007: Eat that Frog!!

Reading time: 5 min 

Hey 👋  - Hello, how have you been? (from blocked nose)

I have been down with the cold and headache. 

I always think of this scene from You've Got mail when Kathleen Kelly gets the flu and Joe Fox gets flowers for her when I am sick.

Thank god I can't pass my flu to you with this newsletter, so don't worry. Keep reading.

Summer vacations are still going on for Adi, and we decided to do maths and Hindi writing practice.

We realized we were having a problem scheduling our work. Adi was pushing maths till the end of the day and was getting tired to finish his work.

Then I read about this "Eat that Frog" theory by Mark Twain and wanted to give it a try.

This means you tackle the most difficult task first thing on your list we have been trying this for the last couple of days and guess what- it's working!!

Many of us suffer from procrastination and sadly we do not have the skills to deal with this.

Just telling kids to finish tasks is not enough, we need to understand there is a genuine reason they are not doing it. 

So, finding strategies to solve the problem is important. 

There are a few strategies to help kids who procrastinate, but first, find out why they are doing this?

• They don't like the task because it's boring

• They don't know how to do the task

Then use the appropriate strategy to help them:

• Make the task interesting

• Help them manage the task

• Help them break the task into smaller bits

If you want to read more on this, there is a link to a related article at the bottom. 

As I mentioned the last week, we are still exploring our garden. We harvested some jackfruits this week.

We have this very old jackfruit tree in my aunt's house. Jackfruits grow in huge numbers and we distribute them to our family members, neighbors, etc.

People make jackfruit curry when it is raw in Bihar, it is cooked like chicken. It tastes almost like chicken when cooked well.

People also make Jackfruit pickles to save it throughout the year, generally, jackfruit is mixed with raw mango to make the pickle.

Many years back when I visited my friend's house in Kerala, I enjoyed a lot of ripe jackfruits they had many jackfruit trees in their backyard and ripe jackfruit was served as snacks. It's considered a very healthy snack option.

In my house, people do not like the smell of ripe jackfruit but I love it.

See the link below to meet our jackfruit tree.

"Wrap up your day well"

We are still not consistent waking up early, but we were able to establish our sleeping routine this week 

We start packing up around 8.30 pm. 

We finish our dinner and pack up for the day, we write our reflection in this format. (find the template link below)

Writing reflection is a great way to review our day and think of things that worked or that could have been better. 

Adi and I are making it a regular practice and we are already seeing a lot of change. 

1. It helps Adi consciously look back at the day and write his thoughts

2. It allows me to understand his feelings

3. It helps us unburden the load we have been carrying but are unable to articulate

4. It helps us reflect on things that can be better by creating some strategies

Read the article below to know more. 

Find a free template below to help start your kids writing their reflections. 

Recent Ideas and Posts 

Benefits of writing reflection of the day for kids

How to help kids who procrastinate?