Don't know how this is related to the 'momz' club...but thought this was a proud moment for India and wanted to post it ..
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1725543,00.html
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Right School for your child
Searching for the right school for kids is a cumbersome task for today's parent. Few months back, while discussing with my folks on deciding for pre-school for Genie, they found it funny that we (DH & I) spent an hour or two at the school where we plan to enroll her. They say for me, they went a day or two before the first day of school, paid fees and took admission. They never visited the school before, WHY... simply because the relatives/friends/neighbors who sent their kids to the same school had only good things to tell when asked and also the school was NEAR to our home. Our parents had it so easy.
Now there are many factors to contemplate before enrollment of your child in a school. In Mumbai itself, many new pre-schools mushroom on regular basis. Its like if you have a degree in ECCE (early child care education) and the resources especially Vitamin M (money), rest all follows.
Genie starts her playschool this June in one of the pre-schools in our neighborhood. We took admission for it just last month. She will be spending 2 hours daily five days a week. The admission process has been quite simple. No interviews either with the parents or kids. Just fill the form, pay fees and admission process is over.
What made us choose this school from the trio of pre-primary nurseries in our area - for One - the school is just less than 10 minutes away from my home (read NEAR) and Second - practically whomsoever we know and asked have sent their kids to this pre-school as it is Simply the Best.
Hey aren't the above two the same reasons which made my parents decide my pre-school... Yes they were the two main reasons for us to start checking this pre-school in my neighborhood.
When we visited the school few months, the Catholic couple who has been running the school in the huge backyard of their bungalow since 20+ years gave us detailed information especially education background of themselves, teachers and assistants of the school. We were impressed by their credentials and beside a mother's instinct was feeling good about the whole thing already as they spoke and treated us well.
They showed us around the school. All the batches (playschool, nursery, jr & sr kg) have no more than 30 kids with a teacher, 2 assistants and a lady ayah. They have large classrooms with themes like fruits, flowers, animals, etc that change every month, activity tables, a large playground with slides, swings, rocking boats, rainbow climber, a huge sand pit, rope ladder, jungle gym, shape tunnels and various skills enhancing toys, games and teaching materials. They teach the kids how to eat, clean up after playing, eating and also potty training.
They left us on our own and we stayed back for an hour or so. We mingled with the teachers and assistants, saw how they handle young kids, spoke, read and played with them. We made a mistake of not taking Genie along with us, do not ask why... If she had come along, we would have to drag her home...
What was important to both of us - the behaviour of the owners, teachers, assistants and helpers - how they treat the kids - are they polite or do they run out of patience when a toddler throws a tantrum.
Since the number of kids did not exceed 30, teachers could manage to give personal attention. The school has many activities and they make it a point to involve each kid be whatever the age.
I think that if your child progresses well i.e. understands and grasps things well, looks forward to going to school even on holidays, if the teachers and other staff teaches well, encourage your child to take part in various activities, etc, then the school is right for your child. I would not compare the chosen school with other schools as it could leave me feeling disheartened.
At the end of it, we both are happy with our decision of enrolling Genie in this pre-school. We will be taking her to see the school soon. We are more excited about the whole thing, its like we have taken admission for ourselves. :). When Genie is ready for SKG, we will have to search for some other school, where there will be interviews and much more. Now, we just want Genie to mingle with kids of her age, play and not be shy of everyone.
I will end the post with this quote "Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity"- Aristotle.
Cross posted on http://scribblermom.wordpress.com by Batul
Now there are many factors to contemplate before enrollment of your child in a school. In Mumbai itself, many new pre-schools mushroom on regular basis. Its like if you have a degree in ECCE (early child care education) and the resources especially Vitamin M (money), rest all follows.
Genie starts her playschool this June in one of the pre-schools in our neighborhood. We took admission for it just last month. She will be spending 2 hours daily five days a week. The admission process has been quite simple. No interviews either with the parents or kids. Just fill the form, pay fees and admission process is over.
