108 IDEAS FOR THE SUMMER VACATION. TO FOSTER CURIOSITY, CREATIVITY & CHARACTER IN YOUR CHILD!

1. ideas
13 &
RetroGames
14
s children we played games, many of them traditional, that were
more than just fun. These games were designed to imbue us with
logical thinking skills, strategy-building skills, basic math skills and
more. While we learnt sportsmanship, we simultaneously developed
sensory skills, improved our motor skills, and learnt to be alert. These
games sometimes involved chants or songs that remain forever etched in
our memory. Here is a sampling of some games, which young children are
sure to enjoy.
Postman,
Postman
England
A group of children sit down
and form a circle. One child,
however, is the post man, and
stands behind this circle. She
goes around the circle, swiftly
Keechu keechu and noiselessly dropping a
handkerchief behind a child, even
tambalam as the other children are singing:
Kerala I sent a letter to my father
On the way I dropped it
A great game that is played on the beach or by the river The postman came and picked it up
bank. Two children play this game. They face each other And put it in his pocket
with a mound of mud or sand between them. Looking only
at each other’s faces, one child hides a small object like Once the handkerchief is dropped, the particular child
a shell or stone somewhere in the mound saying Keechu behind whom it is dropped, should sense it, get up and
keechu tambalam, kiya mutti tambalam, machu machu chase the postman around the circle and catch her. If
tambalam, mayya mayya tambalam. she fails to realize that the handkerchief is right behind
The other child has to correctly find the spot where the her, and the postman completes a round, she is ‘out’ and
object is hidden by placing his clasped hands, palms down she becomes the next postman. If she spots the kerchief
over the area where he thinks the object is. The child but nevertheless fails to catch the escaping postman,
that has hidden the object then uncovers the rest of the who manages to sit in the vacant spot left by her, she is
area to reveal if the guess was right or not. ‘out’ and becomes the next postman.

2. ideas
Balance with
nonchalance
AG
R
FO S
E
6+
25 to
Balance is an important physical quality. This exercise
will help your child maintain a
27
good balance:
ASK your child to walk in a straight
line on the floor, one foot in front of the other.
PLACE a book on his head, tell him to look straight
ahead, and walk normally.
TELL him to stand on one leg with his hands spread
apart. Time how long he can stay without swaying.
Ask him if he feels a difference between the right and
left sides of his body. Tell him to try this with his eyes
closed and observe how his perception changes.
FOR
AGES
Connect 10+
with the
core
The deep abdominal musculature and
connected muscles are the primary
posture builders, strength and power
generators and energy enhancers. It FOR
S
pays to know how to keep them active.
AGE
Tell your child to:
INHALE deeply and as he slowly
Foster Posture 8+
exhales, tell him to gently contract the
musculature beneath the navel. He will A good posture is dependent on the vertebral column’s strength
immediately feel the spinal alignment and mobility. This activity will help your child adopt a good posture.
changing and the set of his shoulders Tell her to:
altering. Let him stay focused in this GET on to the floor in a crawling position. Ask her to inhale and
position for a few seconds. look up, while making a valley with the lower back. Ask her to
TELL him to extend this while sitting, exhale and simultaneously tuck chin to the chest and arch the lower
standing or lying down and while doing back, into the shape of a hill.
routine activities like watching TV LET her round her shoulders so that the distance between her
or walking. shoulder blades increases. Then ask her to draw them back, pulling
them close together.

