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2nd Art & Craft Competition: Buniyaad held its second Art and Craft competition for the Nurseries in the 2nd week of Dec. 2013. The challenge given was to decorate a peacock and the materials given were stickers, ice cream sticks and colored paper. Stickers are something that every child enjoys using and everyone wanted to try their hand at it. Every instruction given by the teachers was listened to carefully and the little hands were itching to start off with the sticking. Kids were also curious as to how the ice cream sticks were going to be used. The children and the teachers were carrying on with the task with full enthusiasm trying to bring out the best peacock just in an hour’s time frame. Volunteers from Xoriant Solutions Pvt. Ltd. and Anglo-Eastern Maritime Training Center obliged by presiding as judges. We extend our thanks to them for being a part of Buniyaad by devoting their time and efforts. Parameters for judging the competition were – class participation, use of materials given, level of

understanding the instructions given by teachers, completion of task and neatness. Mrs. Sangeeta Malage, who is an art teacher for the last 13 years, independently judged the distinct peacocks. Mrs. Malage utilizes her hobby to encourage kids to use art to boost independence and bring out their individual abilities and thoughts on paper. The winners of this competition were:

Nursery No 5, Filterpada(teacher Mrs. Vidya Ahire), won the First Prize and Nursery No 3, Parksite (teacher - Mrs. Sujata Tambat) won the 2nd Prize. Kudos to the children and thumbs-up to the teachers for their guidance!!! For more pictures visit, http://www.buniyaad.org.in/activities_art2.html

Christmas Celebration: Nurseries created their own Class Christmas tree by adorning it with paper ornaments. Children were proud and thrilled, since they could manage most of the decorations by themselves. In no time, the paper tree looked bright and radiant with the embellishments. Volunteers taught

‘Educating Minds…Strengthening Roots…To create a better Tomorrow.’

Contents: ! Second Art and Craft Competition ! Christmas celebrations ! Editorial Initiative ! Sports Day ! Guest Speak

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some popular carols like ‘jingle bell, jingle bell…‘ and the cheerful students gladly joined in!! Christmas feast of savories and sweets brought beaming smiles and a much-

enjoyed finale to our Christmas celebrations!!! For more pictures visit, http://www.buniyaad.org.in/activities_celebration.html

Editorial Initiative: Herb Garden As you may have guessed from the name, the task is with reference to growing, tending, nurturing… herbs. The aim is to educate children how little amount of soil and space can be put to good use, by practical demonstration by teachers. Each nursery has been handed over pots, soil and some coriander seeds. The teachers’ task is getting the children to plant the seeds, and nurturing them by keeping away pests and rats. Active participation of children by way of watering the plants and ensuring that other kids do not pluck is also required. By the end of this academic session, the herbs will be judged on the basis of volume and density of the grown plants. At the conclusion of this project teachers can and must use the herbs thus grown. Dear Readers, we encourage you to watch this space for healthy winners of this Initiative!!!

Sports Day: Sports Day of Buniyaad Nursery and Playgroup was held on 24th Jan. 2014 at Ambedkar Udyan, Powai. Children from all the nurseries presented an array of colors spread out like "a rainbow" at the venue. The ground was ready with tracks marked

out in white and teachers with colorful pompoms. The wonderful morning weather with light breeze set the mood for the sports activities to begin. The event started with Buniyaad Prayer. It was an encouraging sight to watch the tiny-tots sitting in neat rows, eagerly waiting for their names to be called for the race.

Beginning on a buoyant note, the first race was FLAT RACE followed by the FROG Race. A few children in their enthusiasm to come first tried to run in a zigzag fashion. Some of them who were not able bend their knees, just started hopping or jumping like standing frogs. The

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atmosphere at the ground was quite engrossing, with teachers and volunteers pepping the kids up to finish the race.

