Didn't know ducks eat sand, stones

It wouldn't have  occurred to me to do Internet search about matters such as  the lifespan and eating habits of ducks,  if I had  not escorted a bunch of  children in our apartment complex  to the Gateway School pets' club. They ask too many questions - these children.  The pet club visit  followed Children's Day tree-planting at Mantri Synergy apartments complex. We had children plant nine saplings - pongai - representing each residential block - A to I.. After which we asked them to name the saplings they planted.

The  children came up with  Aditya, Buddha, Cashmeera, D'Arcey, Ezhile, Freddy, Gautham, Harish and India.  Frankly, I couldn't catch the C- name that Sundeep's  kids gave for their plant.  And I am not sure about the  'D'  plant's  spelling ( Trishna, who named the plant  can tell us). I got stumped by kids, once again, at the pet club ducks enclosure. Watching the ducks Nitya asked how long do they live and what do they eat for breakfast or lunch. Nitya and other children had just come  after watching couple of caged rabbits making a meal of cabbage.
 

Google search reveals that average lifespan of domestic duck is 10 yrs. And they eat almost anything - small fish, snails, worms, weeds,  algae, insects, seeds and,  at times, even  sand,  gravel and small stones. But for having to respond to such inconvenient questions,  it was fun spening time with children. OMR Greens organized Children's Day programme on Sunday ( Nov.14 being a working day) because we wanted  parents' participation. Our hunch was that  parents have as much fun watching children having fun.Besides, such social programming generated a community chemistry among Mantri Synergy residents.

OMR Greens invites kids to mini-zoo

The plan is to take children, after Sunday's tree-planting, on a drive to Gateway School mini-zoo. They have a few birds, a couple of rabbits, and a turtle, perhaps. But then we thought it would be fun. The idea came up when a couple of Green-ers met Gateway principal. She readily agreed to invite our children to her mini-zoo; and offered to deploy the staff to take care of us, even though it would be a Sunday.
Our programme is:
Tree-planting - 9 a m
School trip - 10 a m
Children would plant 9 'pongai' saplings, one for each Block, on our front lawns. We could do with some volunteers to drive the children in their cars to Gateway School at Padur. We wouldn't spend more than 30 mins. at min-zoo.

Gateway School, Padur, OMR

How about Children's Day parade at Mantri's ?

I wish to share, notably, with parents of young ones, some video clips on a Halloween parade of school kids. They give us an idea of the fun we could have, organising a fancy dress parade in our residential complex to celebrate Children's Day.  As of now, the programme is to have Mantri Synergy children plant 9 saplings, one representing each block of flats, on Sunday Nov.11. Children's Day (Nov.14) happens to be a working day.

The Halloween video clips reveal, if anything, that at any children's function, it is parents who get more excited, and, possibly,  have more fun, than the kids. Besides, such events provide each parent an opportunity for photographing children in a social setting.  One other thing I noticed as I viewed the video clips, some children don't wish to be patted or pampered in public by parents, particularly  when they are in company of peers or classmates. I see Sidharth, in green head-gear, blue t-shirt,  walking by (Video 2) without so much as  saying 'Hi' to his dad hailing him.

Pot-painters at work

It was a bright and sunny Sunday morning, and children at Mantri Synergy took to pot-painting on our driveway.

The row of pots waiting for artists to work them ;and this(photo below) was how they looked when the budding young painters were done for the day.

Going by their mood my sense is that the children, having bitten by the pot-painting bug, don't feel they are done with pots. Some of them moved from one pot to another with their brush and paint. Mercifully, we still have lots more pots waiting for painters.

Aadya and Nitya were the first to turn up. They helped us plant a neem sapling near the 'Wishing Well'. Planting a sapling and pot-painting was how some of us at the Mantri's wanted to celebrate Children's Day. The turnout at today's do was modest, but the children who turned up made our day with their enthusiasm and effortless way with colours.

We expect them to take this up as an outdoor activity in the coming weekends and holidays; and we count on moms to encourage their kids. They have nothing to lose other than an extra bit of Tide, Surf Excel or whatever they use for washing child clothes.

Considering that she has been a water-clour baby, and that she had not done oil ever before Aadya's use of brush and her way with colours surprised her mom.

Smrithi is apparently distracted while at work.

No, she hasn't abandoned her pot. Artist Nitya is merely away on water-break.

Praveen's house in the wood is taking shape

Artist Sahasra isn't quite finished yet with her pot.
Many more photos on pot-painting by Mantri's children have been uploaded on OMR Resident page on Facebook.