7 dishes that can increase the vegetables intake your toddlers diet

When its time to feed your little one with vegetables they all have their weird noses ready to refuse. So here the 6 healthy meals that you can give your toddlers with worry about the vegetables intake.

1.Stuffed parantha
Just grate a potato , caroot , paneer and little spices like salt and black pepper and a pinch of garam masala Now make small ball of these mixtture and stuff it into your dough . Now roll out little paranthas and serve it with buttere ketch up or curd. A variation in this parantha could be adding vegetables while kneading the dough but just be careful abouth the quantity of vegetables you add and tehn carefully add water while kneading otherwise the dough cvan be too sticky.





2.Uttapam
It is made from suji or semolina and curd. You can add finely chopped or grated added










3. Idli Sambhar

Idli sambhar is a meal which can be considered as a full meal in terms of its nutrient contents. Also your child would love to eat it. While making sambhar you can add finely chopped vegetables in it and make it very nutrious. A variation could be adding chopped vegetables to the idli batter and then steaming it and eating with ketchup.





4.Vegetable dalia or kichdi

To make kichdi soak equal quanties of washed moong daal and rice in a bowl. Now take a cup finely chopped vegetables such as carrot, bottle gourd, potato, peas . Put some ghee in cooker and let it heat. Now add the vegetables , stir them for a minute and then add soaked daal and rice. Add salt and turmeric powder as per taste add some water if required. Let the food cook util 3 whistles.
For dali also you have to follow the same steps just pre heat the dalia in ghee which makes it more tasty. 

5. Vegetable fingers
For Vegetable fingers use boiled potatoes and grated vegetbales such as cabbage , carrot and capsicum. Now roll out this mixture in form of small clinder shapes and depp fry. If the mixture is sticky add some cornflour to it.

6. Fried Idli

For making fried idli take presteamed idlis chopped them into small cubed take any vegetbale of your choice










7. Pav bhaji

pav bhaji is my personal favourite food when it comes to eating a meal which is highly nutritious and tasty too .

how to explain senses to children

To explain the 5 senses to children we organised a workshop. First of all teacher drew a picture of Ms tweety and then seperately made her different parts like ears nose mouth hands and eyes. Now childre were briefed about their sense organs and were asked to identify the sense organs of Ms tweety by placing each part on the picture.

Next objects related to each sense organ were kept on 5 different tables in the manner shown in the pictures 

I see with Eyes
Our eyes makes us see the nature. Eyes enables us to read , watch . Our eyes 











                                                                                                              Children thoroughly enjoyed the workshop along with learning and identifying their five senses and organs related to them.

importance of singing rhymes to little ones

The young ones are a source of unbound energy and learners. The nursery rhymes are an ecellent source of utilising there hidden potentials and building it into

Children love to sing rhymes
First thing rhymes are fun to sing. Young one love the variation our sound glands produce while singing rhymes,

Boost communication skills

When children regularly sing rhymes they learn to communicate in better manner . Their flow of words increase and they become more expressive

Vocabulary building

Vocabulary building

Memory increase

Motor skills

Enthusiasm and fun

Creative thinking

Early math skills

Childrens day weeklong celebration

The most inspiring characters for children are There was a week long celebration on the occassion of Children day in my son's schoool

Here a re the list of activities that took place
Day 1
 on the first day children did clay modelling


Day 2
Children were asked to tell a story of any animal

Day 3
Children did animal yoga
Frog race

Day 4
Zoo trip

Day 5
Enactment of the jungle story

Vegetables Day

Children these days are very fussy about eating specially making them eat vegetables is the most difficult task mother's face. To introduce children to different kinds of vegetable and also make them aware of the health benefits of eating vegetables, A vegetables day was organised in our preschool.

Making children participate

The first thing we should do in making children understand any concept is to make them a part of whatever they have to learn. So the children were asked to come dressed as different vegetables of their choice and then speak two lines on that vegetable. This way the child finds involvement and participation by seeing themselves and thier fellowmates dressed as different vegetables. Also they  gains self confidence by public speaking.

