The day began lazily at 0630h IST, for there was only a short, relaxing yoga class to attend (the last one, since we have now outgrown this children’s class and will be shifting to a higher gear from the day after tomorrow). But there was trouble (what would life be without it, eh?). You see, our room is not yet ready, and that means that not only is our room devoid of all the material, books, furniture, and things we use (because some painting is going on), but also what belongs to our room is spread out all over the house, waiting for the room to be ready. Secondly, since our (Tasha & Girl) office is shifting, some of the stuff that belongs to the office is lying in other rooms. Then, Aji is shifting houses, and that means some more uncertainty about what belongs where, leading to all-round chaos which makes our home seem like some 5-year-olds had a party over the weekend and left the house in tatters (of course, 6-year-olds are more mature; why do you ask?).
So, off to Masi’s house we go for our yoga, after which we were to have a good 30-minute break for breakfast and shower. Unfortunately, Mamma Bear was exercising in the next room and we did not want to disturb her. So, we stood outside her door for a full 20 minutes when she came out just to check on us. Seeing Baby Bear standing there (with Rafa patiently waiting at our feet), Mamma was upset and asked what we wanted. We said we needed to ask her about our shower but didn’t want to disturb her. Mamma thought this was mightly polite of us and she picked us up and kissed us and took us for a bath (we can have a shower on our own, but when we are feeling down, we need Mamma or Baba to give us a scrubby-dubby bath).
By the time we were ready, it was just 5 minutes to chess class. Today, we solved some puzzles, watched a Judit Polgár game to see how to play attacking chess, and were given the assignment to read up more about her and tell our teacher tomorrow one fact about her.
There was no time for piano practice today because everything was so disorganised, but we still got some free time to chill before our Hindi teacher came in. Did you know she has a cat (called ‘Billy’, which is funny, because in Hindi, a cat is called ‘billi‘) and a beautiful house with a large lake (which is called ‘taalaab‘ in Hindi) that you can see from her window. This teacher was really nice. She is like a friend and we had lots of fun speaking in Hindi so much so that when Baba came down to tell us to wrap up (we already had, because Baba always says that being on time is important), we continued to speak to him in Hindi! That was funny too.
And then, the syllabus teacher came in. She is a very neat and tidy teacher and we really like her because she has a kind face. She comes on time and teaches me from my school books, so we don’t forget what we learnt last year. Today, we continued with English and read a story called, ‘Colours of Friendship’ from our English reader, in which colours are fighting to prove that they are the best, until it suddenly starts raining, and the Rain says, ‘Foolish colours. Stop fighting. Join hands and come to me.‘ and lo and behold, you have a rainbow! By the way, did we tell you we know how to sign a ‘rainbow’ in ISL?
After that, we listed some difficult-to-spell words from the story, and after some practice, took a small spelling test, scoring full marks. We asked the teacher if we could give ourselves a star, and with her permission, drew a big one in our notebook. Mamma always says that if you want a star, you needn’t wait for someone to come and give you one. You can always make one for yourself. Mamma is very smart when it comes to being nice, not just to others, but to yourself too. So, just as Baba is better at knowing things, Mamma is the best at knowing people. We can’t make up my mind who we should be like. We think we’ll become a little of both.
And yes, we also did a bit of Mathematics. Sometimes, we get confused why we have to write numbers in words. Is this Mathematics or English? If we know the answer but cannot spell it, it shouldn’t matter, right?
Anyway, as soon as the syllabus teacher left, we asked for some snacks from Chhaya Didi (she works with Rashmi Masi, and since we are in their house, we have to ask her). She gave us some apples with peanut butter. Have you ever tried eating apples with peanut butter? If not, go right now and try it. We’ll wait.
By the way, we found our Mandarin teacher’s email, clicked on the link, and logged in, waiting for the class to start when Baba came in rushing from our home, and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw us logged in and eating apples (he ran all the way to Masi’s because he thought we’d not be able to accomplish a task as simple as this). But to be fair, we did get lifted and kissed by Baba because he was so happy we didn’t need his help and we had grown up and all. Let us tell you a little secret: We love being lifted and kissed by Baba bear. We think even when we grow old and we are like 10 years of age, we’d want Baba to do gogi to us (that photo is an old one from Anjarle Beach on our family vacation in Dapoli).
So, on with the Mandarin, and Deepa Laoshi taught us numbers (from 1 to 10, but we only remember till 6), and also how to say hello (we already knew this!). We are going to play a game the next time, where she asks me something in Mandarin and we have to guess the question and answer it. By the way, Baba said that the Chinese speak many different types of Chinese languages, and Mandarin is only one of them. We must ask Deepa Laoshi about this the next time. Oh, and before we forget, we asked Alexa how to say numbers from 1 to 10 in Mandarin, and she knew how to! We think we can practice with Alexa also.
Then, it was time for lunch. Rice, dal, bhindi, and dahi, all of our favourite things were laid out on the table by Baba, with an ice-cold glass of water (Baba gives us cold water only when Mamma bear is not around. Hehe). While we ate, Baba read about Judit Polgár. Did you know she has defeated eleven world champions (all men!) in her life? She reminds us of Alfonsina Strada, about who we read in Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls. We asked Baba why girls have to beat men to prove they are smart and strong, and Baba said that he doesn’t know, but maybe when I become a big girl, the world would be a different place. I like talking to Baba. We talk about big things and I can ask him big questions.
Suddenly, Baba realised it was time for our ISL class, and we had to run, wash our hands, gargle, run, kiss the big Baba bear, tell him we love him as we exit the door, and rush back to Masi’s place just in time for Joanna teacher to log in. Whew! That was a close shave. Did I tell you that being on time is very important? Anyway, here’s me saying it again: being on time is very important.
After ISL, we were resting when Mamma returned home from wherever Mamma bears go in the day, and we had to give a full debrief (that’s a word I learnt from Ajoba; apparently, pilots use it all the time) to her about what transpired between her leaving in the house in the morning and coming back. And then, off we were for our Marathi classes with Alka Aji.
Now, we’ll let you in on a secret: Marathi doesn’t scare us, but we are not very confident in that tongue. And then, Mamma and Baba were right there, and we are very shy in front of them to interact with the teachers on screen. So, they went and sat on the porch as we turned our attention to Alka Aji on the screen. Did we say we are a bit uncomfortable with Marathi?
Well, all that was forgotten as soon as Aji started telling us stories. Today, she told us such a funny story that when we told Baba about it, he started laughing. Why? Because it was Isaac Asimov’s The Fun They Had, which was about how two kids find a real book with paper leaves and actual printing in the future, where all children are homeschooled and no one has seen a real book, a real school, or real teachers, which is so much like how the world is today that somehow we thought this was a true story with real people, when it was only a pretend story written at a time when Ajoba was our age! How delicious!
We ended the day with a bit of TV (if you haven’t, you must try ‘The InBESTigators’ on Netflix), and then a game of chess with Baba bear (we always get white and have an advantage, even when Baba holds a single-coloured pawn in each hand and asks us to choose; and we think Baba bear might not be above cheating a bit), before helping Saniya Didi and Mamma set up my new room (which we shall have ready by Thursday, or maybe even tomorrow if we are lucky).
A good day, all-in-all, we think.
#LearningWithKymaia
