BOOM the Vocab. Enjoy the child !

When I was mulling over names for my vocabulary-enrichment program, I reflected on what I desired to achieve through the program. English, like most languages, has words appropriate to express every sentiment, to describe everything your senses can feel, and to replicate the image you have formed in your mind, perfectly, in the mind of the receiver of the communication. However, the language used by children today is so superficial, so limited, so devoid of expression and more worryingly getting so rapidly diluted, that, in a few generations, man will be totally unable to communicate with one another. I need not elaborate on what lack of communication does to relationships, be it amongst spouses, parent and child, or friends. So I decided to help BOOM the quality of communication between the little children/teenagers and adults of tomorrow, by BOOMing their vocabulary ! Thats what gave birth to VocaBOOM !

I was confident that I could make a child's expressive ability richer, wider and ever-growing. This could be done through an enjoyable experience outside a school curriculum. I asked myself 'Why cant English be made fun ?' The answer came back loud and lucid 'Of course it can. Go ahead and do it. Have fun, create fun, learn, grow and achieve'. I did just that.

The last year has been an extremely satisfying experience. I just dont feel that I am working. I am loving every moment of it. Every little success with a child is a reason for me to celebrate. Every stalled effort is a reason to find a solution. I firmly believe in my life's motto 'Every problem has a solution'. If one doesnt work- another will. Thats what we do at VocaBOOM. If something does not work with a child, we find something that will. And it does.

There is no better age to embark upon vocabulary building than a kindergarten child. As long as you can retain his attention and create a fun-filled atmosphere, he learns. He reciprocates every smile you give him. He in turn, gives you his trust, affection and his own special little anecdotes. When I walk into a class, I may be tired, in need of rest, overworked. After a class, I am rejunenated, happy, at peace and feel so loved. I reciprocate the love I receive. You can't but just do that. Its so infectious and so sincere.

The 6-9 year olds have so much to share with you. They relate every word you teach them to their little experiences and narrate them to you. Its immensely difficult to cut some of their animated stories short, to return to the day's syllabus. I just adore them. Their enthusiasm and expressive faces touch you. You could converse with them forever !

The 10-14 year-olds - ah the preteens and teens ! Eager faces, but willing to respect you only if you challenge them. To find subjects they are willing to debate upon passionately and teach them vocabulary through the exercise....hmmm...a challenging task ! However, once I've connected with them, they are by far my favourites ! The intelligence that their eyes sparkle with, almost makes you hear their brains humming. It is fun to watch them keep pace with you every step of the way, sometimes move ahead and you start keeping pace ! Their contribution to the session is stimulating, as is watching their little hard-disks rearranging, processing and presenting original combinations and application of words, phrases and ideas. They keep learning - I keep learning.

Children are so direct in their approach to everything, be it an instant expression on a 6 year old's face or an volley of words straight form the heart of a 13 year old. How I love being with them ! How I love their 'pure positivity' and contagious energy ! Children are our biggest stressbusters !

No lesson here - Just - Enjoy your children. They grow up too quick. Too, too quick.

Vocabulary to VocaBOOM your child's self-esteem

The other day, I taught the word 'UNIQUE' to 6 and 7-year-olds. I asked each one, what they felt was unique about them. Many interesting answers followed, mostly from what they had 'heard' as praise. Praise - not from just anyone, but received from a parent.

Praise from a parent is lapped up, digested and stuck firmly in every cell of the child's mind, every beat of the child's heart. This has to be heard only once. The impact it has, is larger than Willy Wonka's chocolate factory for Charlie.

Yet, one child told me in very matter-of-factly that what was unique about him was that 'there was no child dumber than him.' The momentum of my class and its positivity was suddenly arrested. Try as I did, I could not casually ignore that statement, as it just hit my heart like a dart does a dartboard. I could not stop myself from asking him 'Why would you say that ? I dont think you are dumb at all'. He answered, 'My father says that to me all the time.' He continued 'Do you know, I am also the most clumsy child in the country ? I have two unique points.' No points to guess where he got that from.

My blood was boiling. As it always does when I come across an episode like this. I have to confess that these occasions are not rare. The stories are different, the reaction of the child is different.......the cause is the same. The parent. I ask you parents, have you any idea of the power of your words ? The vocabulary you use and the way you word your sentences when you speak to your child, can make all the difference between a confident and a diffident child. Do you want to raise a self-dependent child, with 'inner strength' reflecting in his approach to life ? Or a child who has low self esteem and in his mind feels, that he can never measure up to anyone. Are you raising a winner or a loser ?

Check your words. Weigh them. Every negative sentence repeated sticks to the child's insides and he starts believing it. His little mind tells him 'If Mamma/Papa says I am weak in math, I am definitely weak in math.' He will not even try to be better, simply because he is certain that he is 'weak'. His parents could not possibly be wrong. He sinks further into dejection. He gets even weaker in math. He proves your words correct.

