Adieu - 27.04.08

The second Oxford Junior workshop started off ominously with absolutely no registrations! However, we were soon flooded with young children, eager to participate.
This workshop was based entirely on character development. So, after a brief introduction to the site by Megha, Richa began the session by talking about the importance of developing a character in a story. Her favourite example, and indeed a favourite for most children, Harry Potter of course, helped everyone understand the true need for making a character real to the reader.
It wasn't long before Richa was telling the participants a story of a girl, who meets with an accident, and when rushed to the hospital, the following are found in her pockets - a little toy doll, one earring, a couple of buttons, a pendant and a rose.The participants, who were sitting in pairs, were asked to describe the girl. They, then, took turns reading out their descriptions. And weren't they fascinating? Though everyone was given the same objects, the character was vastly different depending on the perception of the group that had developed the character.The next activity required all the participants to write the story of Paula, a woman who visited a certain place frequently. The place in question was contained in postcards that each group was given. No two postcards were the same. All the participants were asked to write about Paula, her life, and the reasons for her frequent visits to this particular place.
When the groups, now in new pairs than in the earlier activity, read out their stories, we were amazed at the diverse descriptions they had. Paula was sometimes rich, sometimes poor; for some she was a young teenager, for others, she was an old woman; some saw her as lonely, others, social and vivacious.The final activity required the participants to break off into age-groups but to work individually. Richa told them the story of a man, lost, disoriented, completely uncommunicative; found roaming on Park Street by a police officer who had no choice but to deduce the man's character by the contents of his bag - 3 business cards, a picture of a child, a torch, Kingfisher airline headphones, a key and a couple of parking tickets.The participants went about their task of "helping" the policeman identify the man very seriously. This activity took the longest amount of time, and Richa was generous with it, as well. Once everyone had finished writing, they took turns reading out their stories to each other.
The session was enthralling and exciting and was a wonderful farewell for Mon and myself, who will not be returning to WriteHereWriteNow after today.
We wish to thank Megha and Richa, for giving us this opportunity to write an Oscar speech. It has been a pleasure working in WHWN (as we like to call it).
To all our members, farewell, and thank you for the memories.
Best of luck for the future. Live long and prosper.

19.04.08

After weeks of talks, WriteHereWriteNow's Saturday Club workshop was underway. We had a grand total of about 40 children attending.
The workshop was held at the usual time, 4pm in the Phoenix hall. Mon and I had reached the Club early and Megha arrived shortly after, laden with a gigantic bag full of WriteHereWriteNow folders. Richa was next to arrive, exhausted and just a little peeved at not finding any parking space for her car.
However, we had a hall to arrange and we got to the task as quickly as possible. While Megha sorted out where the advertising banners and the WriteHereWriteNow banner should be kept, Richa, Mon and I went about placing the folders on the tables.
The children soon arrived and by 4:20 we were ready to begin. All the children were divided into age-groups of 3 or 4.
After an introductory speech from Mrs. Kapoor, Richa gave the children their first task for the evening - write a short paragraph on everything you see around you. Most of the children spoke about the dreary walls, the blue curtains, the young teachers around them and the people sitting at the back. They had a way with words.
Then we got down to the main activity. The children were asked to jot down points on all the things they could see.
They were then asked to jot down points on everything they could hear. There was some controversy over whether the chatter of fellow table-mates should be included in this section. However, Mon managed to clear their doubts.
The sensation of Smell elicited excited responses due to the food at the side of the hall.Touch followed next. There was plenty of banging on tables and pulling of hair during this segment as everybody searched for that elusive word to explain how exactly they felt.
The last of the senses was Taste. Richa was at her grossest best here, asking all the children to fill their mouths with saliva and write down what they could taste. All the children took this task very seriously. One child even tasted ink to add variety to his list while others turned to the more conventional lip-gloss for variety.
The children were then asked to write a paragraph describing themselves in the Phoenix hall while incorporating all their points. Several students then stood up to read out their paragraphs. Once again, their command over the language was impressive.
For the next activity, each table was given a plate of fruits. Each child was asked to pick the fruit of their choice and write a brief description of the fruit, incorporating the use of all five senses.
When it came to taste, it was up to the four defenders of language to do the dirty-work. The situation was further complicated by the fact that not all the fruits had been washed! We had to be extra careful while cutting the fruits so as to avoid the peel.After most of the children had devoured their fruits, they got down to the serious work of describing the fruit.
The final activity required children of different fruit-groups to stand up and describe their fruit. This session was entertaining and certainly left one with a healthy appetite.
And not a moment too soon. After a brief introduction to the site and a vote of thanks, the children and the four of us headed towards the snack bar.
The evening was enjoyable and educational, for all concerned.

13th April, 2008

Our tie-up with Oxford Junior had a good start with nearly 20 children attending. The session started on time and all the children were squeezed onto the second floor, looking terrified and expectantly at Richa.

Richa started off with asking all the children to listen to the sounds around them in the bookstore. The sound of people walking about, paper rustling, people talking, the air conditioner humming were some of the sounds the children heard.
The next exercise required everyone to observe what was around them. The children mentioned the books, the wallpaper, the cds, the air conditioner but they all forgot to mention the only animate things in the store - people! Richa kindly reminded them about that.
The main exercise required the children to look at a picture of a carnival and write about the sights, sounds, tastes and tangible objects that they would experience when at a carnival. They jotted down points and then as a group wrote a short story on a 'hot summer's day at a fair'.
The stories were entertaining and well-written and we were all very impressed.
The next activity required the children to look at another picture, this time of a park with an empty table and empty benches around it. They were asked to write another story, individually, this time about imagining themselves in this park all by themselves.
After a brief introduction about the website, Ron and Richa divided the children into groups of three so that they could read out their stories to each other.
After an enjoyable and interactive session the excited children bade us farewell.