This film was made by Arjun and Neel as a Children’s day project. An excellent effort for 10 year olds and it was much appreciated! Well done boys!

Cakes and candy, the nativity and carols: it was simple and sweet afternoon that we all will treasure at Gulmohar Days. The youth wing of the PFCC enacted the nativity scene and sang carols as the kids joyously joined in. Kudos to those kids who entertained us by playing carols on the piano! Well done! Enjoy the pictures!

“So who was born on Christmas Day? ” I cheerily asked a bunch of kids as we settled down to a cosy chat a few evenings ago.

“It’s Santa’s birthday!” came the chorus. I was at first amused and laughed and got down to the real story but soon realised the kids were mighty disappointed that Santa was not born on Christmas Day.

Can’t blame them, can we? Because that’s all most of us do on Christmas. Ask the kids to behave well so that Santa would bring them their gift, put out the Tree, keep gifts under it and sing Jingle Bells with all our hearts with the cheery vision of a portly old man dressed in red sliding down a chimney!

Gulmohar Days is pleased to invite you to “The Real Christmas”: an afternoon of Christmas fun and cheer on The 19th of December 2009. Of course we have the Christmas tree and the lights and holly and singing, but this time we are giving Santa a miss!

Instead, we proudly present an enactment of the “Nativity” by the youth wing of the PFCC, a truly vibrant group of youngsters who readily agreed to play out the birth of Jesus Christ for the benefit of our kids. So join us for some fun games, some good old carol singing, watch the play and feast on some goodies as we celebrate the true meaning of Christmas!

Date: Saturday, 19th December, 2009
Time: 3.15 pm to 4.45 pm
Venue: Gulmohar Days Library
Entry:Library Members: Free
Non-Members: Rs. 70 per child
Dress Code: Red or Green

A small request to parents: If your child would like to be part of the celebrations please register his/her name with us as soon as possible and latest by the 16th of December. This applies to The Library members as well. Thanking you all for your continued support and encouragement!

AGES 3 – 6 YEARS

Tell Me Why?? A 5 day workshop that attempts to make the child think, ask questions and find answers to the simplest facts in our daily life; Is the sun a star? Where does the food we eat go? How do plants grow? Are we born from seeds and eggs? What is earth? And a million other simple queries. DATES: 21st -26th December, 2009, TIME: 5.30 pm to 6.30 pm

Art Camp: A four-day Christmas theme art workshop.DATE: 21st – 24th Dec, 2009 TIME: 5.00 pm to 6.00 pm

Phonics refresher: A brief introduction to phonic sounds of the English alphabet. Fun games that focus on alphabet sound recognition and learning to associate/make words combining sounds. DATE: 4th January – 9th Jan 2010 TIME: 10.30 am to 11.30 am

AGES 7 YEARS ABOVE

Yoga: A 15 day workshop that will focus on breathing, concentration, posture, overall health and immunity. Dates: 21st December’ 09 to 9th Jan 2010, 4.00 pm to 5.00 pm

Glass Painting: A 6 day session. Dates: 21st to 28th Dec 2009, Time: 5.30 to 6.30 pm

Quizathon: A five day Gk & quiz workshop.Dates: 21st – 26th Dec 2009, Time: 11.45 am – 12.45 pm

Art Camp: A four-day Christmas theme art workshop.DATE: 21st- 24th December 2009, TIME: 3.30 pm to 4.30 pm

Tile Painting: A 6 day workshop that teaches kids various techniques in tile painting. Dates: 4th to 9th Jan 2010, Time: 5.30 to 6.30 pm

The Children’s Library: The Gulmohar Days Library (for ages 6 months to 15 yrs) will remain open from 10.00 am to 1.30 pm and 3.30 pm to 7.00 pm (Monday to Saturday) right through the vacations. We do hope you and your child will make the most of this facility and have a wonderful time reading together. Remember, you can now borrow books from the library. And yes, our young readers are offered a 5% discount on all workshops held during the vacations.

For more details pls email gulmohardays@gmail.com

MOTHER & TODDLER PROGRAMME (FOR KIDS AGES 10 MONTHS TO 2.5 YEARS)

Gulmohar Days is pleased to announce the launch of a “Mother & Toddler” programme for children within the ages of 10 months to 2.5 years. This programme will commence from December, 2009.

The sessions are designed such that both parent and child may attend and participate together in each session. Apart from this being a great bonding experience, it also ensures that the child’s first experience of ‘school’ is a pleasant one that is devoid of any anxiety. If the parent is unable to attend the sessions, the toddler is most welcome to attend with a grandparent/aunt or any other member of the family.

