When the moon shone bright above the ocean,
I wondered why I had never such a sight ever before,
Nature never stops surprising me,
It makes me yearn for more.
Thank you life for leading me to the beach today,
You gave me such a beautiful day!
Thank You Book is the first offering from Rainbow Kiddies. It is meant for kids aged 3 years and above. Smaller kids will best enjoy this story/activity book when guided/ assisted by parents.
Thank You book intends to help children maintain a book of gratitude. In these times when we get held up by all the negative things around us, let us nurture in our kids the quality of being able to express gratitude in their own little way. This book is an introduction to a typical gratitude book. This can be the foundation stone for regular journaling as children grow up and it could help them be emotionally healthy in the long run. While the eBook has only a small story with pictures for kids, the paperback copies have activity sheets that can be filled by kids to thank their near and dear ones (could be parents, teachers, toys, pets, nature, friends, etc.).
As of now the paperback copies are available only in the following Amazon markets – US, UK, DE, FR, ES, IT, JP, CA, EU. The eBooks are available in all major Amazon markets (US, UK, DE, FR, ES, IT, NL, JP, BR, CA, MX, AU, IN). The paperback copies will be made available in SG and IN in November, 2021. Watch this space for more updates!
Please grab a copy for your kids and share your feedback/ comments by email or through review comments at Amazon or comment to this post.
I was always a day dreamer, I still am. Like anyone of you I also have no count of how many such dreams I must have had, but they keep changing – the ideas, the environment, the people in them, the moments, the achievements and almost everything in there. They were ever changing, until I had this one dream. I have had this one for almost ten years now and I hope I will be able to realize it the way I want to.
As a child I also grew up reading fairy tales. What intrigued me was that the girls in there were always vulnerable. I never wanted to be that one. As I grew older I realized that girls are not actually that way, they are just portrayed so , and sometimes even expected to be so. The society has set rules for them. They should be sweet, fair-skinned, always well-dressed, submissive and so on, but these rules are just not meant to help anyone out there. Similarly boys are expected to be physically and mentally strong, never cry, never wear pink, and so on. Well these again never help anyone.
As I grew up and became a little bit more sensible I realized that this was not just it – stereotyping is a big thing in our world. It hit me hardest when my three year old came back from school and told me “pink is for girls and blue is for boys”. Since then she has always wanted pink clothes, toys, books and my house is filled with pink merchandise now. No convincing tricks worked on her little mind. At this young age when she is busy figuring out things for herself, I want her to get her basics right and not go by what marketers have been celebrating for years to sell off their well-meaningly-built products. Like small drops make a might ocean, these little kids of today will grow up and make the world tomorrow. Every clear thought/ idea in them will help in shaping the future of this world. If they get more of the wrong ideas – well the future is going to be bleak for our planet. On the other hand, if they get a few good ones, the future might be a lot better.
Every day I come across incidents or instances which make me feel that we have to do something for the kids who hold the future in their little closed fists. That is how I started reading and learning child psychology after ten years in the tech management industry and this new adventure interested me like nothing else. It helps me manage my kid better (which has definitely been the best benefit until now). I realized that there are some really cool ways to understand kids, to manage them and to help them grow as wonderful humans. It is just that this content is probably available only in books/ media for adults (parents/ teachers/ other caregivers) who may or may not find the time to go through them. Everything need not interest everyone. So that is when I decided to do something involving the kids themselves. Also, having been a proponent of knowledge sharing all my life, I decided that I should for sure share this knowledge in a perspicuous manner with my fellow beings and most importantly kids. The launch of Rainbow Kiddies is about laying the foundation stone towards realizing this dream of mine. Finally I am starting to work on a dream which I have been polishing and nurturing for almost ten years now.
Rainbow Kiddies aims to create content and activity books that will help kids understand themselves and other people better. It intends to help children grow up as better human beings – loving, caring, understanding themselves and their fellow beings. It intends to make them emotionally healthy so they can nurture these qualities. To start off I will be publishing my activity/ story books on amazon.com. I am trying really hard to make the content easily understandable. Well, if at any point of time, you find something illogical or needing more explanation please do let me know by email or comments. Would be happy to make changes to my content if necessary. Hoping to enjoy this new journey thoroughly and be able to make at least a small difference to our world before my journey ends.
