Top ten ways to monitor your kids' online presence-Lawrence School

Children are becoming increasingly exposed to the dangers of social media and internet use like cyber bullying, porn, image issues, cyber stalking, etc. As guardians, their safety concerns us and while we cannot avoid their exposure completely, here are top ten ways that will ensure a limited, controlled and relatively safer environment:

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1. Insist on using the computer and internet in the common area of the house. The kids cannot be allowed to browse in private.
2. Make sure you are aware of all the sites they might be visiting. Apply privacy settings and set to the highest level on networking sites.
3. Discourage the use of social networking sites completely. Facebook prevents users below 13 to have a profile and yet this rule is flouted by many. Ensure you do not allow this.
4. Discourage sharing of personal photos on blogs or any other interface the children might be using to interact with fellow students or teachers.
5. Encourage a open line of communication at all times with your children. Make sure you'd be the first person to be in the know if the child gets into any trouble.
6. Make the kids aware of the dangers that arise due to indiscreet sharing of information like the birth date, telephone numbers or befriending strangers on the net.
7. Talk to the kids about the illusions of internet advertisements and strictly advise them from clicking on stray ads. Apply browser security checks and install anti-virus software on the computer.
8. Ensure that the passwords are shared only with you and no one else. Discourage your kids from discussing personal information with friends or anyone else.
9. Teach your children the right way to use the internet, the language to be used and how to use instinct to judge whether the information received over the net is worth pursuing further.
10. Be aware of the steps to be taken in case of untoward instances like cyber bullying, stalking or threats.

Hope you find these tips useful.

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/

Interesting Learning Apps for students- Lawrence School

With kids these days being completely hands on with gadgets and technology, it makes sense for the parents to introduce learning Apps that make learning fun and easy for kids. Here are some interesting Apps that could be introduced to your tech-savvy kids:

Moose Math:

Suitable for kids aged 4 years and up, this App assists in learning counting, addition and subtraction. With fun characters and stories that tie up the activities interesting, this makes for a great App. Parents can even add swipe control screen to protect the kids from straying away into other Apps.

Dinorama:

A great App to introduce the concept of money to your older kids. Kids can learn about decision making and economics with this past paced App laced with their favourite animal character.




Word Ball:

A simple and fun word building game that challenges the players to build three or more lettered words. A great way to get spelling and reading practices for kids.
Suited for ages 9 and above.







Endless Alphabet:

Suited for three years and above, this App presents new words and ways to spell them. The cute monster will be loved by the kids and reading will be fun activity. Some words can however be difficult for preschoolers.




Read me Stories:

Whether you have a book-worm for a child or someone who runs at the mention of reading a book, this App is perfect to introduce fun into reading stories. Newer stories and newer words are added with a fun element, and these stories can be read along too.





#source: http://bit.ly/1kve8dE and http://bit.ly/1mQGr7h

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/ 

Power of disconnecting and doing nothing- Lawrence School

When was the last time you spent a day without the T.V or the phone or the computer? A day? It's impossible to be away even for an hour, you say. Even the tiny tots now play video games on the phone to 'pass time'. We are so addicted to screen time that we find it difficult to think of alternate ways of entertainment, should we be freed (god forbid!) of our gadgets.

How many kids today play with blocks or stare into the pictures in their book? They are constantly fed with outside stimulation and rarely know how to spend time alone, much less in a productive way. There is so much of activity stuffed into their schedule that they display withdrawal symptoms when none of the fast-faced accessory in life is made available to them.

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Take the kids out to a park, let them play in the sand, make castles, break bridges; let them be. Allow them to feel the warm sun on their skin without rushing them, teach them the pleasures of walking, strolling small distances and observing life as they see. Encourage them to describe their surroundings. Help them spot the various insects, birds that you may encounter on a vacation to a hill-station.

Which brings us to the point of taking a vacation or break periodically in a year. It need not be a long and/or expensive one. Just a couple of days spent in the nature will help you and the kids rejuvenate. And, most importantly, do not encourage the use of any gadget during the vacation!

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/  

Encouraging right atmosphere at school - Lawrence School

A good teacher ensures not only imparting the lessons listed out in the syllabus but also makes sure that all the students are growing on the learning curve. While it is not possible to have all the students at the same level on the graph, it is important to create an atmosphere wherein every student embarks on the upward chart and progresses as per his/her abilities.

A typical class consists of all kinds of students. Some are inquisitive and gregarious by nature that makes them easily visible to the teachers, while some are rather quiet who'd want to introspect and think before posing a question. Some are easily distracted while some are able to concentrate on their activity for longer periods of time.

