Name three objects that are oval in shape.
‘Er….anda.’ lisps the four year old Sitab
What else ? We stare at each, at loss for further ideas.
‘Egg, eye and toffee.’ Pipes up a childish, confident voice of the five year old Alma. Both Sitab and me look at her in awe and admiration.
Teach your child the story of Ramayan in English.
Ramayan ? In English ? I try.
‘This is Hanuman.” I point at a picture of Hanuman in her book.
“Hanu-man ? Like Superman ?” asks Alma
“Oh no ! Hanumaan. Not Hanu-man.”
“Is Hanu-man Ram’s bwother ?”
“No. Laxman is Ram’s bwother…er, brother. Ab kaise bataoon ? Hanumaan is Ram’s er…colleague. No, his friend...”
It was obvious that it was not working out.
Colour the picture of various vegetables.
I took out the pink color and gave it to Sitab “Go ahead and color the brinjal”
He looked at the color suspiciously then at me “This is not purple. It’s pink. Brinjal is purple.”
“ I know but we don’t have purple color. Remember you had tried to eat it and then I threw it in the dustbin in anger ? So pink is all we have. Go ahead. It doesn’t make much of a difference.”
He sat there stubbornly “It has to be purple. Otherwise Ma’am will shout at me. You go to the market just now and get the purple color.”
I started the car and drove to the market, late at night, swearing under my breath, cursing the school, his ma’am and my luck.
Sigh ! Homework has changed over the years. First, because it is so much every day and second, the children have become smarter than the parents. I don’t know how good I am with their homework (they are better) but here are my tips, anyway :
1. Take out time
Take out an hour everyday to go through their work and progress. Look at their books with them and monitor their performance. Don’t get after them with hammer and tongs but a gentle guiding hand is more than enough to make them feel nurtured. Then watch them sprint for the stars.
2. It helps to have an older sibling or a cousin
If you have an older child or even a cousin of the child, it helps plenty. Children learn best from each other since parental pressure can destabilize even the brightest of children. It benefits the guiding child also since it gives him a feeling of importance and develops his leadership qualities.
3. Internet advantage
Thank God for the Internet ! And thank God for Google.com. In a matter of seconds, five pictures of wild animals and ten pictures of rectangular objects are at hand. A child whose parents are good at computers (like yours truly) stands at an advantage since nothing is impossible and the most difficult projects are made in a jiffy.
4. Encourage.
Encourage your tiny tots. Shout ‘Very Good’ often and praise him for his work in front of others. Hug him and let him know how proud you are of him. Look impressed with every puzzle he solves and reward him often. My experience says that rewards for the good are far more effective than punishment for the bad.
In the end, my favourite verse by Kahlil Gibran on children :
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in you dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward not tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
