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 each week we feature a Gujarati letter of the week, where we share activities and stories that are based on that letter. This week’s letter is પ.
Creating Corner:
First up is પ for પતંગ (patang, kite).
I know we are in winter right now. But, here in the West Coast, its still warm enough to fly kites outside!
Find an old brown paper bag.
Take a piece of string and tape it to the bottom of the bag. Try to use as little tape as possible so you don't weigh the kite down too much.
Have your kid cut out a bunch of small pieces of paper to glue onto one side of the bag. You can have your kid cut out specific shapes (like squares or rectangles) to practice shapes!
Have your kid cut out long rectangles. Glue these onto the very bottom of the kite. These will be the tail of your kite.
Go fly your kite!
**Check out this blog for other easy ways to make kites out of common household items: https://www.mylittlemoppet.com/easy-kite-crafts-for-kids/
Next up is પ for પતંગિયું (patangiyu, butterfly) અને (ane, and) પ for પગલાં ( paglaa, footprints)!
If you don't mind getting your hands (and feet) dirty, this is a great activity to learn about both butterflies and footprints.
Grab some watercolor.
Paint your child's sole whichever color you want your butterfly to be. You can use multiple colors like we did!
Take a piece of paper and press it up against your kid's foot.
Repeat steps 2-3 with the other sole. Make sure to distribute the two footprints as shown in the photo so it actually looks like a butterfly.
Draw the butterfly's body and antennae using a black marker.
**Check out this blog for some more instructions on how to make a butterfly footprint: https://mommypotamus.com/how-to-make-butterfly-footprint-art/
Activity time:
First up its time for પ for પ્રયોગ (prayog, experiment) and પ for પાણી (paani, water)!
This activity is a great way to introduce you kid to science! It essentially involves mixing water with oil to create "bubbles" in water.
**Check out this blog with specific instructions on how to do this:
While our hands are still wet, let's learn a little more about પ for પાણી (paani, water)!
All you need for this is a bucket/larger bowl of water and some measuring cups.
This is a really easy way to help your kid ease into learning math, while also practicing fine motor skills. During this activity make sure that you use Gujarati words when measuring:
One fourth is પા (paa)
Half is અડદુ (adadu)
Three fourth is પોણું (ponu)
Next up is પ for પાંચ!
Let's practice our numbers, especially the ones that start with પ! