Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Interesting Stuff – 2

Today we will talk about couple of our crappy but green friends. 😛

Gobar Times not only has an interesting name but the work they do is also quite fun (fundung as they would put it). It is an initiative of the Centre for Science and Environment and the Global Schools Program is doing some nice work to get school students to become eco-friendly. Being eco-friendly is not just a fancy thing to be – we feel it is as important as teaching the kids to do their addition, read A,B,C and speaking the truth. Gobar Times has some cool sections and is available in the e-magazine format as well. Do check it out. (Hat tip to Sanasi K)

Our other green friend that we would like to introduce to you is dailydump. Dailydump is based in Bengaluru and are doing great work in tackling some of the critical problems of  urban India – like waste management. They have some nice designs for pots to be used for composting and also provide lot of tips which will help you and me contribute our bit to solving the problem of waste disposal. The best part is – when we solve the problem, we not only address the problem (waste disposal) but we get something good to help us in another area (manure for plants, support for potters). They have distributors in quite a few cities in India and can help you get started immediately.

Wishing you all a colourful Holi, a blessed Good Friday and a happy Easter.

Monthly InGenius meet-up

We have been thinking about this for some time now and finally decided to act! Yay!

We create lot of interesting content – quizzes, workshops and also come across LOT of interesting content created by others (TED talks, books, websites, apps, games, a new hobby, presentation style like pecha kucha) which are not just to be shared but also actively discussed and worked upon, with – yes, you guessed it right, kids. We had been dithering on scheduling something regular because we wanted to get it perfect – a cool venue, projector, accessible to parents, we wanted to get the timing right etc. etc. Then we figured out that the great stuff and the kids shouldn’t be denied each other because of stupid reasons like infrastructure. While we will continue to share stuff online on our blog with the Interesting Stuff series of posts and we will also have our more formally defined workshops like Summer Camps (incidentally our April batch is starting on 15th April – the official announcement will be up very soon), we are going to start our monthly meet-ups which we call InGenius meet-ups. While the agenda is not going to be set in stone, you can be assured that we don’t do anything without an objective or an outcome in mind 🙂

So what will be the outcome from the InGenius meet-ups?

Children will become

  • better informed about the world around them
  • better equipped to work on ‘projects’
  • better judges of what they are good at and what they like
  • more inquisitive
  • better communicators.

We may eventually have a TEDx of our own!

So how will an InGenius meet-up look like?

We’ll have ~10 participants at a cafe/meeting room/classroom. One facilitator will come along with a laptop. We’ll show a video/website/game/app/article/news item/presentation which will be the central theme for the day. And then the participants will drive the remainder of the meet-up. We could simply discuss and debate the Israel conflict, we could answer questions of a mythology quiz, we could learn to present using Prezi, we could discuss the chances of Pune FC in the football league. The facilitators will look to challenge the participants in every which way and try to get them to ‘take things forward’ e.g.create a Prezi on your favourite topic, write a Wikipedia page on each player of Pune FC, create a working model of a battery operated aeroplane. There will be considerable project work that will be required to be done outside the meet-ups. Things are not going to be mandatory but (I hope) there will be social pressure to fulfill commitments made to team-mates.

The group will decide what we work on. We will only give pointers to what we can offer.

Who is invited?

Anyone in the age-group of 8-14 years. You want to learn; you want to share what you know.

Who is not invited?

  • Parents who can’t handle a child who questions status quo (You must think this through. It is not easy to answer a child who questions stuff you have learned to accept without giving a lot of thought)

Logistics

We haven’t decided on the venue yet. For starters, we are looking at Baner/Aundh areas. We’ll be happy with any restaurant/CCD kind of a place that is decently accessible. We are looking for options – so please suggest if you know of any place.

Venue: Cafe Peter Donuts, near Gaekwad Petrol Pump, Aundh, Pune.

Date: 16/03/2013

Time: 10:30 AM to 12 noon

Charges: Whatever the owner asks – could be 1 donut each/1 iced tea for the facilitator/mention on this blog. All we’d recommend is we should be nice to the owners for allowing us to use their facilities. We should be able to get started with a group-size of anywhere from 1 to 10.

How do you register?

Drop us a mail on harish(AT)tenderleaves(DOT)com or leave a comment. We’ll get back to you.

My Olympic Quotient

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Tender Leaves conducted My Olympics Quotient – a series of workshops involving a myriad of activities ranging from creative writing to vocabulary building, mind mapping sessions, improving presentation skills, encouraging philately and highlighting Indian culture through Olympian ages. These activities were designed to enhance a child’s interpersonal and intra-personal skills.

