Category: Blogs

How does one enhances the process of justice?” Simple – Use MI. Here is our story of Open House at O-campus, Aarohi life learning. Open house is the place to file cases on each other for any problem – behavior responsibility, beating, not giving chocolate – you can file a case here. Well, the kids…

These days one labour is helping us in making road in the campus and cleaning up the whole area around ambrosia (Aarohi kitchen). One day, we briefed him about the work we needed from him and he immediately started working. After one and half hour, I went to just see how the work is going.…

This week I was available in kitchen. Two children were in to cooking that week. They arranged barbeque, made water melon juice. One of the days, they decided to make paneer butter masala. Both of them were very excited. They came to me and asked the recipe. I told them the recipe. They came to…

This was different experience for me. First time children were working on putting up a stall. Few summer camp children were also part of the stall. We started with planning; stall details- where to put? What all do we need? How many days we will run the stall? Finance: How to decide price? How to…

We were exploring strengths last week. One of the days we shared our strength in form of riddle. Following are different riddles we shared with each other: I have a king in me, I am not soft, I work but cannot move, I bring out amazing results. (Hard working) When I am open, I do…

As an outdoor we went to new place. We were looking for some cave whose information was collected during the history camp. Finally we spotted the place. We started going up. The place was on the top of the hill. We started climbing. Few of the children were feeling hungry. We were carrying our breakfast…

If I have to finish this blog in few lines. I would write. ‘Let your child decide what he/she wants to learn. Then let your child decide what your role is in his/her learning. E.g You be his ATM, security guard, resource provider (e.g internet, material etc), driver, coach (only if he wants it) etc.…

Overheard this converstaion of my daughter who is 8 yr old now. By the way, she started aarohi at the age of 2. Yesterday she came back from her friends place and immediately called her friend on the phone. First she apologized for breaking something and mentioned that her intentions was not to break it…

This week we were exploring “question” – it was all about kind of question we asked, the images we have about questions, our beliefs about, response to questions, question to think or to respond and so on. Few poems on questioning written by some of us (kids and adults together) Me and you. Oh! questions,…

None taught them, we did not plan any activities, we did not tell anyone what to do and how to do but we all did lot of new things, few challenging, some boring and some exciting too. The week began with stimulation on “I am able”. Through group activities we explored what constraint does, some…

It was 12:30 in the noon. Few children were in the process of thinking what to do next? Few approached me and asked me what all they can do.I asked them what they would like to do? What is their marazi? They came up with idea of fishing. And our journey of fishing started. Now…

It was first day of camp. In the morning, children decided to sleep in the terrace. The whole group was busy taking beds upstairs. One bed was almost 5 kg weight. They took that without labour’s help. I was amazed to see the whole process. They washed mosquito nets, came out with hanging system for…

Today in math club one group decided to play multiplication games, other group of two decided to solve math problems given by others and one girl decided to find out area of depdha. One is busy scratching her head to solve puzzles given by others and enjoying the challenge. Other is busy finding area using…

This week was about “multiple intelligence”. Every day we reflected on different aspect “how differently we did the same activity, how in a day we created new learning and which intelligence we used to create the new learning. What learned using the same intelligence and for which activity used different intelligence and so on. At…

Two kids from a Mumbai NGO are planning to visit Aarohi next week. NGO, Kranti empowers girls from Mumbai’s red-light areas to become agents of social change. This brought the discussion on what is red light area? What is body business? Why will someone like to do that? Why kids beg? What is kidnapping? Where…

This is the first year when we are exploring different format of holidays and that demanded change in the way we look at holidays. I had my own apprehension about “how will I change my frame of mind to work during holidays (so called). What about my mental break? What about my rest? What about…

Narrator – I am telling a bit of history of the common village, Kelmanagalm. I went there to understand the history – once a modern civilized man and an ancient man was having a fight. Ancient man said “do not underestimate the power of the wood.”.Modern man – our plywood is also wood and it…

On our ride I went to a lake and wondered how the lake was made and why are the small island made. And imagine if there was a palace under. I observed different kinds of things – mud and brick. Mud walls were standing straight, some walls were falling down. On our ride I went…

Most of the time I am amazed with what kids share about themselves. It is also an opportunity for me to know how different kids work. After every reflection, I know more about kids. Here is what some of them shared…………. Its very happy moment when I achieve what I wanted in just a one…

Making poem was never so easy. One child was making a greeting card. She wanted to write messgae in the card. I gave words like wind, sun, feeling and her own name – she made the sentences and poem was created. ‘Wind is soft, Tree is shaking, wind is making me warm, my name is…

Few kids wanted to learn knitting. It was fun to see how each one was learning in different style. One wanted to observe how am I doing, One came and asked me to tell different steps verbally. One wanted to first understand it logically – how loops are made, what is the role of thread…

One child started with “capitals of country”. She asked peers about the capitals they know. While she was doing this, I just gave her a book of flags – the book had many countries and capitals and visuals of flags. She was engrossed whole day exploring . Next day I was working on civilization and…

A day at campus with two dancers – Kathak and Odissi, Two D’jambe players (african drums). The day began with excitement and soon it was teaching the steps and after some time all the artists were inside and kids were exploring. Well, this was not the objective – it was purely to create a learning…

I was talking to caretakers and asked them to not to address me “madam”, instead can call me akka, if not want to call by name. She immediately refused by saying “you are educated, you can also teach children, you are only madama”. I tried explaining “me and you are same in different ways, you…

One child was making natural perfume. She added fresh flowers, flour and hot water – it became gooey . She packaged and labeled “glue” Another child was making natural colurs. She took some glue coming out of the trees, added with grinded stone, this also turned into glue and she is using for her craft…

Food – Tiffin items like idly, dosa, onion dosa. The competition is on the quantity, not about quantity says one of the restaurant owner at Kelmangalam.. One can see market invaded with Kellog’s chocos, kurkure. Bingo chips and at the same time local chips, local bakery items like rusk, murruku and mixtures are available. One…

Kelmangalam from a child’s eye On our ride I went to a lake and wondered how the lake was made and why are the small island made. And imagine if there was a palace under. I observed different kinds of things – mud and brick. Mud walls were standing straight, some walls were falling down.…

Narrator – I am telling a bit of history of the common village, Kelmanagalm. I went there to understand the history – once a modern civilized man and an ancient man was having a fight. Ancient man said “do not underestimate the power of the wood.”.Modern man – our plywood is also wood and it…

When I was designing the KAA for Kelmangalam, I was pretty apprehensive on how will kids take the videos of Bharat ek khoj and Chankaya? I kept the videos just to stimulate and then I was pretty open for rejection. Kids were hooked on to both the series and had intense discussions. Sometimes I wonder…

How do you know “When does a paragraph end?” – one child asked me today. He continued,- I am writing a book and I want to know, how do writers decide when to end a paragraphs. He took one thick book of “bharat ek khoj” and shared loudly-“I know when a paragraph ends – suppose…