HOCUS FOCUS

Today at Happy Camp HOCUS FOCUS became a familiar word for finding out six differences in details between panels. HOCUS FOCUS is cut out from the English Newspaper The Himalayan Times.  

Laminated collection of HOCUS FOCUS

Boys searching for six differences

Memory games

Dashain holidays are over and yesterday our school was quite different from the usual working days. Children enjoyed free moment and were relatively very quite and busy.
Like always U KG played memory game.They have mastered the names of different things while playing. L KG are learning the tricks. Memory game is the most loved game these days. I think its because children were confined indoor for long during rainy days.

Playing alone

Playing together

I made memory game cards of almost everything related to their studies. So they have plenty of cards to choose from. U KG play every now and then even during the teachers lunch break. For L KG its the teachers who decide what to play. The game is played in clockwise order and each get bonus chance if the cards match. Some play alone while others request friends to join them. I plan to cover the cards with cello tape because they look dirty as children set them on the floor. I never thought they would go crazy like this.

Lower Kindergarten have learnt that one with maximum number of cards is the winner. But they haven't yet mastered counting cards in pairs. Teachers divide them in two groups for quiet and smooth game.

LKG ready for the game

Counting begins after each game

While the older group were enjoying memory game few from the youngest group needed some comforting after a long holiday.

Teacher comforting a child

Chhata odhane rahar- A wish to carry an umbrella

We read the story Chhata odhane rahar  a beautiful story for rainy season. Children learnt that besides umbrellas and raincoat colocasia leaves, banana leaves and ghum our traditional umbrella made of leaves worn specially during  rice planting in the paddy fields can shade us from rain too.  We plucked colocasia leaf from our kitchen garden and covered the edge of the stem with small plastic bag to avoid stain and itching. Children enjoyed posing and we had a great laugh. Enjoy their poses  at  https://www.facebook.com/happycrayons2010

posing with colocasia leaf

posing with ghum our traditional umbrella

My voice

When teachers have fewer children to care for, its fun for both. They enjoy every moment. This year our famous five from Upper Kindergarten are simply adorable. They have study time in the morning and easy art and craft activities in the afternoons. What I saw in the classroom was something unusual. I guess this doesn't happen in the schools with large number of children and where fear resides deep in the child's mind regarding teachers, discipline and punishment. Although discipline in the classroom is a must but not always when the children are happy, quiet and not destructive.

 serious with their work in the morning 

easy moment in the afternoon using newspaper cuttings

Oh God! couldn't stop loving them