Eek! A Snake

Whether this is a verse, a canto,a stanza or whatever that may deem fit to denote in one word the writing I have herein put in black and white, was instigated  by a rattle snake which stayed overnight at my parent's home during my younger days. The snake was not inflicted in any way, as it went back quietly to where it belonged.( the zoo)

One Sunday,

This slimy creature

Wrapped well in shiny leather

Came in through the door, left ajar

Mother unaware

Engrossed deep in the

Sunday Paper

Then She thought

It was the figmentation

Of her imagination

When she sensed company

Bewildered..

She gaped

When she saw this slimy  creature

Cosily coiled up in

Father’s favourite chair.

Digitally created

Barney And Fred Flintstone

The Flintstones, the cartoon characters created by Hanna- Barbera in the 1960s,is still loved by most of us. Even the younger generation born  in this new millenium are  fascinated by  these entertaining characters .What’s so humourous about this show is that  animals  are being portrayed as technology.Their  mode of transport and their house pet,besides many other things , are implemented by a pre historic animal the dinosaur. This animated  series is set in a place called Bedrock,in the stone age period. My children got drawn towards  this particular cartoon show,from the time they were toddlers when anything animated attracted their attention.As much as they love watching Barney and Fred Flintstone on television,they love reading about them too. And lately my nine year old has

started to sketch these toons by simply looking at the original pictures.

Motivating Children To Read

Enid Blyton

The school where my children attend , organized  their  annual   ‘Reading Book Week’ recently, for the  children in the smaller age group. This was arranged  in a very elaborate way. All the little  children took part with a lot of enthusiasm. I actually like this idea a lot because  the main objective is to encourage and motivate children to read.My kids were asked to bring some of their favourite books,to display in the makeshift class room Library and share and exchange  books with friends.This actually helped my sons to actively participate in the program.

Motivating children at an early age ,encourages them  to enhance their reading habits .This helps them develop their learning  skills  and enable them to reach great heights in learning  in their later years.Reading at an early age instigates a child in many ways.Their listening and writing skills improve to a  vast extent.   In this day and age most children are  fascinated by the television and the computer .They have no time to get involved in extra curriculum or  outdoor activities.So getting teachers and parents organize similar programs would definitely facilitate a lot of children to read a lot and more often.

The other day ,reading an article on Enid Blyton took me back to my childhood. As a little girl I loved reading her books.I would wait impatiently till I got my hands on her latest book.I vividly remember during that time ( in the late 7o’s) .We got the opportunity to borrow books from the mobile bookman, who would bring the latest books of Enid Blyton,stacked in a box on his bicycle.For a few cents, we got to keep the book for a week or so. Now as an adult and a mother to four, I’m still enthralled with her books and enjoy reading her mysteries and adventures to my children. Her books were a part of my childhood and in some way   responsible for my love for reading.

My Addiction with Digital Scrapping!

I was wondering how I was going to spend my mornings, now that my youngest has started to pursue his learning skills, kindergarten level. Apart from the routine culinary and home keeping and sometimes attending to other overdue chores, I still had an hour or so on my own and I didn’t know how I was going to pass this time doing nothing. Luckily for me, I am still hooked to reading; in all probability I thought I could make use of this skill to while the time. Then one day, when browsing the internet, I happened to stumble upon a website, (www.scrapblog.com) . This is an online scrapbooking site, where one could blog with their scraps uploaded from their computers and cut, copy, paste drag or drop, old, new, colored , black and white, newspaper cuttings ,pictures, photos and also do some journaling. Those of us who loved to cut and paste something ,which was of personal interest, but was often excessively higgledy-piggledy, will find this fascinating, as it doesn't leave things lying around and making a big mess with the cutting and pasting with scissors, glue etc..Digital scrapping leaves me with no clutter and I love that.. I am simply amazed that I actually created a few. And I am enthralled by the results. One has to experience this digital art,the accepted leisure pursuit in the cyber world.And Scrapblog.com,lets me use various embellishments and stickers,free of charge.For those of whom, who want variety,pick up your purses and go on a shopping spree at the different craft stores easily made available for your convenience.From now on I'll make sure I create greeting cards,using my latest digital scrapping skills to wish all my loved ones, on any occasions. Wouldn't that be amazing!. And voila, At last! my recurring thoughts of how I was going to spend the mornings have been solved.