Kids learn best when they are having fun. I have found that my toddler is most excited to learn Gujarati when I associate the letters with fun activities or stories. That’s why we feature a Gujarati letter of the day, where we share activities and stories that are based on that letter. Today's letter is ગ.
Creating Corner:
Let’s make a ગ for Garud (Eagle).
Trace around your kid’s hands on construction paper.
Cut out the resulting tracing. These will be the wings of your eagle.
Draw the outline of an eagle’s body and face. Channel your inner artist and get creative with this. Or, if you are more a “stick figure” artist, that’s okay too! You can just use a large oval for the body and a smaller circle for the face.
Glue the face and wings to the eagle’s body.
Draw on some eyes. And there you have it!
Character and Culture Corner:
While learning letters is super important, learning character is even more important. So why
not do both simultaneously? Associating letters with Indian characters and cultural practices
helps pique my kid’s interest in India while also allowing her to practice saying the letter out
loud. ગ has some pretty cool cultural associations:
ગ for Ganpati/Ganesh
ગ for Gita
ગ for Ganga
ગ for Gayatri Mantra
*** My kid likes to sing and dance. Due to this, after I taught her about Ganpati we both sang (and danced) to the Ganesh Bhajan. You can do this with Gita shloks too!
Storytime:
My kid LOVES stories. I have found that relating Gujarati letters to specific stories helps her
associate the letter with more words and helps her practice saying the letter out loud. For
the letter ગ, share the story of Ganpati and Kartikeya. You can read this story (and more)
under the “Gujarati stories” tab on our website.
Word Salad:
The best way to learn another language is to hear as many words as possible. Here are just
a few extra words to practice during the week that start with ગ. Another way I make word
salad interactive at home is by listing off lots of different words and having my kid give a
thumbs up if the word starts with ગ and a thumbs down if it does not!
ગ for Gaadi (Car, ગાડી)
ગ for Gadhedu (Donkey, ગધેડું)
ગ for Gaay (Cow, ગાય)
ગ for Gaajar (Carrot, ગાજર)
ગ for Gaal (Cheek, ગાલ)