The winners for Flat Race were: Veer – Nur. 1, Diksha – Nur. 1, Group -2, Vishal – Nur. 4, Nagesh – Nur. 3, Rudra – Nur. 1, Vedant –Nur. 1. The Frog Race winners were: Ayush – Nur. 1, Vedant – Nur. 1, Sumit – Nur. 2, Gauri-Nur. 2, Omkar – Nur. 1, Saundarya – Nur. 3. The motor coordinating skills of the tiny-tots were at test in the PICKING UP THE BALLS RACE. On the race tracks, balls were placed at intervals and the children had to pick the balls and get them to the finishing line. The tiny palms were attempting at holding the balls without dropping but nay some were disappointed. The prize takers here were: Mohammad – Nur. 2, Sonali Kamble – Nur. 2, Ritvesh – Nur. 3, Raj – Nur. 4, Sahil Ahire – Nur. 1, and Manish – Nur. 6.

As the races progressed, we could hear the other kids calling out their friends’ names and cheering them on.

The BEADS IN BOTTLE RACE - saw beads and bottles kept at a halfway mark on the racing tracks. Children had to run, pick the beads, drop them inside the bottle and get to the finishing line with all the beads inside the bottle. It was amazing to see how effortlessly the kids were able to finish this task in a few seconds. In Beads N Bottle Race the proud takers of the prizes were: Tanishq - Nur. 6, Rushi – Nur. 1, Krishna - Nur. 2, Aryan – Nur. 2, Arushi –Nur. 5, Rihana – Nur. 5. The faces of the winners were a delight to watch, showcasing their sense of achievement. The teachers had ‘BALL IN BUCKET CHALLENGE’, wherein a volunteer would reverse-throw balls in quick succession and

the teacher had to collect them in the bucket. The collector of maximum balls was the winner. It was a fantastic sight to watch the speed of the reaction to the action. Sounds of cheers for the teachers echoed through the ground. The winners of this were Bharti Ahire – Nur. 1, Parksite and the runner-up was Vidya Ahire – Nur. 5, Filterpada. The teachers were then treated to an innovative BALLOON RACE, where in the teachers had to blowup a few balloons, get to the finish line, burst the balloons,

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balance a sweet-lime on their heads and get to the finish line. The atmosphere was filled with claps and smiles. Winners of this competition were Vidya Ahire from Nur.5, Filterpada and the runner-up was Sarika Matode from Nur. 2, Milind Nagar. There was a surprise googly – a LEMON ‘n’ SPOON race for the parents - initially the parents seemed a little shy but after a bit of persuasion, they sportingly participated in the race. The winners in this race were - Pooja, Usha, Shobha and Subhangi. After hectic sports activity, children,

teachers, parents AND volunteers were delighted to have a healthy and hearty meal with their favorite sweets like jalebis and chocolates. Republic Day Republic day was celebrated at the Sports Ground with fun and gaiety. Pinup flags adorned the clothes of one and all. The air was filled with the childish voices of the kids, bellowing out patriotic songs, along with their teachers. The frenzy morning concluded with the calm rendering of the National Anthem and shouts of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’. For more pictures visit, http://www.buniyaad.org.in/activities_sports.html

Guest Speak: Rajeshree Kumar I have always loved the company of young children, and here I had it right in my plate, when I was invited to join Buniyaad on the Sports Day. When I reached the venue, I could sense the excitement in the air... The event had already begun; the children and the adults (volunteers, teachers, parents) were all equally involved, the place looked colorful and full of excitement... I appreciate the way the whole event unfolded; each child was involved and personally encouraged to participate. With so much love and care directions were given about the races to the participants... Cooperation and coordination among the volunteers is appreciable. The enthusiasm and positive energy levels of the adults was clearly visible in the children.... The idea to inculcate good sportsman spirit, develop kinesthetic skills, provide a fair chance to every child was clearly visible all through the event. The teachers had the right spirit too, their competition was the best as they encouraged each other, and the teamwork was well exhibited. Full marks! I was totally overwhelmed when I was asked to give away the prizes to the winners... Oh, such a lovely feeling to come close to these tiny tots. Buniyaad is doing a great job by providing basic education to the children of this age group, as more that 90 percent of the brain development happens in this age! Wishing the volunteers and teachers tons of success in the mission!! Very humbly I express gratitude for inviting me to be a part of such an important event in the life of these children!

Editorial Team: Jaya S, Hema R, Rekha J. Special Contributors: Revati B, M.V. Subhalakshmi, Vibha Kulkarni, Hema Kodi, Latha K. Email us at: buniyaad.mum@hotmail.com Log on to our website: www.buniyaad.org.in