Totschooling on a Vacation

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We are in India on a vacation. It was an unplanned decision and we got here in an emergency when my father in law passed away. The schools had just started and we had just begun to homeschool our two year old Rumi when we had to pack up and leave.

Due to the emergency, I had 4 hours to pack my stuff and my 3 kids. That meant… I got no time to plan activities for my kids. I was anxious as to how I would manage for six weeks. Six weeks later now, I think we are doing fine.

For the airplane journey, I had managed to pack a few busy bags but we didn’t need them because our airlines provided us with quite a few cuddlies and activity for the kids. On the plane, our toddler entertained herself with the monsters and some TV while our six year old was busy with the activity books, online magazines and ofcourese, tinkering with the headphones! Luckily it was a night flight and inspite of the transit, they slept quite comfortably.

Once we got to Hyderabad, they got busy with their cousins. Our toddler was very anxious to be in a new place. she was scared to even in get in the taxi . She wouldn’t enter our home and we had a hard time getting her to eat or sleep. Lucky for us that she recognised my mum and her aunts. We moved her with them and got out some of her favourite activities.

We made some new playdough, a slime that she enjoyed and then we went shopping to find her creativity.

I had made a scribble bag for her with a few crayons, pencils and scrolls of paper but I found she was used to getting on the floor with a bigger stretch of paper. I bought her a blackboard roll and some chalks in colours as well as white. She loved them. It was a new concept to her because she could rub them off and to her, it looked like crayons that could be erased! She was happy. We were elated.

I had managed to squeeze in some jumbo blocks for her too and from time to time she got busy with those.

She learnt some new rhymes from her cousins. Her language skills have improved by being around other kids.

Rumi loves bulldozers. Thankfully, Hyderabad is seeing a lot of new roads and we got to see too many construction equipment. She learnt to count till 12 thanks to them! There is something about the number 9 too. She now wants me to start counting from 9 if I need to count anything. That means, she gets 12 scoops of ice cream and there are 9-30 steps of steps. Well… who is to argue?

Rumi had never been around animals. Coming here she is learning so much about animals and their young. We have seen hens and chicks, dogs and puppies, cats and kittens, too many cows and goats and pigeons. I don’t think she can differentiate between the birds yet but she has been loving them all.

Coming to India has made her more bold and emotionally stable. We were afraid of her behaviour and sensitivity but it just lasted a few days. I have been thinking of her in the light of all the sensory stuff that I have been reading and it makes me wonder if she really craves sensory stimulations. the colours, the people, the air filled with sounds and smells has been doing her good. She is always running and jumping, laughing and giggling all the time now. I am now looking at a different little girl who is always asking me how things work.

We have extended our stay to two more weeks. The rain season has finally started here and though a little anxious, I am waiting to see how she will react to rain. 🙂

Do you have a little tot in your home? How is your totschooling going?

Need ideas to play with your child? Here are some of our fun post:

Homemade Edible Finger Paint
Make Your Own Glider
Rose Scented Playdough

Need more inspiration?

Follow Aysh Siddiqua’s board Kids Crafts on Pinterest.

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