As part of first day on December 1, there was a fun-filled introduction to Olympics with interesting activities of Map pointing and guessing the continents. The children also got an Olympic Diary which had activities, information to read, and loads of trivia to keep as a personal souvenir. There were a few take-home activities such as gathering information about the Olympic venues, Olympic rings and a special event from each Olympics. The objective was to build in the participating children essential life skills such as Perseverance, Curiosity, Critical Thinking, Reflection and Presentation.

As part of day two, the various games covered in the Summer Olympics were discussed. Information about the host countries was discussed and the games were grouped into different categories such as track & field, aquatic using pictorial representations. Children were also introduced to the world of anagrams. The objective of doing all these activities was to build in them the essential life skills like Creativity, Critical thinking, Reflection, Ability to communicate effectively and Work in Teams.

On day three, children not only learned about Venues, Hosting ceremonies but also made a pitch for India at 2020 Olympics! Children were grouped in teams to pitch for India as a host country for Olympics to be held in 2020. They created Logo and Mascots for the Games and discussed how infrastructure and funds would be improved and decided who will chair the IOA (Indian Olympic Association) team! As a home activity, children had to answer the question: If India were to host Olympics, what would you think would go into the Opening ceremony?

The fourth day of the session comprised of learning to write Acrostic Poems, Glimpse of India at Olympics, Memory Game and Mind Mapping and My Olympic Pledge! Children were taught why it is necessary to have rules and follow them in a game, how rules are formed and changed with time.  As part of the session the children learned, recalled all critical details about Usain Bolt through a Mind-Map presentation.

On the fifth day, the session comprised of Movie watching, Sports, Fun, Learning, and Review Writing! They watched Chak De India – a delightful story of Indian Women’s Hockey team winning the World championship for Hockey. The children were guided to watch out for background score, the camera shots, the acting skills, direction style and editing of the movie. Children were given basic tips on writing movie reviews. There was a home activity to make a mind-map and write a review of Chak de India.

The sixth day of the session comprised of stamps, philately, autograph hunting, magic and lots and lots of fun! Children not only learnt about the importance of stamps, history of stamps, different types of stamps, but also the fun behind stamp collection or philately, the joy in pursuing hobbies and how commemorative stamps of Olympics are of special value. Magic with the hat, stamp collection and exchange with friends were an added bonus to the fun session.

My Olympics Quotient  was about giving the children a chance to be creative and yet learn a great deal, giving them encouragement and enthusiasm to carry it on into later life.

Book Reading – Vikhe Patil Memorial School

On 31st Oct & 2nd November, TenderLeaves organised a book reading session and other fun activities for the students of Vikhe Patil Memorial School, Lohegaon, Pune. The participants, aged between 5 to 9 years, were split into groups of 60 students each. Ms. Priyanka Maurya from TenderLeaves read from books such as Little Black goes to the Circus, Curious George goes to a costume party etc., to the children and got the children involved in fun games to draw a few characters from the books being read, spelling words from the story and other group / individual activities. This session was thoroughly enjoyed by the children and was graciously welcomed by the School principal, Mrs. Mrinalini Bhosale and the staff community.

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TenderLeaves Classics – Books worth collecting at TenderLeaves

Sometimes it isnt enough to borrow a book. There’s always that timeless classic that you want to actually possess, not just borrow and return.

TenderLeaves presents TenderLeaves Classics – we offer for you handpicked selections of timeless books. These collectors’ works are more than worth the investment you put into them – and they’re up for sale at TenderLeaves.

Below are the selection of our handpicked books. Go on, pick one for your bookshelf. To order one of these, just write in to harish@tenderleaves.com

(while you are at it, do drop in at the TenderLeaves stall at the Pune Book Fair for book bargains, fun events and much more. You can read more about the event – or RSVP on our Facebook page.)

