So often, we think of our grandparents simply as grandparents. We are the centre of the universe after all, aren’t we?
But Nini discovers that there is more to her grandmother than just being a grandmother. A stray conversation leads her to ask her mother to buy a box of paints for her grandmother, her Minima. And then, a journey of discovery begins – for Nini, her grandmother and the entire family.
My Grandmother’s Masterpiece is a lovely story that celebrates the relationship between grandparent and grandchild, but it’s more than that. It’s the story of Nini’s Minima who is suddenly free to do everything she wants to do all because her granddaughter got her a box of paints. Here’s what we’ll do with the book at my reading programme.
Pictionary
There’s one section in th book where Nini asks her Minima if she is drawing bhoots. Minima shakes her head and then draws a bhoot for her. Can you draw a bhoot? How about something you see around you like a box of paints?
Exploring vocabulary and drawing together is always fun, and we’ll see how well we can guess what the others draw for us on a shared screen!
Grandparents
Schools have Grandparents Day, and our book club will have something of the kind too. I would love for the children to show the others pictures of their grandparents and tell us a line or two about them. How many grandparents do they have? Do they meet their grandparents at all? What makes grandparents special?
When I am old ...
Every child I’ve ever met has loved playing some version of being grown up. Whether they’re playing Teacher-Teacher or House-House, wearing a dupatta or spectacles, pretend games about being an adult are very much a part of childhood.
I’d love to explore this further with a small written exercise. How tall will they become? What will they do? I’ll give them a list of sentences to complete, sign and hide away, creating a little note to their future selves.
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Registrations are closed for this reading programme. Watch out for the next ones on my workshop calendar!
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