Living Green - Story Project for Kids

Stories and they are fun - imaginative and leading to a fantasy world. "Once upon a time"....and "Happily ever after..." are the happy lines to begin and end. When kids come to the class, they pick up the colorful books and end up reading stories, comics and jokes. Later, they make their Book Journals and jot down all the fancy stories they've read. When encouraged, they narrate the stories in the language they know with the innocent gestures and start flaunting their ignorance and jumble up their own story sometimes.

Each generation has it's own charm. The tech savvy kids of today are no more confined to books nor they love to get engrossed in reading. The concentration breaks after several minutes and they opt for talks preferably willing to connect to you tube and watch a song or talk about facebook. Their thoughts have drifted more to visuals which is more preferred choice of most of the kids today. Television viewing is now shared with time accommodated for facebook and viewing their interesting videos online.

Kids at Swagat engage into Story Project every year during summer or when November Book Month is celebrated. This year, the Story Project is with a difference as Kids will explore their favorite video songs and video stories online. I am sure, you've visited the Fairyland Pages on Kidsfreesouls with Stories by Artie Knapp. Many kids have done the Story Project with Artie's stories. Here's how it goes:

1. Read the stories at Fairyland.

2. Also can read the stories at Stories with Grammar

3. Take a full size Scrap book/Drawing book.

4. Print a story sheet of Artie stories/grammar stories

5. Collect some stickers/story characters

6. In the Drawing book, make a colorful page with title 'Story Project'

7. Inside, write down 'Story Board' mentioning all the stories read.

8. Read the Artie/grammar story and paste the print out.

9. Draw and color the cover image of Artie Knapp's story that you've selected

10. Write the review and mention why you like/dislike the story and moral of the story. eg. There's a crocodile in the Pickle Jar story.

11. Paste stickers of the story characters

12. Mention guidelines from 'How to write a story' and try to write a para or two using imagination

13. Watch a story videos online. The one story video used by Swagat is "Living Green - A turtle's quest for a cleaner Planet"

14. Conclusion - Mention why Reading is important for all.

15. Credits - Thanks for the help while making the Project.

Artie's stories are favorite reads online and great picks for the Story Project. For the visuals, watch the story videos online - "Living Green - A turtle's quest for a cleaner Planet" Artie Knapp’s children’s book Living Green: A Turtle’s Quest for a Cleaner Planet is now available as a free video for kids through StoryCub.org. A shortlist finalist for the national 2012 Green Earth Book Award, Thurman the turtle is tired of seeing the land he loves cluttered with trash and decides to take action.

 "Living Green - A turtle's quest for a cleaner Planet" :Click here to watch through a direct link. 

Story telling is a gateway to the heart. When kids read, they sometimes fail to understand but when stories are told, they eagerly love to listen and drift their tiny minds to float to imaginative world. Stories influence the child and they learn the Moral Values . Read the stories aloud to kids and also find the trouble shooting areas on their reading habits. Make them read, write reviews, know the moral and find what part they like best and why.

- Fairy land Stories | Stories with Grammar | Comprehension stories | Fairy Quiz

Finally, if you're happy reading this blog post and visiting Kidsfreesouls.com, please do follow the NIE Tips on How to use Kidsfreesouls in classrooms. A special Certificate for being a Reading Member of Kidsfreesouls awaits just for "You"- Most Valuable Reader -Download and print here:-)

Kids learnt How to write a Poem

Story telling is a gateway into the heart of a child and I'm sure many of the tiny toddlers would like to listen to a story before they sleep. We have a forthcoming Story telling sessions at Swagat. You can participate by sending your child's paintings/Posters related to stories like Hansel Gretel, Red Riding Hood, etc. for Pasteboard on Kidsfreesouls. Also find Story Projects at Fairyland and await a surprize for a new story coming soon on these pages ! Help children to read a story every day on Kidsfreesouls and encourage to write a review or just narrate the story. Here's on  How to write a Story

Btw, last 21st April, we had a Poetry session in the classroom. Tulsa wrote a wonderful poetry and wrote her blog here.

