As We Step Out- Parenting, Unschooling, and more

Two families, two set of twins, two cars, set out to explore - Tamil Nadu this time. Why? Dhanushkodi was on our wishlist for long. With the solo bike ride to Leh Ladakh, Tejas had ticked off one of the long pending item from his wishlist. Why not tick off the other too! Get - set - go..  Family 1: Dr. Shruti Jayasurya  , Abhinav Raj; Kids: Srishti and Smriti (5 yrs) Family 2: Prachi, Tejas ; Kids: Vibha and Viaan (7 yrs) What was our travel agenda? To explore things that give an identity to the location which includes food, people, culture, landscapes, flora, fauna, weather and so on. Tamil Nadu being the Temple State of India, we did visit a few of them. Most of these temples have interesting history, geography, architecture, sociology  elements which one can study irrespective of whether one s a believer or not. Journaling my thoughts here about the travel, the happy, the not so happy experiences. The Rotue:  While the destination calling us was Dhanuskodi, w...

 This city was calling me for a long time! One day, as I was suggesting my friend- 'Go take a break, go to an unknown city, spend a few days and you will be a new you' and I thought well, not a bad idea to implement it myself! Only change, I asked Viaan and Vibha (now 7) if they would like to join. Reluctant at first, to leave their 'Summer Holiday' mode, they agreed. And we started planning our 'Unschooling Expedition' to a city we have never been before. Coimbatore: Here we come! One week- No agenda, no checklist. Sharing here a few takeaways, from planning and execution which I feel helped us 'Enjoy the trip' inspite of being the solo grown up with kids. 1. The Planning Stage: Like any other work, this stage is important to plan any holiday for that matter. What were our objectives in doing this circus of travel? No it wasn't a luxury holiday. My objective was to get myself and kids an experience, an experience to understand: We have never done th...

Aarohified - Yet Again When we started upon this journey of unschooling, we took the leap of  faith and decided to trust our instincts. Unschooling being a less trodden path, we had to find answers to our questions ourselves. Questions like 'What about future', 'How will they learn', 'Do we follow a structure or a curriculum' and more. One of the resources which has been a part of our unschooling journey is - Aarohi ( Aarohi Life Education ), through their multiple avenues like Jagriti, Saturday Open Learning AMA (Ask me Anything) calls, social media updates, opportunity to visit the campus etc.  Last month, I had this surge of emotions- feeling lost, feeling 'I have to string everything together', we are drifting off our path, kids are listening, kids are not interested in learning, how to I balance my work and their learning journey- you get the drift! I am sure school or no school, these emotions hit many parents on and off.   How do I resolve my inte...

Babywearing Naps-  Yay or Nay? As I travelled in my car for a family trip, like in all road journeys, soon enough I was dozing off. I had not had enough sleep and this nap felt like bliss. But just about an hour into it and I was rudely jerked awake as the car went over an uneven bump. I felt disoriented and dizzy...I felt more exhausted than before. So if this kind of ‘on the go’ nap does not help us feel refreshed and rejuvenated, how different is it with babies ? Let me help you understand. Babies in their intrauterine life are on the go, moving around with their mommy. This is the primary reason, babies find calm in motion. Babies settle down easily when they are moving , it reminds them of their time spent in the womb , and as they grow that just becomes a preference until they are developmentally ready and attuned well to the overwhelming outside world. Doesn't that explain all the need for rocking, patting, swaying..? As a pediatric sleep coach, many paren...