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LC Newsletter 87; Yr 22-23

30 Sept 2022

Dear Parents,


We had a very interesting week and had a lot to learn. There were moments when we felt joy, a blip of assurance that this is working, a shadow of self doubt and moments of exhilaration. Overall this means there is never a bad day in LC!

Here’s what we were upto…


Judiciary

For a long time we have been discussing disassociating consequences and housekeeping. Like we can’t measure everyone with the same yardstick we can’t give consequences the same way. It also has to be something that is constructive for the self. So we asked everyone what it is that they find difficult in doing. Everyone mentioned an array of problems and we converted them to their individual consequences. For example few of the consequences were: not seeing AV for a week, eating vegetables that they do not like, eating fruits every day, making food for everyone, staying away from your best buddy, doing HW during play time, eating food an hour earlier than everyone else, eating rice with dal, etc. Hopefully now taking consequences can become productive.


At Chalshiksha, adolescents saw a movie on Puvidham (a school in Tamilnadu) where kids do the entire cleaning, which included sweeping, mopping, cleaning the kitchen and toilets. Inspired by this they wanted to try this in LC. This came as an unwilling chore for the majority of the kids. But then all of them started debating the pros and cons. Some of the comments were, “this would lead to removal of Sanjeevani Mausi, which will be bad for her finances”. “We will now appreciate the work she does for us”; “If we do this at home then why not here”; “We will not get enough play time”. But nobody said that it is a bad idea. No one mentioned that this is not what they are here for. Nobody said it is not the right thing to do. Barring a couple of kids, everyone voted for it after the discussion. We think the major block in their minds were to do with not getting enough time to play if they spend time cleaning. Let’s see how long this continues.


Circle Time

We have decided to come at 8:30 am from next term onwards. This will give us enough time to do different activities like, warm ups, visit to the garden, reading newspapers, cleaning up or even play. Sessions will begin as usual at 9.30 am.

Library books to be put back in its place which is on the shelf. It's a matter of habit so let's be conscious of that.

A 9 yr olds mentioned that facilitators are partial towards blossoms. They questioned, why do they get special privileges? Shouldn’t they be treated equally? There was an incident where all the pups rallied against one 5 yr old for not cleaning up, and facilitators intervened and helped. We asked them to keep patience and asked them a simple question, do your parents treat you equally? They said yes. Then do they expect you to earn your own money? Skills, experience and knowledge matter. And some of these things come with age.

A proposal to watch horror movies was tables (or floored, since we sit on the floor). Everyone agreed as long as it fits within the purview of LC rules which are, no sexual content, not more than 60 mins, above all 5 yr olds have to be kept away.


Sessions

We have wrapped up all our sessions and have summarised what we have learnt. Next week onwards we start preparing for the Funfair on 22nd Oct. This is our new gig, we hope to continue in alternate semesters.

Also as part of the Finance/Entrepreneurship session kids are putting up their lemonade stall next week. For once I hope it's sunny and sweltering. Please pay them a visit on monday, wednesday and thursday.


Reviews/Assessments

Almost all of them have completed their self reviews. If you have not yet had discussions with your child then kindly take time and do it over the weekend. Things to remember while talking are about how they evaluate their own performances. Goals they set for themselves were achieved or not. Did we as parents facilitate?


Module

Limangi came yesterday with her magic and her 2 yr old bundle of joy, Avyu. She is here to conduct a module for 3 Fridays. The latest trend is the “Pasoori” song which kids are singing while on the jungle gym, playing cricket, while eating, waiting, etc. There’s a 5 yr old who knows the song with lyrics. And oh, did I mention the magic is her voice?


Friday Food

Rava uttapam with mixed vegetables. This activity has become more streamlined now. The food managers were not the most compatible pair. They had different opinions and were bickering with each other about who had to do how much. But that's why they were picked up, incompatible individuals working on a project together.


Guests

Rahul is not a guest but he came to deliver a guest lecture on Insurance for our biggies. He delivered a super fun lecture. Kids were cracking up at his analogies and jokes about weird things people insure. He told us about the history of Insurance and how it makes sense financially. I personally learnt a lot.


Rakhee Chhabaria is a special educator for Autistic children. She came to visit and had a chat with us about our philosophy. She also played chess with a few of them.


Reminder for coming week

Request to send your responses on goal reviews asap.

On Friday, gymnastics is going to begin at 08:30 am.

Fun-n-fair is on 22nd Oct, 10-1 pm.


That's all for this week. Until next time…