Make your own forest food

In our place there is a plant called Baranga. It grows only in the monsoon. It is not cultivated in fields; it grows wild in the hills. You can eat it. It grows only in Panchgani Mahableshwar-Plateau.
Here is how to cook it
You need
Onion
Garlic
Tomato

Chop the Baranga finely. Boil it. Cut the onions and garlic. Make a curry out of them with some tomato. Remove the Baranga from the water. Make it into small balls. Brake the balls of Baranga up and mix them with the curry. Serve your dish with hot Jowar Roti.

Make your own bullock game

To make your own bullock game you need
An A4 sheet of paper
A pencil
A black pen
Some coloured pencils
Look at one of your board games and copy the design of your board game on the paper. Know make squares in the paper. In the squares you can make pictures of grass and fields.

You need some counters and a dice.
How to play?
You need two players. Each player is called a bull. Now throw the dice. If the dice falls and the number is two then move two steps. The winner is the bull who has finished ploughing the land first.

Indus Valley Classes

With the homeschoolers we are doing a co-op class on Indus valley. We are making classes on Indus valley and when we have finished the classes then we are going on a trip to Gujarat. In Gujarat we will be visiting Lothal a port town of Indus valley.
This Indus valley project is made by Muriel Kakani and Idania Duncan.
Here is how our first Indus valley co-op class was.

We were going to make clay toys of Indus valley so I made a power point on it. I put lots of pictures of Indus valley clay toys in the power point. Then we were given some clay to make some clay toys.

Here are som of our creations.

Shrutkriti one small made something with toothpicks.

Idania Aunty made a toy cart.

My mother made a toy bullock cart.I also made a toy bullock cart.

Then each of us was given a folder in which there were some notebook pages to do. There was also some colouring pages and a crossword.

Program of Indus valley Project

With the homeschoolers we are doing a project on Indus valley. This project is made by Muriel Kakani and Idania Duncan.
Here is the program of the Indus valley project.

On 10 September we are making Indus valley clay toys.
On 24 September we are making clay beads, which we will use for making jewellary.
On 8 October we will be painting Indus valley clay pots.
On 22 October we will be making Indus valley seals.
On 12 November we will be making a Indus valley game.
On 19 November we will be making a model of a Indus valley street.
On 3 December we will be finishing our model of the Indus valley street.
On 17 December we will be digging artefacts.
On 7 January there will be preparation for the Museum day, which will be the preparation day.
On 8 January there will be the Museum day.
This the program of the Indus valley homeschooler classes.

Make your own plough

Things you need
A thick stick
Rope
Two toy bulls
Cut your stick in two parts. One part of the stick should be smaller. Now tie the two parts together like this.
Now your plough is ready. You can put it on two toy bulls. Like this it will look as if they are ploughing the land.

The Buffalo Calf

Our Milkman’s buffalo gave birth to a calf so I and my mother went to see it.
On the way to the village where our Milkman stays I collected some grass for the buffalos.
At the house of the Milkman saw the calf. It was sitting. I gave one of the full grown buffalos little grass. Then the Milkman took the calf out. I played with it. It didn’t eat any grass because it is just twelve days old which is too small to eat grass.

The cloud forests

In the place where we stay there are cloud forests. But what is a cloud forest? A cloud forest is a forest that is always in clouds. They are dank and damp and are covered in clouds. A cloud forest is a perfect place for mushrooms, ferns, fungi, mosses and lichen. But where do cloud forests grow? They grow high up on tropical hills and mountains. The higher you are it the more cold it is.
We have forests like this in our place. Near our place there is a forest called Lingmala. It is a cloud forest. We often go there.

Cub in the Cupboard

Cub in the Cupboard is written by Lucy Daniels.
It is one of my favorite books of the series of Animal Ark.
Mandy and James her friend are the main characters. One day they discover a mother fox trapped in a trap. And the mother fox has given birth to cubs, but only one cub has survived. Mandy and James have to rescue the mother fox and take care of a cub.
And then they find another trap and some one’s dog was about to get trapped. Mandy and James are determined to find the person who is setting the traps. But will the friends succeed?
This is one of my favorite books and the story holds you like the jaws of a fox.

Wolf brother

Wolf brother is written by Michelle Paver.
Wolf brother is one of my favorite series of books. Wolf brother is the first book in the series which is called Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. This series of books happens six thousand years ago after the Ice age.
Torak and his father have always stayed apart from the clans and then one day Torak’s father is killed by a bear who has a demon trapped inside him. Only Torak can destroy this demon bear but for that he has to go to the mountain of the World spirit. But this is a mountain which no one has ever found. Will Torak succeed in his task? And then he rescues a wolf cub whose parents have died in a flash flood. And then Torak discovers that he can talk to the wolf cub.
This is one of my favorite books. This is a really captivating book and the adventure grips you.