3. 33
idea
History
Mystery
istory can be made fun and interesting if your
child is going to be involved in practical activities
relating to the subject and ‘life’ is breathed into it.
FOR
S
AGE
8+ Me, Myself
& My
m 1978 Family
SIVAM UMA
History is also about you,
b 1952 b 1958
not just kings and queens.
m 1977 Have you ever wondered
NATHAN about the lives of your great
b 1950 - d 2006 USHA
grandmothers and fathers,
b 1957 and did it become too late
to retrieve significant
information about them?
Surely you would want
m 2006 your child to be aware
m 2000
PRIYA of his roots. He will
RAJIV KUNAL
ASHA VINOD be interested too,
b 1980 b 1979 b 1979
b 1984 particularly if he is told
b 1982
that he got his green
eyes from a paternal
grandaunt and that he had
NISHANTH me
NAVYA the same mannerisms as
MANAV
b 2003 his maternal grandfather! It
b 2009
b 2007 will motivate your child to draw
a family tree when he is told that a remote
uncle in the family was an adventurer and
had a shade of notoriety attached to him! So
inspire him to draw one, and learn more about the family.
Depending on his age, you can either help him with this
exercise, or ask him to do it by himself.

4. 35
idea
Tech
omputers and the digital world fascinate children.
The Internet is teeming with websites catering to
your child’s areas of interest. If your child loves
movies and is curious about filmmaking, help her get
to
Tonic
started with the basics of editing with Windows Movie
39
Maker. You can also download ebooks onto your iPad,
Kindle or other digital devices for easy access to your
child’s favourite books. Have fun visiting the sites.
Narration based on everything under the sun like history, science,
health, machine, people and places.
www.storynory.com - This is an online treasure-trove
of free audio stories beautifully read by professional Space
actors. Original stories, poems, fairytales, myths and
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/
histories-you will find them all here. Children of all ages
index.html - If your 6- to 12-year-old child is fascinated by
will soon be hooked on to these stories.
space and astronauts, this is a site that provides reliable
www.kidslearntoblog.com - Blogging is a great way information on space-related topics, as well as games,
for children to express their ideas and get involved in web quests, and even chats with NASA experts. This site
writing. This site is a wonderful resource that provides is maintained by the US space agency that sends people
the latest information on Internet security and safe into outer space.
blogging for children below13 years of age.
It teaches children the best ways to blog Programming
and improve their writing skills. It also
http://scratch.mit.edu/ - This is an engaging
provides links to free blogging sites for
site for budding programmers. Scratch is a
children that support and encourage
programming language that allows children
learning.
to create their own interactive stories,
www.storyjumper.com - Children animations, games, music, and art -
of all ages can script and illustrate and share them on
stories, fairy tales or create treasure the web.
maps and calendars on this site. In
While engaging in this process,
short, imagination is the limit. They
the children will learn important
can publish their stories on the site
mathematical and computational
and read stories written by other
ideas, learn to think creatively, reason
children. The site also teaches
systematically, and work collaboratively.
your children how to write a story.
It is intended especially for 8- to 16-year-olds, but
Exploration younger children can work on Scratch projects with their
parents or older siblings.
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/ - The site
is teeming with activities involving animals, science,
crafts and pets for children 6 to 14 years of age.
Gaming
For the tiny tots, parents can visit http://kidsblogs. www.lumosity.com - This site has been designed
nationalgeographic.com/littlekids/ and help the little ones to ‘improve your brain health and performance’ with
navigate the site. many interactive games like puzzles, logical thinking
programmes, and memory-building games. It is a
http://kids.discovery.com/ - Discovery Channel’s
membership-based site, suitable for teens and adults.
website involves children 6 to 12 years of age in
activities ranging from puzzles to quizzes and games (INPUTS: CurioKidz)

