is because, as I mentioned before, we did it in a hurry, managed to find a shop open on a sunday who would spiral bind the book for us, and hurriedly sent it off to school. There was no time to scan or photograph the pages. It just came back this week, since the year is almost at an end, and I decided that it was still worth posting!

For all his excitement, he did realise that in his desire to write little, he wrote too too less... something his teachers and friends pointed out.... However, that does not seem to faze him, for as he says - "Why should I have to write everything? If someone wants to know more, they can search on Google. Besides, everyone already knows about these buildings!!!" As always, his questions leave me speechless!!

Samhith's work of art

This is one of Samhith's latest creations - he has just learnt to draw!!! Yes, at the age of 6 and a half, it is indeed a bit late, but he has never been interested in drawing or colouring! "Why should I want to draw or colour?" has been the refrain for so long! He couldn't even colour properly, let alone draw anything!

Then, suddenly, last month, he brought back a perfectly coloured sheet from school, telling me that one of his friends had helped him out, teaching him how to draw within the boundaries! I can never thank the little girl who helped him out enough!

And then, imagine my surprise when he brought back a note from the teacher, informing that he was to participate in a drawing competition! So, we spent Sunday morning drawing a school bus, which was the topic given. This drawing below is the one he drew by himself, as a sort of trial, and then he drew it finally on art paper, which he has taken along with him to school.

I wanted to take  a pic of the final drawing, but with one thing and the other, we somehow missed it, and it has now been sent off to school. But this, his very first effort, deserves a mention on my blog, which is where he now looks for appreciation...

A special thanks to Sudhir, Usha's brother, who has been instrumental in encouraging Samhith to draw. The poor chap has spent so much time with him, giving into his drawing demands, but also trying to get him to do his bit.....

So, guys, please take a look, and leave your comments for the  little chap!

This one is for Samhith.....

This one is for those of who who have been wondering what Samhith has been up to during this vacation, and why there are no pics of him in the last post on our Pagoda trip. Well, I took so many pics of him during the trip, I decided they were worth another post!!!

So, let me start with the best one..... Samhith skipping along happily on the path to the Pagoda....

..and then, here are his many moods as he played happily in the green grass while we waited for the ferry....

He was fascinated by the exhibits of EsselWorld, and with his chitti (my sister) happily posed for the camera....

He then picked up the camera and tried to click pictures... Here are the ones that came out well....

While we waited for our taxi driver, we came across this flock of geese...............

.......and you can see for yourself the fun Samhith derived from them!!!!

Finally, this part is solely for him.... published on his insistence...his efforts during this vacation....


First, this 100 piece puzzle..... he's doing one after quite a long time, and he did this all by himself!!!

and then, here are his train and blocks once more... he is using them for the first time after Navaratri.....

One for my son.....

This post is for my son, Samhith.

For the past one week, we have been cooped up in the house thanks to the swine flu enforced holiday, and being a bit unwell myself, I did not want to risk going anywhere and actually getting the dreaded flu of the moment. We had no choice but to occupy ourselves at home to the best of our ability. To be fair to him, he kept away from the TV most of the time, turning to it only when we were lost for ideas. While we caught up on a lot of stories we hadn’t read in a long time, and I also managed to teach him how to turn the computer on himself, and even type a few lines by himself. Of course, that kept him occupied for quite a while… (So now you know who is going to contribute next to my blog!!!)

But this blog is not about that. This is blog is about something both of us spent time making these last few days…

Samhith loves blocks, and they are the only things sure to make him sit down for more than a few minutes at a time. This week, we made quite a few things, and finally decided to make something big and nice. He had only one condition – I should write about it on my blog. So here they are….

This house is a combined effort – me the foundations and the details, the actual work done by Samhith.



Here is a rear-view...




All these other things are purely Samhith’s.


This is a playground…. And behind it is a coconut tree…. and there is also a water-tap....




And these are assorted buildings and vehicles… and even a traffic signal!



As I write this, Samhith is peeping in now and then, trying to read what I have written……If you like it, do write and let me know. He will be thrilled!


Meanwhile, here are a few other things we have made with his blocks in the past….. I intended to write a post on these, but never got around to actually writing it. What would be better than adding them to this post, which is about his blocks anyway? So, here goes….

This one is one of the first we ever made - this is a map of our area.... evreryone in our family is obsessed with maps, and Samhith seems to have that in his genes too....

Now this one is special - this was just after his birthday, and he has used up every single piece of blocks and the Thomas the tank engine set he got for his birthday..

This one is a temple and some buildings around it...

and this one is a house with a maze adjoining it..... totally samhith's idea.. and the maze is completely his work..

 

Here is another house with a garden.....

and another...

and more...