Children and Summer Vacations in Pakistan

In my childhood, summer vacations or 'gurmiyon ki chuttiyan' in Urdu, had very clear meanings, and that was 'relatives will come to live with us for more than a weekend time and we will have fun with our cousins'.  The weekend in those days consisted of only one day and that was Sunday.

The funniest thing about summer vacations is the trend or tradition that most schools (including public, private, religious, liberal, others) still follow and that is giving homework assignments; writing a letter and writing an essay.  This tradition is one great evidence of 'unified system of education in Pakistan', isn't it?

Before holidays, it was and is to 'write a letter to your friend or cousin, invite him/her to come to Karachi during summer holidays and tell him/her which places will you visit.........................  I don't remember writing such letters to my cousins, never ever.  

After holidays, it was and is to 'write an essay about how you spent your summer vacations...'... I remember writing that till my matriculation -- always visiting the same place, 'Clifton Beach' with same activities for years.

In reality, somehow the tradition of visiting relatives and staying over during summer vacations has lost it's charm for children.  Now they meet their relatives and cousins in wedding invitations on weekly or monthly basis.  For summer holidays, their parents start searching for 'summer schools and classes and camps' or 'madrassahs' where they can leave their children for most time at the least cost.

As for my daughter, she was mostly home-schooled, thus, we had the summer time who year long.  That was really fun.

Thank goodness that I am not the child of this era.  Even my daughter is a grown up person and I love the fact that she is more mature than me and obviously than her 'not-yet-born-child'.

Old Clifton Beach, Karachi

What is Montessori system all about?

Montessori system was introduced and designed by Dr. Maria Montessori.

What I have understood from her philosophy of educating a child is that,

1) it is a processs of developing personality in which, children
- are provided with favorable environment
- are granted freedom of movement and freedom of choice

2) it is a 3 to 4 years long learning period during which, children 
   - are introduced to the world in their surroundings
   - learn basic concepts through Montessori material
   - learn to take care of all the components that comprise a tidy and organized environment
   - are guided to maintain peace in the environment
   - learn skills that can help them towards independent reading and writing during elementary schooling

3) children's potential is revealed when they are...
1- given enough time
   - to observe their surroundings
   - to absorb positive things from the environment
   - to perceive the nature of objects and events
   - to comprehend the basic learning concepts
   - to complete their work

2- provided with opportunities
   - to express their feelings through different sources, such as one-on-one conversation, painting, drawing,
     group discussions, physical movement, nursery rhymes and poems, stories, etc.
   - explore and inquire
   - to choose and reject
   - to make decisions on their own (and instructions are not imposed upon them)
   - that can help them distinguish between right and wrong

4) children should not be...
- interrupted unnecessarily when they are busy
- forced to do something that they are not interested in
- convinced to do anything by 'reward or punishment'
- restrained from roaming around even if it seems for no reason
- ignored while questioning about something

It is suggested that once a child is admitted to a Montessori system, his/her process of learning and developing personality should not be interrupted until all the major objectives are achieved.  The adults (parents/teachers) should allow the child to pass through all the learning stages for his/her proper and strong cognitive and intellectual development.

100 Days Urdu Curriculum for Second Pre-School Year

Following these two curriculums (part 1&2), children...
1- will learn to read and write
2- more than 1000 words
3- in only 200 days (weekdays)
4- with enjoying two or three days off each week
5- will make new words on their own
6- will use words into sentences
7- without being over-burdened
8- will know the ending sounds of vowels (huroof-e-illat)

  ان  خاکہ  نصاب  کو صحیح طریقے، توجہ اور صبر کے ساتھ پڑھایا جاۓ تو بچے صرف دو سو دنوں میں یعنی  ایک سال سے کم عرصے میں اردو کے ایک ہزار سے زائد  الفاظ کسی ذہنی دباؤ کے بغیر سیکھ سکتے ہیں... انکو اردو کے چار حروف علت کی آوازوں کی پہچان بھی ہو جاۓ  گی... حروف کو جوڑ کر الفاظ بنانا بھی آجاۓ گا... انکے ذخیرہ الفاظ میں بھی اضافہ ہوگا اور انھیں الفاظ کو جملوں میں استعمال کرنا بھی آ جاۓ  گا 

حروف کو ہجے کے ساتھ جوڑنا سکھائیں لیکن حرکات یعنی زبر، زیر اور پیش استعمال کے بغیر ... واؤ کے ساتھ حروف جوڑتے وقت اگر واؤ  کی گہری آواز ہے تو پھر پیش کے ساتھ ہجے کرائی جاۓ ... جیسے کہ خون  اور خوب میں واؤ کی گہری آواز ہے اور خوف اور خول  میں واؤ کو آواز   ہے 

Spellings of syllables should be done without using harakaat (zabar, zair, paish).
For example, bay alif baa با , bay choti yay bi بی , bay bari yay baay بے , bay wow bo بو 

Syllales with deep sound of 'wow  ' should be spelled using paish.
For example, khay wow paish khooo, noon saakin > khoon

1- chay wow cho, ray saakin > chor   چور   
2- chay wow paish chooo, ray sakin > choor   چوری


Some easy vocabulary:

بابا پاپا نانا چاچا ماما سارا کالا تالا باجا  

 مارا تارا سارا جاگا گانا لاتا لایا پایا دانا مانا 

سوچو نوچو  جوڑو توڑو موڑو بولو تولو لوگو روکو   

 لوٹا سوچا توڑا مارو جاگو پالو طوطا 

بی بی   باجی   نانی  چاچی  لاتی  جاتی ساری  باری 

شامی  گاڑی چابی جالی تالی  جاگی  لالی  رانی پانی  باقی ماضی خالی 

سوچی  روکی توڑی  موڑی گولی  روٹی فوجی  قومی بوٹی ٹوپی 

بالے  تالے  کالے  سارے  تارے  مارے جاگے لاتے جاتے  باجے 

لوٹے روکے تولے  بولے  سوچے  جاگے  فاقے کاٹے خاکے 

آپا آنا  آتا آیا آٹا آقا آپی آتی آنی آری  آتے آنے آگے آپے 

آؤ  جاؤ لاؤ  پاؤ تاؤ گاؤ ناؤ راؤ 

آئ جائ  لائی  پائی  تائی گائی نائی رائی 

آۓ  جاۓ  لاۓ  پاۓ  تاۓ گاۓ راۓ ساۓ 

کوئی  روئی سوئی  بوئی سوۓ  بوۓ روۓ  

Words with deep vowel sound:

آلو آڑو  جادو روسی  اونی چاچو خونی  روبی نوری

 ٹوٹی  مولی دوری چورا چوہا کودا جوتا جوتے 

Words with Do-chasm-hay:

بھ  پھ تھ ٹھ جھ چھ دہ ڈھ کھ  گھ 

بھا  بھی  تھا  تھی  تھے  جھا  جھی  جھے  چھا  چھی  چھے  کھے  گھا 

بھالو  بھاگو  بھاگی  بھاگے  تھالی  جھاڑو  گھاٹی  ساتھی  ہاتھی 

کھائی  کھاۓ  کھاؤ  چھائی  چھانے  چھاؤ  

بھائی  بھاتے بھاؤ 

تھوڑا  تھوڑی تھوڑے  گھوڑا گھوڑی  گھوڑے 

Words with 'sakin' at the end:

آٹھ  ساٹھ  ہاتھ ساتھ جھاڑ  گھاس  کھاد کھال  بھول  پھول  کھول  جھوٹ  چھوٹ   

 باب باپ بات سات بال سال مال  شام نام کام بار  پار  تار  چار مار  شاد  باد یاد 

ماش کاش جاگ ساگ شان کان ماں ران نان ناک تاک پاک 

فوج  موج  لوگ ٹوک سوگ خوف سوچ موچ غور جوش ہوش باغ  

قوم  جوڑ توڑ موم  قول  گول بول موت کوٹ 

More words with full-letter formation:

آج  آپ  آس  آم   ان  آگ   آل  آڑ   آہ 

اور  دور  زور  روز  دام  راز  زار  روک  دال   ڈال   داغ  رات دار ڈول  راس 

راوی  دادا  دادی   ڈوری  دوڑی  زارا  

 100 Days Urdu Curriculum for Second Preschool Year  

Theme: Making Syllables, Words and Sentences along with tracing      

Concepts: Urdu Huroof-e-Illat (ending sound) and Do-Chashm-hay

Skills: Spelling Syllables and Words, Rhyming Words, Tracing/Writing on Line 

Lessons: 18 Lessons including reading/tracing/writing

Duration: 20 minutes

Date	Days	Urdu Vowels (Huroof-e-Illat)	Date	Days	Making Words
	Monday	The ending sound of alif ‘ا’ (joining letters with alif)		Monday	Making words of alif madda ‘آ’ (aanaa, aagay, aari, etc.)
	Tuesday			Tuesday
	Wednesday			Wednesday
	Thursday			Thursday
	Friday			Friday
	Monday	Making words with syllables of alif (baba, dada, laanaa,taalaa..)		Monday	Making Words with hamza wow (aao, jaao, laao, etc)
	Tuesday			Tuesday
	Wednesday			Wednesday
	Thursday			Thursday
	Friday			Friday
	Monday	The ending sound of wow ‘و ’ (joining letters with wow)		Monday	Making words with hamza choti yay (aai, laai, paai, etc.)
	Tuesday			Tuesday
	Wednesday			Wednesday
	Thursday			Thursday
	Friday			Friday
	Monday	Making words with syllables of wow (toro, logo, socho, etc.)		Monday	Making words with hamza bari yay (aaey, jaaey, laaey, etc.)
	Tuesday			Tuesday
	Wednesday			Wednesday
	Thursday			Thursday
	Friday			Friday
	Monday	The ending sound of choti yay ‘ی’ (joining letters with yay)		Monday	The sound of do-chashm-hay ‘ھ ’  Making syllables by Joining it with letters
	Tuesday			Tuesday
	Wednesday			Wednesday
	Thursday			Thursday
	Friday			Friday
	Monday	Making words with the syllables of yay (bibi, peeli, neeli, etc.)		Monday	Syllables of do-chashm-hay with huroof-e-illat (alif and wow)
	Tuesday			Tuesday
	Wednesday			Wednesday
	Thursday			Thursday
	Friday			Friday
	Monday	The ending sound of bari yay ‘ے ’ (joining letters with yay)		Monday	Syllables of do-chashm-hay with huroof-e-illat (choti yay and bari yay)
	Tuesday			Tuesday
	Wednesday			Wednesday
	Thursday			Thursday
	Friday			Friday
	Monday	Making words with the syllables of yay (jaalay, saaray, jaagay..)		Monday	Making sentences with the words that children have learnt so far (baba aaey, gaaey aai, etc.)
	Tuesday			Tuesday
	Wednesday			Wednesday
	Thursday			Thursday
	Friday			Friday
	Monday	Making words with mix syllables (baaji, sona, jaatay…)		Monday	Learning words with ‘sakin’ at the end (sham, saal, raaz, maan, bhaag, log, aap, kaar, aabaad)
	Tuesday			Tuesday
	Wednesday			Wednesday
	Thursday			Thursday
	Friday			Friday
Keep Fridays off and last ten days for writing practice and concept of rhyming words.