On a normal day when it rains I just sit near the balcony for at least 2 minutes, thank the nature for her kindness and just watch the rains. Today I was back after a long walk and was just sitting idle and relaxing when it started raining all of a sudden. Though I stay a few floors above the ground I could smell the sweet wet earth. It enticed me into the balcony and then I saw the water splashing on the leaves and the railings and could not resist myself from capturing those sights. So here you go, all cheers to the beautiful and forever giving nature!
I am still in the process of learning acrylic painting. Jay Lee who posts his paintings on YouTube is my guru for now (though he is largely unaware of having ended up as my guru). I am learning through his paintings because they are really detailed and almost easy to follow (almost because I am just starting off at this). Do share your feedback, no matter good or bad.:)
Tried painting sunflower using watercolor today. Did two versions, not sure which one looks better, though both are not even close to perfect. Do let me know what you think.
Half a day went by picking seashells at the beach and another half went by painting and waiting for them to dry and set. It kept my toddler busy and kept her enthusiasm high. This was suggested by a friend whose toddler also seems to enjoy the same activity a lot. Will collect more seashells next time, so we can spend more time doing this. I also enjoyed painting one seashell with her, it felt relaxing and almost meditative.
The last few weeks have been mostly spent with nature, one of those few occasions when I feel like thanking the changes that COVID has brought. It definitely changed my perspective about life, everything just changed in the matter of a few months. At one point life just got so hectic and monotonous. That is when we started taking more nature walks and exploring the umpteen nature parks in Singapore.
Coming from India, to me nature was what I got to see in Kerala, North-Eastern India and the likes. I never thought Singapore had such treasures too. Though these nature parks are not extensive and vast, they definitely help take a good one-day break any time. And yes, that feels refreshing too. For me, it works like medicine to a lost soul. It helps me connect with myself, overcome my insecurities, find peace and not to forget, it gives me my much needed workouts too. So now we explore at least one nature park per week. Sometimes we just repeat the same park, but even that does not feel boring. Nature has new sounds, smells, sights, weather, experiences to offer each time, though the place essentially remains the same.
Have uploaded a few pictures in here, a few more more are in my story posts and a truck load is still in my phone, waiting to be released. I doubt if I will ever be able to share all of them, because there are so many. So many aspects of nature mesmerize me every time and all I can do in return is to capture whatever little I can. They cajole me into exploring their wilderness over and over again. If I could trap those moments and bring them back home with me, life would have been so much more different and fuller. Well, some wishes are better off if they just remain wishes.
Well, for nature lovers in Singapore who are yet to explore these parks, please visit https://www.nparks.gov.sg for details. As for me, I have only covered a few yet – McRitchie (half a day trail and has a reservoir for those who love to see water bodies), Chestnut (little less tamed, shorter trails, has a decent biking trail too), Pulau Ubin (an island in Singapore, houses the Check Jawa Wetlands and offers long and short trails, and looks almost like a little village not much tampered by humans), Lazarus Islands (has beautiful beaches, lots of history and long trails too, and if you visit Kusu (Turtle) island too it feels almost like a mini island hopping trip), Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (has long boardwalks and bird watching spots), Bukit Batok (has a few small playgrounds and a quarry lining the reservoir, this one also offers short trails), Tampines Eco Green (not too great, was deserted and not well-kept), Botanical gardens (more of a garden, organized and great, has such a vast spread of flora within that it definitely soothes your mind). Most of these parks have biking options too, some even have separate designated trails for biking.
More organized flora can be encountered at Gardens by the Bay too. Though this is mostly man-made, especially what you get to see inside the domes, the colors just feel so enchanting and enticing every time. Even walking around the gardens on the other side of the domes feels great, there are some huge pieces of art amongst the plants and trees, little water bodies here and there and it is definitely worth multiple visits.
The beaches are great too, by the way, especially Pasir Ris, East Coast Park and Changi Village. Most of these places have biking options and most of them have good playgrounds for children. Just be a bit careful about the weather though, especially when headed to the beaches because heat can impact your moods in rather funny ways. Otherwise beaches are great natural hangouts too.
I am hoping to cover every single nature park that I can around here and stay connected to nature while COVID runs its course and while I am still around. Not sure if this article might really help as a travel guide of any sort. Nevertheless, hoping to add more details and one-line summaries about every other park that I visit in the future, this would be more like a running post and will run for as long as I can tread.
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