We need not be Famous to be Great

I like emulate great folk around me. I try to take the good in them and ignore the bad - because they wouldn't be human if they had no weaknesses. I notice something common in these great people - they have a goal and they go all out to reach it. Nothing deters them and that's what brings success and makes them great.

Anyone can be great. Greatness is in the eyes of the beholder. I like to write about the everyday person who has her share of ups and downs, but is great because of the way she handles her problems. Her weaknesses get her into trouble and her strengths bring her out of it.

Look around you. Whom do you admire most and why? An uncle? Your Mom? your Dad? A movie star? An inventor? I started by looking at some great artists. Now let's look at inventors and others whom the world looks up to because they've made it a better place in some way. I'll bring you the main points in the life of some great folk.

Leonardo Da Vinci and Vincent Van Gogh

When I first began painting in oils, I found that imitating a great artist helped me learn a lot. I initially found 'Mona Lisa' a bit boring, because I prefer vibrant, alive expressions and this seemed outdated. But when I got down to painting her skin tones, I learnt how Leonardo works in layers to achieve a luminous quality.

the artist behind the painting -
Leonardo Da Vinci is a high achiever from Florence - an inventor, scientist, mathematician engineer, sculptor, painter, architect, musician and writer who keeps a journal written in a mirror image cursive handwriting (he is left handed) that helps keep his ideas a secret.

I've done about 6 reproductions of different masters, but Vincent Van Gogh is one of my most favorite artists. I'm inspired by his dramatic individualistic strokes and use of contrasts in color. He has an informal style characteristic of one who defies convention. I did this one for Cafe Coffee Day at Bangalore many years ago.

the artist behind the painting
Vincent is the oppostite of Leonardo. An intense Dutch painter supported by his brother Theo, he makes a few false starts as a clerk in a bookstore, an art salesman and a preacher. Unfortunately, his fame as an artist is posthumous having sold only one painting during his life. Shooting himself in the head after partly recovering from fits of insanity, he brings his life to a tragic end.

a joke in pictures

Everyone loves a good laugh. I first thought up these jokes and later did these rough sketches in four parts for a CD ROM. You can write out your joke in four paper squares or more. Now sketch in stick figures for each frame, cut the squares out and jumble them. Can your friend guess the joke and put the 4 frames in the right sequence?

Or you can show her all the first 3 frames and let her guess what happens in the fourth frame. After she guesses, flip the fourth frame over which is the fun part of the joke.

The Endangered Olive Ridley Turtle

© Jeyanthi Manokaran
Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed. —Gandhi

Tutu turns towards the cluster of turtle eggs buried on the beach.
“I got here first!” squeals Aveek the fisher boy, digging in a fury as if for gold.
“MY eggs!” Shourav yanks him away.
Tutu dashes to the sandy mound where Olive’s eggs are buried, picks up a fallen palm leaf and rushes between the fighting boys.
“These are Olive’s eggs!” she repeats in a high pitched voice.
“Who’s Olive?” demands Aveek shoving her out of the way.
“My turtle. She was in the fishing net and I saved her.”
“Olive the Turtle? Ha! Ha!”

“I helped her nest. Did YOU watch her dig this pit for her eggs? Did YOU save
her from that vicious eagle that attacked? It had sharp talons. I took this palm leaf and
whacked it hard when it swooped down upon my turtle. You didn't save her! I did. Olive is MY turtle. These are MY eggs.”

“Well we’ll just share them then. Fifty-fifty. We’re friends, aren’t we? Hyuk! Hyuk!” grins Aveek.
“Good idea,” agrees Shourav giving him a hard back slap, “next time we find some eggs, we’ll share them with you too.”
“Sir! Help!” Tutu pleads with the village elder passing by, “They're stealing my turtle’s eggs.”
"Go away boys! And don’t you dare trouble her again!” scolds the village elder who is Pa’s friend.
The boys turn away with a backward glance. They sprint along calling to each other with nasty remarks about Olive the Turtle.
“Oh! Thank you, thank you, kind Sir!” Tutu quickly covers the eggs and the tell- tale turtle tracks leading to the beach.
“Those boys have nothing better to do,” mutters the village elder. “Child,
isn’t it time for you to help your Pa with the catch and Ma with the sorting?”
“Yes, Sir,” Tutu is too busy turning the sand and covering the precious clutch of eggs.