What made us choose this school from the trio of pre-primary nurseries in our area - for One - the school is just less than 10 minutes away from my home (read NEAR) and Second - practically whomsoever we know and asked have sent their kids to this pre-school as it is Simply the Best.
Hey aren't the above two the same reasons which made my parents decide my pre-school... Yes they were the two main reasons for us to start checking this pre-school in my neighborhood.
When we visited the school few months, the Catholic couple who has been running the school in the huge backyard of their bungalow since 20+ years gave us detailed information especially education background of themselves, teachers and assistants of the school. We were impressed by their credentials and beside a mother's instinct was feeling good about the whole thing already as they spoke and treated us well.
They showed us around the school. All the batches (playschool, nursery, jr & sr kg) have no more than 30 kids with a teacher, 2 assistants and a lady ayah. They have large classrooms with themes like fruits, flowers, animals, etc that change every month, activity tables, a large playground with slides, swings, rocking boats, rainbow climber, a huge sand pit, rope ladder, jungle gym, shape tunnels and various skills enhancing toys, games and teaching materials. They teach the kids how to eat, clean up after playing, eating and also potty training.
They left us on our own and we stayed back for an hour or so. We mingled with the teachers and assistants, saw how they handle young kids, spoke, read and played with them. We made a mistake of not taking Genie along with us, do not ask why... If she had come along, we would have to drag her home...
What was important to both of us - the behaviour of the owners, teachers, assistants and helpers - how they treat the kids - are they polite or do they run out of patience when a toddler throws a tantrum.
Since the number of kids did not exceed 30, teachers could manage to give personal attention. The school has many activities and they make it a point to involve each kid be whatever the age.
I think that if your child progresses well i.e. understands and grasps things well, looks forward to going to school even on holidays, if the teachers and other staff teaches well, encourage your child to take part in various activities, etc, then the school is right for your child. I would not compare the chosen school with other schools as it could leave me feeling disheartened.
At the end of it, we both are happy with our decision of enrolling Genie in this pre-school. We will be taking her to see the school soon. We are more excited about the whole thing, its like we have taken admission for ourselves. :). When Genie is ready for SKG, we will have to search for some other school, where there will be interviews and much more. Now, we just want Genie to mingle with kids of her age, play and not be shy of everyone.
I will end the post with this quote "Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity"- Aristotle.
Cross posted on http://scribblermom.wordpress.com by Batul
The right schools
Thought I'd follow up on the great article on choosing schools from earlier last week by RainbowDays (sorry, I don't know the author's name yet!) I received a note from the folks who put together the following site (aimed at US parents):
http://schoolfinder.globalscholar.com/
"The site has a listing of 140K US schools; public/private/elementary/ middle/ high. Site is all free and enables you to research and compare all US schools; test scores, maps, ratings etc.
We integrated virtual earth/live maps from Microsoft:
http://schoolfinder.globalscholar.com/10061-bellevue-montessori-school/map-location.aspx "
Really interesting, and combined with a bunch of other parent-focused sites can help with making some school choices. Not sure if there are Indian resources like this out there?
Roopa
http://rooparecipes.blogspot.com/
http://schoolfinder.globalscholar.com/
"The site has a listing of 140K US schools; public/private/elementary/ middle/ high. Site is all free and enables you to research and compare all US schools; test scores, maps, ratings etc.
We integrated virtual earth/live maps from Microsoft:
http://schoolfinder.globalscholar.com/10061-bellevue-montessori-school/map-location.aspx "
Really interesting, and combined with a bunch of other parent-focused sites can help with making some school choices. Not sure if there are Indian resources like this out there?
Roopa
http://rooparecipes.blogspot.com/
Mughalai Biriyani
I'd posted this biriyani recipe which was my mother's original recipe on my site and would love any comments or additions you might have. Any tricks that you experienced cooks out there might want to share? I found this became a real favorite with my kids (I cut down on the chillies a lot.)
