Balmurti

I think this is the only Gujarati monthly of it's kind and not much popular. It's main purpose to spread awareness within parents of little children and teachers about pedagogy and psycology of child. It's small and simple magazine of 25 pages ,no picture,no colour,no glossy pages...in short nothing attractive for today's generation, but material is very useful for parents/teachers. Because principles of education and parenting are no different in any age..."Balmurti" remind us our role by providing articles from Gijubhai Badheka,Taraben Modak,Jugatram Dave and other educationalists from India and abroad. One can find articles related to children & education from Gunvant Shah,Dr. Raish Maniyar,Kiran Shinglot, Dr. I.K. Vijliwala etc. too in "Balmurti".

I strongly recommend to subscribe this magazine for parents and teachers who are sincerely thinking about child's development and especially interested in child psycology.

In India
Yearly Subscription Rs.30 to Rs.50
Rs. 300 to Rs. 500 Lifetime Deposite
For Abroad...By air yearly subsription Rs. 300

Address:-

Balmurti
Nutan Balshikshan Sangh
c/o, Lalbahadur Shashtri Vidhyalay
Harni Road
Vadodara 390 022
Ph. No. 0265-2464451

Creativity

Me and my american friend Joe were at book fair. He suggested me to buy some drawing books for my daughter. My first response was like “She still need to develop patience and need peaceful concerntrated mind before getting advantage of such books”. He is artist (guitar player) and know what is art better than me and explained me “ I have seen her painting and you know what is art,person just express himself ”. Simple words and left me thinking.

After few days I met a famous artist Jagdeep Smart and have talk with him about how could I cultivate my daughter’s interest in painting? He said “ Upto 7-8 year just give her lots of colours and papers and let her express herself completely and then under proper guidance her art will flourish”.

What was situation at School? They have to draw perfact circle,have to fill colours under boundry,have to copy what teacher draws on board. Where is freedom to express oneself? Where is chance to develop creativity? Where is the joy which one experience with Art? At home she loves to draw,colour the way she like and at school she never like drawing!

Where was I? I have given excess books & colours to my daughter from start and she too naturally enjoyed colours. She loves painting. I have always encouraged her to express herself freely. Never suggested colour or never given readymade colouring books. But then I don’t know when I started following school’s rule- forced to draw perfact circle and fill colour properly. I didn’t want that my daughter’s performance look poor.

That’s where all do mistakes-Comparison. According school’s standard she was poor is drawing , I was anxious and confused that is this the adverse effect of freedom I have given? Even though having natural interest for drawing will my daughter fail to develop it?

Probably after homeschooling I come to know my daughter better. Have seen her getting uncomfortable adjusting rigid systems,but truly found her free spirit after homeschooling only. She never like to copy me,always creating something her own way. Never follow instructions about art or craft,always want to do her way. Never like that I pick any craft activity from net.

Then I read Osho’s “Creativity”: Unleashing the Forces Within and found where I was wrong.

Today, she draws when she wants,whatever comes to her mind. Though techanically not so good ,but she express herself completely. More important is we are free and happy-essencial for any art!

Nature!

“You learn science by keeping your eyes and ears open and looking around at this world. The real inspiration of science, at least to me, has been essentially the love of nature. Really, in this world, wherever we see, we see all kind of miracles happening in nature. To me, everything I see is something incredible something absolutely incredible. We take it all for granted. But I think the essence of the scientific spirit is to look behind and beyond and to realize what a wonderful world it is that we live in. And everything that we see presents to us not a subject for curiosity, but a challenge, a challenge to the spirit of man to try to understand something of this vast mystery that surrounds us.”

Prof. C.V. Raman.

Nature & science – When a kid asks thousands questions about everything around him it amaze us. But we hardly think he is trying to find truth – he is not less than a scientist or Rishi. Then under name of learning manners, descipline , safety etc gradually he gets detached to nature. We stop them getting dirty while playing in rain/mud,climbing trees,trying new ways to find something and then those children learn science/environment science- about rain,rainbow,trees,substances etc. in class using books! No they do not learn, they just come to know what other people has found in past,nothing new – any question,any doubt,any discovery added to something which is already searched in past. They remember facts upto exams and then everything disappear. Gradually they loose sight to see world around them and ways to enjoy nature. Do we realize to build scientific attitude we need to preserve our love for nature?

