A Chinese Story : Why The Cats Chase Rats?

Thousands of years ago, the Jade Emperor of China organized an animal race. The first 12 animals to finish were to be given a place in the Chinese Zodiac, and have a year named after them.

The cat and the rat, both late-risers asked the ox to wake them at dawn on the day of the race.

On the day of the Race, the ox tried to wake the cat and the rat, but without success. They would open their eyes, turn to the other side and go back to sleep. The race was about to start. Unwilling to leave them, the ox coaxed them onto his back and started running. The rat woke up just as the ox was crossing the last hurdle, a river. The sly rat knew that he could never beat the cat in the race. He took the chance and pushed the cat off the ox’s back. When the ox reached the other side, the rat jumped off and scampered to victory, just ahead of the ox. The tiger came third, but he too had cheated. He crossed the river by using the backs of the animals swimming across as stepping stones, leaping from one to another.

So the 12-year cycle of the Chinese Zodiac begins with the rat. After him comes the ox who is followed by the tiger. After them come the rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. The cat, has no place in the zodiac. She
wasn’t among the first twelve. In fact she was lucky to finish, having almost drowned in the river.

So is it any wonder that cats chase rats? They can never forget the humiliation heaped on their ancestor by a tricky rodent!

The 'Sm' blend.

Consonant clusters or blends are two or three consonants that appear together in a word with each consonant retaining its sound when blended.

Write the blend 'sm' set of words on individual cards. Underline the blend in every word. Explain your child that the set of two letters that needed to be spelt together or blended and help him in reading the first few words. Once he is comfortable reading individual words and recognizes the reading pattern, encourage him to read the story under your supervision.

The 'Sm' family of words:

Smack, Small, Smart, Smash.

Smear, Smell.

Smile.

Smoke, Smooth.

Smuggle, Smudge.

Story for the 'Sm' blend:

Sam, the small boy.




Sam was a small boy, who smudged toys.
Sam was very smart and loved to smear art.
Sam loved the smell of smoke, and smiled when the alarm broke.
Sam wore smelly socks, and smashed big rocks.
But when Sam got a smack on his face, he smashed a big vase!

What a small smiling boy was Sam!

Take care.

The Mouse and the Frog.

The Mouse and the Frog : An African story.

A mouse and a frog were friends. Every morning the frog would hop out of his pond and go to visit his friend who lived in a hole in the side of a tree. He would return home by noon. The mouse who was delighted in his friend’s company, was unaware that his friend, the frog, was slowly turning into an enemy. The reason?The frog felt slighted because though he visited the mouse everyday, while the mouse on his part, had never made an attempt to visit him.

One day, the frog felt he had been humiliated enough. When it was time for him to take leave, he tied one end of a string around his own leg, and tied the other end to the mouse’s tail. Then he hopped away, dragging the helpless mouse behind him.

The frog dived deep into the pond. The mouse tried to free himself but could not, and soon was drowned. His bloated body floated to the top.

A hawk saw the mouse floating on the pond’s surface. He swooped down, and grabbing the mouse in his talons, flew to the branch of a nearby tree. The frog, of course, was hauled out of the water too. He desperately tried to free himself, but couldn’t and the hawk soon put an end to his struggles.

In Africa, there is a saying: "Don’t dig too deep a pit for your enemy. You may fall into it yourself".

The 'Sk' blend

Consonant clusters or blends are two or three consonants that appear together in a word with each consonant retaining its sound when blended.

Write the blend 'sk' set of words on individual cards. Underline the blend in every word. Explain your child that the set of two letters that needed to be spelt together or blended and help him in reading the first few words. Once he is comfortable reading individual words and recognizes the reading pattern, encourage him to read the story under your supervision.

Words for the 'sk' blend:

Skin, sky, skate, skim, sketch, skilled, skyscraper, skunk, skid, skull.

A silly story for the 'sk' blend:

Sally, the skinny girl!

Sally, the skinny girl liked to ski,
Sally, the skinny girl liked to skate,
Sally, the skinny girl, drank skim milk,
Sally, the skinny girl, loved to sketch.

Sally, the skinny girl, was very skilled.
She wanted to touch the sky,
She went to a sky scrapper,
And decided to sky dive!