The village elder greets her Pa as he comes by to chat.
"Why didn’t you come to help me fish? This is crazy, Tutu!”
Pa can’t believe she plans to guard the eggs until they hatch. Hands on hips, he glowers down at Tutu who sits beside the sandy mound.
“But Pa, someone will steal the eggs and I want to save the baby turtles,” Tutu wrings her hands, digs her toes in the sand and stares at her precious mound.
“You’re our one and only child. You’re better ‘n all the boys in the village. No rugged fisher boy can throw the net the way you do! You have style. You have talent. You were born to be a fisher girl. God made you that way. That’s why I spent all my energy training you.” brags Pa.
“As soon as they hatch, I’ll fish with you and help Ma sort the catch.”
“Now, you better be good an’ ready to go fishing before dawn.”
Ma walks up, bone weary after sorting and selling her catch. She , throws down her empty basket to sit beside them. Quick as an eagle, Pa enlists her support. Ma is shocked.

“Child, are you out of your mind? These eggs will take two months to hatch. You
will NOT sleep here,”
“But Pa sleeps near his boat to guard it!” argues Tutu.
“Okay,” Pa gives in just a little. “I’ll sleep out here between the boat and the eggs
instead and guard both together.”
“Ma, will you guard them while I go fishing with Pa?” Tutu begs.
“Okay, silly child,” complains Ma. “Next month is the arribada and thousands of female
turtles will anyway return to nest here.”
The village elder, walks away with a smile.
“Maybe they’re right. Hatch quickly – baby turtles!” Tutu follows Ma to the hut.

At dawn, the next day, with a quick backward glance at the mound, Tutu
speeds to the wooden catamaran Pa pushes into the sea.
“Wait for me, Pa!” Surf on their skin, they row away. Tutu tastes the salt in the wave as she casts the fishing net with a powerful swing of her arm. Seagulls screech, sunrise kisses the rolling waves while they watch and wait.
Hours roll by. Tutu’s stomach rumbles. “Oh for some delicious fish! Some Mackerel would be good,” drools Tutu and tugs at her end of the fishing net. It seems heavy already. She can’t believe it. She looks down into the dark waters with a suspicious frown and tugs again. Heart thumping, she catches her breath, “Gosh! Pa! H-help me pull this up!”
“That was quick!” says Pa, the salt air is laden with excitement.
“Yay! I did it!” squeals Tutu hauling in the heavy net with Pa’s help. "My first bumper catch!”
Tossed by the sea, washed by the waves, their catamaran heads to Ma waiting at the beach. Tutu’s clear voice mingles with Pa’s deeper one while they row back with a steady rhythm chanting their boat song.
“You’re the best!” Ma hugs Tutu. Pa ruffles her hair.
“Ma, let’s sort the fish!” Tutu can’t wait for the next fishing trip at dawn. And the next. And the next. Two months fly by.

Tutu runs towards the mound every day. Today is different. There’s a song in the air as she sees tiny flipper marks that show baby turtle tracks leading to the beach. Wait! Something is moving there. Tutu speeds up to the tiny turtle making its way to the water. She blows a kiss on its shiny shell as it disappears into the waves.
“Olive’s babies! They've hatched!” she whispers. Braid dancing, skirt flying, Tutu skips along the beach her eyes glued to the waves that carry her last baby turtle. “Please return, Baby Olive!”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
catamaran -small,light wooden fishing boat designed almost flat for waves to drain off
Note - The endangered Olive Ridley Turtle can grow up to 75 cm (2.5 feet) in length and is wonderfully adapted to life in the ocean, with front and rear evolved into flippers for swimming. the four limbs have 2 claws. The light, streamlined shell has a carapace thinner than other turtles, is olive colored and heartshaped. The male's tail extends past the carapace while the female's does not.
Sea turtles nest only at night and artificial lighting on beaches confuses the time of day. The female pulls herself all the way to the dry sand using her front flippers and carves a bottle shaped burrow where she lays 100 leathery round eggs like white ping pong balls. She covers them carefully and buries the pit and within an hour, struggles back to the ocean leaving behind a "tell-tale" trail in the sand. Now the young have to fend for themselves.
The predictable manner of laying her eggs, and her defenselessness on land, makes her vulnerable to hunters. Because of a homing instinct the turtles return to the beach where they were born.

create your own word game

Check out this word building online activity I created.

Make your own word building game with paper and alphabet blocks. Use animal cutouts and create silhouettes. Allow your child to match one animal to its correct silhouette. Then use a set of alphabet blocks to form a long word - eg if the silhouetted animal is 'hippopotamus', then the blocks will form its name. Now allow your child to rearrange these letters to form new words. See how many words she can make from 'hippopotamus' - pot, hip, pop, tap, sat, map, pat, ship, shop, this, must, post, past.