It is therefore a enormous and difficult task for a teacher to take the entire class along. Yet, when the atmosphere is non-threatening and open ended, it allows every child to grow at his/her own pace.We have listed top 5 tips below that we follow and believe would enable a more positive nurturing of the child's character:

1. Emphasize on questions being raised rather than judging the nature of question asked. 
2. Discussions on various topics can be introduced to enable the children to think out of the box. 
3. Enabling children understand that sometimes approaching a problem in the right fashion is more important than the actual solution. 
4. Sometimes there are no right or wrong answers. 
5. Adopting positive rather than punitive measures to help child differentiate between right and wrong actions.

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/  

Developing a child at the right age in the right way- Lawrence School

A much debated question is the right age when a child can begin formal school. Experts opine that too soon or too late can hamper the child's progress and suggest 6 years and above as the optimum age to start schooling.

A child is not emotionally ready before 3 years of age and even between ages of 3 and 6, a rigourous schedule should not be expected of them. Rather than formal schooling, emphasis can be laid on developing their fine and gross motor skills through play. Unstructured play at this age is a great teacher and one should not undermine their importance.

Role-playing and letting the child observe and learn from the surroundings in an art that comes easily to a child that young. They must be encouraged to play more in the open, in nature.

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Many schools or pre-schools begin the exercise of writing as early as 3 years of age which is harmful for the child in the long run since his fine motor skills are yet underdeveloped and the muscles needs time to strengthen. Instead, more emphasis should be on encouraging and developing reading skills. Picture books could be read out as a group activity to the tots. They could be given any object and encouraged to talk about it.

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/  

How to improve your handwriting?- Lawrence School

Bad handwriting is the nemesis for most school and even college level students who still depend on their written (rather than typed out) answers during exams. Scrawny, illegible hand not only gives the examiner nightmares, it also wipes off the confidence to write.

A good handwriting should not be a goal that is pursued just to score that extra marks. It is an asset that can be cultivated, honed and used to your advantage long after you've passed out of school and college. Here are a few tips that can enable you to improve your writing:

Move the right muscles: Generally it is observed that people who write illegibly are ones that write with their fingers rather than the forearms. When the forearms move along with the letters written, the shape and size turn out much neater and clearer as opposed to putting the pressure on the fingers to 'draw' out the letters.

Sitting Vs notebook position: The sitting posture has to be correct; no slouching or leaning too forward or backwards with respect to the notebook. Also, the book or writing pad has to be in an correct angle to the body. A 90 deg angle to the body will only hurt the hands and back.

Pressure on the pen/pencil: The pressure applied to the pen or pencil has to be just right. Holding the pen/pencil lightly and letting the letters flow easily is the correct method as opposed to a tight grip and pressing it deeply onto the paper, enough to make a mark on the opposite side of the paper.

Practise makes perfect: It's not without a reason that elders insisted on us writing pages after pages just to improve our writing. However writing without applying the mind or heart will not help. Hence, even if it is just a paragraph, do make it a practise to sit down with a pen and paper. Not only will this help the writing to clear out, your thought process will also see clarity in the long run.

Hope these tips help you!

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/  

Teaching children about good and bad touch

A lot has been spoken about the need for sex education in schools. We at Lawrence definitely endorse the idea of teaching children early on about their bodies and the changes that happen with age. An important part of sex education is teaching the young about respecting their bodies and learning how to recognize a good touch from a bad one.

We'd like to share a very simple video conceived and developed by NPSCC that simplifies the process for very young children.

Video credit : http://bit.ly/1egYTiH

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/  

Enjoying the rains without worries

The beginning of monsoon brings back the beautiful weather Bangalore is famous for but it also sets off the cycle of cold, cough and flu amongst school-going children.

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Here are a few tips to through the rainy days:

Drink safe water: As far as possible, drink only boiled or purified water; always carry a water bottle for yourself and kids when going outdoors. Avoid drinking regular water at restaurants you are not sure of with regards to hygiene.

Avoid eating at road-side stalls: Chaats and fried stuff seem most yummy when it is pouring outside, but the road-side stalls that serve these delicacies are the breeding house for many infection-spreading flies and mosquitoes. While, it is Ok to indulge once a while, it is wise to use discretion. At best, the snacks can be savoured at home or ordered from reputed joints.

Avoid collection of water near home: Stagnated water leads to breeding of flies and mosquitoes, so there should not be any logging of water near the home. Water-bodies that function as beauty elements must be cleaned regularly, so that the water does not turn murky or collects moss. A practice of washing the feet and hands after coming from the outdoors must be inculcated in children and followed by adults too.

