Learning Beyond Classrooms - Back To Roots - Cowshed Visit - Waldorf Inspired Field Trip - Kids

The world is our classroom and field trips are a core part of homeschooling & daily lives. As a Waldorf inspired family, I try to engage my son with the natural world whenever possible and give him real life experiences of things rather than just reading books or watching videos. At least for the things that are available to us city dwellers. We visit cowshed often, check out what we see & do there. 

We often (at least twice a week) go to the cowshed to feed the cows. Today we also got a chance to meet these little calves, the youngest one is just one month old!!! My son loves feeding the cows. He has also seen how those people milk the cows. This place also has some horses. A rare thing to see when you live in a city, but fortunately this place is near to our house.

With my son's never ending question list, we have discussed how we use milk, it's products, what cows & horses eat, why do they put horse shoe on horses' feet, how cow dung is used, why do we worship cows in India, what do they eat, etc etc. We understood what is waste for we human beings (like stalks of grains like wheat, jowar, sugarcane, corn etc) become food for cows & horses. And how the waste material of cows like urine & cowdung is so beneficial for human beings.

All this helps toddlers to know more about animals, develop love for them, understand life on a farm, about food etc by experiencing it, rather than just learning from the books.

A beautiful way to connect with mother nature on an everyday basis!

We have also made cowdung cakes & dhoop batti (incense sticks) using cow dung & other natural ingredients & these days we are using them at home to purify air. I will share its tutorial soon!

Do share with me the recent field trips you have done with your child! Would love to get more ideas!

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Hope to see you around. Happy Parenting!

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Baby Sebamed Sun Lotion Review & Launch Event Coverage

Babies are precious & so is their skin - fresh & delicate like a dew! As a mother, I always try to find out the best for my son's skin. Something which is free from chemicals as far as possible & which is dermatologically tested, specially for baby's skin. The concern is all the more justified because a baby's skin is 20% thinner than adult skin. The skin barrier is not fully developed & harmful bacteria can easily enter the skin if the barrier is damaged, which in turn can cause moisture loss, redness, rashes & itching.

When I was invited to the launch event of Baby Sebamed Sun Lotion on 19th March 2017, I was more than excited to be a part of it for the simple reason that I had heard some real good reviews about Sebamed products & lately I have been feeling the need of a sunscreen lotion for my two years old son & I thought this would be a good starting point to choose one for him! I must say, I was not disappointed at all with the product. And there cannot be a better way to welcome the summers with we moms being reassured that our babies' skin is safe when they go out in the sun :)

To start with, I must say that the event was a LOT of fun for moms as well as kids (0 to 6 years). There were presentations about Sebamed, their research, their findings, there was music, dance, games & small lovely gifts for the kids & the most important part of the event was the Yoga Session for moms & kids. 

This event made an entry into the Indian Book Of Records for more than 50 kids & moms doing Yoga together, along with a trained Yoga instructor, under the sun!

I am so happy to be a part of this awesome record, along with my son!

About Sebamed

Sebamed is one of the world’s leading skincare brands from Germany, researched by a dermatologist, with over 50 years of rich experience. It has a presence in 85 countries worldwide & has over 120 products. Their philosophy is to use botanical ingredients & ensure stringent quality standards. Their products are recommended by dermatologists, Paediatricians & Gynaecologists in India & across the world.

Features Of All Sebamed Products

• pH 5.5 - Alkali-free & soap free
• High quality and high purity of ingredients
• Developed and recommended by dermatologists
• German engineered
• Dermatologically and clinically tested 
• Biodegradable, no animal testing
• Free from mineral oils and harsh chemicals.

Key USPs of Baby Sebamed Range

• pH 5.5 helps in the development of acid mantle
• High concentration of botanical extracts nourishes baby's skin
• No irritants, so better tolerated from day 1
• 0% irritant reactions & 0.000003% allergic reactions
• Clinically proven efficacy

And now, about the brand new product that they launched - Baby Sebamed Sun Lotion

Instructions For Use

• Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before exposure to the Sun.
• Reapply frequently to maintain the protection, especially after bathing.
• Avoid exposure to the Sun between 11 am and 3 pm.
• Use hat, shirt, sunglasses and sunscreen suitable for child protection.
• Can be used for babies of 6 months & above

Pros

• pH 5.5 
• 98% UVA protection
• Skin protection with Vitamin E
• Natural formula providing intense hydration
• Oil-free, non-greasy, does not leave any residue, gets absorbed in the skin easily
• Alcohol-free
• Free from paraffin / parabens / PEG bonds
• Water & sweat resistant - which means we can apply this when we go for swimming this summer!
• SPF 50 - which is pretty high & hence makes the effect of the sunscreen even better

Cons

• No perfume - this looks like a limitation but actually it is good because there will be some chemicals going inside the product if an artificial perfume is introduced in it
• Pricing - It is priced at 1400 INR for a bottle of 200ml, which is on a higher side but given the USPs, I think most parents would not mind going this extra mile when it is about the skin safety of their children

You can know more about their products HERE. 