Dino Doc

Dino Doc
© Jeyanthi Manokaran

Dino Doc is on his way
Ready for a busy day
It’s his job to cure the sick
Helping dinos get well quick
Cera’s head makes him wail
Bronto’s ache is in the tail
Stego’s back is pretty sore!
Hang on Doc - There's just one more!
Mother T Rex brings her egg
Baby pops out, watch her beg
His teeth are sharp to eat meat raw.
Dino Doc zips out the door!

Making a collage

© Centre for Learning Resources
Collages are such fun! You can use anything and everything! Its a mix of any media possible. I made this one with stuffed cloth on penwork in black ink. The hair is just wool.

Make a collage
First think of a theme. Is it Animals? Plants? Cars? You can make your collage with lightweight material if its on paper. Use pressed flowers, very small machine parts, old toothpaste tubes, rags, lentils. Place them lightly on a piece of thick chart paper and create a collage. Paste them all with fevicol - not glue. You can color or paint some things if you like.

the child's worldview

Go down on all fours and look at the world from this angle. It's refreshing to see things through a child's eyes. 3 year old Adi pats a Dad at the supermarket, points at his pram with a gurgling baby in it and asks seriously -
"Hey Mr! How much for this?"
"Er.. that's my baby!"
"I want to buy it. How much for it?"
(Is this his way of showing that he yearns for a sibling?)

A child's wisdom
Out of the mouth of babes comes a world of wisdom. We adults like to think we have all the answers, but a child sometimes knows better.
Nesan peers through the window of the airplane as it reaches the clouds -
"Hello God! Are you out there?" he calls out cheerfully.

Kids like to feel mature
Imitating adults make a child feel mature.
"Whew! It's a hot day today!" I exclaim, wiping my perspiring brow.
"Yes. It's all because of global warming," pipes in 5 year old Nandita.

3 year old Chitra talks sternly to her doll all wrapped up in woollens.
"Look now! You've caught a cold again! I've tried Alopathy, Homeopathy and Ayurvedic medicines. I just don't know what to do with you!"

I thought up this board game 4 kids

Want to create a board game? All you need is an idea, some colored paper and a sketch pen.

An Idea

Is your game about cars, or animals, or superheroes? Write out (on a rough paper) happy events and dangers on the way that make you gain a turn, or go back a few steps. If your game is about cars, you lose a turn because you're out of gas, or if you have a puncture, or skid on an oil slick. You move forward or get an extra turn when you discover a shortcut. If yours is a jungle game, you lose a turn when you're stuck in a bog, or you move forward 2 steps when you rescue an abandoned cub.

Make the board game

Use a large rectangle for the colored background (green, if you like). Then draw a slightly wiggly thick path on a contrasting color (try yellow). Cut and paste it on to the background. Now cut out small squares that fit on the path in any other color (try red). Stick the squares on the path leaving one gap in between each (so you get a path with 2 colors.)

Write out the fun stuff

Use your felt pen to write START on the first square and FINISH on the last. Number the squares with No.1 after START. Neatly write in the dangers and happy events on selected squares.

Now get a dice and some counters - dinky toy cars for a car game, small rubber animals for a jungle game, etc. etc. Have fun!

Manage your child's fears

Does your child thumbsuck, stammer, bedwet, become aggressive or cling to you because she's worried?

What is your child worried about? Spend quality time playing with her, so she can express herself comfortably - talk to her and find out what her real problems are.

A new baby in the house?
Her position is threatened and her jealousy is natural. Let her feel that it is not wrong -that you're not angry with her about it. If she pinches and whacks baby, teach her to cope with her jealousy by bashing her doll instead (whom she can call by baby's name) - but it is definitely unacceptable for her to hurt baby. Whenever baby sleeps, or is wellfed and happy, spend time exclusively with your elder child and reassure her that she's just as special as baby. Pay her a compliment every time you say something nice about baby. At one time, my elder child needed a hug everytime I hugged baby!

Ghosts in the dark?
Like the monster under the bed, kids are afraid of the dark because of their vivid imagination. My friend's son was afraid to go into the next room "Because there's a ghost!" I reached into my handbag and put my closed fist into his hand,"Here, take this invisible gun,"I whispered,"When you see the ghost, just shoot him! The ghost can't see the gun and Mom and Dad can't see it too. it's totally invisible!" I slipped the invisible gun into his pocket and he walked away boldly into the dreaded room.