You can find Krishna's Poetry below. Krishna is in third class and was inspired to write a poem after learning How to write a Poem. Her mom Shridevi Harikrishnan writes, "Sending you a poetry that Krishna wrote after getting inspired of the poetry session at her all time favorite “Saturday Class”… I am feeling very very happy that my daughter is trying to write poems. The title also seems very wonderful…she was in fact sitting in the kitchen and near the exhaust fan, she saw two birds building a nest and she wrote an instant poem.. I don’t know what went through her mind.. Just felt like sharing it with you. I should say that I envy these kids as we never got a chance to go to such wonderful classes."

Here's Krishna's Poetry. I am sure, you will enjoy reading this:-)

The Bird Flies frrrrrrrrrr……….By Krishna

One day when I was sitting in my kitchen, getting bored,

I looked up and down, left and right,

I saw a bird building its nest…

Oh! I thought if I were a bird to fly fly fly up in the sky

Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! I thank you God for making me a girl

Though sometimes I feel if I were a bird….

Would I be happy or sad…. 

Kids eating habits and Obesity

Parents offer the choicest dishes to children especially serving the food that is appealing and not preferably nutritious. It so happens that over busy schedules and exhaustion ends up to stereo-type cooking to serve anything in quick cooking style. Moreover, children often tend to get food in front of television, while playing video game or while playing outdoors. As a result, the attitude goes in for binge eating - A compulsive overeating habit which is almost followed by kids and teenagers, who eat large amount of food and don't stop even after full. There's where you become a food addict and become obese. Moreover, this makes a person feel helpless, hopeless and get those pangs of depression.

Hunger pangs and it's always asking for more. Here's my note on Statesman Blog on this. Btw, here's a newly added Newsweek Health News widget and you can know more on the Worst kids Habits. Gandhiji words refer, 'You are what you eat' - However, here's to say, 'You are where you eat.' So very true. When children are served while watching a television or computer, the brain can be too distracted to know when the stomach is full.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that kids under age 2 have no screen time, and that kids older than 2 watch no more than 1 to 2 hours a day of TV. A study published last month in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine found that cutting kids' TV and computer time by half reduced the amount of food they ate and helped them lose weight. Even, omit the junk food from the plate. Stop the prepackaged meals that is available at malls which come as convenient cooking and stop storing the fatty snacks in the cupboard which are tempting. We can stop obesity spreading it's claws around us and our kids by getting aware of ways to curb the pangs of hunger.

Children need to have a role model and no other than parents can be - They are the best role models so that children follow their message. Practice what you preach and kids follow the steps.

Keep the Faith!

- ilaxi patel
Editor Online, kidsfreesouls.com
Subscribe Ed Posts to read in a reader

Nickelodeon

Are you concerned with Environment? Nickelodeon targets April for the launch of The Big Green Help, its new multi-platform, global pro-social campaign.

The site will include features such as: a personalized questionnaire to track kids' individual and family progress during the campaign; a glossary of environmentally focused terms; daily green tips for kids; a video upload tool that kids can use to share what they are doing to protect the planet; and green games to teach kids earth-friendly activities. Kids can also create green environments in Nicktropolis, Nickelodeon's virtual community for kids.

Well, as Kids get ready for exams here, the site will sure make them too aware as they have lots in store for summer. If you have any concerned question on Environment, read here and send your mails for your queries.

- ilaxi

Inspirational Poet of the Year 2007

And the Kidsfreesouls Poet of Year 2007 is Josie Whitehead - a Yorkshire Teacher who influences children with her Poems on the web. She has embraced the latest technology and meets kids on Skype to read out her poem and interact with classrooms. Here's Kidsfreesouls Poet of Year 2007 - Inspirational Poet Page. Enjoy!

Poets often use the sounds of words to create effects in their poems with the most common method, using words that rhyme. The English Poet Gerard Manley Hopkins used a rhyme scheme in 'Pied Beauty' which goes abcabc dbcdc - a representing the first rhyme sound, b the second and c the third and so on.

We also often have the imagery style which refer to the sensations that language creates in the mind. Sensations of images - appealing to our sense of touch, hearing and visualizing. An American Poet Wallace Stevens has an Imaginery visuals in the stanzas of 'The Snow Man' which refer as 'Crusted with snow', 'shagged with ice', 'rough in the distant glitter' - all make sense the texture of things. 'Sound of winds', 'sound of few leaves' creates images of things heard.