All Baby Sebamed products are available on major online stores like Amazon, FirstCry etc. 

The Event

The description of this launch event cannot be complete without pictures, so here they are - an absolute fun filled beautiful Sunday morning at a venue that is one of the best in Mumbai - Radio Club, Colaba. 

The view of the sea & tons of boats was one of the interesting elements for almost all the toddlers there. They were glued to the windows watching the boats & playing with the balloons, making friends with each other.

There was a quick presentation about the skin care & Sebamed brand from the experts.

Followed by the product launch, and that too by the children :) It is a kids' product at the end of the day!

We got to try the sun lotion too!

Kids were super happy with the games, music & dance session that followed.

Then we all headed out together in the sun to set out a unique record! Something that has not been done so far - 50+ kids & moms doing Yoga together under the sun with a certified Yoga instructor! 

This has gone into the Indian Book Of Records, yayyy!

Some photo booth madness by my toddler ;) Yes, he is officially a record breaker now!

And a wonderful talk by the celebrity Dermatologist, Cosmetologist & Trichologist, Dr Simple Aher, on the importance of skin care.

All in all, a very well spent Sunday morning with lots of takeaways about skin care, information about the Sebamed product range & a sumptuous lunch to end with :)

Hope this review will help you in choosing the right skin care range for your child. 

Happy Parenting :)

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What Are Prewriting Skills & How To Develop Them In Young Toddlers - 12 to 30 Months

Do you think you should start paying attention to your child's writing skills only when they start to write alphabets & numbers?

The answer is NO. It actually starts very early! Your child is already preparing himself to be able to write in future & you can aid his preparation with what is called "pre-writing exercises". I have compiled some really easy to do activities that can be done using simple things at home. They are engaging, educational & enriching.

What are pre-writing skills?

To put it simply, these are the skills that children need to develop, to be able to write. For example – holding a pencil, using a pencil to move around on the paper, ability to draw something, copy or colour it, ability to draw different lines, patterns, shapes etc. The skills encompass; hand and finger strength, directional movement, hand position, pencil grip, proper usage of large muscles like elbow and shoulder, proper usage of small muscles like wrist and fingers, hand-eye coordination, bilateral integration, object manipulation and so much more!

The best place to start prewriting activities is your home. You really do not need to invest in expensive materials to develop the mentioned skills. As complex as they sound, the skills are not very difficult to master. Provided you give the muchneeded exposure and stimulus to your child.
In the article linked below, I am sharing some prewriting Montessori inspired activities that you can do with young toddlers (12 to 30 months)

Check out my entire article on BABYCHAKRA HERE.

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Toddlers As Surprise Packages - They Learn As They Play - How They Self Learn

Self discoveries of a toddler, do I really need to teach him or even interfere? :) I'm just sitting back, relaxing and enjoying the observations and conversations of this curious mind!

Shadow

A (my 2 years old son, walking after dinner in the society premises along with me) : mumma, shadow shadow! [And he walked along, the shadow disappeared and shifted to another position because of the new street light positioning]. Mumma, shadow gayab! Oh, shadow is here now! [And he walks ahead and continues to discover how shadow size and positions are changing]

Music Instruments 

He takes out all the music instruments he has, from the polythene and does some research on each one by one carefully listening and engrossed how the same instrument makes different sound when played with hand or stick, when hit on the leather or wood, etc etc.  This goes on uninterrupted for some 15 minutes and then he arranges the instruments in some fashion and asks his dad to play dholak and he chooses to play the manjeera. My home grown bhajan mandali )

Indian Classical Music Concert

We managed to take our son to an indian classical music concert last weekend - Panchatattva - that had maestros like Pandit Jasraj, Sanjeev Abhyankar and the likes. He attended the program for 1 hour 10 minutes to our SHEER surprise. BTW thanks to Surekha for her post, I pushed myself to bravely decide that my son is old enough to attend a live show. He particularly saw solo instrument performances of tabla, mridangam, kanjeera, flute and some vocals. The experience was so enriching that after we came back home, he wanted to again attend the concert. When asked, he enacted how do you play a flute, a kanjeera, a mridangam, tabla. As a musician myself, what could I have asked more for!