This recipe calls for mutton/lamb, but I found it worked just fine with chicken.
Ingredients:
Three cups Pulao or Basmati Rice (450 gms in the original recipe)
One pound lamb or chicken (500 gms)
One lime
Quarter cup nuts (almonds or cashews)
Mint leaves, a few sprigs
Three tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
1/4 bunch coriander leaves
Two large onions
One inch of ginger (one tablespoon crushed)
Five green chillies
Three cloves of garlic
One cup of yogurt
Half a cup of milk
One pinch or turmeric
Other spices: Saffron, bay leaves, cardamom, cumin and Cinnamon (a pinch of each)
Preparation:
This recipe calls for mutton/lamb, but I found it worked just fine with chicken.
Ingredients:
Three cups Pulao or Basmati Rice (450 gms in the original recipe)
One pound lamb or chicken (500 gms)
One lime
Quarter cup nuts (almonds or cashews)
Mint leaves, a few sprigs
Three tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
1/4 bunch coriander leaves
Two large onions
One inch of ginger (one tablespoon crushed)
Five green chillies
Three cloves of garlic
One cup of yogurt
Half a cup of milk
One pinch or turmeric
Other spices: Saffron, bay leaves, cardamom, cumin and Cinnamon (a pinch of each)
Preparation:
- Grind ginger,chillies, garlic and nuts into a fine paste
- Fry sliced onions in the ghee or butter till golden brown and crisp
- Remove the onion and in the hot ghee, fry the ground paste and then add the meat in that paste and fry
- After about five minutes, add a cup of water and cook till the meat is tender. make sure to cover the meat as it cooks. I found it took about fifteen minutes, and I added another cup of water as well.
- In parallel, start cooking rice till it is 3/4 done (I'd use a quarter less water and cook for a quarter less time than normal)
- Once the rice is ready, add a teaspoon of salt to it and mix well
- In the cup of yogurt, add the powdered spices (except for the saffron), and add in a sliced chilli, mint and lime juice
- Add the yogurt mix to the cooked meat and stir in well
- Dissolve the saffron in some warm milk
- Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees
- In a strong (oven-safe), deep pan lay out one layer of rice. Plan on there being at least two layers of rice
- Sprinkle some saffron milk onto the rice. Next layer some onion and lamb on. Repeat the rice/ onion/ lamb (or chicken) layer
- Cover tightly and place in a 300 degree oven, and bake for an hour
Best wishes,
Roopa
http://rooparecipes.blogspot.com
Firstborns and Quality Time...
We have always wondered if the second child is getting as much time as the first used to get when she was a baby. This article in the Washington Post talks about it.
Read On...
Link: Quality Time Seems Stacked In Favor of Firstborns
Read On...
Link: Quality Time Seems Stacked In Favor of Firstborns
Friday, March 21, 2008
Idol and Democracy....
Yesterday, I got back home in time for a long drawn out dinner with the kids, and as we dawdled over dessert, we landed up chatting about politics (Don't ask! The price of having a journalist dad and a consistent discussion of news in the house ). D, my daughter, is pretty serious about Hilary Clinton. My son consistently notes that "Guliani dropped out, right? I like McCain." I suspect the elections are going to be tension-ridden at home! These short chats often lead us to questions on why there are changes in presidents, why are we in Iraq, etc.
From the sublime to the not-so-sublime, since seeing Sanjaya do his thing in American Idol last year, my kids are total American Idol fans. They were fascinated by the sight of seeing a young, brown kid standing up there as part of such a major American media spectacle. It was exhilarating for them and they were hooked. They couldn't believe that he got voted off. Last year, they just asked the question, but didn't quite engage on what the vote meant (well, they were only 3 1/2 years old!) This year, it's fascinating to see them make the connections. They insist they want us to call in as soon as the show is done to vote for their favorites. D has been crest-fallen every time someone she likes gets booted. Yesterday, as the show ended, she moaned, "Amanda Obermeyer -- how could this happen?!! I'm sad." While I wonder about all that TV time, I love that they're so in touch with the singing and dancing. also, I feel we must be doing something right because both kids say, "Jason Castro is there because he looks that way."....precocious/ precious.
