Afterschool Today...Make Children's Day Happy for ALL Children!

A day celebrating childhood! Your children will have a great day at school - with games, plays, competitions, and maybe sweet treats! How about a differently pitched programme for afterschool?

As children, they do have a responsibility for other children not as privileged as they are. How about a gentle reminder of this reality afterschool? After all, children's day is not just about feeling smug about yourself - it is about making sure that every child gets a safe, nurturing childhood.

Here are a few resources that can help:

UNICEF has a collection of good online games - children can learn about (and take action - though virtual) issues such as sanitation, water supply, fund raising for development, etc. Here is the link.

For a detailed report on the profile of children in India (health, nutrition, education,...) from the Government of India, click here.

Wishing a truly happy children's day for all children.

Great Geography Resource for Afterschool!

Getting children to explore maps is a great way to get them hooked on to geography, culture, applications of mathematics.... you never know where a map can take you.

Here are some great resources for thematic maps:

The State of Environment Atlas of India put together by Development Alternatives and the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. This atlas has 25 maps in .pdf format including maps showing soil types, water quality, forests, etc. It aso has an interactive map section - but I had no success exploring this - it seems to take forever to get working. The site also has links to the State of Environment Reports of various states. Do take a look at these - they can give children a very good picture of your state's resources, issues and initiatives at conservation. No textbook can come close!

The Census of India has a good section on maps - state maps, thematic maps, etc. Click here for the link to the Census of India's GIS section.

Folk Mathematics for Afterschool!

Remind yourself and your students that math should never lose its meaning!

A beautiful resource to help you do this is Numeracy Counts! a publication of the National Literacy Resource Centre. While it is basically meant for educators involved in adult literacy programmes, it is of relevance to every teacher and learner of mathematics.

The book explores 'folk mathematics' - math that is part of oral tradition, culture, art, language. It contains riddles, games, tricks and stories that are sure to delight. Best of all, as the source of this wonderful material is India's cultural context, it is sure to make you (and your students) get up and look around for more - in the muggus of their homes, in their grandmother's stories, in their kirana shop calculations...

Here is a pdf version of the book for download. Thanks to Arvind Gupta and Vidya Online.

2 October at Afterschool

October 2 is the birth anniversary for Lal Bahadur Shastri - India's second prime minister.

This site from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India has a short biography on his life. It also has a biographical accounts of over 70 great personalities -most of them Indians.

Here is another more detailed account, also from the Government of India.

Gandhigiri for Afterschool!

Tomorrow is October 2 - Gandhiji's birth anniversary. Here are some useful resources to help you infuse some Gandhigiri into your afterschoolers:

A neat set of nine short stories for children by Uma Shankar Joshi

A pictorial biography with interesting anecdotes

And not to be missed: A Pinch of Salt Rocks an Empire

Online books including The Story of My Experiments With Truth

Get the Flag Code Right Afterschool!

The Flag Code of India, 2002 says "where the Flag is displayed in open, it should, as far as possible, be flown from sunrise to sunset, irrespective of weather conditions". While afterschool programs may not be able to hoist the flag, they can help children learn about the proper way to do it in school -

According to the Flag Code of India, 2002:

"The National Flag may be hoisted in educational institutions (schools, colleges, sports camps, scout camps, etc.) to inspire respect for the Flag. A model set of instructions for guidance is given below -
(i) The School will assemble in open square formation with pupils forming the three sides and the Flag-staff at the centre of the fourth side. The Headmaster, the pupil leader and the person unfurling the Flag (if other than the Headmaster) will stand three paces behind the Flag-staff.
(ii) The pupils will fall according to classes and in squads of ten (or other number according to strength). These squads will be arranged one behind the other. The pupil leader of the class will stand to the right of the first row of his class and the form master will stand three paces behind the last row of his class, towards the middle. The classes will be arranged along the square in the order of seniority with the senior most class at the right end.
(iii) The distance between each row should be at least one pace (30 inches); and the space between Form and Form should be the same.
(iv) When each Form or Class is ready, the Class leader will step forward and salute the selected school pupil leader. As soon as all the Forms are ready, the school pupil leader will step up to the Headmaster and salute him. The Headmaster will return the salute. Then, the Flag will be unfurled. The School pupil leader may assist.
(v) The School pupil leader in charge of the parade (or assembly) will call the parade to attention, just before the unfurling, and he will call them to the salute when the Flag flies out. The parade will keep at the salute for a brief interval, and then on the command “order”, the parade will come to the attention position.
(vi) The Flag Salutation will be followed by the National Anthem. The parade will be kept at the attention during this part of the function.
(vii) On all occasions when the pledge is taken, the pledge will follow the National Anthem. When taking the pledge the Assembly will stand to attention and the Headmaster will administer the pledge ceremoniously and the Assembly will repeat it after him.
(viii) In pledging allegiance to the National Flag, the practice to be adopted in Schools is as follows:-
Standing with folded hands, all repeat together the following pledge:
“I pledge allegiance to the National Flag and to the Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic for which it stands.”