Friday 26 April 2013

Greenfingers

For some time now R has been interested in gardening. She loves to plant seeds and gets very excited about fields of crops and gardens that she sees when we are out and about. Lately she has been watching many Youtube videos on growing vegetables, making compost, wormerys etc.... Of course it goes hand in hand with her interest in nature, cooking and nutrition so its only natural that her next step would be to have her own kitchen garden.
When a friend told me about Darryl Pereira I knew we had to go and meet him and see his work.
 Darryl is a local goan who is passionate about organic gardening and devoted to teaching his skills to those who are interested, especially children.
He kindly invited us to his home along with a small group of friends to take part in a workshop on vermicomposting.
Darryl's assistant, Clinton explained to us how to go about making a wormery, asking the children to get their hands dirty and help by adding the cow dung and dried leaves. They handled the earthworms and R remarked on what a lovely feeling it was to feel them squirming in her hand. Everyone also got to hold some of the compost which was ready to be used to get a feel for the correct consistency and texture.



Then the kids all used their hands to mix the fresh compost into some soil ready to use for planting.

Darryl went on to explain to us how to make a wicking bottle to ensure our plants always have enough water.


Next each child had the chance to pot their own plant to take home.


Darryl's garden is full of useful plants and trees. For instance he introduced us to his cinnamon tree, nutmeg tree, curry plant, lemongrass, loveapple tree and many more beautiful plants and trees all thriving thanks to his ingenious pond irrigation system.



                                     

Clinton brought along a snake for us to see and handle and explained how important snakes such as the rat snake are for farmers and gardeners to keep the rat populations under control.

Along with his wonderful organic garden Darryl has initiated many other projects such as rain water harvesting, irrigation and waste management.



A true ambassador for a sustainable living, Darryl is the kind of role model we need for our children. As a  teacher, he leads by example encouraging his students to not only listen, but to engage themselves in the process and make a connection with nature.

I can't thank Darryl and his team enough for todays unforgetable experience.


Before we had even left the property R was asking me when would we be able to return?
On the way home the girls insisted that we stop off at a garden centre. They both just love walking through the maze of plants and trees.


 R bought a miniature lime tree and K chose some lemon grass. Added to the plants they potted at Darryl's they arrived home inspired and ready to create their own terrace garden.

We look forward in the near future to making our own wormery and helping Darryl with his new aquaponics project so watch this space for more greenfingered adventures!

Have to go now...R has just made me a cup of lemongrass tea...mmmm.


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Thursday 25 April 2013

Art gallery

Both my girls enjoy drawing, colouring and generally being creative.

Most schools have walls devoted to exhibiting their students art work. Here is ours....


Remember the trip to the sawmill?

 Heres what the girls did with the wood they brought back along with a collection of things gathered from a nature walk.

 




R (age 9) loves pencil sketching. Here are some of her drawings of plants...
       



 and some Mr Men doodles...                                 




and some paintings by K (age 5)



Hope you enjoyed.

To end here are some interesting quotes...


 "Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein
"Art is as natural as sunshine and as vital as nourishment." -MaryAnn F. Kohl
"The world is but a canvas to the imagination." - Henry David Thoreau
"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." - Maya Angelou
"Art takes nature as its model." - Aristotle




Friday 19 April 2013

1 + 1 = 2

Well its the school summer holidays here in Goa and that means K is at home with us and I had better get used to it because I've pretty much decided that she will not be returning to school next term. She has graduated from KG1 with a glowing report but it just doesn't make sense to drive her back and forth to school everyday when she can stay at home with R and I learning the same stuff (and more!).
 So R + K = two kids at home!
School is out for everyone else but for us, this is how its going to be from now on. So hows it looking?
Well we are enjoying our time together in many different ways and with the same approach as always - no pressure to study- Im finding that there is no stopping the learning!



  

Sprouting beans, cooking pancakes for breakfast and making ice tea.

 
 A visit to the saw mill where we watched the men at work, learned how to tell the age of a tree and got our hands on some really interesting pieces of wood.


Ill let you know what we did with these pieces of wood in my next post.
 The girls have just bought a recorder each and are busy learning their notes.


There is always time for some quiet reading.









We celebrated the hindu festival of Holi with lots of colour!









 We celebrated Easter too.
 Dont forget the egg painting!







 A trip to the beach in dads jeep.


 I know my big alphabet!
Planning a party requires careful planning....money counting skills and ....oh lots of fun!
Lets build a den!











 Watching some men re-roof a neighbours house.




  


These are just a few of the things we have been doing along with lots of swimming, cricket and football in the garden, visiting friends, and just relaxing at home and on the beach.
R is devouring books at a fast rate and K is bombarding me with questions all the time. Both girls are fit and active and enjoying the no pressure learning.
We've had Maths days, History days, Science days ,Cooking days, Music days, Reading days, Sporty days,  Lazy days, all have been Happy days!
I hope everyone has a great summer...I know we will!