Will Mom/Dad return from the business trip?
Let Dad call your child from the airport when he lands. Make a caterpillar with circles that make up his body. Number the circles and tear each day as it finishes to count upto when Dad returns. Say a prayer at night to keep Dad safe wherever he is and your child safe while he's away.

Can't cope with schoolwork?
Sometimes, when a child is forced to start writing before she is ready for it, she may start stammering or bedwetting. First start your child with learning about letter shapes through blocks or cut outs. Cut black cardboard in small semi circles (for B,P,R) and large semicircles (for C,D,O,Q) short straight lines (for E,F) and long straight lines (for L, M,N). Jumble the pieces and teach her to construct letters from them.
Another useful activity is to allow her to use a chalk or crayon (because the fine grip of a pencil comes later on) You can even paint the back of your door or a cupboard door with blackboard paint. Or use the backs of old calendars for crayon work. Allow free flow of the arm and let them scribble. The paper should definitely be a large size. Once she is confident scribbling on a largescale, teach her to write on the blackboard - large. Or even with a stick on wet sand on a beach. You don't need to be at a table to study. Later, move on to a pencil and write within the lines in a notebook.

papercut collage

Brainstorming with kids at USA

No More Lollipop Language
© Jeyanthi Manokaran

“Here’s our vocabulary list for today,” says Mrs. Thaney holding up a chart. The
list snakes down to the floor and goes on and on. The Sensational Second Graders, love
Terrific Mrs. T and her fun ways of teaching to read and write.
But right now, no one’s looking at her vocabulary list.
“Mrs. T,” says Jake in a stage whisper, “there’s a Giant Marshmallow …”
“…and it’s moving in your pocket!” finishes Neha, jumping up and down like a rubber ball.

Bursting into peels of laughter, the class gathers around their teacher. A
blubbery white thing hops and rolled out of Mrs. T’s pocket. A single eye peers at them from a drooping feeler.

“It’s my new pet,” she explains as the Moving Marshmallow puffs up, morphing into new shapes and colors. It springs and bounces around the children who move away as they squeal in alarm.
“I call him Zippy since he’s so full of energy. He jumped out of a pit in my backyard, but he’s quite harmless, you know,” explains Mrs. T. “I brought Zippy to school because all he talks is Lollipop Language.”

“rabada-looma kimoda-goop!” agrees Zippy
“rabada-looma kimoda-goop!” chorus the children much to Mrs. T’s dismay.
“Adi-palova pushkie-indory-zane!” tries Zipp
“Adi-polova pushkie-indory-zane!” echo the Second Graders merrily.

“That’s enough!” Mrs. T silences them firmly, “There’ll be no more Lollipop
Language in class!” she decides. “The best way for Zippy to learn and remember words
in English, is to experience it.”

She snaps her fingers, claps her hands and taps her feet. Presto! Their classroom turns into a rickety wooden roller coaster with a glass roof that snaps into place. Jiggajik-jik, jiggajik-jik goes the roller coaster. Before they know it, the Sensational Second Graders led by Terrific Mrs. T are rumbling through the clouds.

Zippy zooms along with them, soaring into outer space. He bobs up and down, thrilled with the speed, picking up new words from the kids as they sing…
“Hey Zippy! Learn about the stars,
Galaxies, the moon and sun,
Saturn, Jupiter and Mars,
Meteors are a lot of fun.”

Jiggajik-jik, jiggajik-jik rumbles the roller coaster. All of a sudden, it changes
direction and plunges down into a dark abyss. Whoooops! Before they know it, they
are floating slowly underwater. They glide from left to right and suddenly plummet down, down, down!
“Yahoo!” squeal the Second Graders.
“Ooooh!” mimicks Zippy.

“Zipp will learn if he behaves,
dolphins, octopus and fishes,
Coral, seaweed, salty waves,
Crabs and turtles if he wishes.”
The roller coaster roars through a tidal wave. It surges out of the sea doing a loop-the-loop. Jiggajik-jik, jiggajik-jik.

“Hold on tight!” orders Mrs. T.
“We’re falling! Somebody help!” scream the Second Graders.
“Nobody help!” said Zippy.
The roller coaster zig-zags on to a high mountain peak.
“Craggy cliffs and mountain goats,
Hikers, skiers in the snow,
Bears and yaks with shaggy coats,
There’s a lot that Zipp should know.”

