Workshops

A few photographs from Session III of the Language and Literature Workshop at Vidya Pratishthan’s English Medium School, Baramati.

Each activity during the Language and Literature workshop revealed something new and delightful. The second session with nine batches of children at Vidya Pratishthan’s English Medium School, Baramati, is over!

“What did you learn during today’s session?” I asked them.

Promptly, a child responded, “We learned that there is so much to read! So many stories!”

Children love to act.
All of us love to act, or Dumb Charades would not be such a popular game.

One thing I stress during all my workshops is the importance of copyright. I insist that children don’t just rip images and articles off the internet, print them and use them. In keeping with that idea, I usually use my own stories during workshops, in addition to traditional tales from around the world.

A story I love is a Japanese tale of Amaterasu, the radiant one who lights up the sky. Her brother Susanowa ravages the earth with storms, so Amaterasu hides in a cave. The gods are desperate to bring light back to the world, so they call Uzume, the god of laughter and joy. Uzume begins to dance, and the gods roar with laughter. Curious, Amaterasu peeks out – the first streaks of light appear. She catches sight of her own brilliant reflection in the mirror opposite, and she emerges some more. The gods catch her, pull her out, and send her back to the sky. But every night, she hides in the cave and the story begins again.

What I love about this story is how much fun the children have with it, and how innovative they are in their use of their ‘stage’.
One child playing Amaterasu ran away from Susanowa’s storms and hid outside the classroom, peeking in by opening the door.
In most classrooms nowadays, there are projectors, so windows are curtained. Sometimes, the narrator draws all the curtains shut to plunge the earth into darkness.
My story says that Uzume’s appearance is comical, so sometimes children use props to make their Uzume look funny.

Everything is planned in ten minutes of preparation time. I never cease to be amazed.

And of course, a recent prop that I already shared – a gun made of pens used by Red Riding Hood to shoot the wolf.

In the first session of a workshop, particularly one with a heavy name like “Language and Literature Workshop”, I like to start on a light note. Humour is a great place to begin, and I turn to an all-time favourite – Roald Dahl.

This time, I chose five of my favourite poems – “The Crocodile”, “The Porcupine”, “The Tummy Beast”, “The Anteater” and “Little Red Riding Hood”. I divided the participants into groups of five, and gave each group a poem to read. I gave them ten minutes to read and understand the poem, and then asked them to perform a little skit based on it.

(Spoiler warning: This blog post spoils the punchline of Roald Dahl’s “Little Red Riding Hood”.)

In Dahl’s version of “Little Red Riding Hood”, after the dutiful comments on Grandma’s big ears and big eyes, Little Red Riding Hood says, “… what a lovely great big furry coat you have on.” To this, the irate wolf replies, “Have you forgot/To tell me what BIG TEETH I’ve got?”
The wolf then says that it doesn’t matter what she says; he is going to eat her anyway. And the girl pulls out a pistol and shoots him.
No unnecessary dependence on a woodcutter.
Cut to the next scene – gone is her “cloak of red”; gone is her “silly hood”. Instead, she is wearing a lovely, furry wolfskin coat.

The poem always makes me chuckle. I love her new-found independence, even if I don’t want wolves to die. That is why I chose the poem for my workshop in Baramati.

What a city-girl I am. What a typical English education I have.

My children did not find the poem funny at all. It was, in fact, rather pointless.

In a group of 130 children, 128 had never heard of Little Red Riding Hood.

Moving on from reading workshops in libraries to Language and Literature Workshops in schools is a lovely step! Working with 250 children was a whole new experience for me …

It’s just three days away!

Date: Saturday, 28th February, 2015.

Time: 11 am – 1 pm

Fee: Rs 500 per child

Age-group: 8-13

Venue: The Cultural Centre, Pune

To register: Send an email to tcc@prelocate.com with your name and contact number. [Email subject: Imagine and Innovate Workshop]

Visit the Facebook event page for more details.

I was part of the lovely Cedar Reading Club this evening, sharing the magic of stories with seven children in the age-group 6-8. The children meet each week, read a story, talk about it, act it out …

More reading clubs for children around the city would be welcome!

How do books come alive? What happens in the mind of the writer, and how does it finally reach the hands of the reader? “Imagine and Innovate” explores each step of the journey: from the idea to the making of the book. Children will come together to create a story, design and make a book, and learn what copyright is. It will be a morning of imagination, creativity and learning: a writing workshop for all children aged about 8-13.

Date: Saturday, 28th February, 2015.

Time: 11 am – 1 pm

Fee: Rs 500 per child

Age-group: 8-13

Venue: The Cultural Centre, Pune

To register: Send an email to tcc@prelocate.com with your name and contact number. [Email subject: Imagine and Innovate Workshop]

The Mythical Maze Reading Challenge is nearly over!