Sessions will consist of activities that assist in the growth of the child’s motor skills, social development, language and conversation abilities along with an introduction to colours, art and music.

Session details:
Thrice a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Timings: 10.30am to 11.45am
Age eligibility: 10 months – 2.5 years
For further enquiries on the programme please email gulmohardays@gmail.com

Greetings!

Feeling Blue? Seeing Red? Planning to Go Green?
Gulmohar Days is pleased to host “COLOURED VIEWS” : a 2-day art workshop for adults where participants can discover how colours help create evocative art, reveal character and enable a deeper understanding of personality.

Under the guidance of trained faculty, participants will use colours to depict themes and moods, portray emotions, and present feelings through their art. The workshop promises exciting experiments with different materials, painting and collage-making exercises – and a journey through the entire landscape of human emotions. Technique and self-expression combine to transform the way you view art – and yourself.

This workshop is open to all, irrespective of skill level or experience. Don’t be yellow!

DAY 1
Duration: 4 Hrs
Expressing Mood using colour
Exercise 01: Use colours to communicate emotions like anger, happiness, sorrow, confusion, irritation etc. An interactive session of associating words with colours.
Exercise 02: Create a portrait using a ‘monochromatic colour-scheme’

DAY 2
Duration: 4 1/2 Hrs
On Day 2 participants will continue their journey of exploring emotions through colour through an abstract composition.

Exercise 01: Create an abstract pictorial composition to depict any one emotion using a variety of lines and paint the composition in warm colours – as the background and other mixed-media such as newspapers etc.

Exercise 02: Attempting to script a story interpreting the abstract artwork created in the previous exercise and sharing your story with the group.

The workshop primarily focuses on art as therapy, integrating colour, composition and writing to give expression to a range of emotions through the pictorial and written medium.

WORKSHOP DATES AND TIMINGS;
DAY 1: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25TH ( 2.00 PM TO 6.00 PM) Friday is a holiday for most on account of christmas.
DAY 2: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27TH (2.00 PM TO 6.00 PM)

Workshops fee: Rs. 850/ ( both days and material inclusive)

Please feel free to email ( gulmohardays@gmail.com) for further queries on the workshop. In case you are interested but are unable to attend due to time or date reasons, please do let us know so that we may keep you informed on such workshops in the future.

We had a busy and colourful weekend at Gulmohar Days.

Special congratulations to all the kids who put up their projects and made their wonderful presentations. From the exquisite collection of coins and currencies, the beauty of Sri Lanka, volcanoes that spewed lava, an explanation on earth and seasons, experiments on sound waves and photosynthesis, windmills and a challenging on-the-spot quiz, not to forget the wonderful short film on the environment theme….the Gulmohar Days library kids put up a grand show indeed! It was equally heart warming to see moms and dads come out in full force to enjoy the day’s event.

As organisers, what we cherished most was how each child put in his best and performed with enthusiasm in spite of the fact that there was no prize or reward promised to the kids. We hope the experience has helped each child view himself/herself with greater confidence. Do enjoy the pictures !

The book club is back! The library is almost incomplete without a book club for those who love a good read!

Calling all kids (ages 10-15 yrs) who would love to spend an hour reading, talking, imagining and may be do even a little writing. The club is intended for those kids who already have a healthy reading habit and would love to read new authors and meet new styles of writing.

So spread the word amongst your friends and get a group together.

Book Club meets every Thursday, 5.30 to 6.30pm. In case the day and time does not suit you and you would still like to join, pls do email.

Other programmes available at Gulmohar Days include:
Children’s Library ( ages 6 month upwards)
Story Club ( 3-5 yrs)
Yoga (7 yrs above)
Scrabble ( 8 yrs above)
Craft Club ( 8 yrs above)
Art and Drawing ( ages 4-7 and 8-15 yrs)
Child Care services (kids may be dropped off for a short duration at the centre under our care if you have an errand to run)

Gulmohar Days library members have a lot to cheer about this November! Here’s why:

250 brand new Amar Chitra Katha comics: Its a reader’s delight! From the stories on Birbal to the life of Kalpana Chawla to the history of Indian Independence, these ageless classics capture all that has delighted and tickled our imagination. Gulmohar Days unveils the entire collection this month at the Library.

Issue of Books: Yes, along with the sit-in facility, Library members can now issue out books of their choice from the 10th of November, 2009. Books will be issued against the unique ID number previously issued. Existing members who wish to use this facility will have to pay a refundable deposit before issuing books out.

The November fest: A unique event open only to library members where each child can make a short presentation on a project of their choice. Project review is on 8th November, so please get your facts together and get ready to have a great children’s day at the library!

Looking forward to a month filled with fun and activity!