We learn by observing

Young ones are keen observers, they learn more by observing than by teaching. So we arranged for a   vegetable cart on which all the available vegetables were arranged. The children  were  also made to bring any two green leafy vegetable, or root vegetables or salad vegetable to make them understand the different ways in which the vegetables are classified.

Role Play Enactment

We also organised a small role play of vegetable grocer and buyer. One child was made a green grocer and was briefed about the prices of each vegetable . Rest of the children pretended to be buyers and went to buy a specific vegetable. This way children are able to identify the vegetable and also learn about using money for buying things. By letting children use fake money we can help them practice counting, improve their mathematical concepts and also increase their money vocabulary. Each child was then asked to become grocer and learn both the concept about buying and selling. They used weighing scale too to learn about the weighing system.

11 fun and learn indoor games for kindergarteners

At times its difficult to keep the children indoors when its raining heavily outside or its too hot a day. The children then move to watching tv or say we are bored of playing with toys. So here are a few conventional indoor games that could be fun and learning too.

1. Hide and seek

Its fun to play hide and seek indoors cause there are more places to hide yourself. Chilren learn to explore places in the house where they can hide themselves.You can also make them practice counting while playing hide and seek. The one who goes seeking will first cout till 50 and then search the other person.

2. Word scrabble

Start with any word then make the other person say a word which begins with the last alphabet of the word that the person said. For eg if the first person says a wortd catch then the next person has to tell word that begins with h. This way children can revise and lear many new words.

3. Antakshri

Antakshiri is game of singing songs and children love to sing. This is also a memory game because in it you have to start a song that with a letter that was the last letter of the song sung by the previous player.

4. Magic Game

Take four glass and a small ball . Now p;ace the ball under on of the glass and jumble up the glass. Now ask your child to guess which glass has the ball. In between you can even do ""Aabra ka daabra gilli gilli choo" and hid the ball under your lap and let child look with astonishment that where the ball disappeared. Let them also try some magic trick.

5. Dance and freeze

Just play a dance number and then suddenly mute and say freeze. Children have to freeze in whichever position they were and then again play the song. Its a great fun game children would love to dance and the become statue.

6. Puzzle game

Take an A4 size picture print and then paste it on a cardboard. Now cut out piesces of this picture to form a puzzle. Its a very good brain excercise also it will benefit childrenin their fine motor skills.

7. Treasure hunt

Take any favourite toy of your child and hid it somewhere in the room , aplace which is accessible to the child. Now ask him to find it , you can aslo give him some hint like its near a pliilpw or an almirah.

8. Guessing word game

Think of a word in your mind and now give your child clues about the word .Like if you think of a word cup, so you can give the hint that is a u sound word. It is used fro drinking or it breaks down on throwingor its used in kitchen. Its again a good brain excercise game.

9. Ball in the bucket

For this game we need a ball and an empty bucket. Now the player throws the ball from a distance into the bucket, adjust the distance according to the throwing capability of the child. If the ball falls in the bucket he gets apoint else he losses.

10. Tossing balloon

Just blow the balloon and ask the child to keep tossing it in the air the balloon. If the ballooon touces the floor he looses it. Its a game of focus and balancing also improves gross motor skills.

11. Blindfold

In this game you have to put a blind fold on your eye and go on catching your child. The child can make noises to bring your attention towards your location. Don't allow the child to be blindfolded cause they can get hurt by things lying in their path or can get hit by walls.

Holi Celebration in school

Holi known as the 'festival of colours' is celebrated with immense charm and valour in North India. Holi marks  the end of winter and arrival of spring season. Children love to play with colours called as 'Gulaal ' which is dry powdered colour made from herbal material. Also they love to play with pichkaaris which is filled with water and then showered over each other. In my kids preschool the Holi festival was celebrated in the following manner.

Children were briefed about the story behind Holi celebration 

To let children know the importance of Holi festival , the story of Holi festival is briefed by the teacher. According to Hindu mythology Holika a devil was blessed with a boon that she can never catch fire. So once she took bhakt prahlad in her lap and set herself on fire. But Prahlad kept on reciting the God's name and was untouched by the fire while Holika was destroyed. Thus the burning of Holika marks the victory of good over evil. To celebrate this victory people on the next day play with colours , rejoice with each other , forgive each other , eat sweets.

