Eco Friendly Period

Its been long since I blogged at all.

The more and more I live this modern life - as envisaged by me myself, the more and more is the distress.  This distress is probably because we have shunned Mother Nature's shelter and gone against her in way too many ways.  The very buildings that used to entice me so much now make me feel sad - all this at the cost of so much of Earth's resources.  We came here - have 60-80 or at best 100 odd years to learn something - not to leave such a HUGE ugly footprint - and make it difficult for generations to come! 

In the name of convenience, we moved to the disposable pads that are just being dumped.  It is adding clutter! Although it is disposable, it cannot decompose naturally and in a reasonable period of time!  More so, when we want to "up" the rural India, I fear, that we may be having mountains of disposables - be it baby napkins or those of adults. 

So, here I am, after having shunned my mother's wisdom during my growing years, going back to her.  After some prodding from a fellow environmental activist, I can now say with confidence that it is possible to have eco-friendly periods.  Whatever is natural will not do you harm!  The cloth is inconvenient to a certain extent, yes, but would not harm you - or the nature.  Yes, we need to adjust our lifestyle a bit.  The cloth or the cup may not be suited for some professions, but on days when we can do away with the plastic, can we try to do away with them?  Can we stop shunning those women who are still using old methods by calling them old fashioned - whether they are aware or not, they are following some practices that are healthy for the planet.  Can we for a moment, pause, reflect?  Where are we heading?  Yes, our grandmothers may not have worked outside, but can we adapt their wisdom to our times?  There are lots more with respect to practices during this time, but will save it for a different post. 

If you are genuinely interested in contributing to a clean and green planet, here are some products and sites that I would recommend

rusticart.in

ecofemme.org

Note : I am still clueless on how the silicone cup or the Plastic layer in cloth pads can be degraded.  But, right now, I only know that the amount of disposal is way less than using only disposable pads for the entire cycle.

We don't need to buy a P&G product that ends up in a dump to make a girl child study.  We can contribute to her by not generating huge urban dump - and probably donating to a different organization.  Please....we need more wisdom.  We need lesser wastes.  The natural body disposes "bio degradable" stuff - let us not wrap it in a non-bio degradable plastic and make it difficult for mother nature, and ultimately our own selves or our children.

Montessori at our home - 3

Homemade Multiplication Checkerboard

We did use the Checkerboard online. However, I could sense that my son had difficulty in dragging and dropping the bead bars using the mouse. It was quite disappointing for me. But then, that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I had scouted for beads in Pune, but here in Chennai, everything needed for the board just fell in place.

Thankfully, we got some beads and golden wires at the local Lucky Stores and made the golden beads ourselves. There was a cute box with 12 compartments just about right to put the different sized beads.



For the board, we took empty cardboard laptop boxes and stuck green, blue and red shiny paper(Each square is 5cm X 5cm). With some cardstock stuck on the remaining cardboard, we got the number stamps. I haven't yet completed the board, but, he has started working. The entire effort has taken about 2 1/2 days (of course with other activities thrown in). Cost - Rs. 300 ($6). Had it not been for my son himself helping me out and pushing me to complete it, I might not have finished this so soon.

Some more pics -





Our thanks to all the people who have put up the Montessori videos and all those useful posts. I do feel far more satisfied at taking some effort for this. Hmm....may be there is an invisible hand at making some small dreams come true! :)

Montessori at our home - 2

I am glad to have finally purchased the following from Flipkart.com

The Secret of Childhood

And, Montessori Today

The second book was primarily for what to introduce to the elementary years.

To be honest, I am unable to keep my eyes wide open - am hardly reading 2-3 pages and then it is zzzzz.....

Meanwhile -

We have moved on from division on unit division board that have zero remainder to equations that do contain remainders.
And, a lot of mental math activity has been going on. Our friend's son who is a chess pro has been doing some minor coaching for our son on how to do different types of checkmates.