Terrific Mrs. T snaps her fingers, claps her hands and taps her feet. The
roller coaster turns into their classroom again.
“There are important words Zippy should know in our classroom,” suggests
Mrs. T “What could they be?”
“Books and a black board,
Words and ideas too,
Desks and computers,
Lots to learn and do.”

The Sensational Second Graders clamor to extend the vocabulary list. Mrs. T
whistles for Zippy to bounce back into her pocket. The bell rings. There’s time
tomorrow for an exciting new vocabulary list. Lollipop Language is forgotten.

A Child Rights Calendar

everyone is a storyteller

Q. My kids love to listen to the same stories again and again - but I'm so bored of them! There's no good library nearby and I have no place to stock any more books. How do I make up my own stories?

A. Anyone and everyone can tell a story. Do your kids like dinosaurs? Who is their favorite superhero? Here's an example of what I did.

I picked up an ecyclopedia with dino pictures in it to tell 2 kids a spiderman tale. We went through the pictures of the tallest dino, the fastest dino, the dino with bony plates on its back, but the one that excited them most was the meat eating dino - T Rex.

Make it real - personalize it
I froze on this page and built up my story putting the 2 boys names (Tarun and Varun) into it, adding some suspense.
"Look at T Rex! He has a mouth as big as a fridge! His teeth are as sharp as a butcher's knives!"
(Their eyes are rolling by now because the comparisons make it quite real)
"Saliva drips from his mouth...He is HUNGRY!"

"Varun (never call them 'Little' because its demeaning) is running over to him. He thinks T Rex is a friend. Varun climbs on to his big toe. T Rex feels a tickle and turns around angrily. "Who dares climb on to MY toe? " ( By now, the kids are clinging to me, quite afraid of what will happen next. The tone of your voice is important to build suspense.)

"Grrrrr! "T Rex snaps Varun up in his powerful jaws. "Bad T Rex! Put me down!" shouts Varun.
But T Rex only swings him this way and that.
Now Tarun is very angry. He is Spiderman! Tang-ta-dang! Dishoom! Dishoom!

Encourage them to participate
(From here onwards, Tarun and Varun take over the story telling while I sit back and listen. They punctuate their tale of valour with dazzling actions ( this may not be good as a bedtime story!)
Finally a bashed upT Rex turns tail and runs, Varun is saved by Spiderman Tarun and all is well.

Manga style characters

keeping kids creatively occupied

Q. Its summer! There's no school. How do I keep my kids occupied?
A. Camping and competing with other kids is fun, though kids should feel a sense of achievement even if they don't win. Focus on participation and competing with their own best performance. This leaves space for better team play.

If you're at home with them, you don't need to send them from one class to another. Childproof your house or a single room and let them run free. Cleaning up can be done at the end of the day after the fun is over.

Ages 2-8

Make a playdough with 1 cup of wheat flour kneaded with 1/4 cup of salt and some water. Your kids can sit on the floor or at a table with appropriate tools around them. No sharp instruments in case they get into a fight.

Tools - wooden spatulas, holey spoons, blunt roounded butter knives, small unbreakable bowls, wooden rolling pin, cookie cutters.

First distribute the playdough equally to all the kids - be fair (they'll imitate you.) Then show them how to roll out the dough, or just roll a long snake with fingers outstretched. Now use the cookie cutters and holey spoons and butter knives to chop it into fine pieces or different shapes. Put these into separate bowls - they can later pretend to cook with pretend kitchen stuff. Make a Smiley face by rolling out the dough and cutting a circle with a lid. Then dig in the eyes and mouth with the back of a pencil.

The dough can be stored in a plastic bag or container in the fridge for another day. You can even leave it to dry in the sun and paint it later. My daughter made a lovely tortoise and painted its shell in many colors.

If there's more than one child, try to give the same tools to each child so there's no grabbing. They can learn to share after they have a taste of the fun. Don't worry if your 2 year old puts the dough in the mouth - its too salty to taste good.

animal characters

I created these anthropomorphic characters 4 my kids story on the computer in Flash.

illustration - oil on canvas

My Mission Statement

Q. If you’re weak, I can control you, but if you’re strong, you can control me.
Who am I?

A. I’m Habit. Sow me and you reap a character.

Life is all about change and those who cling only to old beliefs will find it tough to ride the tide of success. To begin with, I try to form good habits of being clean, of active listening to folk around me, and of setting doable goals for my work with milestones in between. I try to be open minded and flexible like a parachute that flies with the breeze. I must reach out beyond my comfort zone and achieve the impossible! Writing this blog is a new and fun experience for me.