Group activity

In the group activity the children prepare one craft together. So the teacher decided to make a wreath of Handprint impressions  on a chart paper. The teacher first drew a big circle on the chart then made the chidren put their handprint along the perimeter of the circle. So a colourful wreath was ready . In the center of the wreath she wrote happy holi with finger strokes. The chart was later displayed on the school Flannel board.

Craft on Holi

Children love to play with water and holi festival gives them their righ of playing with water for indefinite period. So to let them keep a token of holi festival in form of craft we made small buckets from paper cups. Then decorated them with glazed papers also tied a string from them to signiy bucket handle. They gave away packets of gulaal in these buckets.

Playing colours and dance

The main part of the festival i.e. to play with colours was still left. Children love to get messy and dirty and this is the festival that gives the the right to do everything they want. So when the children were sent outdoors for playing with colours they enjoyed a lot.

The children applied colours to each other softly and greeted Happy Holi. Lastly all the children dance and rejoiced to the tunes of their favourite bollywood party songs. 

Importance of playing outdoor for kindergarteners

In todays times children have ot to do indoors that they are actually not willing to step out and play. The technology has engulfed children so much speacilly the little ones that they can spend hours watching tv or playing games on mobile and tabs. Its the duty of parents to make them aware of outdoor surrounding and plays that they find things to enjoy. So here i present 10 benefits and importance of playing outdoors for kindergarteners.

Gross Motor Skills

The biggest advantage of playing outdoors is the development of Gross motor skills. Running, walking , throwing, jumping, actions that involve larger movement of muscles of arms , legs or entire body are considered as gross motor skills. 

Exposure to nature

Playing outdoor brings them closer to nature they get to see the trees , birds, open sky, stepping in the sun make sure they are getting enough Vitamin D.  They get to  connect with the soil, exposure to dirt builds their immune system . There bodies become more tolerant towards bacteria and germs when  exposed to outside environment.

Adapting Leadership qualities

Playing in group gives them chance to discover leadership qualities in themselves. You will often see them presenting their point of view while playing in a group. It give them self confidence and a feeling of being more mature and grown up.

Being Social

Children learn to spend time with other kids of their age. This way they learn many new things , habits , share knowledge and enjoy company of other children. They learn to play as a team and learn some coordination skills too.

Overall Development

Considering the benefits of playing outdoors one can say that its really essential for a child's overall development.Stepping out in fresh air improves blood circulaitons and improves digestion. A child feels more fit and stong in himself.  When he grows into an adult these deep rooted habits of playing will always push him to improvise himself .

Time off from tv and technology

the biggest blessing that you get from indulging them in sports is the children are less interested into watching tv and playing onmobiles. When kids learn to play outdoor they are less hooked for technologies they explore more ways of playing outdoors.

Kitchen as a funspace for children

The biggest activity centre in our house is the kitchen for children. As a toddler my child would spend most of the time in kitchen playing with utensils, blowing whistles of cooker, pulling out drawers and arranging the bowls or rolling the potatoes on the floor. Later i explored the huge activty potential our kitchen has, to offer to our young kids. So here i list out the acivites that we can do with our children at the ome kitchen.

1. Kneading dough

Dough is a common material used in everyone's kitchen and it is also a very interesting material for children. Its really a wonderful experience for them to see how flour kneads into dough. So give them an opportunity to knead their own dough which can be used to play and make different models and can further be rolled into chaptis can be fed to crows or dogs.  

2. Building stack of glasses or bowls.

Dough is a common material used in everyone's kitchen and it is also a very interesting material for children. Its really a wonderful experience for them to see how flour kneads into dough. So give them an opportunity to knead their own dough which can be used to play and make different models and can further be rolled into chaptis can be fed to crows or dogs.

3. Treasure hunt

Dough is a common material used in everyone's kitchen and it is also a very interesting material for children

4.    Sorting veggies and fruits

Dough is a common material used in everyone's kitchen and it is also a very interesting material for children. Its really a wonderful experience for them to see how flour kneads into dough. So give them an opportunity to knead their own dough which can be used to play and make different models and can further be rolled into chaptis can be fed to crows or dogs.  

