I have, and failed many times. But this time,I have done it continuously for more than 10 days! Takes 21 days to create a habit, right?
Journaling is a great way to make sense of your emotions, and lay down your thoughts. Especially for people with anxiety, it is a great way of calming down. It is also good for planning out your day. Journaling in the morning is a great way to plan your day, and increase your productivity meter.
Personally, journaling helped me in all the above ways, and I share with you little tips, for you to get started too.
Keep it Simple
I always thought keeping a diary meant long, elaborate letters to yourself, beautiful pictures, and colorful pages. But there is no need to make it such a long task. Journaling can be something as simple as just writing your goals for the day, or one affirmation you want to focus on, or one thing you want to be more mindful of.
Keep Lists
Keeping lists is a great way to plan and give structure to your Dairy. It is also a great way to pack a lot of information in a small space. Some examples of lists can be 3 wins for today, 5 things I am grateful for, 2 things I look forward to today, etc.
Journaling Prompts
Journaling prompts is a nice way to add some fun to your journal and make it more interesting. You can find all kinds of journaling prompts from Pinterest. Download them and take a printout, cut them. Fold and make chits, put in a small jar or box. Occasionally take them out, whenever you are bored or lack inspo.
What do you think, what is your experience with journaling, and did this inspire you to start it?
My and my mom were just coming back from my NIOS centre. When we decided to take a trip to Lalbagh, which is just besides the college. Our main motivation was the delicious freshly-squeezed juice which is sold in there. But instead we had a glass of Neera each, which is made from coconut flower extracts. Than we took some photos, walked around, and sat for some time. Before leaving we brought some home grown mangoes from a farmers shop. Here are some clicks for you to enjoy:-
Lalbagh was made by Haider Ali, the ruler of Mysuru in 1760. Encompassing more than 240 acres, it hosts over 2000 species of Flora. Hayder Ali, had ordered saplings from the different corners of the enitre world and planted it here. Now there are many trees which are around 250 years old.
It is currently being looked after by the goverment.
There are many sculptures made of trees, which either died or were not able to sutvive for some reason.
“Flower Buddha”
One or two families can always be found here, talking, walking, exploring togethor.
The state government has made many exhibitions and glasshouses like this to potray various themes like Japanese Bonsai, Cacti, etc.
A work in progress…
If you are visiting Banglore, Lalbagh is definitely worth adding to your priority attractions list. It is also a great place to bring your kids for some fun, educative, screen-free, natural, and quality time.
Unschooling is an innovative approach to education that allows children and teenagers to pursue their interests and passions in a self-directed way. Regardless of whether they choose to attend college, start a business, or follow another path, developing financial management skills is crucial to their success. Here are some tips to help your unschooled child learn about money management:
Start Early
It is important to teach your child about money management from an early age. Encourage them to set financial goals and create a plan to achieve them. Allowing them to earn money through chores or starting a small business will help them develop financial responsibility and independence.
Talk About Budgeting
Budgeting is an essential skill for everyone, whether they’re going to college or starting a business. Encourage your kids to create a budget for their expenses, such as toys – gifts, food, and transportation. This will help them understand how to manage their money and avoid overspending.
Teach About Credit
Credit is an important part of financial management. Teach your kids about how credit works, how to establish credit, and how to maintain a good credit score. This will help them when they’re ready to apply for loans, credit cards, or other forms of credit.
Teach About Saving and Investing
Saving and investing are essential parts of financial management. Encourage your child to save a portion of their income for emergencies or future goals. Teach them about different types of investments and how to choose investments that align with their goals and risk tolerance.
Encourage Smart Spending
Teach your kids about the importance of smart spending. Encourage them to research products before buying them, to compare prices, and to look for deals and discounts. This will help them make informed purchasing decisions and avoid overspending.
Lessons & Activities by Age
Toddlers
It’s important to keep things simple and fun. You can help them learn about money by making a saving jar, playing store with play money, counting money, and talking about needs vs. wants. This will help them understand the value of money and the difference between what they need and what they want.
Preschool and Kindergarten: Ages 3 to 5
There are simple ways to teach them about money. You can read books about money, help them set a financial goal, consider giving them an allowance, and encourage them to share their money by making a donation to a charity or cause they care about.
Elementary School and Middle School: Ages 6 to 14
Teaching them about money can involve more complex concepts. You can help them learn about budgeting by giving them a weekly or monthly allowance and guiding them in planning how to allocate it. Take them grocery shopping to teach them about comparison shopping and looking for sales and discounts. You can also help them open a savings account to teach them about earning interest. Involving them in family financial decisions and teaching them about investing through virtual stock market games or mock portfolios are other valuable ways to teach them about money.
For teens ages 16 to 19
Financial literacy is more important than ever as they approach adulthood. Encouraging your teen to get a part-time job can help them learn about income taxes, paycheck deductions, and budgeting. When it comes to college planning, you can help your teen research and compare the costs of different colleges, as well as discuss strategies for paying for college, such as scholarships, grants, and student loans. It’s also important to teach your teen about responsible credit card use, including paying bills on time and avoiding high-interest debt. Helping them understand the costs associated with owning and maintaining a car, including insurance, gas, and repairs, can also be valuable. Finally, encouraging entrepreneurship, such as starting their own business, can teach your teen about marketing, pricing, and financial management.