Exercise regularly and eat healthy: Viruses are kept at bay when one has a regular regime of exercising. Children need to play outdoors. Young children need supervision to see that they play safely and within the boundaries of clean and hygienic activities. One must also ensure that the family eats healthy-soups, greens and fruits should form a part of daily diet.

Prevention is better than cure: however, if you or the child falls sick, take plenty of care and rest to ensure that the body is able to fight the viruses. Salt-water gargling helps in clearing the throat, steam-inhalation does wonders for blocked nose. A concoction of honey, pepper and ginger juice is a great remedy for sore throat and cold.

www.wellsphere.com

Hope these tips are useful and this monsoon brings more cheer than worry.

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/  

Importance of fine arts in life-Lawrence school

We came across a fine piece of writing over social media the other day and thought of sharing on the blog:

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A wholesome education is guaranteed by embracing the finer forms of expression. It need not be learnt with the aim of making it your career.  Just having these forms in your life can make you a better individual or a better society if we consider the larger picture.

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/

Failure does not mean end of the road

As parents, it is natural to want to shield children from dealing with disappointments and failure in life. We want the best for them and cannot see them lag behind their peers in any respect and feel helpless to see them unable to handle any kind of raw deal that life may throw at them.

However, it is in their best interests and ours to let them handle frustrations early on, so that they turn out to be well-reasoned out adults later.

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Encourage instead of lending a helping hand: Kids are met with tiny frustrations even as young as infancy and toddlerhood. While kids at this age are very resilient and are not prone to giving into despair, there can be times when the child might feel like giving up. It is the duty of the parents to encourage their efforts and let them be at the task, rather than finishing it off for them.

Compete with self: However brilliant a child is, there is always going to be someone who is better. Hence, the aim has always to be bettering oneself than competing with the neighbour. If the focus is on acquiring skill and knowledge and not about beating the next person in an exam, there will be no anxiety or frustration of failure.

Realistic expectation: Parents need to keep realistic expectations from the child. It is not right to saddle them with their own unfulfilled ambitions. Tuning in to the child’s capacity, interest and capability will help the child to achieve his/her full potential.

Larger picture: Score in an exam is very temporary and does not mean much in real life scenarios. This is a truth that needs to be accepted and imbibed by both-parents and children. The larger picture in life is many a time missed out by pursuing shallow goals like winning a competition or topping an exam.

Open channels of communication: Children should feel free and comfortable in approaching the parents in any kind of situations. The lines of communication must be free from judgment on the parent’s side. The child must not feel threatened and should be encouraged to communicate his/her opinion.

Life is never fair and the goal of life should be deriving pleasure and taking lessons from the journey without keeping a destination in mind. If parents can teach this philosophy early on, kids will be better equipped to deal with failure.

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/

Bullying at school-Lawrence School

Does your child complain at the mention of school? Does your usually energetic preschooler seem a little reticent? Has your little one’s tantrums gone up off late? Does your pre-teenage child want to sleep in more than usual? Watch out, for these may be warning signs of bullying.

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Bullying at school is a very common occurrence and the victims could be anyone-a preschooler or even a pre-teen child. So also, the bully can be anyone. The bully might not necessarily be someone who seems aggressive or a badly behaved child. The abuser is most likely dealing with some tough situation at hand and like the victim, needs to be handled with deft and care.

Parents and teachers need to watch out for the red flags and handle the child with tact and gentleness. More often than not the bully could be dealing with emotional changes like a new sibling, an authoritarian parent, dealing with demise of a close relative, being witness of regular fights between parents or sometimes as drastic as undergoing physical and mental abuse by someone close.

Parents of the bully need to be informed of their child’s behavior and also counseled if needed. Punitive measures rarely work in these cases.

Victims also need to be handled with care as their very self-esteem could be at stake. It is important to let them know that they are not alone and bullying is a serious offence. They would need a lot of reassurance and explicit mention of how good they are and why they must ignore the bully. The concerned teacher must be taken into confidence to ensure her participation in the process.

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/

Snack box dilemma for kindergartners solved

The schools have begun and so have the woes of 'what to pack in the lunch boxes'! Packing something that is wholesome, nutritious, tasty as well as appealing to the little ones is a challenging task for most mothers and especially so when the child is a picky-eater.

Here are a few ideas that you can incorporate and ease out the routine:

Stuffed parathas or wraps: Instead of packing rotis and veggies separately, if you can pack them together as yummy stuffed parathas or as frankies, the kids would have no problem devouring it. You could try various permutations with various veggies and some cheese and panner thrown in for good measure too.

