We are 'Team Pramadh'

Ira is currently completing her Christmas break! While her Dussehra break was of 21days, this one is for 16 days! Mean mommie alert- I almost wished they had Dussehra and Christmas camps too!

The second year at Montessori has been about visible and incremental growth that we have witnessed. There is so much she is learning. While some rare days, she does choose to tell us that she did the geometric cabinet or the binomial cubes, she did movable alphabets or just watered the plants. She mostly is non-committal when we ask and prod what she did at school. The biggest thing is she loves school and is excited to go every day. She has also begun taking a little more interest in the celebrations and partakes in a few things, like doing the pookolam on Onam. But there are days too, when during navaratri celebration, she wore a ghagra top and went and walked out in her top and shorts, because she didn't want to wear the ghagra and do activities. She enjoys the little sweet treats given on festivals, they seem to be her biggest priority (like Papa, may I say). Her PTMs this year have been incredibly fascinating. We were told about her progress, how she likes words and likes to draw, her inclination to write and fascination with little books in the school library. We were given a detailed report of her behavioral, social interactions, psycho motor and cognitive skills and every little thing was marked. The meticulous observation of Ira helped us understand in depth all that she does in those five hours at school everyday. We are already doing some research on what kind of a school next and Montessori education is already on the list.

Phrases

Everyday, seems like she says something new. Some of her new phrases that find their place in her regular conversations now are:

·         Papa, I want to have a conversation with you ( the entire dialogue and conversation context began when P wanted to talk to her about something she did. We never used the word scold)

·         I have decided that I want to...

·         I generally think that...

·         This is what we should do, right Mamma?

·         I love you, my sweetiepies (referring to ofcourse, us :))

·         Listen to me...

·         How many times do I have to tell you..(I am guilty, this is almost my line)

·         Come on guys...let's go/ let's play/ let's watch a movie/ let's read a book/ let's cuddle

·         We must definitely do this...

·         I will change my mind

·         This is a different concept

·         Now, this has disappeared and now appeared again

There are many many more phrases to come and we know that we are all ears. Just don't ask, "whose line is it anyway?" :)

Conversing in third person: One evening out of the blue Ira wanted a conversation with Mamma and Papa. She began, "when a small baby wants something, her Mamma Papa, the big people should give her"..... and thus began several conversations, where she referred to self in third person. 

Play, Pretend play and more

Ira has discovered playing with other children in the apartment. While they all speak different languages, they seem to understand eachother. She is the youngest amongst them playing laggori or cricket or badminton. While she talks 19 to a dozen at home, she is relatively quiet in a crowd. She does enjoy her play time and when asked to come home after an hour, she vehemently asks for another 5 minutes! Haven’t we all done that and don’t we know how precious those five minutes are.

She also now tells stories to her friends (soft toys) at home. They could be about chocolates, about monsters, about animals, about a little girl and her parents, just about anything.

Her another favorite play activity is 'when I was a baby' story! P began this ritual and we do it, when we travel, when we meet friends and when we have people over. The idea is to tell a small story about when you were a baby.

Among the board games, she enjoys scrabble and plays them to her own rules. She is learning to make words phonetically, the three letter ones and does that and in no time, the board converts to a market place where she sells the letters! Either way, we are happy as long as it is an activity to keep her occupied.

Pet animals

As a little one, she once went and sat on the back of a dog at Cubbon park. The love for animals has only grown. She has told a dear friend that she is going to bring her dog home and told another school friend of hers that she wants to play with his dog. So, next time she mentions TC, Luna or Shadow, please know she means serious business J She loves dogs, cats and on a recent visit to a farm at Sathyamangalam, she spent a large part of her day, wanting to feed the cows and one calf in particular. What amazes me is the lack of fear and the spontaneity with which she takes to animals. Looks like the papa gene is at work here, thankfully!

Perseverance

With school, there come the inevitable ‘bugs’. Every other child during seasonal changes is sniffing, coughing, running a temperature or having a stomach bug. It is heart breaking to see them go through this. But what we discover is how persevering they are during this time of ill health. Even while coughing incessantly and needing the super hero mask (read nebulization) and spending children’s day morning at the hospital, Ira made the most of the play area and the drawing activity that the kids were given. In the last few weeks, there has been a time when Ira was unwell and I had to travel. While Papa held fort, my little girl also cooperated for the follow-up visits and medication. She does claim to like the white sweet syrup more than the tangy orange one.

Performance

This year Ira discovered the joy and fun of performing. Nope, not for grade or prizes (thankfully, they don’t have these concepts yet). She partook in the sports day this year, jumped around, ran a bit, hopped a bit and was happy to collect the medal that was given to all kids for participating (Kudos to JH for following this). Her 2^nd annual day in December was season theme based and she said she was dancing to chak dhoom dhoom and enthusiastically would want to do that at home. On the D-day , we discovered that her dance song was something completely different. Talk about being surprised and pleasantly surprised when she did do some moves on the stage. Just being up there, staring at eager parents and smiling seems like such a big feat for these little human beings! We would up the day with a mandatory selfie and big smiles.

Passion for Cooking

Being born to foodie parents has its share of adventures. P and I love trying different cuisines, love cooking different things at home and love eating different varieties of food. Ira has been introduced to all veggies and fruits and varieties of non-veg since she began on solids. Over the years, she does have a few favorites and a few comfort food. But even in a moment of chaotic conversation, you mention food and you will get her attention. Don’t we love that! Off late, she and P are binge watching cookery shows on the laptop and even seeing a whole lot of Gordon Ramsay. They decided to make sweet corn fritters following one of his recipes this week. Her interest to do some basic chopping, mixing of ingredients and be a part of the entire process is thoroughly encouraged. Look forward to many more such moments and I somewhere deep down do hope that she retains the love for food and this curiosity to dish up something new.

We are Team Pramadh

There is so much that happened in the year that went by but one thing that will remain is how fiercely she represents her name and introduces herself. While she is shy and almost inaudible when someone asks her name, she insists that she be introduced by her full name, Ira Pramadh. While our ‘Earth Rejoiced’ the moment she was born, the happiness she brings us with every little thing she does leaves us overwhelmed and wanting the world for her, especially when she says, "we are 'Team Pramadh'".