Thanks to our friends visiting over this summer we have also learnt about Vedic Mathematics. It is quite appealing and I have gone through some of the tips. But, for now, I feel, the child needs to learn concrete concepts - in a visual sense. And, seeing a square as a square rather than a number has tremendous benefits of later integration.

Finally, the surprise and the biggest discovery today -

The Checkerboard

OMG! OMG! I am pinching myself - unable to believe this. Yippeee Yahoo! And, thanks a trillion, zillion times to Free Montessori

I had just posted to another person asking advice on what next to invest on, for frankly Checker board for Large Numbers as well as Decimal numbers was on the expensive end to buy. Yes, yes, I myself am a person who likes kids to work hands on - sensorial and no laptops or TV etc. But, then, I either wish I could afford all of the material or make them myself at the speed with which I could outpace my kids' interest or learning pace.

I could of course try to make the complete bead material or just buy the bead material and make a laminated checkerboard myself....but, this one serves the purpose for now! Amen!

Montessori at our home - 1

After a long gap, I am posting. This is just to record my activities with my son Ananth.

Ever since we moved back from Phoenix, I have been on the lookout for Montessori schools in Pune. Unfortunately though, I do not have the luxury here. Hence, I have put him in a regular school. I have been introducing things to him so that he can continue from where he left. His Montessori schooling has been a huge learning process for me and reading through Montessori has and is transforming me far far more than my son. I feel deeply connected and thankful to Maria Montessori.

At 5 1/2 years, Ananth was already familiar with multiplication. He could even recite the tables from 1-12. Hence, the next logical extension was to keep him going along that path.

To my great relief, I found Montessori supply India very much here in Pune. The materials are authentic.

I purchased the
a) Multiplication board
b) Division board

I have introduced the basic division and he quite likes the division board much much more than the multiplication one! (Obviously it is the later lesson)

With the blank pages of his Mathematics notebook, we are currently making Decanomial set ourselves. Ananth found it way too interesting to cut the squares himself.

And, well, what a great great way to explain the concept of squaring a number! Now, he has the visual sense of 1 square, 2 square etc. We wrote down

1^2 = 1
2^2 = 4
etc all the way up to 100.

Since it is all in paper, I plan to stick it to some card stock so that while he has the squares on one side, he would have the "colours" on the other.

Other than that, Ananth himself picked up Hindi reading and writing. Today, he moved ahead to chandrabindu, visarga and ru matra. He was quite excited to pronounce Krshna the correct way and not as Kreeshna!!! :)

And, I sensed that his musical sense improved with a simple chinese toy that I had purchased over 2 years ago. He himself tapped and said - "Amma, this is sounding like Do re mi...". Then, he went over and over again a 10 times and discovered that Do re mi and Sa ri ga are sounding the same! And, wonder of wonders today he could actually sing it fully using the toy. He said, I feel so happy to have sung it perfectly. It is such a joy to see a child discover for himself - being allowed to figure out and discover. What greater joy than to let the child's innerself unfold itself.
For the first time, I could actually feel what Maria Montessori has been talking about the "moment of discovery".

My next plans
1) Complete the decanomial
2) He seems to ask lots of questions on geography and history - figure out some different way of presenting it
3) See how we can get to talk abt the animals/plants of the geographies....
4) Make the bead bars myself from some wonderful sites
5) How to better explain the anomalies in English - like why do we have w in write that is silent, k in knife that is silent!

More as and when I have something to pen down and to keep track of myself. My humble thanks to all those who have painstakingly recorded their journeys.

Living Montessori Now
Montessori at home
Youtube - Montessori Presentation Videos
Teaching from a tacklebox
Montessori Elementary material
And his school
Heritage Montessori School Phoenix

And, many many more that I have not been keeping track of.

Thank you.