The bulls in our place

In my place there are beautiful bulls. These bulls have red horns and are white. There are called Khilare. And guess what? These bulls horns are sometimes painted blue or yellow. They are used in the fields to plough the land.
Every year in July there is a festival called Pola festival. It is a festival to thank the bulls for ploughing the fields. It is monsoon so it is the time the bulls have to plough the fields. I and my mother went to this festival last year. The bulls were nicely dressed. Some people had coloured they bulls with turmeric. They horns were freshly painted. They were really well dressed. After that they went running out of the village and on the road with their owners holding them. We were scared so we followed a safe distance behind. After that we went to some ones house. His bull had taken part in the Pola festival. The bull was sitting inside the house. He was eating fodder. There were more cows inside the house. There was also a calf.

If you want to make a craft click here

If you want to make a game ckick here

The spitting cobra

The spitting cobra is written by Gill Harvey.
It is one of my favorite books.
This is a story that happens in ancient Egypt. Isis and Hopi are the main characters. They were orphaned when crocodiles killed they parents. Then they were taken in by two dancers called Nefert and Paneb.
They are called to perform for the Pharaoh’s tomb builders who live in a town near the Valley of the Kings. There they discover that one of the tombs has gotten robbed. Will they be able to discover who robbed the tomb?
It is one of my favorite books. It gives a nice description of ancient Egypt. The story is very interesting and the mystery grips you like the coils of a snake.

The peacock

One day I and my mother went for our nature walk. We went up to a rock we called council rock, because it was a big rock like the one in the Mougli movie. Just as we were reaching it we heard the call of the peacock Meow meow. It was so close. As we came closer I saw the outline of a peacock. It was not too far away but as it was late we could just see its outline. It was walking. It looked so beautiful.

Snake in our garden

Snake in our garden
We have had a type of snake in our garden two times. It is a snake with black and white bands. This snake is called the common krait.
Once we were returning from our nature walk and I saw the house cat pawing at something. It was a baby common krait. The cat almost killed it. Then my father put a kundi on top of the snake and killed it.
Another time our neighbors were shouting “snake snake”. We went to look. We saw a baby common krait. My father killed it.
I was searching my cat so I kicked the scooter’s cover and something cold touched my foot. I looked and I saw a snake had fallen on the ground. It was a snake with black and white bands. It was a baby common krait. It was really tiny. My father killed it.

Common kraits are very venomous snakes. There are one of India’s four venomous snakes. The four venomous snakes of India is the cobra, saw scale viper, the rustles viper and the common krait. These are four snakes that are incredibly venomous.
The common krait comes out at night.

The paradise fly catcher

The paradise fly catcher is a bird with a white body and a bluish black crown.
Sometimes these birds come to our house. A few times I spotted them. They are extremely beautiful.
Once I my mother and father went to a place in Mahableshwar called Lingmala. It is a beautiful forest. I was cycling on my cycle when I saw a bird. It was the paradise fly catcher. I called my parents and they saw it.

Mystic and the Midnight Ride

Mystic and the Midnight Ride is written by Stacy Gregg. It is one of my favorite books. It is a book about horses.
Isadora Brown [for short Issie] is the main character of the book. She loves horses. She has a horse named Mystic and she is a member of the Chevalier Point Pony club where she trains for gymkhanas.
Then an accident happens and her horse Mystic dies. She is dejected.
And then she gets a new abandoned pony that has been mistreated. She names the pony Blaze. Will she be able to treat this new pony back to strength?
The pony turns out to be very hot-headed. Will Issie be able to train this spirited pony?
And then some people try to steal Blaze. Will Issie be able to save Blaze?
This is one of my favorite books. It is really captivating. It is an interesting story. It is interesting to find out how Issie saves Blaze from being stolen.

Our visit to Gureghar

One day I and my mother decided to go for a nature walk in Gureghar, a forest in Panchgani-Mahableshwar plateau. It is a thick forest with dense and leafy undergrowth.