5. 50
idea
Matho’magic
oes your child fear Math? Games, kits and puzzles
help children think logically, explore the underlying
facts and extend these concepts - all in an
enjoyable manner.
FOR
Tic-tac-toe for math maniacs
S
AGE
6-8
ODD OR EVEN MAKE 15
We can play this game using 0s and 1s. Each The players take turns placing
player chooses to place either a ‘0’ or a ‘1’ in the numbers 1 to 9 in each of the
each square. The players takes turns placing squares. The first player to obtain 5 3
7 5 3
their chosen digit in the squares. Before the the sum of 15 using 3 numbers either
start of each game, decide if the winning sum horizontally, vertically or diagonally
1
is odd or even. The first player to achieve it is the winner.
either horizontally or vertically or diagonally is
the winner.
OTHER VARIATIONS
Example: Odd
1 1 The same tic-tac-toe can be played
4
by changing the rules of the game.
0 0 Use the numbers from 1 to 9 to
form mathematical equations either
1 0 1 horizontally, vertically or diagonally
9 5
to win the game.
Even Example: 1+3=4 and 4-1=3
1
This game helps the child practice basic addition and
subtraction.
1
The same game can be extended by choosing a higher
0 0 1 range of numbers and by using multiplication and
division facts.
Alternatively, use digits 1-9 to form odd or
even combinations.

6. 53
ideas
54
&
Nurture Nature
I
only went out for a walk and finally concluded
to stay on till sun down; for going out, I found
was really going in.
JOHN MUIR
Bottle Garden
Don’t throw away the plastic bottles you have at home.
They can serve as pots to keep in your balcony. Make a
coin size hole in the middle of each bottle. Fill the bottles
with manure and mud mixed in equal proportions (you
can get organic fertilizers from any nursery). Fill the
holes by pushing in the seeds of the vegetables you like -
tomato, lady’s finger or brinjal. Water mildly, every day.
Your child will be surprised to see plants growing out of
the little holes. In three weeks, you will have your own
vegetable source.
To feed a family of 4, you will need at least 12
such bottles.
Leaf Art
TAKE a walk in your
FOR neighbourhood.
AGES
OBSERVE the sizes, shapes and
2-4 colours of the leaves around you.
COLLECT leaves of different
For the shapes and colours. Place the
little ones, leaves between 2 sheets of paper g
ies in usin
the obvious and weigh them down between The fun l
FOR – spades,
fun lies in heavy books to dry them out. the tools re
AGES snippers a
watering the rakes and
demand.
7+
CREATE your own leaf art and
plants. use it to make crafts like cards always in
and book marks.

7. idea
64 R
FO S
AG
E
Papier Mache
+ Balloon Puppet
10 Make fun heads and prop them onto sticks or umbrella frames to
make large puppet characters
YOU WILL NEED
Medium sized balloons, Twine/rubber bands, Old newspapers,
Water, Fevicol or Maida paste, Poster paints, Jute rope
HOW TO
SOAK torn bits of newspaper in water.
BLOW a balloon to maximum capacity. Secure with a piece of twine
or rubber band. Remove a bit of soaked newspaper from the water
and smear with fevicol.
PASTE it on the balloon. Keep pasting in this manner till the entire
surface is covered leaving a small gap at the secured end of the
balloon. Let the pasted balloon dry completely in the sun.
ADD more such layers over a period of 2-3 days allowing each
layer to dry completely. Deflate the balloon and remove it from the
papier mache shell.
PAINT a face on the shell. For the hair, attach painted
jute rope strings to the head using cellotape.
TO USE AS A PUPPET
INSERT a sturdy stick or an umbrella frame in the
hole in the head.
FOLD a dupatta into two and using a small portion of the
folded end at the top, make a knot around the stick and shell
to secure the head. The dupatta now hangs like a gown around
the stick, but with an opening or slit. Instead of knotting, you
could also pin or stitch the dupatta.
BEFORE a performance, insert one hand under the flowing
dupatta to hold the stick. This hand should not be visible to
the audience.
THRUST the other hand through the dupatta slit and make
hand movements/gestures. Your moving hand has become the
puppet character’s hand and acts out a role.