On the other hand, even if you know that your daughter is not at all pretty, yet, you always praise her personality, her attitude, her strength of character and her attractive looks, she will believe in her beauty. Her belief will reflect in her confident walk, style and behavior, which will make her very attractive. Your powerful words, the vocabulary you used to create the picture of herself in her mind; and her belief in what you said, will make her beautiful. Had you compared her with traditionally pretty girls and brought to the fore her disadvantages, you could have raised a child with low self-esteem and consequently, a probable recluse. Such is your position of power.

You are all powerful. You are a magician. You are God. You are a parent.

VocaMAGIC Lesson No. 1 : Positivity is the essence of character-building. Positive reinforcement can work miracles. You are the magician.

Mother Monkey

The Monkey Lesson Number 1 forms the basis of the VocaBOOM program. We use words in the classroom session and teach application with situations the child can connect the word with. We then handover the reinforcement of the word to the parent, who uses the word in casual conversation throughout the week. That's where Monkey Lesson No. 1 takes over. The parent does not ask the child the word and meaning. H/she just uses the word - amongst spouses, amongst friends, amongst family members. The child emulates. The word becomes part of his vocabulary bank.

This is part of our 'nurturing' method of teaching. The teacher nurtures and gently introduces the word. The parent nurtures and gently embeds the word in the child's vocabulary.

Last weekend, I was watching some 'monkey business' on the wall across my building. A mother monkey hopped on, with a banana in hand. In seconds, she gulped down the whole of it. Then, she peeled a second banana, leaving the skin of the first one next to her. Her child hopped onto the wall and sat next to her, looking longingly at the banana she was eating. He gestured, that he wanted part of it. She gestured back, that he should eat the skin of the earlier banana, lying next to her. He smelled it, realised there was nothing in it to eat and gestured to his mother again, that he wanted the banana being currently eaten. She gave him an angry look and snarl and hopped off the wall.

I was amazed at the complete 'lack of motherly instinct', I found in that exchange. I reflected on what would have happened, had it been a human mother and child. She would have not only shared her banana with her child, but ensured that he had his fill before she continued eating. (I sincerely hope that what I saw was a one-off case of an angry mother monkey, who made up and hugged her baby, and gave him two bananas with love soon after.)

That's what makes us different from the Mother Monkey. Our ability to share. Our ability to selflessly give.

Our children are growing mentally by leaps and bounds. Thats because we sit with our toddlers and give. Give of our love, give of our patience, give of our knowledge. We derive so much satisfaction in every inch of our child's growth - mentally, physically and emotionally. VocaBOOM depends immensely on that 'motherly instinct' in our teachers and parents. Parents who complement our classroom effort at home, by using the words, can see a visible difference in the rate of absorption of words. So lets keep at it parents.........we will definitely be rewarded !

Monkey Lesson No. 2 : Give of your time.Give of your patience. Give of your knowledge. Keep changing the methodology of 'giving'. Make it innovative. Make it playful. Keep giving.

Monkeying around !!

'Hey ! Your outfit's rocking ! Awesome haircut ! You rock ! She's cool !' - I sometimes wonder where my daughter learnt this thought-provoking, inspiring vocabulary from ? This seems to have such an astounding range of applicability, that it can describe almost everything that needs description. I listen to it in the same tone, same voice modulation and same enthusiasm (of course referring to about 150 different things) all day. I have gently tried offering options, ' just to provide some variety', but I was told that they were 'really not necessary'. Anything and everything can be 'rocking' and 'awesome'. Why bother with other words ? They just confuse issues. Life should be simple.

I asked myself, where did she pick this from ? Stupid question. She listens to it all the time. Its hitting her eardrums 24 x 7. She imbibes it so naturally. Had I forgotten that we evolved from monkeys ? Copying comes to us naturally.

Try giving instructions to your child and try just doing what you want done yourself. What do you think will work ? Obviously the latter ! We are awful at receiving instructions. Worse still at executing them. Children of course have the mental make-up which interprets an instruction as 'Firstly does this sentence start with 'dont' ? That means 'Do'. Or wait. Does this sentence start with 'Do ?' Ah, that means 'Dont'.' A teenager looks at a 'dont' sentence with a gleam of challenge in his eyes. 'Dont' to him, most certainly means 'must try and see what happens' !

A two-year-old is no different. Somehow 'No' gets converted to 'Yes, it must be experimented with' in the inbox of his brain !

So what should a parent do ?

Simple. Just do yourself what you want done. Quietly. Watch it being observed. Now the child's mind says 'Why am I not being told to do this ? Why is she doing it ? It must be fun. I should also do it.'

Job done. Mission accomplished.

So, Monkey Lesson No. 1 : 'Do. Make no issue of it. Watch it being emulated.'

The most painless way of getting your point across. Works for any age group.