We were walking in Gureghar forest when I saw a snake Slither on the forest floor. I said “snake snake”. My mother looked but the snake slithered away so fast that she had no time to see it. It was a long snake and I guess it was thick. The shake was a dark blackish brown colour. Maybe it was a cobra.
After that we came to a stream. Last time we had come to Gureghar we had followed this stream. But my mother hadn’t enjoyed it so this time only I followed the stream. It was wonderful. The branches were low and it was fun to walk in the water of the stream. Only bad thing was that I spoiled my trouser. I went further than when we had gone before. Finally my mother got worried for me and called me back.
We continued our walk. As we were walking we saw a group of buffalos. My mother is scared of all animals including buffalos. I am also scared of buffalos but I insisted that we continue because I did not want to turn back and we also couldn’t wait till they go. We continued. At times it was scary. Once a buffalo took a few steps towards us and looked at us. We got very scared. We walked as fast as possible. But we escaped. The buffalos didn’t charge at us.
We were walking farther away from the buffalos when we heard a grunt and then heard a creature crashing in the bushes. I and my mother got behind some bushes and we stayed very still. Then we heard another grunt and then silence. The creature then went away. The creature mostly was a wild pig because the noise we heard sounded like grunts. We continued the walk feeling a bit scared.
As we continued our walk we saw a big poodle. It was so big that it wasn’t a poodle but a pond. The water at the sides of the pond almost reached the top of my boots. In the middle of the poodle I think the water would have reached my knees.
After that we got out of the forest.

Akimbo and the lions

Akimbo and the lions is written by Alexander Mccall Smith.
Akimbo and the lions is one of my favorite books.
In this book Akimbo is the main character. He is a boy who lives in Africa.
Akimbo’s father says that there has been a lion attacking cattle in the village and he has to go to trap it. Akimbo wants to come with his father.
They make a trap to trap the lion. When they go to see if the lion has gotten trapped they realize that it was a female lion, and her cub had gotten trapped instead of her. The cub cannot live without its mother long so can Akimbo manage to raise it?
This is one of my favorite books and it is interesting. It is interesting to come to know how Akimbo manages to get the cub to drink milk.

The cobra

I and my mother go for nature walks every day.
One day on the nature walk I spotted a piece of bark lying on the middle of the path. As I came closer I discovered that it wasn’t a piece of bark but a cobra. I said “snake snake”. The cobra turned and slithered away fast. My mother had just enough time to see it.
Its body was so thick and big. The cobra was so large.
That day other people had also spotted it.

1. Cobras eat fish, frogs, toads, chicks and eggs. They also eat small mammals.

2. Cobras live for twenty years or more in the wild.

3. Cobras are at the top of the food chain. They have only two natural predators. Mongoose and man.

4. Cobras are venomous but there are not poisonous. They have venom in there sacs, but the rest of the cobra’s body is safe to eat.

Akimbo and the crocodile man

Akimbo and the crocokile man is one of my favourite books. It is written by Alexander Mccall Smith.
It is one of my favorite books. It is a story of a boy named Akimbo and a crocodile man.
John the crocodile man tags the crocodile babies. Akimbo is excited because this year he is going to help John when suddenly John gets attacked by a crocodile. There are on a island and the boat is broken. Now it is up to Akimbo to get out of the island and find help.
How will Akimbo get help?
This is one of my favorite books and the adventure is really captivating.

Egyptian pastries

I have made my own Egyptian pastries and I think you should try making some. Here I tell how to make them.
Things you will need
Wheat flour
Baking powder
Honey
Milk
Salt
Butter
Add salt and baking powder to the wheat flour. Now use your fingers to rub the butter into the mixture until it looks like fine bread crumbs. Add some honey to the mixture. Add some milk to it and kneed it up into a stiff dough. Shape the dough into balls. Then roll the balls of dough into strips. Now take each strip and coil them up into a spiral. Now sprinkle each pastry with jira seeds. Now place them on to a greased baking tray.
Now bake your pastries at 350 degrees.
Once your pastries are baked let them cool down then spread honey on them.
Now your pastries are ready.
I hope you like them.

Egyptian wall painting

Choose any Egyptian design you like. You can make animals, trees, humans and anything you like. Then you can make black outline for your picture. Now Color your Egyptian picture with pencils.
Now your Egyptian wall painting is ready.
Here I made my own Egyptian wall painting.
I made a painting of a gazelle some plants and a tree.

The last leopard

The Last Leopard is written by Lauren St John.
The Last Leopard is one of my favorite books. It is a really wonder full story of a leopard.
Martine and Ben her best friend are forced to go to the Matobo hills in Zimbabwe after an accident. There they come to know about a huge oversized leopard named Khan. Then they discover that Rex Ratcliffe and his group of hunter’s wan’t to hunt down Khan. A group of treasure seekers want to kill Khan because they believe that if the leopard Khan is dead then only can they find the treasure of an African king.
Will Martine and Ben manage to save Khan in time?
It is my favorite book and the adventure is really interesting and gripping.