Sr. No Name Of Book – Author Amount(Rupees) 10% Off  Net Amount (Rupees) Image
1 M.F Husain – Pradeep Chandra 4500 450 4050  
2 Mapping India – Manosi Lahiri 4500 450 4050  
3 Sunderbans – Biswajit Roy Chaudhary/Roy Biswas 1250 125 1125  
4 Rivers of India – Sunil Vaidyanathan/Shayoni Mitra 2900 290 2610  
5 Dilli’s Red Fort – N.L.Batra 1500 150 1350  
6 Wit and Wisdom – Mushirul Hasan 795 79.5 715.5  
7 Indian Art and Culture – Utpal K Banerjee 2495 249.5 2245.5  
8 Akriti To Sansriti – Harsha V Dehejia 2500 250 2250  
9 Rabindranath Tagore A Pictorial Biograghy- Nityapriya Ghosh 1500 150 1350  
10 Nirad .C. Chaudhuri – Dhruva N Chaudhari 1250 125 1125  
11 Bismillah Khan – Juhi Sinha 795 79.5 715.5  
12 Wild Wonders – Biswajit Roy Chaudhary 850 85 765  
13 Tagore’s Paintings – Sovon Som 1250 125 1125  
14 Indira Gandhi – Suraj ‘Eskay’ Sriram 495 49.5 445.5  
15 Satydev Dubey – Shanta Gokhale 495 49.5 445.5  
16 Chittorgarh – Dharamendar Kanwar 795 79.5 715.5  
17 East Coast – P.K.De 595 59.5 535.5  
18 Mutiny Memoirs – Mushirul Hasan 395 39.5 355.5  
19 The Honest Always Stands Alone – C G Somiah 395 39.5 355.5  
20 Things Indian – William Crooke 795 79.5 715.5  
21 Gupp & Gossip from the Hills – Ganesh Saili 395 39.5 355.5  
22 Walking Through Fire – Randhir Khare 395 39.5 355.5  

TenderLeaves organizes book exhibition at Saama Technologies

TenderLeaves held a book exhibition for Saama Technologies Pune. The idea was to give quick access to books for folks who could buy books in their office – without traveling to a bookstore or waiting for delivery from an online store. We had classic books for employees – and we had activity books for kids of employees.

We expect to hold such exhibitions for other schools and companies soon. If you’d like to buy books that you typically don’t see in our catalogue (collector’s items, coffee table books, reference books etc.), or if you’d like  us to hold an exhibition at your workplace, school or college, write to us today at harish@tenderleaves.com

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My Olympics Quotient – 10 weekend sessions, 25 fun-filled activities, Fan Shooting @ Gun for Glory Academy, Baner & rendezvous with an Olympian!

Do you have dreams for your kids?
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Do you want your kids to achieve much more than what just books have to offer?
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Do you dream of your kid making it BIG and making you proud?
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More importantly, does your kid have dreams?
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What are we talking about?
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The obvious answer to all is YES!

We all want our kids to do well in life and reach the pinnacle of success in whatever they choose to do. What a feeling it is when your kid is succeeding in life and making you proud! To inculcate the habit of learning, wanting success and eventually achieving it the kids have to start NOW. It is important that we do not become another face in the crowd; we must differentiate ourselves.

We are proud to offer a variety of children’s workshops that you can trust. We know how important choosing the right workshops can be and that’s why we endeavor to make the whole experience as enjoyable as possible, for you as well as your children.

There’s nothing better than being creative, and starting at an early age can lead to no end in pleasure. My Olympics Quotient could be the perfect thing for your kids, giving them a chance to be creative and yet learn a great deal, giving them encouragement and enthusiasm to carry it on into later life. What could be better than that?

Tender Leaves is glad to present My Olympics Quotient. The Olympics Quotient involves a myriad of activities ranging from creative writing to vocabulary building, mind mapping sessions, improving presentation skills, encouraging philately and highlights Indian culture through Olympian ages. These activities will enhance a child’s interpersonal and intra-personal skills.

Not just that … the kids will also be doing some shooting under the watchful eyes of trained professionals at the Gun for Glory Academy, Baner (gunforglory.in/)

And guess what? They also get to meet an Olympian and learn from him what it takes to be a Champion! Guess who it could be?!!!

Not enough? We will also throw in an Olympic-like tournament for the kids where each one of them gets to be an Olympian for a day!

Where and when? Dec 1st, 2012 at Sanjay Sports Academy, Nr. Hotel Green Park, Baner, Pune

What do you have to do now?!
Call: 9881107181 / 020-32305063 / 020-32677221
Email: anup@tenderleaves.com
Visit: https://www.tenderleaves.com/events

REGISTER NOW! LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE!

My Olympics Diary – a chance for schoolkids to get published by TenderLeaves.

Last year, we published the hugely successful compendium of writing from Pune’s schoolkids – ‘The Diary Of A Puneri Kid’ (see coverage in DNA here and update on TenderLeaves blog).

This year, the flavor of the season is the Olympics – and at TenderLeaves, we’re getting set to launch a new book from India’s young minds – My Olympics Diary.