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Fruity accompaniment: Try to combine at least one fruit to off-set a heavier lunch box. Parathas go well with some pomograntes or cut mangoes. Short breaks are thereby easily tackled too!

Include nuts: Goodness packed in the easiest way. Badams, Cashews, Walnuts, and what you may; stuff a handful of these into a airtight box and be ensured of it coming back empty.

Home-made-dips and crunchies: Shallow fried potato wedges with a healthy dips made at home serve as a great indulgent snack. Since its shallow fried, there isn't much to worry too.

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References:

1. http://bit.ly/1hwieoZ
2. http://bit.ly/1jORE4Q
3. http://bit.ly/1jORE4Q

We hope you are inspired enough to start this academic year with different menus for your child's lunch box. We wish you all the best :-)

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/

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.

Image: http://bit.ly/1tDZHaf

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/

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/

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/ 

Mahashivratri-The origin and significance-Lawrence School

Mahashivratri, also known as the night of Lord Shiva, is celebrated with great devotion in most parts of India. Devotees observe fast during the day and stay awake during the night performing abhishek/puja to Lord Shiva who manifests in the form of the Linga.

Mahashivratri falls on the 14th day of the fortnight in the month of Phalgun. This night of Mahashivratri is considered highly auspicious in Hinduism. It is believed that one is atoned for his or his past sins if one prays to the Lord with complete devotion and surrender on this particular day. It is also believed that the planets are aligned in such a way that it makes it conducive for people on the path of spirituality to attain moksha or liberation from the circle of life and death.

Image: http://bit.ly/1kcUdDc


There are many stories that takes us to the origin of this festival. A popular tale among them is of a tribal villager who was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Once he ventured into the forest to collect fire-wood and by the time he returned it was nightfall and he lost his way. Fearing harm from the wild animals around, he climbed up a tree. To keep himself awake and get rid of his fear, he began to pluck the leaves of a bel-tree and cast them on the ground while chanting the name of Lord Shiva. It so happened that there was a Linga below the tree and the bel-leaves fell upon the Linga; the act done unknowingly was indeed a deep form of worship of the Lord. It is said that pleased with the devotion, the Lord blessed him with material and spiritual bliss.

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/   

One day he went deep into the forest to collect firewood. However he lost his way and could not return home before nightfall. As darkness fell, he heard the growls of wild animals. Terrified, he climbed onto the nearest tree for shelter till day-break. Perched amongst the branches, he was afraid he would doze and fall off the tree. To stay awake, he decided to pluck a leaf at a time from the tree and drop it, while chanting the name of Shiva. At dawn, he realized that he had dropped a thousand leaves onto a Linga to keep himself awake, the tribal plucked one leaf at a time from the tree and dropped it below which he had not seen in the dark. The tree happened to be a wood apple or bel tree. This unwitting all-night worship pleased Shiva, by whose grace the tribal was rewarded with divine bliss. This story is also recited on Mahashivaratri by devotees on fast. After observing the all-night fast, devotees eat the Prasad offered to Shiva.
Read more at http://www.theholidayspot.com/shivratri/origin.htm#YmXEk6SOrljotGbi.99

One day he went deep into the forest to collect firewood. However he lost his way and could not return home before nightfall. As darkness fell, he heard the growls of wild animals. Terrified, he climbed onto the nearest tree for shelter till day-break. Perched amongst the branches, he was afraid he would doze and fall off the tree. To stay awake, he decided to pluck a leaf at a time from the tree and drop it, while chanting the name of Shiva. At dawn, he realized that he had dropped a thousand leaves onto a Linga to keep himself awake, the tribal plucked one leaf at a time from the tree and dropped it below which he had not seen in the dark. The tree happened to be a wood apple or bel tree. This unwitting all-night worship pleased Shiva, by whose grace the tribal was rewarded with divine bliss. This story is also recited on Mahashivaratri by devotees on fast. After observing the all-night fast, devotees eat the Prasad offered to Shiva.
Read more at http://www.theholidayspot.com/shivratri/origin.htm#YmXEk6SOrljotGbi.99

One day he went deep into the forest to collect firewood. However he lost his way and could not return home before nightfall. As darkness fell, he heard the growls of wild animals. Terrified, he climbed onto the nearest tree for shelter till day-break. Perched amongst the branches, he was afraid he would doze and fall off the tree. To stay awake, he decided to pluck a leaf at a time from the tree and drop it, while chanting the name of Shiva. At dawn, he realized that he had dropped a thousand leaves onto a Linga to keep himself awake, the tribal plucked one leaf at a time from the tree and dropped it below which he had not seen in the dark. The tree happened to be a wood apple or bel tree. This unwitting all-night worship pleased Shiva, by whose grace the tribal was rewarded with divine bliss. This story is also recited on Mahashivaratri by devotees on fast. After observing the all-night fast, devotees eat the Prasad offered to Shiva.
Read more at http://www.theholidayspot.com/shivratri/origin.htm#YmXEk6SOrljotGbi.99