Squirrel craft

Cut out the shape of a squirrel in colored paper. Then cut out thin strips of colored paper. Then roll the strips of paper up and stick them on the squirrel’s tail. That way its tail will be bushy.
Now glue the squirrel to another paper that will make the background.

Now your squirrel's is ready.

The Malabar giant squirrel

We often go for walk in a forest called Guregar in Panchgani-Mahabaleshwer plateau. In Guregar there are Langurs, snakes and deers. But the sight I like most is of the Malabar giant squirrel. It is a redish brown squirrel [fox color]. The Malabar giant squirrel lives in the Western Ghats of India.
It is the state animal of Maharashtra.

Please have a look at the craft

The Langur monkeys

The Langur monkeys live in the forest but sometimes they come to our house. They have black faces and grey fur. That is why it is easy to recognize them. These monkeys live in groups. Each group of monkeys has a lead monkey. When there is danger the lead monkey makes a call sounding like boo.
Often me and my mother go for walks in a forest in Pancgani-Mahabaleshwar Plateau. There we saw a huge lead Langur. He was sitting on a rock just like a human and he wasn’t scared of us. Then he jamp onto a tree branch that was thin and wobbly. We hoped the tree branch would not break because then the monkey would get angry and may attack us. But we escaped.
For Hindu’s the Langur monkey is sacred because Hanuman was a Langur.

Test your knowledge on Egypt

1. What are Egyptian houses made of?

2. How many different types of bread are in Egypt?

3. What were the cloths of Egyptians made of?

4. Tell us four occupations of ancient Egypt?

5. Which god gave the Egyptians the gift of writing mathematics and medicine?

6. Who is the goddess of healing and mother hood?

7. Who is the god of chaos and muddles?

My lap book on Egypt

I made a lap book on Egypt for my studies. In my lap book I said about the Nile river, the foods, the clothing, the Egyptian houses, the furniture, the transports, the gods and goddesses of Egypt, the occupations, the pharaohs, the pyramids, the mummies and the pyramids.
Here is some of the information I put in my lap book.
1. Because of the hot climate Egyptians wear lose fitting cloths made out of linen. Often cloths were not worn indoors. Slaves, laborers and children went naked.

2. Egyptian houses are made out of mud bricks.

3. Egyptians have forty different types of breads. Poor people eat bread a few lentils and beer. Rich people eat meat, vegetables, fruits and spices for taste.

4. In Egypt there are different types of occupations. Potters, artists, weavers, ship builders, scribes and traders.

5. Egyptian houses had very less furniture. Even the houses of rich people had very less furniture. Houses in Egypt had a few stools, floor mats, chairs and small tables.

Here you come to know about Egyptian gods and goddesses
1. Seth god of chaos and muddles.

2. Thoth gave the Egyptians the gift of writing, mathematics and medicine. He is the god of moon.

3. Bes was one of the Egyptians favorite god. He brings good luck to the families and protects the house hold.

4. Isis goddess of healing and mother hood.

5. Osiris is the god of the underwold.

6. Bastet is a cat goddess. She is shown as a cat or as a women with a cats head.
Please have a look at the quiz

Test your knowledge on Demeter

1. Who are Demeter’s parents?

2. What does Demeter mean?

3. Who pulls Demeter’s chariot?

4. Who is Demeter’s daughter?

5. What is the sacred bird of Demeter?

6. Who are Demeter’s five siblings?

Greek mythology classes

We had a Greek mythology class with the homeschoolers. It was made by Idania aunty.
At the first day of the class we had to pick a character of Greek mythology.
At the other classes we had to get some information about the character we chose. And at the last class we had to make a presentation about our character.

The character I chose was Demeter. She is the goddess of harvest, corn and grain. For the presentation day I made a scroll on Demeter. In the scroll I wrote down some information on Demeter and I also made a story on her.
Here is some of the information on Demeter which I put on my scroll.
Demeter: Goddess of harvest, agriculture and fertility.
Demeter is the daughter of Cronus and Rhea. She is the Mother of Persephone. Demeter has five siblings Hestia, Hera, Zues, Poseidon and Hades. They all play important roles in Greek mythology.
Demeter’s symbols:
Pigs and snakes are sacred animals. Demeter’s chariot is pulled by two winged serpents. The screech owl is a sacred bird.
What does Demeter mean? De means earth Meter means mother.

In each class we made a craft: a Greek mythology cube, a phoenix, a Trojan horse and Greek pancakes and dress up.
Please have a look at the quiz