After Reading and Role Play and Idioms Are My Cup of Tea, today has Myths from around the World and Myths and Fables.

I showed the little ones a map of the world. These children are in the age-group 5-7.

We were reading a ‘story from Arabia’, Where There is Will. “Do you know where Arabia could be?” I asked.

One child stood up. “I think it is here,” she said, pointing to the entire Gulf region.

“Good!”

“Do you know how I know?”

“How?”

“See, this is India. Over here, this sea is called the Arabian Sea. So the Arabian Sea has to touch Arabia, right?”

That was the title of my last workshop at the British Library.

We tried translating “It’s raining cats and dogs” to Hindi and Marathi to giggles, shouts of laughter.

We compared the literal meaning of “He kicked the bucket” with its figurative meaning.

We performed the Herculean task of linking mythology with idioms, and then the children spilled the beans about the fact that most of their knowledge of Greek mythology came from Percy Jackson. When it came to Norse mythology and Biblical terms, their knowledge collapsed like a house of cards and they commented, “We have a long way to go and a lot to learn. We’re just knee-high to a grasshopper!” A crossword puzzle proved to be their Achilles heel, but we continued to see the glass as half-full, as the children and I got on like a house on fire!

Here’s what’s next!

Reading Workshop for Children
Age-group: 8-12 years
Venue: JustBooks, Viman Nagar
Dates: 29th and 30th December, 2014 (The last workshop of the year!)
Time: 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
Fee: Rs 500

My lovely workshop at Baramati has come to an end.

One child made a card – out of a recycled wedding card.

Another child naively told me, “This is Harsh’s gift from class V A.”

Children shared what they had learnt. And one girl gave me a letter. Here’s just a little part of a three-page long letter that made me feel warm right down to my toes.

The next workshop is just around the corner. Sunday: British Library!

Imagination, copyright, magic, wildlife, beauty, leadership … The list of things we discussed during the third session of my reading workshop at VP’s Vinodkumar Gujar Bal Vikas Mandir was endless. With individual and team activities as usual, the sessions flew by – and I can hardly believe that I have just one session left!

Here’s some media coverage of the free workshop I conducted for parents … Looking forward to the Reading Challenge: details in the news clip!

Varsha Seshan’s workshops in the Sakaal Times today!

With the Reading Challenge just around the corner, I conducted a special curtain-raiser today on getting children to read.

“My children don’t read at all!”
“I keep asking him to tell me about what he’s reading; he never tells me anything!”
“His friend reads so much, but he doesn’t read at all!”
“We made him join the library, but still he doesn’t read!”

After every workshop, I face these responses, so I thought of conducting a session for parents before the actual launch of the reading challenge. It was a free session, open to everyone – and what fun it was!

At VP’s Bal Vikas Mandir, workshops are not just enjoyable work. On Monday, after my first two sessions, I was not well.
“Could I have just soup for dinner?” I asked.
“Of course,” was the reply.
Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door – Vicks and Crocin to ensure that I slept well.
That’s what working in a place with thoughtful people is like! On my first day there, I met three teachers: one who had worked for 19 years, one for 22 and one for 35. I was astounded and commented on this to the principal, who calmly replied that often, when teachers join the school, they leave only when they retire. I am no longer surprised: when there are thoughtful people around you, you want to work in that environment!

“Mythical Maze” – that’s the theme for this years reading challenge at the British Library.

What is a reading challenge all about? What does it achieve?

Here’s a bit about it.
Children are divided into two age brackets – 5-7 and 8-13. Each age bracket has a select list of books that fit under the theme “Mythical Maze”. These books are carefully selected, and are especially useful to parents who want to know what their children ‘ought’ to read. The main advantage here is that a whole group of children is reading the same books, a kind of temporary book club. This means that they have things in common to talk about and discuss – and the arena for this is the workshops conducted at the library. More than anything, the reading challenge achieves two things:
1) Getting over starting trouble: what to read, where to begin
2) Meeting children with common interests: Many children (and adults) are always itching to talk about books that took their breath away. The reading challenge lets children meet and discuss books to their hearts’ content.

Here is what I have read so far:

Last year, it was ‘Creepy House’; this year, it’s ‘Mythical Maze’. Children in the age-group 5-13 can take part in a fantastic journey through books, discovering selkies, fairies and even the Trojan horse. There will also be three workshops for each age-group, aimed at building confidence and improving expression.

Here are the details of the workshops:

WORKSHOPS

Juniors (5 – 7 year olds)
Timing: 11.00 am to 12.30 p.m.
21 December 2014: “Reading and Role Play” by Varsha Seshan
4 January 2015: “Exploring Mythological Creatures in Indian Stories” by Pervin Saket
18 January 2015: “Myths from around the World” by Varsha Seshan

Seniors (8 – 13 year olds)
Timing: 3.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.
21 December 2014: “Idioms are my cup of tea” by Varsha Seshan
4 January 2015: “Myth Clusters and Buster” by Pervin Saket
18 January 2015: “Myths and Fables” by Varsha Seshan

Children also have the option of attending the workshops but not participating in the challenge.