And there is the most common means of creating poetry form is rhyme. Some are standard verse forms and one such form is the Sonnet. The Italian sonnet or the Petrarchan Sonnet. Josie Whitehead has experimented this form in some of her poems and has made use of the Petrarchan Sonnet. This consist of more rhymed lines than any other Sonnet. The Petrarchan Sonnet consist of an octave eight line stanza followed by a six line stanza. The rhyme scheme of the Octave is abbaabba. The sestet (six line stanza) rhyme scheme varies but often is cdecde or abcdcd. This style is influenced by Petrarch, a great Italian poet who had an unparalleled influence on world Literature who wrote more than 400 poems in Italian. Josie also is keen to use the Blank verse consisting of unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter to teach the children. Paradise Lost by John Milton is one example of a Blank Verse.

Well, I guess, children when asked to begin writing a poem, they always are first non responsive but later, make it a free verse - no rhyme scheme, no metre. Firstly, it is important to build a Vocabulary and if this is enhanced, Poetry can be a window to the Student Soul. Find more on Poetry and How to write a Poetry in the Poetry pages. Enjoy.

Btw, here's on Scrabulous - the Online Scrabble game craze leaving Game sellers at loss of word - in NYT.

- ilaxi patel
Ed, www.kidsfreesouls.com
Newspaper for Kids with Resources for Parents and Teachers

Counselling tips

Examination Fever? Here's Tips for Examination in Counselling Column. Get-set-ready to be prepared to face the coming Big E-Days and I am sure, many parents will find the tips useful for their children too.

Find the battle strong if you've the examination blues and follow the Examination tips here on Back To School Pages too.

It is very important to get focused right from the start and if examination blues is worrying the child or even the parent, this means you've procrastinated! Moreover, I find bad hand-writing and lack of confidence among many kids. Exam stress and it's always the Teacher's Revision - a Parent Stress, Kids Stress. Shrug off the blues and don't stress the child to study all the time. Allow time for play and leisure. The emotional well being and physical health needs to be balanced while preparing for exams.

Follow the Road Ahead to Success and Healthy Attitude guide. It's never too late to begin. All the Best.

Btw, a Workshop for was organized and Kirandeep will be sorting your queries for the upcoming exams. If you are interested, please find details here on Counselling Column.

- ilaxi patel
Ed, www.kidsfreesouls.com
Newspaper for kids with resources for parents and Teachers

Time is Money-Budget Time

As I explored the web, here's my post on the Google Adsense Integration with the Feedburner. You can also find the Posts widget here. If you are a webmaster or a Blogger, get on to burn your feeds with feedburner and add the product codes to your site integrated with Google ads.

You can also find more on the India Budget 2008-09 on my Business website here.

And for the kids, Time is Money - Budget the Time. I mean it. Most common answer I hear from kids is, 'Teacher, I had no time for reading as I had school homework to do.' However, if you've a proper time schedule set up with Have to do-What to do-When to do, it's all about planning and doing the right way. Make a list for the day/week and I am sure, children can have fun with lessons, work, play and leisure. Many Parents are also with a Parent Stress and as a result Kids Stress. It is also important to teach kids the value of money and financial responsibility. Here's the Family Kids Education website which has indepth topics on Kids and Money.



Children are curious to know many things and if we guide them the right way, they are the best learners. Next time you give your child an allowance, let him also piggy-bank it. Make him know, It's all about Money, Honey.

Well, here's Kids Page with updates. Enjoy.

ilaxi patel
Ed, www.kidsfreesouls.com
Newspaper for kids with resources for parents and teachers

Footprints on the sands of time

These are the famous lines of an American poet who wrote about the hopes and tragedies of life in a simplistic style with technical expertise.

Lives of great men all remind us, We can make our lives sublime,And, departing, leave behind us, Footprints on the sands of time....

Born on February 27, the Poet is none other than Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Here is the Profile in Literature Pages. However, here's an interesting site for all Teachers as the Poet's Life is still offering lessons in the Classroom and the Teacher has an innovative way to teach History as well as make the students learn English Literature.

You can also find an interesting Picture Gallery of the House where Longfellow lived. Enjoy!

Btw, Let me guide you to the newly re-done page. I had noticed a shabby download on my iphone and so maybe here's a small change for quick access of this Ed Desk-main.htm page. Sometimes, too many cooks spoil the broth but it also happens that a single person with a simple brain can be Jack of all trades but master of none - That's exactly what I have experienced as I write, design, upload, manage, maintain, host and market Kidsfreesouls. Do send me your feedback or any columns you'd like to see more. Your comments and suggestions are welcome.