Nothing should go a waste

It is indeed intriguing how nature almost rejuvenates everything - nothing ever goes waste in nature. A dead body is a food for the decomposers (however much it may be gory to imagine). The human urine and faeces are in fact incredible manures. There are lot of articles out on google on humanure, but what has prompted me to post is this -

Read this Urine replacing fertilizers

Recently, my sister was on a visit to a remote village in Uttaranchal to promote a World Bank project. The project was about "educating" the villagers about the modern toilet. On how to use the flush, how to clean and how not to defecate anywhere and "use" the toilet. She in fact noted that, although she went on this "education project", there was absolutely no pollution in that village. One hardly steps on any urine or faeces. The people obviously used the forest areas. It was lush, green, serene and very refreshing. The lassi was so thick and refreshing - nothing like she has ever had anywhere in Delhi. When all I could tell her was that she ruined whatever was good, there was an interesting question she asked.

As far as India is concerned, men (most often) hardly have any shame urinating and making a nuisance in public. It is the women who are more restrained. The women who approached my sister were the ones pushing for the modern amenities as they were driven by "lajja" - shame. They found it difficult especially during their periods to be with the old system of urinating in the open in some designated places, or when they were out in the fields with men around. 4-5 women had to round up the one woman who had a nature's call.

Now that brings me to the other topic of complete rest during the menstrual period. I remember my mom and aunts being advised to stay "out" - essentially, they were not allowed in the kitchen and were not to touch anything. Basically, they were given a lot of rest. Unfortunately, we have done away with that healthy and wise practice for reasons of "shame" and "lajja" and inconvenience with nuclear families. Inconvenience is another reason how the sanitary napkins are in vogue even with maids who earn just Rs.500-1000 a month. I shudder to think how much of a pollution all that plastic would create. Can there not be a disposable, but an organic solution to this...which is more convenient too?

It is in fact a criminal waste to flush out so much water if all we need is to utilize the nature's manure. But, how do we solve the issue with respect to women? My sister said, the women would come to meet her alone and would cry telling her to influence their "men" - they could not hold on in the fields with so many men around - they needed some provision. There should be a way out if we want to do away with the flush....especially for women.

Cancer: The yin and yang

A remarkable article. Out of Control Yang - The root cause of cancer

I heard about two more women who are having cancer of the breast and ovary. And, as the days go by, I think more women will succumb to it. Blame it all on our shift from the wholesome families to nuclear ones where everybody works and success is purely measured in "masculine" terms.

The article is so very right. In our households, in our societies and the world over needs some respite from the madness of too much action. More feminine (and not just feminist)! :)

Women's Health

Read on -

Women's Health

During my post-partum care, my mother always used to try to serve food for me alone. The food given to the mother of the new-born was not supposed to be seen by any other member of the family. Does that mean that even in strict vegetarian societies, nursing mother was given the required not so vegetarian food? May be our grannies' grannies could answer! Did any other Tambram receive any "special food" during post-partum care?

Ok so what other choices do the lacto-vegan women have - butter, full-fat milk, cream, flax-seeds. Anything else?

That diet apart, here is what struck me most on the lifestyle -



In primitive societies, women's roles and women's diets were dictated by the tribal culture and did not require the individual woman to exercise her decision-making powers. By contrast, modern society gives us unlimited freedom. Every trip to the grocery store, every visit to the refrigerator presents the opportunity for wise or foolish choices about our diet.

So, too, with how we spend our time. The modern woman has been told that she can do everything-work full time, raise a family, provide meals, keep a household that runs smoothly and peacefully and remain appealing and young. Nature tells us something different. By conferring on women the gift of menopause, nature informs us that mothers of small children need help. They cannot do it all, not in primitive societies, much less in the modern age. The pressures for young women to be both wage-earner and mother can place enormous stress on our bodies at just the stage when our strength is needed for the production and care of healthy children. That stress often leads to disease.

Feminists need not cringe. This is not a summons for women to give over newly won political freedoms or withdraw from the workplace but rather a plea for common sense. The future of both ourselves and our children is best served when full-time careers are delayed until after the childbearing years. And when young mothers are obliged to work full-time, older female relatives-aunts, grandmothers, childless siblings-should be ready to pitch in and help with child-rearing duties. In every family unit, at least one person needs to have the time to prepare nutritious meals, whether mother, father, relative or housekeeper.

Hmmm....interesting!!!