The interesting thing was that yesterday, once they got over the shock of Amanda's ouster, they made a bunch of connections.
-> we call
-> other americans call (25 million?)
-> they count the number of calls
-> the bottom 3 sit on the awful 3 stools!
-> you say goodbye to the lowest one!!
AND
-> I guess that's why Rudy Giuliani dropped out....
Such fun to see them make the connections and engage in these conversations!
Roopa
(http://rooparecipes.blogspot.com/)
From the sublime to the not-so-sublime, since seeing Sanjaya do his thing in American Idol last year, my kids are total American Idol fans. They were fascinated by the sight of seeing a young, brown kid standing up there as part of such a major American media spectacle. It was exhilarating for them and they were hooked. They couldn't believe that he got voted off. Last year, they just asked the question, but didn't quite engage on what the vote meant (well, they were only 3 1/2 years old!) This year, it's fascinating to see them make the connections. They insist they want us to call in as soon as the show is done to vote for their favorites. D has been crest-fallen every time someone she likes gets booted. Yesterday, as the show ended, she moaned, "Amanda Obermeyer -- how could this happen?!! I'm sad." While I wonder about all that TV time, I love that they're so in touch with the singing and dancing. also, I feel we must be doing something right because both kids say, "Jason Castro is there because he looks that way."....precocious/ precious.
The interesting thing was that yesterday, once they got over the shock of Amanda's ouster, they made a bunch of connections.
-> we call
-> other americans call (25 million?)
-> they count the number of calls
-> the bottom 3 sit on the awful 3 stools!
-> you say goodbye to the lowest one!!
AND
-> I guess that's why Rudy Giuliani dropped out....
Such fun to see them make the connections and engage in these conversations!
Roopa
(http://rooparecipes.blogspot.com/)
Blueberry Orange Smoothie
--posted by Pallavi
[This recipe has been cross-posted at All Things Yummy]
As the weather gets warmer, its nice to have a refreshing and cold drink. Here is an easy and quick mixed fruit recipe. It is one of the many combinations created by my darling husband... I will be posting more of these mixed fruit smoothie recipes as the summer comes along...! Are quite refreshing, healthy, easy to make and the little ones will love them...
Ingredients:
-----------
1 Cup Blueberries(Fresh/Frozen)
1 Orange (peeled/de-skinned) (Sweet ones work great)
1 Cup Grapes(Seedless Green / Black) - we used both
1 Banana
1 tsp Honey
some crushed ice(optional) - we skipped it this time.
Process:
---------
Add all the ingredients to the blender/juicer and blend to form a thick yummy smoothie. Thats it !
Serve it with a toast for breakfast, after lunch, as a quick drink after school, or after supper.
Its absolutely delicious and quite healthy. Enjoy !
Servings : 4
[This recipe has been cross-posted at All Things Yummy]
As the weather gets warmer, its nice to have a refreshing and cold drink. Here is an easy and quick mixed fruit recipe. It is one of the many combinations created by my darling husband... I will be posting more of these mixed fruit smoothie recipes as the summer comes along...! Are quite refreshing, healthy, easy to make and the little ones will love them...
Ingredients:
-----------
1 Cup Blueberries(Fresh/Frozen)
1 Orange (peeled/de-skinned) (Sweet ones work great)
1 Cup Grapes(Seedless Green / Black) - we used both
1 Banana
1 tsp Honey
some crushed ice(optional) - we skipped it this time.
Process:
---------
Add all the ingredients to the blender/juicer and blend to form a thick yummy smoothie. Thats it !
Serve it with a toast for breakfast, after lunch, as a quick drink after school, or after supper.
Its absolutely delicious and quite healthy. Enjoy !
Servings : 4
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