- ilaxi patel
Ed, www.kidsfreesouls.com
Newspaper for Kids with resources for parents and teachers

Literature Profile

W.H. Auden, an English born poet was born in York, England, in 1907 on 20th Feb. He made a remarkable contribution and best known for variety of his works W.H. Auden has written the best ballads, blues, limericks, sonnets, nonsense verse, oratorios, free verse, librettos (words) for operas and dramas.

Here's the Profile for adding to the Literature Scrap Book. Also find, selected poems of W H Auden on Google Search above. And find Quotes of Auden in Quotes Pages.

Well, the last year batch of my Students made a Literature Project. They selected their Literature Characters as John Keats, Robert Browning, William Wordsworth, Lord Alfred Tennyson and Percy B Shelley. It was a difficult Project for them, nevertheless, they collected all the information from the Library Books and added to their Project file. They got to know all the terms used in Poetry - the kinds of Poetry and How to make a Poem too. Here's the Poetry Learning Page and you can Bookmark to find more here in the Kidsfreesouls Poetry Section.

Btw, if you want to make Students to do a Literature Project online, here's My Hero where you can Participate. Guide the children to gather contents and add to My Hero. Well, Find My Hero - Robert Burns here and you can take a Printer Friendly Version to add to your Literature Profiles Scrap Book.

Freak in more to find more poetry and stories on Kidsfreesouls - coming soon! Enjoy!

- ilaxi patel
Ed, http://www.kidsfreesouls.com/
Newspaper for Kids with Resources for Parents and Teachers

Sidney Sheldon

Born on 17th February 1917, Sidney Sheldon left this world last year on 30th January, leaving a huge fan flow behind him. A crazy fan of Sid books, I have a collection of all his Books and even re-read when I am in a pensive mood.

Sidney Sheldon's first Book, The Naked Face was turned down by five different Publishers but finally, sold to William Morrow Company and it became a critical success which earned him Edgar Allan Poe Award! However, it was The Other Side of Midnight that made him a Best Selling Author. Sidney Sheldon's Novels are published in 51 languages in 180 countries. He always referred, "I try to write my books in such a way so the reader can't put them down" He use to dictate 50 pages a day, corrected next day and continued till he churned out a story with 1200-1500 pages with several re-writes.

Sands of Time is ever my fav read. However, here's some reviews on the Author Profile page.
Btw, you can find Guardian of Angels articles Translated to Romanian Language on the World of Parents 'scoalaparintilor.ro - Romanian site. The links on kidsfreesouls main. For the English versions, you can find the same there. Enjoy.

- ilaxi patel
Ed, www.kidsfreesouls.com
Newspaper for kids with Resources for Parents and Teachers

Android & Apple's iphone

Google recently provided internal data to New York Times mentioning that Traffic poured in to Google more through Apple's iphone. Google shares a lot of love for the new age phone as even Google Founder Sergey Brin mentioned of using iphone for his personal use. The Google Maps on the iphone and the You Tube are the two best features with the mobi domains coming up to cash in more to Google adsense mobile ads. But than, the Google's own Android is much awaited to offer more features I hear and even Microsoft acquires Danger Inc. which offer handsets and best mobile experience.

Well, when I got to use the iphone, it's been a happy surfing Google which provide great search as well as checking on websites at leisure. I guess, this can be a best gift for a Valentine if your partner is a tech user and of coz, the iphone codes can now be cracked over here with the Apple's exclusive store offering all it's products including even the savvy mobile covers. But, ask me and I would look forward to get an Android - ahead to be with times as you can watch the video on You Tube on Kidsfreesouls.

Btw, here's MSN Contribute where you can log in to write and even blog the posts. You can find my article 'Emotional Switchboard which I posted last year.

- ilaxi patel

Ed, http://www.kidsfreesouls.com/
Newspaper for Kids with Resources for Parents & Teachers

Monthly Project

30th January and it was Gandhi Nirvan Day or call it, Martyrs Day too.