8. ideas
65 & Designer Forum
66
f your child loves to design her own clothes
and accessories and ‘imprint’ her stamp on
them, here are some ideas to trigger her
thinking.
Pasta Necklace FOR
AGES
For once, this pasta is not for eating.
Help your little designer fashion her own
6+
necklace with pasta!
YOU WILL NEED
Pasta (Tube), Food Colouring, Zipped bag or pouch, A
string, Scissors
FOR
HOW TO AGES
ASK your child to select the pasta that she wants for
the necklace. T-Shirt Pillow 8+
TELL her to decide what colours she wants to use.
Your children will love to cuddle up with this pillow.
Divide the pasta accordingly and place in separate zip
locked bags.
IN each bag, have her add 3 to 4 drops of the desired
YOU WILL NEED
An old T-shirt, Cotton filling, Needle and Thread
food colouring.
HAVE her seal the bags and shake them well so that the HOW TO
pasta is uniformly coloured. Next, have her add a few
TURN the T-shirt inside out.
drops of vinegar to each bag. Shake the bags well.
LET them sew the bottom of the T-shirt.
NOW open the bags and
leave the pasta to dry NOW tell them to sew the arm holes in the same manner.
completely.
THEN, turn the shirt back, right side out.
HAVE her measure and
NOW, ask them to stuff the shirt, from the opening at
cut the desired length of
the collar of the T-shirt, with cotton. Once it has been
string. She can pass the
stuffed properly, they can sew the collar.
string through the pastas
in a pattern and finally The T-shirt pillow is now ready!
tie the two ends of the
string together. The pasta
necklace is ready to wear!

9. 71 Li’l Chef
ideas
&
72
C
hildren love to eat their own creations. Why not
allow them to blend their own smoothies or make
fun-shaped sandwiches, or decorate those cookies?
Involve them in tasks that they are able to handle and don’t
worry too much about the mess.
Make-your-own-
FRUIT SALAD
PEEL and cut a variety of fruits such as strawberry, kiwi, banana,
mango, apple and orange. Display in individual attractive
containers.
PLACE a variety of toppings such as flavoured
yoghurt, condensed milk, jams, chocolate sauce,
raisins or nuts in small bowls.
EACH child can be given an individual bowl and
toothpicks to choose her fruits and toppings and
customize her fruit salad. Or have your child
create her own yummy fruit salad and serve the
whole family.
Traffic Light-Butterfly-Bunny
COOKIES (makes 20 small cookies)
MIX together150g flour, 75g butter at room temperature, 75g sugar and 1
tsp of vanilla essence. Mix in very little milk (1 to 2tsp) if needed, to hold the
dough together.
ROLL out and use cookie cutters to cut out different shapes of dough.
BUTTER a baking tray and place the cut-out shapes on it. Bake in a
preheated oven at 180°C for 14 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a
wire rack.
GET creative and decorate with Gems, candies or nuts by using a paste of
10g butter at room temperature and 20g icing sugar.

