The lion, the mouse and endless imagination

CHENNAI: There are so many things our children would want to say, if only we have the time to listen, see and experience. This was made all the more apparent when the 22 children of the Upper Kindergarten of the Helen O’Grady International Preschool participated in a critical thinking exercise with their class teachers Mala Ravichandran and Roselyn S. The preschool is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach and works closely with parents to teach and learn concepts with children. The pandemic has necessitated a more intensified effort at this collaboration.

After listening to the story of The Lion and The Mouse in a virtual session, the children were asked to think of how the story would change if the  place, characters, feelings, relationships changed...and their vivid imaginations conjured up several stories, each wonderful, original and captivating! The children narrated their stories with beautiful puppets that they had made with whatever they could find at home.

A committee, consisting of parents and teachers, guided the children’s process and helped them weave these stories into a story book. Viola! The result was this wonderful story cum activity book called The Lion and Mouse Adventures, illustrated by Abhirami Ramesh Kumar.

On November 7, seven eminent authors of children’s books, educators and drama specialists from different parts of the world came together in an online event to release the book and read out the 22 stories using their varied styles and props.

These experienced educators paid rich tributes to the originality expressed by the children and each had the same message for them — keep writing, keep expressing in a hundred different ways; we are there to listen to your ideas, thoughts and feelings!

“And that is a promise we will keep,” promises Arpita Mittal, CEO of the Helen O’Grady International.