The vedic verse chanted at Gandhiji’s Funeral pyre:In the midst of death, life persists, In the midst of untruth, truth persists, In the midst of darkness, light persists, Hence I gather that God is Life, Truth, Love. -Mahatma Gandhi

And today, we find in the news, the controversy that hovers round what words Gandhi said when Godse killed him. Whether he said, "Hey Ram' or whether his last words were "aah" as Godse mentioned.

Whatever, the light has gone from our lives but we still have the Inspirations and teachings of Gandhiji. However, so difficult to adhere to the rules of Gandhian living in today's time! Here's Gandhiji pages on Kidsfreesouls Literature.

Btw, February is the month for Children Dental Health and also for all the fluttering souls, the Valentine month. Most noteworthy is February stand for the American Heart Month. While we exercise, it's most important to know the difference between being healthy and being fit. Many of us are fit but not healthy and the vice versa. You can find the February Month Project and February calendar too.

And, Here's a note I just wrote on my Statesman Health Blog after a long period. Keep Fit, Keep Healthy!

- ilaxi patel
Ed, www.kidsfreesouls.com
Newspaper for Kids with Resources for Parents and Teachers
Author of Guardian of Angels

State of Fear

Author Michael Crichton's Birthday was on 23rd Oct. Best known for Jurassic Park and State of Fear. Jurassic Park has ever been the all time favorites but State of Fear - call it a techno thriller with an alarm note on Global warming. A student of Harvard medical student, Michael Crichton wrote ER, the popular TV medical drama based on his experiences in the emergency room. People's magazine listed him in 50 people list as most Handsome person. In "State of Fear," environmental groups set off terrorist acts to focus attention on global warming. He thinks, researchers who study global warming often exaggerate the problem in order to get grants, often using celebrities to promote their cause. Quite Obvious!

People from all walks of life can play a role in slowing global warming by advocating for smarter government policies, better corporate practices, and informed consumer choices. This reminds me to mention on 'The Blog Action Day' marked for 15th October 2007 had a wonderful response with over 20,603 Blog Participation, 23,327 Blog Posts and over 14,631,038 RSS Readers. And here, Bloggers who united spread the message of Actions to be taken to save environment. Green allowed Al Gore to win the Nobel Prize. Celebrity Stars shine out to support the cause. However, this has been the Internet Power to speak for a cause. Only remains to see who follows the actions! Well, Here's the five year long Earth Talk on Kidsfreesouls.com in English and Spanish - If you have any question to ask, just send across.

- ilaxi patel
Editor, www.kidsfreesouls.com
Author of : Guardian of Angels

Amar Chitra Katha

In my earlier note, I recommended Amar Chitra Katha as it spreads awareness about Indian culture. Amar Chitra Katha is full of colorful pictures, simple language and easy narrative with Mythology and folk tales of Ramayan, Mahabharata, Panchtantra, Jataka Tales, etc. Panchtantra tales attempts to teach how to understand people, how to choose reliable and trustworthy friends, how to meet difficulties and solve problems through tact and wisdom, and how to live in peace and harmony in face of hypocrisy, deceit and pitfalls in life. The Akbar and Birbal stories are full of wisdom and wits whereas Bhagat Singh, Rabindranath Tagore, Shivaji, Arjuna, Krishna, Shiva, Mirabai and many more, inspire the kids. Amar Chitra Katha reveals the 5000 years of India's mythology, history and legend packed in volumes. Uncle Pai is the soul behind these tales and you can find his website here.

In Swagat class, most of the children have read Amar Chitra Katha and we have actual sessions of Book reading since quite a number of years! Apart from this, kids read the Archie comics, Fairy tales, stories for children and even the classics. Later on, the kids get to narrate the story, write the reviews. Sometimes, this is difficult but nevertheless a try. The kids get Quiz questions from these Amar Chitra Katha books and divided in groups, they sort for the answers. Many past students must be remembering the Gandhiji Quiz and how they looked into pages of all Gandhiji books in the library to find the answers. Refreshing memory of yester years is always so memorable too. And as teachers, we get the Stars - feathers in our cap!

Well, meaning to say - Make the class interesting and we have a learning session in progress. Like we have learning sessions every day as we explore the web! Finds Tips to use Kidsfreesouls and News in classrooms Here. Enjoy!

- ilaxi patel

Editor, http://www.kidsfreesouls.com/

Newspaper for Kids with Resources for Parents and Teachers

Author of : Guardian of Angels