Register now!
Rs 1500/- per child for Library Members
Rs 5000/- per child for Non-Members (includes a discounted Platinum Membership which will allow your child to borrow children’s books for one year)

Contact the library for more details: bl.pune@in.britishcouncil.org or (020) 41005300

“Do you know who Augustus Gloop is?” I asked.

“A Roman emperor!” responded a boy, promptly.

We all laughed; we could not help it.

Articulate, enthusiastic and full of energy, the children from Vidya Pratishthan’s Bal Vikas Mandir filled Monday and Tuesday with ideas and action.

“Have you heard of Roald Dahl?” I asked another bunch of children.

“He wrote ‘Daffodils’,” came the response.

Spending eight crazy hours with over a hundred children, I delighted in how involved they were with each element of the reading workshop. One session is over, three more to go!

The workshop scheduled for this weekend has been cancelled … My apologies!

This is the first time I have received so many queries about the workshop!

Here are a few more details, just to make things clear.

Reading Workshop for Children

Total duration: 4 hours

I started going to the Poona Club library – no, I never called it ‘United Services Library’ – longer ago than I can remember. I do know, though, that in my head, Poona Club library was the only real library I knew. Not because it had exceptional books. Not because it opened my eyes to books I had never seen. But because it was a silent stone building full of books. A real library.

Thrilled to be conducting a workshop there!

Reading Workshop for Children
Dates: 1st and 2nd November, 2014
Time: 10 am to noon
Age-group: 8-12 years
Registration fee: Rs 500

Contact me if you have any queries!

I met a seven-year-old who could unscramble words faster than anyone I’ve seen.

Apart from my parents of course. My parents have about thirty years of Scrabble practice, though. (That’s over four times the little boy’s age, for those of you who cannot do the math.)

I met another seven-year-old, who was all too willing to give up after trying any given activity for about five minutes and then deciding that he did not understand what to do next.

I met two eleven-year-olds, both quiet, but both totally different.

I hope I meet many of them again, even though the Vocabulary Workshop came to an end today!

The holidays have just begun, and you don’t want to sit in a library and develop your vocabulary.

Yet, the ten children who came to JustBooks Magarpatta City had a crazy, noisy, active, fun morning. Word search puzzles, category games, drawing, acting and speaking – all found their way into two hours. Tomorrow promises to be grand too!

If you would like to join in tomorrow, please contact the library: +91-95615500003.

As Magarpatta City Public School has examinations until the 18th of October, the Vocabulary Workshop for Children has been postponed. Here are the new details:

Dates: 20th and 21st October, 2014
Time: 10:30-12:30
Venue: JustBooks, Magarpatta City
Age-group: 8-12 years
Registration fee: Rs. 500

The last day for registrations is Sunday, 19th October.

Please pass the word! Sorry for the inconvenience …

Registrations for my vocabulary workshop at Magarpatta City close on Friday, 17th October.

Vocabulary Workshop for Children
Dates: 18th and 19th October, 2014
Time: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Venue: JustBooks, Magarpatta City
Age-group: 8-12 years
Registration fee: Rs. 500

Now moving to a new venue – JustBooks, Magarpatta City!

Vocabulary Workshop for Children
Dates: 18th and 19th October, 2014
Time: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Venue: JustBooks, Magarpatta City
Age-group: 8-12 years
Registration fee: Rs. 500

Time flew by at the second day of my vocabulary workshop, so much so that I hardly even took any photographs! It was a day of frantic word-hunting in the dictionary, attempts to communicate an idea with a single word, and word-building.

Here are a couple of pictures, taken before the frenzy began.

“Both my daughters keep saying Varsha didi – Varsha – Varsha … I had to come and see what magic you do with them.”

Probably the loveliest comment I’ve had so far

I can’t decide what I like better – children I’ve met before coming back to me for more, or new children with new ideas and experiences. With word puzzles, team games, charades and drawing, we had a wonderful morning with words!

Contact me if you would like to join in for Day Two of the Vocabulary Workshop for Children at JustBooks, Wanawadi!

Vocabulary Workshop for Children
Dates: 27th and 28th September, 2014
Time: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Venue: JustBooks, Wanowarie
Age-group: 8-12 years
Registration fee: Rs. 500

Workshop Overview:
JustBooks Wanowarie, in association with Varsha Seshan, brings to you a vocabulary workshop for children.

The playground is the best school. In a spirit of healthy competition, children will work in teams and individually to demonstrate their language skills and express themselves.

Workshop Highlights:
1.Building your vocabulary and discovering the joy of new words
2.Individual games and team games to test your vocabulary
3.Theme-based word activities
4.Dictionary usage