10. The table below matches your answers with a particular parenting
style. Circle the answer you have selected for each question. The
column with the most circled answers reflects your dominant
parenting style.
Question No. Authoritarian Authoritative Indulgent Neglectful
1. a c b d
You may find that you are somewhere in
2. c b a d
between. Or you may congratulate yourself as
3. a c b d
you find your style is authoritative. If you find
4. c d a b yourself to be an indulgent or authoritarian
5. a c b d parent, there is no need to panic.
6. d c b a
There are many instances where non-
7. c d b a
authoritative parents have reared well-adjusted
8. b d a c and happy children. Again, the temperament of
9. b c a d a child may also be a factor in influencing your
10. a d b c parenting style.
11. b d c a Think about what kind of adults you want your
12. c b d a children to become, and make suitable changes
13. b c a d to your style after you have considered all
14. a c d b these factors.
WHAT THE STYLES MEAN
Authoritarian Authoritative (or • Do well at school and social skills and high
Authoritarian parents expect Democratic/Balanced) are happy self-esteem. However, such
their children to follow strict This is the gold standard • Are kind and responsible children may get involved in
rules as they believe in strong of parenting. Authoritative • Become independent- risky behaviour and do not
discipline. Channels for parents lay down the rules thinking adults hold themselves accountable
negotiations are blocked, or ‘guidelines’ and do so in a • Are confident & cooperative for their behaviour.
and if the children break democratic fashion, keeping
rules, harsh punishments are in mind their children’s Indulgent (or Permissive) Neglectful
meted out. viewpoints. They also tell Parents who favour this style Parents who adopt this style
children the reasons behind love their children so much are uncommunicative and
This style of parenting does such rules. Such parents are that they cannot say ‘no’ to unresponsive to the needs
not take into account the affectionate and engaged, anything that their children of their children. While they
views and wishes of the and responsive to the needs want. They are unable to set ensure that their children's
children, and unwanted of their children. But when boundaries and believe in basic survival needs like
child behaviour is severely the situation demands, they having a friendly relationship food, shelter and education
punished. Such parents would will be strict and adopt a no- with their children. They can are met, they are not much
say things like, “Because I nonsense approach. also be unpredictable and attached to the parenting
say so,” “Because I am your inconsistent in their behaviour experience and abdicate
Mom”, or “Because I am Such parents will say, “Fine, towards their children. discipline.
your Dad.”It is believed that let us think through this”,
while children of authoritarian “Let us find more acceptable Parents will say,“We are best According to researchers,
parents often perform well solutions”, or “May be we friends” or “I am not her children of such parents
academically, they are at risk should talk about it and then father but her best friend.” may experience problems in
of becoming adults with poor decide.” Children of such cognition, emotional skills,
social skills and low parents usually: Children of such indulgent attachment, and social
self-esteem. • Are assertive parents often have better skills.

11. ideas
86 Looney Tunes
to
88
M
usic produces a
kind of pleasure
which human
nature cannot do without.”
CONFUCIUS
Make your
Introduce your child to music.
It can be informal and as
own
simple as humming a tune
or listening to the sounds of
Jal
nature. Let him create his own
FOR FOR
Straw
music using these ideas.
AGES AGES
Word
FOR
Flute 8+ Tarang 4+
AGES
and
6+ Press and flatten one end of a Jal Tarang is a classical instrument
straw. Cut diagonally with scissors which creates music by using water
Tunes on both sides of the flat end to form in china bowls. Here’s how you can
Have you a pencil point. This will be the reed make your own Jal Tarang!
noticed that certain words that vibrates to create sound. Blow
have a mood of their own? hard from the other end to hear Take 6 to 10 bowls of the same size
Sing each word in the pitches music. TIP: If needed, shorten the and shape, made of porcelain or
that bring out its character. straw size, and flatten it some more. glass. Fill the bowls with water at
Experiment! different levels. Take two pencils
Experiment! and strike the rims of the bowls
Try singing the word ANGRY in
a really loud voice with a high AS you blow, keep cutting the straw to make different musical notes.
even pitch. Sing happy starting ha to shorten it. Observe the change Hear the notes emanating from the
with a low pitch and taking ppy in pitch. different bowls, and mix and match
to a high pitch. Try sorry to create an interesting tune.
FOLD the straw and snip out a tiny
starting with a medium pitch portion at the folded end to make
and taking it to a really low a hole. The hole will help produce
pitch. a different sound when your child
String together 5 such words blows into the straw. Cut out more
which convey different moods holes along the straw. Open and
to you and sing them in close the holes while blowing to hear
appropriate pitches. different notes.
(COURTESY: Arvindguptatoys.com)

