LIFE LESSONS FROM HIKING

1. REMEMBER TO INHALE AND EXHALE

You’ve started up a steep incline and your legs are burning. Take a moment to breathe in and out. Inhale and slowly exhale. Repeat.

Tell yourself that you are going to be fine.

You are late for work. Your computer deleted the important checklist you needed. Your child is having a major meltdown during the assessment.

Whatever the case might be, just remember to breathe.

2. A LITTLE DISCOMFORT IS ‘OK’

Right now, your calf muscles are cramping. Your legs aren’t working, and have started to tremble, and you can’t seem to catch your breath.

You are calling yourself crazy for even attempting this enormous feat. And most of all, you need to pee.

It’s a gigantic mountain! How can you even attempt to climb one with slippery slopes and steep inclines?

But you can and you will. The pain and discomfort will make you stronger. We grow by accomplishing what we think we can’t.

3. PERSPECTIVE AT THE TOPMOST PEAK

The hike is harder and way more rigorous than expected. You are ready to turn back but unknowingly keep pushing forward.

The same applies to life.

The new job might not be what you expected. The move to another place isn’t as flawless as you hoped but you are able to gather a new perspective. 

You are tired. Through the trails and errors, you have gained clarity on what’s important in your life.

So next time you need a fresh perspective, take a hike.

Joanna Jenny

Children’s Day Celebration

Happy Children’s Day

Life Lessons From A Rock

1. DIVERSITY MAKES THE WORLD BEAUTIFUL

They are thousands of varieties different by texture, material, composition, color and size, just like people.

Each of them, look beautiful as they are created, that’s why it’s unfair to compare each other, we are all unique and must celebrate our uniqueness.

Like how God created Us.

2. WHEN A RIVER SINGS, IT IS THANKS TO THE STONES

A rock by itself may look mundane or useless but when you see a bed of rocks on a beach, garden, in a river it looks breathtaking and strong.

Just like us, one person can’t make the kind of movement or statement, a group can, so together we can make a change for a good cause. God has sent prophets and people to spread his message.

 3. THERE’S MORE TO THE SURFACE

Some rocks have a core, that are special, you can’t see or can’t make out they’re special from the outside unless you give them the opportunity to show what’s on the inside.

Just like people, if we expect everyone to be the same, have the same approach, appearance, or value, you’re wrong.

God made people with different cores and approaches, so it wouldn’t be fair to undermine the beauty of his creation.

We need special people to find the special in others like how we are to our students.

4. DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER

We often look at people and judge them based on their appearance as we would to an ordinary rock. Given the chance we pick the one that is extra sharp or small or textured turns out to be so beautiful in its own way just like people. A person may prove to be a treasured friend, once you get to know more about them than the surface.

-Ghina Hamza

How We Made Our Son Sleep Independently

Currently, one of the goals which we are setting with Sarthak is to make him independent in all activities of daily living. Sleeping Independently was on the top priority.

We followed a series of steps to achieve sleep independence for him and would like to share with the readers.

1. Preparation Stage
   
   Preparing a kid for any routine change is very important. We first got him accustomed to the room where he will be sleeping alone. We set his toys, books and personal belongings in the room and let him spend time in that room more even during the daytime so that he is comfortable with the surrounding.

Tips: –

• Our experience: We initially started with the same room where Sarthak used to sleep with his parents, but he was not able to sleep alone in that room. So, we chose to shift to a different room.
  

2. Go Live

Started a pre-sleep routine to make him realize that it is about to be his sleep time, like changing clothes, filling his own water bottle, and

drinking water, face washing and toilet activities and finally wishing him “good night”. A bedtime dim light and closing door is important so that no outside noise and light disturbs while he is trying to fall asleep.

Tips and caution: –

• Assure the child that parents are in the next room and the child can always reach out if needed.
  
• Check on the child at least once or twice at night in the beginning.
  
• Ensure the main door is safely closed (some kids have wandering habits).
  
• Ensure the bedroom is child safe (no open electric points, fire hazards items).
  
  

3. Advancing

As sleeping alone has been achieved, currently our next goal is to make him independent in making his own bed before sleeping. He is still in on an assisted stage with his father, but we hope to achieve this soon.

Learnings:-

• Key to achieve any goal is Practice and Perseverance.
  
• Parents themselves need to overcome their anxiety and fear of failure and believe in the child.
  

One of the striking achievement due to the efforts put for Sarthak’s independent sleeping consequently enabled him to have a sound sleep on his own over a train’s bunk while we were on a holiday.

We are thankful to the school for guiding and helping us in every step of Sarthak’s journey.