5. Cleaninness and hygeine

Dough is a common material used in everyone's kitchen and it is also a very interesting material for children. Its really a wonderful experience for them to see how flour kneads into dough. So give them an opportunity to knead their own dough which can be used to play and make different models and can further be rolled into chaptis can be fed to crows or dogs.  

6. Mathematical Skills 

Dough is a common material used in everyone's kitchen and it is also a very interesting material for children. Its really a wonderful experience for them to see how flour kneads into dough. So give them an opportunity to knead their own dough which can be used to play and make different models and can further be rolled into chaptis can be fed to crows or dogs.  

7. Guessing or Memory Game

Dough is a common material used in everyone's kitchen and it is also a very interesting material for children. Its really a wonderful experience for them to see how flour kneads into dough. So give them an opportunity to knead their own dough which can be used to play and make different models and can further be rolled into chaptis can be fed to crows or dogs.  

8. Making Sherbet or Juices or Shakes

Dough is a common material used in everyone's kitchen and it is also a very interesting material for children. Its really a wonderful experience for them to see how flour kneads into dough. So give them an opportunity to knead their own dough which can be used to play and make different models and can further be rolled into chaptis can be fed to crows or dogs.  

9. Non fire cooking activities

Club sandwiches can be used to play and make different models and can further be rolled into chaptis can be fed to crows or dogs.

   

10. Sorting pulses

Dough is a common material used in everyone's kitchen and it is also a very interesting material for children. Its really a wonderful experience for them to see how flour kneads into dough. So give them an opportunity to knead their own dough which can be used to play and make different models and can further be rolled into chaptis can be fed to crows or dogs.  

10 Old childhood games that kindergarteners can play

1.Ghoda chamar khai peeche dekhe marr khai

In this game the children form a circle and one of them carries a hanky in his hand and walks along the circumference of the circle. Now he drops the handkerchief behind one of the players and if the player finds the hanky before the denner takes a round and reaches the player. the player runs after  the denner and the denner has to sit at the place of the player before he hits him with the hanky. So it is a fun game of chasing in a circle. If the player doesnt find out hte hanky is dropped behuinf him . he will be the new denner 

2. Sitholiya or the Pithoo game

In this game a stack of 7 stones is used. The player hits the stack from a distance. An opponent stands on the opposite side to cathc the ball. Once the player hits the stack and if the satck falls down , the player has to rebuild the stack before other players hit him with the ball.  

3. Tipi Tipi top - What colour u want

Its a game of colours, the player says Tipi Tipi Top and the rest of the players ask him which colour he will choose, Now the denner says one colour name and all the player have to serach for that colour and hold any object of that colour. 

4. Dog in the bone

nd hold any object of that colour.

5. Hide and seek

nd hold any object of that colour.

6. Gudiya ke baal 123

nd hold any object of that colour.

7. ek pakad dus

nd hold any object of that colour.

8. Langdi taang 

Langdi taang stands for runnong on a single leg. The denner runs with his one leg foded and tries to catch any ony 1 player. The first player who comes in contact wioth the denner Now catches other player with his limped leg.

9.Pail duj - Hopscotch

nd hold any object of that colour.

10.Poshauba bai poshamba
In this game

How to deal with a cranky child

My first child was very cute,  loving  and social. He loved to play around and be with every one. My second child was also cute and  loving , like any other child but gradually she became too cranky. As an infant she used to get get cranky for breast feeding  and for hours i used to lie beside her feeding. The story went on even after she was an year old. Though she took solid diets but was too reluctant to take feed from bottle and always wanted breastfeed before sleeping anytime during the day. So eventually she turned out to be a very cranky child who would cry for anything she wants. But Now she is well disciplined , goes to a preschool , is very less cranky and of course eats everything and no breastfeeding. So here i would like to discuss my experiences of controlling a cranky child.

Patience is the key

First of all learn to be patient with the child , if the child goes cranky and we also show our anger , the result is nothing but a more distressed child who is not being listened to. Try to pacify your child by diverting their attention to some other thing which they enjoy. And if they don't succumb to your attempt as in my case try to ignore the child for some time and let some one else pacify her. If that doesn't work too then be assured that your child is really asking for something

Check for symptoms

As i said in the earlier paragraph if a child is not getting diverted to any other form of play or not even getting quitet by any other family member than there might be some problem that your child is indicating. So check for any indications like diaper is not too wet or the child is hungry or feeling sleepy or may be wants some fresh  air and wants to go outside.

