Enjoy tech-free moments

Life without gadgets seems impossible today with even preschoolers these days being hands-on with the latest gadgets. Online gaming, shopping, socializing, working, almost everything happens through the internet. Given the significance, can you imagine a day without these vital appendages?

Isn't this a sad state of affairs that man is a slave of the very technology he invented? An online game, a chat with a virtual friend, checking mails, or browsing through the net is preferred to sipping tea at leisure or even chatting with the spouse. Even a holiday is experienced less and captured more on the camera for Facebook status and comments.

Perhaps its time to pause; to smell the roses; to hear the birds. A few moments in the day free from technology is all it takes to get rooted into life. Switch off that laptop once you are back from work. keep the phone on the silent mode and listen to what your child has to say to you.

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Kids learn from what they see and not from what is told to them. So, if you want your child to go out and mingle with other kids, stop watching more television or socialize more in the real life rather than on Facebook, then perhaps you, as a parent, need to introspect on the life that is being set as an example for your kids.

So, today, take out a book and read rather than watching the news; urge your child to sit and have dinner at the table rather than in front of the computer; stop the urge to take out that phone to update the status when on a holiday; talk, converse, discuss, play, smile and laugh, and perhaps life will start to look more meaningful.

 Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/

Where to go this summer?

With the vacations on in full swing, many parents and guardians are probably besieged by the question of how to keep the children occupied.Today we bring to you some interesting places around Bangalore where the kids and adults can have a good time together.

HAL aerospace museum: A visit to this well-kept and informative museum will enchant any kid or adult alike. There is a plethora of information about the history of aircraft which also gives one an insight about the technological advancement of our country. Great quality photo-exhibits, real-life exhibits of the aircraft and even an experience to fly an aircraft using simulators can make for an very exciting day picnic for the children.

The Heritage Centre & Aerospace Museum at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore, is located on Airport Road, 8 km. from M. G .Road and only 1.5 km. from Airport. 

Gerry Martin Farm:  Located on the Sarjapur-Chikkabellandur road, this place has large spaces of green and farm animals. The children could have a blast exploring the farm, climbing up and down trees and making friends with the rabbits, horses, cows, pigs and the birds while the adults can chill out at the nearby zone with food and drinks!

The farm is located on 33, Carmelaram post, Sarjapur Road-Chikka Bellandur, Bangalore.

Kids-Carnival@Jagriti Theatre , Whitefield: Jagriti,Whitfield has come up with a kids carnival festival with loads of activities, workshops and performances to keep the children entertained and also have an educational experience this May. From puppet shows to drawing workshops to pottery, this carnival has it all. Check out the itinerary here.

 Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/

English language-and its common (mis)usage

The Queen's language has always been a topic of amusement and obsession with the regional speaking population. With its many contradicting rules in grammar and spelling, it's no wonder that that English is definitely a language that many find difficult to master.

Similarly spelt words are very different in meaning. Yet, very often such words are interchanged. It was quite quiet. Yes, there's a difference between quite and quiet. The former means completely and the latter means silence. Therefore, 'she's quite talkative' and 'she's quiet' are contradictory statements.

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The top is loose but you can also lose your mind over a trivial matter. There's a wide difference between the words 'loose' and 'lose' and when interchanged can make for funny anecdotes to regale our friends with. 

You're is actually two words- 'you' and 'are'- and should not be confused with 'your' which is a pronoun-used to indicate a belonging of a person.

Indiscriminate use of 'ly' to form adverbs can prove dangerous too. For example: a boss wanted to praise an employee and went on to say in a boardroom conference, "Mr. Venkkiah works hardly. He comes fastly to office too." Needless to say, the sentence left Mr. Venkkiah red-faced and the others guffawing.

So, have you honed your English skills lately? If not, it's not a bad idea to sit down with a Wren & Martin to avoid such bloopers.

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/

Helping children to be tolerant and community-friendly : Lawrence School

In the urban, developed world that we live in today, nuclear families are the order of the day; the joint family system is passé.  Most are single-child families or at the most have two children.  It is no wonder then that children learn to live by themselves and ‘for’ themselves.  Their perspective is limited to “me, mine and myself”.    In this scenario, how do we help a child to learn to be more tolerant and community-friendly? 

Here are some of the things that we could do -

·         As the saying goes, “charity begins at home”; likewise, as parents we need to set the right example.  We have to practice what we want our child to learn.  Hence, our children should see us as people who care; who offer help to the needy; who take part in community programmes and who follow rules and are law abiding citizens. 

·         We must get our children to share his/ her toys and books with friends and cousins.  Also, if the maid or driver has a young kid, we could get our children to help them with their homework. 

·         We must encourage our children to take part in community services in and around our locality.  This could be in the form of

Ø  Keeping the locality clean -not throw garbage (chocolate paper, banana peel, etc) on the road, not urinate in the open..

Ø  Spread awareness around garbage segregation

·         We must encourage our children to form and express their opinion about social matters – like when they notice someone not following traffic rules, or disobeying the law, they can voice their opinion and talk to an adult about it.  This way, they will also learn to differentiate ‘right’ from ‘wrong’.