One day he went deep into the forest to collect firewood. However he lost his way and could not return home before nightfall. As darkness fell, he heard the growls of wild animals. Terrified, he climbed onto the nearest tree for shelter till day-break. Perched amongst the branches, he was afraid he would doze and fall off the tree. To stay awake, he decided to pluck a leaf at a time from the tree and drop it, while chanting the name of Shiva. At dawn, he realized that he had dropped a thousand leaves onto a Linga to keep himself awake, the tribal plucked one leaf at a time from the tree and dropped it below which he had not seen in the dark. The tree happened to be a wood apple or bel tree. This unwitting all-night worship pleased Shiva, by whose grace the tribal was rewarded with divine bliss. This story is also recited on Mahashivaratri by devotees on fast. After observing the all-night fast, devotees eat the Prasad offered to Shiva.
Read more at http://www.theholidayspot.com/shivratri/origin.htm#YmXEk6SOrljotGbi.99

One day he went deep into the forest to collect firewood. However he lost his way and could not return home before nightfall. As darkness fell, he heard the growls of wild animals. Terrified, he climbed onto the nearest tree for shelter till day-break. Perched amongst the branches, he was afraid he would doze and fall off the tree. To stay awake, he decided to pluck a leaf at a time from the tree and drop it, while chanting the name of Shiva. At dawn, he realized that he had dropped a thousand leaves onto a Linga to keep himself awake, the tribal plucked one leaf at a time from the tree and dropped it below which he had not seen in the dark. The tree happened to be a wood apple or bel tree. This unwitting all-night worship pleased Shiva, by whose grace the tribal was rewarded with divine bliss. This story is also recited on Mahashivaratri by devotees on fast. After observing the all-night fast, devotees eat the Prasad offered to Shiva.
Read more at http://www.theholidayspot.com/shivratri/origin.htm#YmXEk6SOrljotGbi.99

One day he went deep into the forest to collect firewood. However he lost his way and could not return home before nightfall. As darkness fell, he heard the growls of wild animals. Terrified, he climbed onto the nearest tree for shelter till day-break. Perched amongst the branches, he was afraid he would doze and fall off the tree. To stay awake, he decided to pluck a leaf at a time from the tree and drop it, while chanting the name of Shiva. At dawn, he realized that he had dropped a thousand leaves onto a Linga to keep himself awake, the tribal plucked one leaf at a time from the tree and dropped it below which he had not seen in the dark. The tree happened to be a wood apple or bel tree. This unwitting all-night worship pleased Shiva, by whose grace the tribal was rewarded with divine bliss. This story is also recited on Mahashivaratri by devotees on fast. After observing the all-night fast, devotees eat the Prasad offered to Shiva.
Read more at http://www.theholidayspot.com/shivratri/origin.htm#YmXEk6SOrljotGbi.99

Benefits of an inclusive learning environment-Lawrence School

Inclusive learning environment can be termed as a place where children of various needs and abilities are trained under one roof; a place where every child feels equally loved and motivated enough to perform to the best of his or her abilities without any guilt, discomfort or pressure.

A mixed environment could be a place where students of different social, cultural and economic backgrounds converge to learn under the same set of teachers. This could also be extended to include children who are also differently abled, either physically or mentally, as long as their impairment does not require constant medical attention and does not interfere too much with their every-day needs.

 Image: http://bit.ly/N5Yz0L

A well-trained and empathetic trainer or teacher is highly important in such a set up since he or she would be instrumental in bringing about the fine balance where each child irrespective of his/her background or ability gets to explore, learn and grow equally.

It is also a fine opportunity for main-stream children to develop a sense of empathy and tolerance and eventually appreciation for kids from a different set-up. The differently-abled group gets a chance to become comfortable in interacting in social set-up without feeling ‘odd’ or left-out. It gives them a chance to lift their self-esteem and be at par with their ‘normal’ peers. 

 

Image: http://bit.ly/1caFara

It is a pre-cursor to an ideal world where the have-nots are not ridiculed or looked down upon by the haves in the society; where everyone is treated with dignity and respect; where one is able to put self in others’ shoes and feel for the other.

Can we dream of such an environment in our main-stream schools?

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/