12. 92 Giving Tree
ideas
to
96
hen children volunteer, they get to see how they can actually make a
difference. It fosters in them a sense of gratitude for who they are and
for what they have. Volunteering makes children more responsible - it
teaches them about sharing and caring, hard work and dedication, skills they will
need as adults.
WAYS TO VOLUNTEER differently-abled children who may
feel intimidated by your
Funds for a cause children. This will also
make your children
Encourage your children to set aside a
more responsive
part of their pocket money each month for
to the needs of
a worthy cause. Instead of birthday gifts,
differently-abled children.
have friends and family gift money for a
Lend a hand
charity selected by the child. After a few
months, take out the lump sum and drive
your children to the charity of their choice. Another way to volunteer would be
Let them donate the money for causes to teach younger children. Your
close to them - it could be to an orphanage, 14-year-old son may want to help
a home for the elderly or an organisation the 8- and 10-year-olds in the
that takes care of wounded stray animals. apartment block with their
studies. Or he may want to
Adopt a furry read the Ramayana to his
grandmother in the evenings.
friend If your security person or the
Newspapers often carry ads from help at home has young children
organizations putting up stray pups and who need help with studies,
kittens for adoption. If your six-year-old check with your children if they
child has been hankering for a furry friend would like to lend a helping hand.
for quite a while, take her to the animal
shelter and allow her to adopt a stray pup. Share'n'care
The pup gets a home, your child gets a Find out about environmental
friend for life! programmes nearby where
your child can volunteer.
Friends indeed Ensure that he is keen
Friendships spring from the most unlikely on volunteering; the
places. Your child can be a buddy to spirit of volunteering
an underprivileged child, mentor a slow is lost if you force
learner or spend valuable time with a your child to
differently-abled child. It is important to spend time in such
sensitize your children to the needs of activities.

13. 11
ideas
Water
FOR
AGE
8+ Whirlie
S
&
YOU WILL NEED
Sturdy plastic cup, Hole punch or
12
scissors, String (3 to 4 feet long)
HOW TO
HAVE your child punch two holes under the
rim on opposite sides of the cup.
THEN he should lace the string through the
Marble Coaster holes and tie the ends together so that
the string forms a handle.
THEN he should fill the cup half way
YOU WILL NEED with water and take the cup outside
Foam pipe insulation (the one having 3/4-inch diameter works best), where it is okay to splash.
Scissors, Masking tape, 1 Marble, Paper (optional) HE should wrap the string handle
securely around the hand. He should
HOW TO hang his arm down in such a way that
HELP the child, only if needed, to cut the foam pipe insulation there is six inches of space between the
lengthwise from the middle. The child will have two long strips, or cup and the ground.
tracks, for his marble game. HE should swing the cup back and forth, taking
TAPE the two tracks together to double the length of the original larger and larger swings every time. Then, he
insulation. Be careful before you allow the masking tape to be used should try swinging his arm and the cup in a
on furniture and walls. Tape can pull paint off the wall or the finish circle over his head without
off a table. slowing down.
LET the child set up his marble coaster using the pipe and tape. HE should try to slow down
Encourage him to think about his design. How does it start? Can he without splashing.
design a loop or a corkscrew? How many turns does it have? TIP
HAVE him test each new curve or loop to see if the marble stays SCIENCE BEHIND If he
on the track before he tapes it down. If necessary, he can make THIS masters the
tunnels with paper taped over the top of the track. He can repeat When you spin the water- movement,
this step as many times as needed. filled cup in a circle, the water
NOW he is ready to tape down the track, release his marble and you create centripetal will not fall
watch it go! force. When you spin off the cup!
the cup fast enough, you He can try
SCIENCE BEHIND THIS create something called doing the
The higher he starts the marble coaster, the more potential or centrifugal force, which same thing
stored energy the marble will have. If the marble slows halfway up overcomes gravity. That is with a bucket
a loop or hill, he may need to adjust the loop size or hill height to why the water does not spill of water.
keep the marble going. The start of the track can be raised to give out when the cup is upside In summer,
the marble more energy or to make the loop smaller. If the marble down. Centrifugal force is getting wet
falls off the curves or other places, change the angle and tilt of the natural tendency of a should not be
the track. moving object to continue to a problem!
(SOURCE: Tech Museum of Innovation, California) move in a straight line.