Observe and keep check

Its very important to observe the behaviour of the child whether its a chronic behaviour or an occasional one. For anything chronic need attention , as in the case of my child, the doctor has refferd or iron supplements which i ignored thinking the diet is enough supplemented with iron why to give other supplement. But when her growth was not up to the mark i started giving iron tonic and the outcome was tremendous physically and mentally. She was more joyful and less cranky and would not throw things around and was eager to learn.

Check for any deficiency with doctor

As i said in the previous paragrsph my child had some iron deficiency which was hindering her proper growth and not letting her be herself. At this tender age the children are not able to express thier feelings well and thats what lead them to react harshly. So check for any repetitive change in attitude and dont feel shy in discussing it with your paediatrician.

Give your child enough time to play with you

With my elder child studying and i being a working woman it was difficult to give enough time to her. But gradually i realised that my company makes a difference, playing with her supporting her in in all her activities make a difference. Running , walking, dancing , singing together everything counts. All children need is love care and attention and the crankiest of the child can be made to calm down.

Don't push

If a child is not willing to eat or sleep or play, let him or her be himself and let them take the lead and do whatever they want to do don't push

Holi Craft at home

Today was festival of colours so we decided to make some craft on it.

The idea struck to paint a t-shirt with handprints  but the same excercise was done in his school, He wanted something different.
So we took his crayons make their shavings with sharpener and collected lots of them of different colours. Then arranged them over his t-shirt in a hearth shape. Now we put a paper on it and iron over it. Voila a new printed shirt was ready.

He wanted something more so this time on the back side of t-shirt we made a nice picture of earth. and along with picture wrote a message of Go Green, This way the child learned to craft along with a save environmenta message delivered.





 Then we took out shavings of green colour crayon arranged them over the picture of earth forming a pattern of map. Then with the shavings of blue colour we surrounded the are along the map and the border of earth to mark as ocean. Now we put a butter paper over it and iron carefully over the picture and slowly pull off the paper from the t-shirt.






 The same procedure repeated after putting shavings of green colour over the message of Go Green. Ironing over the letters with a paper kept in between. and a nice message t-shirt was ready.


The paper also gets impression of the print so be careful not press the printed part anywhere on the t-shirt.

This way your child learns to participate be more creative, takes time off tv, also get aware of our planet earth. You can try many other pictures and let your child participate by taking out the shavings , arranging them carefully on the picture in the set pattern. This way the child's fine motor skills are enhanced. Colour sensing , colour coordination, imagination and creativity also improves.

Sports day Celebration

Every year Republic Day is celebrated as Sports day in my Child's preschool. The preparation starts 2 week in advance and children are quite excited to be a part of this important day of their school. It happens to be a first presentation of their life. The children are briefed about the importance of Republic day. How India became independent and how in 1950 the Indian constitution came into existence. Though this information is hardly understood by them but atleast children beacome aware of their country's national festival and it marks a deep rooted impact on their lives.

The sequence of events were as followed : The day started with  Flag hoisting by the principal madam. The little athletes bowed to their nation by singing the National Anthem. The students were high spirited dressed in their white kurtas with blue trousers and a tricolour duppatta rapped around their waist. The school back drop was well decorated in tricolour theme. There was an air of patriotism, all patriotic songs were played in background music.

The first event of the day was a dance on famous bollywood song "Suno gor se duniya walon, buri nazar na humpe dallo" from the movie Dus. The dance was well choreographed with children dancing on the beats using pompom. The chidren kept their energy and enthusiasm high while dancing.

The next event was PT. The children moved their limb in full coherence , matching each their movement to the beats of the drum. It was a pleaseant sight to watch these little wonders present such well coordinated PT.

Then started the main events of the day that was the games session everyone was waiting for. Here is a brief summary of what and how the games were played.