“I tried to get the children,before they opened a book to read their first world syllable by syllable, to read the pages of the most miraculous book of all,the book of nature.”

Vasily Sukhomlinsky

Nature & love for learning- Vasily has written nice book “To children I give my heart”. How he used nature to nurture love of learning in his student is spreaded in this book.

http://www.gyanpedia.in/Portals/0/Toys%20from%20Trash/Resources/books/Vasily.pdf

Just encourage your little one by giving answers to his questions about world around him and see how he continuously ask thousands of questions and spontenieously goes on the path of learning about science and life.

My children already fascinated by Aquarium shop near our home. We have built aquarium few months ago, many different kind of fishes,their life,food,habits etc. Roaming into different shops and meeting different people and talks about fishes has blast love for knowledge regarding fish in them. Moulie has given hundreds of kids first month ! They are trying breeding of more difficult fishes with their father. Feeding and observing for any disease/abnormality in fishes is sole responsibility they took themselves now. Their interest increased from aquarium fishes to other fishes and their life to other marine life to ocean’s on earth!. Trees/plants/flowers around and birds/butterflies/insects coming to garden are too their center of atrraction and always eager to know more. Can easily explain habitat and eco system and how everything in nature connected to and depend on each other. Apart from knowledge their kind feelings for different creatures and their love for nature amazes me.

Why we send our child to school?

Do school really educate them? School may give them certificates,chance to cultivate various extra curricular activities, gives opportunity to socialize. But is it true for all students? Unfortunetly, “No” atleast in India. School where a child can develop love for learning and life instead became a place which is cause of stress and waste of very important years of childhood.

Teachers- their inclination to compare two students is very dangerous to normal development of any child. When teacher calls parent to school and show them workbook of their child along with another good writing work book of other student and tells …look,this is the difference! Or embarrassing moments when teacher/principal says your son/daughter is slow in writing. Slow compare to whom? Does they care for adverse effect it create on child’s mind? When we see their rough behaviour with little children I always remind Osho’s words : primary teachers are sadistic people ! A single good teacher can change student’s whole life, but unfortunetly today rarely one can find a teacher who is dedicated to their profession and understand child. Comparision leads them to partiality in extra curricular activities! For particular problem in child do they communicate with parent and truly try to understand child?

When we have to purchase/repair any electronic appliances or computer we try to know about company/person (technically or as a person) who is going to repair it, but when we go for school and teacher do we really care for it? We never demand to know qualification of teacher.

Curriculam- I strongly believe there can not be common syllabus or common way of teaching any two child. School can not follow their teaching according to student’s interest and speed. They even do not try to adopt innovative ways to teach boring curriculam stuff in interesting way. Curriculam are far from real life and it’s problem/solutions.

Some alternative schools are doing nice but other school are hopeless. They may build career but fail to build concrete character.

A film based on a book Danger:School

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=qhFueNOJyCU

First Post

Hello Friends,

Vipul’s word “just start” clicked and here is my first post.

Being only daughter never seen any infant in home or in close relative…so almost knowing nothing about infant care and all. People had confused me lot by giving different unasked advices. Then started reading books and some really helpful sites and got new direction. And I found Parenting fascinating and challanging job.

Emotional and sensitive nature has made me extra caring mother , but it has given me chance to find creative/innovative ways for parenting issues. Like we were giving Ash bottled milk . The day I come to find how it affect teeth and other negative effects, I have decided to leave bottle within a week. From that day started giving mini choco bar when she ask milk and changed it to popcorn packet after two days and slowly before a week her habit of milk-bottle has gone!

In India elders gives lots of advices to keep infant safe and healthy. Hardly people think about intellectual development at such a small age. I was very much sure to introduce love for reading at early age and brought hard books for Ash at 5-6 month and surfing for good book sites. From Bruno Bear’s site found very important truth about 0-6 year’s importance. Later come to know Madam Mountessouri and Gijubhai, and come to know methods for sense development and how it affects intellectual development.

http://www.multcolib.org/birthtosix/braindev.html
http://www.brainy-child.com/article.shtml

All these readings and experiences tought me that Parenting is very important subject and we have taken it very lightly. Familiar parenting ways are not enough and not even effective. Finding better ways has lead me to endless searching for truths in this subject.

Here I would like to share my journey to parenthood and homeschooling with you all and kindly comment or suggest what you feel.

Thanks,

Sejal