Nobody knows everything, remember that, that’s why you are here, looking for information to learn new things or improve the ones that you already know, so don’t get frustrated if you feel like you don’t know enough financial literacy to educate your child, you will get to that and I’m sure you will improve your knowledge while teaching and playing with your child.
About the author: Yulissa Asprilla is an Outreach Specialist on Annuity.org, Working with the community to promote education, develop initiatives, track progress, and make sure to provide accurate information on financial matters.
Recently I have been missing my dear cat Monu a lot more than usual. It was his 1 year death anniversary a few days ago, probably that’s why. I know that most of you will think, ‘ come on, he was just a cat,’ not to me, to me he was my dearest, closest, truest friend.
He came to us at the end of Dec 2020, and he was so cute and small, he was just 3 days old! A cat had given birth in my cousin’s apartment, but sadly nobody in the litter including the mom had survived, except him. Because my cousin’s family had a dog, it was dangerous for them to keep the little kitten, so they gave him to us. In the starting he needed to be fed every few hours. I still remember for the first one month we used to wake up every night to feed him.
Opening eyes for the first time
Snuggling up
For the first few weeks he just slept, and he was so cuddly, he used to love to snuggle. But we were new with cats, thus we were a bit hesitant, so we built a bed for him, lined it with a heating pad and a few blankets, and he slept there. Now I wish I had snuggled him as much as I could every opportunity I got.
When he got a little bigger and a little stronger, he started playing. He used to look so cute running around the house, room to room. It was so simple, playing with him then we used to play a lot. We used to crumple up pieces of paper, or tie up a handkerchief in the shape of a ball, and throw it around the house. He used to love it, he would go chasing after it, jumping trying to catch it. We would call them “ चूहे “ which is the hindi term for mice, because he would try catching it, and attempt to kill it after. In the beginning he would bring it back after catching it, as if to tell us to throw it again!
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When he got a bit older we started taking him out, just in the apartment. He liked it a lot, and he never ran away, we never used a leash. He used to just wander around us, sniff the plants, and sit under the shade. It was really hard bringing him back up though, we had to take a badminton racket so we could bang it on the floor to scare him, and he would come running back up. He knew the way home. In fact, one day when I was meditating, I heard scratching and whining outside the door, I opened the door to see Monu trying to open the door. Apparently he had somehow managed to reach the ground floor from our balcony, and he had come straight back up!
When my tournaments started, and I got busy, I started spending less time with him. I would play, and take him out rarely. Definitely, there was a bit of selfishness involved,
I was not doing great in chess, I was lacking, losing, in a slump. So I just practiced a lot, and I was a bit demotivated so I started wasting a bit of time, but no time cannot be afforded to waste, so guess from where did I compensate? My time with Monu, the biggest mistake of my life. Bigger than all the chess blunders I have made and will ever make.
All this time though I was not spending with him, I knew he missed me, he had started becoming lethargic, eating more, he used to sit by the window and stare out for hours.
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I guess my biggest mistake was thinking there will be a tomorrow; I will play with him tomorrow, I will spend time with him tomorrow, Monu will be here tomorrow he ain’t going anywhere. Well there is no tomorrow now is there?
I don’t think there was a tomorrow ever, even if there was it didn’t matter. One day, 30 days, 45 years, it’s all too small to make a difference, it is the same. What matters is making use of every moment we have with them.
After he died, I didn’t feel sad about the fact I only had one year with him, what I regretted the most was not making use of every opportunity I had with him to make memories, to play, to be with him.
This is what Monu taught me, amongst the many other things he did. Thank you so much Monu for teaching me this valuable lesson, and being a part of my life.
My favorite moments with him were, sometimes when I was practicing chess, he would just come scatter about all the pieces on the board, spoil the position, stand in the center, and just flop down! Like right there, and just look at me like “hey, I am sitting here now, that cool?” Me, I would love it.
There is a phase that chess players go through in which instead of creating play of their own they just react to their opponent’s and if he is playing without one they just make waiting moves until he comes up with one. But the problem with this approach is you will either draw or lose, you can’t win. I can’t speak for everyone but there are a number of reasons this happens. One of them is fear – ‘I can’t mess up if I don’t do anything.’ Another one is laziness- ‘this requires too much brain. Let him do the hard work of coming up with something.’
And I certainly know what it feels like, because I am going through the same phase. Well it is better than before:- now I can make plans, take initiative, etc earlier to win I would solely rely on the opponent to mess up. But the problem, tournament class players almost never blunder big time. Plus, chess is a game of war, you need to trick your opponent, take him by surprise, you need to be one step ahead, which you can’t if he has the lead. He is in control, he is literally making you play the moves. There is another saying in chess:- Every move you make should have a positive base and be geared to increasing the advantages you already possess. It is so true, and so amazing how these two things connect in chess as well in life. In chess if you lay back and give free rein to your opponent, you will get knocked down in no time, same way in life if you keep waiting for something to happen, one day you will be beaten up and disappointed. I mean that is what I have learned about life from chess and my dad would be a great example about this. Because he started learning guitar recently, at this age he left his job and started a business, he started meditating two years ago, he also started dieting and exercising completely turned his health around. Now did he have some kind of divine revelation or anything else like that- No. He just decided to take the lead. We can do the same for ourselves:- you know instead of waiting for something amazing to happen, we make those things happen like doing at least one new thing every week, taking control of our health, working with our fears, etc. And just like that we are in control…
The Homeschooling Diary 