Wood And Fire

We did a bonfire at home on our terrace with family as a part of holi celebrations... Holika dahan. He observed and commented that after burning wood, it is finished! And became black powder. Smoke is rising from fire. Some great science lessons coming in for free :)

Awareness About Air

He has been telling us about air since long now, for example fan is giving air, AC is giving cool air, air is blowing (while playing outdoors). But today while travelling on our bike at night, he said, mumma cool air, I'm enjoying it mumma. And then the bike slowed down and he said mumma air is finished now. Again when the bike gained speed, he said, mumma air has come back again! He was beautifully making connections about the relation between the speed of the vehicle and the impact of air.

Toddlers are everyday surprise packages! Their curiosity and ability to learn from anything and everything amazes me :) We need to follow the child's lead, give them ample opportunities & exposure & enjoy!

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Montessori Flower Arrangement - Practical Life Activity - 23 Months Old (VLOG)

One of our Valentine's Day activities, that I had been wishing to do for long - Montessori Flower Arrangement. Not strictly as per Montessori but still we loved it :)

I did not have a flower vase handy, so I used a water bottle. Montessori does not need to be expensive always! You can work with what items you have at home.

Sequence of the activity - 

1. pour water from a pitcher to the vase
2. remove leaves from the stem
3. insert flowers in the vase
4. if the length of the stem is too much, use scissors to cut it to appropriate length
5. Wipe off water spills if any

It is a great way to teach care for surroundings to toddlers, a wonderful fine motor & practical life skill. And it serves as an introduction to botany - what is a stem, petal, leaf etc. A great vocabulary builder - learning flower names. And a sensory activity, smelling the flowers, not to forget. By the way, I went to the florist shop along with my son & he loved the experience. He socialized with the florist, got to know who is a florist. He asked names of all the flowers from the florist. He gave money to the florist while we bought the flowers. There is learning happening everywhere & everytime!

I have lost count of the reasons, why I love Montessori :)

Watch my almost 2 year old son in action in this video!








😊

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20 Months Old Toddler's Love For Cars & Logos (VLOG)

It's all about connecting with your child, feeding his curiosity, following his cues, providing exposure to various things.

Children as natural learners, will absorb & learn themselves :)

Watch my 20 months old in action!

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How Enriching A Simple Supermarket Visit Can Be For A Toddler

A simple supermarket visit is also so enriching for a toddler! Provided we do not make him sit inside the trolley & just watch what we are doing. In fact toddlers are so mobile that they will not even sit in the trolley for more than few minutes. They need to explore every thing around them!

I am sharing here an account of our super market visit & how my 21 months old had a blast!

You can see how a child can learn so much while you shop! And guess what, no stress at all. The child will absolutely enjoy. The only thing you need here is your patience & time. Let your toddler explore the entire supermarket while may be your partner do the actual shopping separately ;)

Some Practical Life skills being learnt at the supermarket. That trolley is for him exclusively. He picked up lot of stuff in his trolley while we were shopping. We revised vegetable & fruit names & other grocery items, a great language building exercise. It was a sensorial experience too, to touch & feel them. For example, pineapple, he knew it's a pineapple but when I gave it in his hands, he realized it hurts! He opened the fridge & checked out cold items, chanting cold cold himself. He saw this weighing balance & termed it a swing. He took a cucumber to the balance & started giving that cucumber a swing ride. I told him it is a balance & showed him how the needle moves when you keep something in the tray. A quick cause & effect lesson & a pre math lesson. It was a great gross motor activity too, he roamed around with quite a heavy trolley towards the end all over the place.

And did you notice that whole bunch of brinjals in his trolley? Looks like he wanted to have a brinjal party back home ;)

So the next time you visit a supermarket, let your little helper explore the area freely :)

;)

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Adlabs Imagica – A Review Through The Learning Lens!

Adlabs Imagica – badi interesting jagah hai!Their advertisement has always made me giggle with those two birds & two human beings having a serious talk of their lives! Being a hard core fan of adventure & thriller rides, I always wanted to try those inviting roller coaster rides. But having an eighteen months old super energetic toddler with me does not give me the luxury to experience rides like Dare 2 Drop, Deep Space or Nitro! But one fine Thursday night, we decided to visit Imagica on Saturday with our son. I was not sure how much he will be able to enjoy but nevertheless, we headed to our destination. After spending an entire day there with a toddler, I must say, as their website says, “Built For Kids”, it is indeed very true! My husband, son & myself, we had a gala time there. There are enough accounts & reviews of Imagica from an adult’s perspective. This review is focussed on how a child can enjoy & learn at Imagica.

Read my review HERE for more, specially from a parent's point of view. It has been featured on Indian Moms Connect

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