                                                  

Stack and Win

The children were given set of 6 thermocol glasses and they have to run and unstack the Glasses and arrange them on the table. Again stack the glasses and run back to the partner and now his partner will do the same steps. This way the team which finishes first will be the winner.







Hop n Pop

In this game the children have to carry a ball between their legs and hop there way up to a tumbler. Once they reach near the tumbler they have to drop the ball in it. If the ball falls outside the tumbler the person gets disqualified.

 Potato on Paper
This game required coordination between two partners. It was played by students of playgroup. In this game the children formed groups of two and carried a potato on a paper. If the potato falls while running the contender is dismissed. The one who reaches the finish line with the potato intact on the paper is the winner.

 Make a Way

This was quite a tough one for the children. It involved balancing as well as focus. Children have to carry a paper plate on their head and make their way to the finish line taking a zigzag route from between the obstacles. The obstacles used here were chairs and the students have to cross one chair from left and the next chair from right , repeating this step until they reach the last chair and then sit over the last chair.                   


                                                                                   


Ring in stick

8 rings were inserted in a Popsicle stick and the children have to hold the stick in their mouth and run and reach the destination before the rings fall on to the ground.

Sand in Hand
This one was for the toddlers. They have to carry sand in their hand from start point to finish line where plastic glasses were kept. The toddlers  have to fill these glass with sand and then again run back to bring more sand. The one whose glass gets filled first was the winner.


Overall the school had a wonderful  Republic Day and Sports Day celebration. At the end of the programme the winners were felicitated by the principal mam and were given splendid prizes. 

8 ways to keep kindergarteners away from TV and mobile

Be Creative

Children enjoy being involved in creative things. Search internet for thousands of creative activities available. Spend time with your child in making those creative things. You can make greeting cards, drawings  or decorate their room walls with their preferred cartoon characters pictures. Play with colours , show them how colour mixing gives more colours. Let the child in you be rediscovered by your own child.

Give them the us time

Keep your gadgets and tv away and sit and relax with your kid , explore the  sheer imagination they have , engage yourself in the stories they have for you. Poke them about their friends in school , their teacher , what do they like or dislike about their school. They will have lots of undisclosed stories to tell you. Keep on repeating names of some of their friends or how their friends mother tell stories about their children and find your child adding more to it.

Stick to a routine

Children adapt to a routine very fast. So why not take advantage of this habit and make them early organisers. Make their time table and soon they will tell you what next activity they have to do. Keep a slot for outdoor play, written exercise, daytime sleep, drawing or colouring or any other creative activity .

Engage them in reading

Early reading is important for language development and vocabulary building. It increases their  visual imagination and help them become more expressive. Reading makes them more knowledgeable and make them aware about the world.  It increase their concentration and make them more curious. Once developed as a habit it will be beneficial forever in academics as well as in life.

Sing together

Singing  help children express their emotion and sharpen their ability to communicate. It gives them pleasure to find out they remember their favourite rhymes or songs and helps their memory muscle exercise. The joy in singing aloud with your child is unimaginable. Singing rhymes with them improves their vocal skills. It also helps in building their vocabulary and comprehension.

Engage in  gardening

Gardening again helps in stimulating fine motor skills. Besides gardening is a way to connect with mother earth. Children love to play with soil. Let them observe the life cycle of a plant. Ask them to sow seed and water it daily and see them grow into little saplings. It is an amazing feeling to watch plants grow. For them those little plants will be like their own child , they love it and be empathetic towards them .

Clay dough fun

Playing with clay dough is a very engrossing activity and can keep your child busy for hours. Just a little bit of input given from your side the children can come up with n number of imagination. Besides keeping children engaged , the clay dough also helps in building their fine motor skills. The fine motor skills involves deliberate and controlled movements, actions that require both muscle development and maturation of central nervous system.

Dance it out

Dance is the best form if exercise for a person of any age. Exposing children to dance movements increases their gross motor skills. It also creates a sense of uniqueness to them and explore their hidden potential. Soon you will see your child coming up with new dance steps and helping you in toning yourself.

Sometimes just  let them do what they want

A strict no gives them the thrust to do things which we don't want them to do. So let them watch tv for at their will or play on mobile but keep account of the time and engage them in next activity.