If you are a school student, YOU can get featured in My Olympics Diary. Unlike the Diary of a Puneri Kid, this will not be a purely creative writing compendium – it will involve an understanding and knowledge of the Olympics just as well. You can read more about the idea behind My Olympic Diary in this blogpost.

Taking part is easy. Get started by registering rightaway on the TenderLeaves website(fill in the form on the right side of the page). If you’re a parent, you can register your kids just as well.

We’ll look forward to seeing your ideas in print soon! Here’s to faster, higher, stronger.

Teach your child how to fish

Learning is a function of curiosity. A curious child learns more; learns faster. You want your child to develop the habit of curiosity. You also want to teach your child ‘How to’ instead of spoon feeding him with information. e.g. How to find out more about some place or an event; what does it take to become someone you admire and how can you do something similar; how to express yourself? The challenge is how to make the ‘How to’ interesting enough for your child to take it up. To answer this, first let’s examine what motivates a child?

  • A subject that interests him
  • A project with clearly defined end-state (goals) to work towards
  • A fun-filled exercise that keeps him engaged
  • Peer recognition

This is also the holy grail that we keep aiming at, to make your job as parents easier.

My Olympics Diary

My Olympics Diary by Tender Leaves is such a project that you and your child can take up while the London Olympic Games are on.It is a subject that involves your child’s favourite pastime, sports. To create the Diary, he will not only find out about the history of Olympics, legendary sportsmen and host countries but also keenly follow the London Games. The project also demands the child to understand and appreciate the efforts taken by the athletes and writing about it not only hones his information gathering skills but also his ability to clearly express himself.

Stages of My Olympics Diary

There will be 3 stages : July 27th – 31st , August 1st – 6th , August 7th – 12th .

Each stage will have a 6 page document that needs to be downloaded and filled. Each document will have the following sections –

  • Citius: Questions based on Trivia, Olympic disciplines that will get covered during that stage of the Olympic Diary
  • Altius: An exercise based on the results of the 2012 London Games.
  • Fortius: A writing exercise based on the Games and activities based on the Games.

How will it work?

  • At the end of each stage, your child will submit the filled-out Diary Entry of that Stage and send it by email/post. When he submits the Diary Entry of one stage, he receives the Diary Entry for the next stage.
  • The submission for Fortius (writing exercise) from each stage will be uploaded on an online platform for others to view and vote.
  • At the end of the three stages, an e-book will be created for all those who submit the Diary Entries for all the stages. The Top 10 entries based on correct answers in the Citius and Altius exercises and votes for Fortius will receive 1 free print copy of the Olympic Diary.

The different stages of My Olympics Diary are designed to keep the child engaged through the duration of the Games.

Who can participate?

The exercises have been designed for children in the age-group of 8 to 12 years. Any child who is curious and whose parents (You!) are ready to help him out when needed, can participate.

How does your child benefit?

  • Improve knowledge of sports, athletes, history, countries
  • Improve skills like information-gathering, structuring of thoughts, writing
  • Develop curiosity
  • Create a souvenir for himself that he will treasure for life
  • Spend quality time with you!

How do you get started?

Register here and you will receive the First Stage of My Olympics Diary and you are on your way. We expect you to help your child wherever he needs help but actually doing it himself will give him the greatest thrill.

As the Chinese proverb goes –

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

Pottermania at TenderLeaves – Results & Winners!

So the wait is over. We have the results of the Pottermania Contests at TenderLeaves. Here we go without much ado!

Ankita wins the The Harry Potter quiz.
Kamal Sharma wins The Harry Potter Memories contest.

Ankita, Kamal – you guys win cool gift vouchers from our sponsors worth Rs. 6000(each)! Do take a bow!

We have honorable mentions in the quiz and memories contest – and here we go on them:

For the quiz, we had:

Piyush
Vineeth Panicker
Suhel Momin
Nischita

come *really* close to winning. They get our honorable mentions – and vouchers worth Rs. 3000!

In the Memories Contest, we have:

Sanasi Kelkar
Dhwani Amit Sharma

as honorable mentions – they get gift vouchers worth Rs. 3000!

We also have gift vouchers worth Rs. 1000 each for all our other participants in Pottermania events.

Thanks so much guys for making this event a great success – it was heartening to see the response and love for HP books. Much thanks also to our sponsors – Helios, Wyo.in, Cafe Chokolade, Four Fountain Spa, Colorsplash and Osar Gifts.

(Winners and participants – our team will contact you shortly with the gift vouchers – congratulations again guys!)