·         We should explain the importance of non-renewable and limited natural resources and get our children to save on fuel, electricity and water. 

Thus, it is imperative that we become good role models for our children – more can be learnt from seeing rather than from just preaching.  Our children can then learn to say “we, us and ours” and become empathetic, humble and socially committed citizens.

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/ 

Summer Holidays – how to keep children occupied

It is that time of the year that school children (and some parents too!) eagerly look forward to - two whole months of vacation! No waking up early in the mornings and no rigid schedule to be followed; no catching the bus and no classes to attend.   This is the best part of any child’s life - totally carefree and completely liberated!

While this may be so, parents during this two-month break have to learn to manage their children’s time well.   They will have to think of ways of engaging them in a meaningful manner during the holidays.  It is great that children can relax without adhering to strict schedules, at the same time, they should not while away their time watching meaningless television programmes all through the day. 

So as parents, what can we do?  A lot of things actually. 

• -          Get the children to play with their friends – this will help them develop good social behavior. 
• -          Get them to help you around the house.  Small jobs/chores like laying the table before every meal, cleaning their own plates / clothes, putting the garbage out, watering the plants, helping in spring cleaning (cleaning windows, furniture, cupboards, etc), folding their own clothes and arranging neatly in their shelves.  These activities will not only help them learn but will also make them responsible and help them to take care of their belongings.  And it teaches them the value of labour.
• -          Get them to take up a hobby or sport– music, dance, drawing/sketching, pottery, carpentry - anything that interests them.
• -          Get them to cultivate the habit of reading.  Get them books from a lending library or you could also buy from a second-hand book store.  This is one habit that will help them in all phases of life.    
• -          Involve them in your holiday plans.  Encourage them to read up about the places you plan to visit and make them write their experiences after the travel. 

Thus, as parents and care-givers, we need to inculcate certain habits and responsibilities in our children.  The summer vacation is the best time to do this.  Let us spend time with our kids and enjoy the holiday!    

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/

Let's have a colourful but careful Holi

Holi is the festival of colours, fun and freedom but it is a good idea to exercise caution and enjoy the festival in its true sense and spirit. We urge you to pay heed to incorporate these pointers, so that we do not cause harm to ourselves or others knowingly or unknowingly.

The synthetic colours used in the festival are extremely harmful to the skin, eye and teeth.  Make sure that you play with natural colours this year. There are a few outlets that provide herbal colours. These do not harm in any way and are easily washed away too.

We are fighting a losing battle with water scarcity as the years go by hence it is a crime to use more water than required. On festivals like Holi, a lot of water tends to get used and wasted and we need to curb this practice at once. Using only dry colours and avoiding drenching and soaking in buckets of water are something that can be easily done. Again by not using synthetic colours, one can get rid of the colours with lesser water; spare a thought for people who go without a drop of water before you drain that bucket of water on someone’s head.

Say no to water balloons. These can not only hurt a person badly but also the material is not degradable and pollutes the environment.

Festivals are celebrated to induce a spirit of brotherhood and bring in joy, so pay heed to the other person’s feelings. If a person does not want to participate, respect his/her feelings. Also, keep a strict vigil on children and do not let them stray alone into lonely streets.

Misbehaving in public is a crime on all occasions and festivals like Holi should not be used as a pretext to indulge in teasing women or causing harm to anyone physically or mentally. The adults must use restraint on the consumption of the traditional Bhang and sweets and also advise their children accordingly.As a responsibly citizen, we must not let a festive mood turn to a period of destruction and unfortunate happenings. 

We, at Lawrence school, hope that these pointers would be implemented and the festival is celebrated in its true colour. So, go ahead and have a happy and safe Holi!

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/ 

Coping with exams-Lawrence School

It’s exam time and as usual the stress levels are on an increase. Parents and students leave no stone unturned to ensure a high success rate. However, sometimes in an effort to focus on the marks the larger picture of acquiring knowledge is left behind.

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Scoring marks might be necessary to get into the desired faculty or college but it is not a guarantee to success in the real world. Bookish knowledge cannot be applied in the real life scenarios. Hence the focus should largely remain at gaining fruitful knowledge.

Having realistic expectations is one of the best methods of approaching any exam. Parents and children need to bring down the expectation levels to match the capacity of the student. An overall 60% achiever cannot top up his scores to 85% just by cramming in the last few days. 

Mobiles, internet, Facebook, chatting (even if it means discussing studies) should be kept at the lowest minimum. Too much of discussing about how much each one has studied and how much one needs to catch up only raises the anxiety levels.

Allowing time for recreational hobby is not a sacrilegious thing to do. In fact all study will bring down the absorption levels after a point. The mind needs to recharge with something creative or stimulating. It could be anything- a favourite sport, painting, music, dancing or even cooking.

Finally, parents need to befriend their children and win their confidence. They need to demonstrate that exams and their results is not the end of the world-even if they are board exams.  

 Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/