But on her way to the skyscraper,
Sally the skinny girl, saw a skunk,
And she skid!
And broke her skull,
She scratched her skin!

Sally, the skinny girl liked to ski,
Sally, the skinny girl liked to skate,
Sally, the skinny girl, drank skim milk,
Sally, the skinny girl, loved to sketch.

Take care.

Kanha.

Today, we share with you the story of 'Kanha', a story set in rural India.



Kanha - The Story of Friendship

Have a nice day.

The 'Sc' blend

Consonant clusters or blends are two or three consonants that appear together in a word with each consonant retaining its sound when blended.

Write the blend 'sc' set of words on individual cards. Underline the blend in every word. Explain your child that the set of two letters that needed to be spelt together or blended and help him in reading the first few words. Once he is comfortable reading individual words and recognizes the reading pattern, encourage him to read the story under your supervision.

Words with 'sc' blend:

Scaffold, Scale, Scalp, Scan, Scar, Scarecrow, Scarlet, Scarf

Scold, Scoop, Scorn, Scope, Scorpion

Scuff, Scuffle, Sculpture, Scurry

Story for the 'sc' blend:

Scooty, the scarecrow.

Scooty the scarecrow, stood on a scale,
Scooty, the scarecrow, scanned pig tails.

Scooty, the scarecrow, wore a scarlet scarf,
Scooty, the scarecrow, scolded the scorpion hard.

Scooty, the scarecrow, sculpted small sculptures,
Scooty, the scarecrow, scribbled on scooters.

Scooty, the scarecrow, scratched with screwdrivers,
Scooty, the scarecrow, scuffled with pliers.

Scooty, the scarecrow, scared the boy scouts,
Scooty, the scarecrow, loved scary hideouts.

Scooty is the scariest scarecrow ever!

Take care.

Story-time.

Last month and a half, were very happy times for my little Miss A. My sister was at our home along with my two darling nephews to spend the summer vacation. These days were very special. Life was fast, crazy, tiring and at times, it felt like a roller coster ride. We had three little musketeers, all under the age of 5, running around the house. And the master to handle this situation with love and care, was 'grandma'.

The kids would hang around grandma to hear stories of animals, gods, demons and then, they would dream, imagine and pretend play everything that they heard in these stories. And they learned something new daily. These 'grandma' stories had become a vital source of learning and entertainment much more than books or television.

These stories were mostly folk tales, stories from the panchtantra. Stories about morals, about right and wrong, about sharing, about trust, about how small acts can grow into something larger.

It wasn't until my mother reading aloud to our kids that we realized the importance of these tales. The words reverberating in the air, take on a deeper meaning, much more than when being read. Through sharing a story, you are sharing something special together. You can refer to it later, you can make the characters a part of your life, "Hmmm! I wonder what clever mouse would do now?" and you can visit them again with your kids. Story telling, esp. the folktales, is a bonding experience. It is an intellectually stimulating experience and a growing experience. It connects you to your children, and to the world as it has existed, for ages.

And as Albert Einstein said "When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking."

From next week, we will meet you in a world full of stories and folktales.

The 'Tr' blend

Consonant clusters or blends are two or three consonants that appear together in a word with each consonant retaining its sound when blended.

Trap, trace, track, train, trail, trash, tray

Treat, tread, tree, trek.

Trick, trim, trip.

Troop, trot, trout.

Trump, truck, true, trumpet, trunk, trust, truth, try.

Write the blend 'tr' set of words on individual cards. Underline the blend in every word. Explain your child that the set of two letters that needed to be spelt together or blended and help him in reading the first few words. Once he is comfortable reading individual words and recognizes the reading pattern, encourage him to read the story under your supervision.

Story for the 'tr' blend-

Tracy the truck.

Tracy, the truck loved running on the tracks,
Tracy, the truck, fell on the trash.

Tracy, the truck, took long trips,
Tracy, the truck, loved big tips.

Tracy, the truck, was trust worthy truck,
Tracy, the truck, had a big trunk.

Tracy the truck, loved to play tricks,
Tracy, the truck, banged with trees.

Tracy the truck, said the truth,
Tracy the truck, loved little troops.

Tracy, the truck, is my best toy truck!

Take care.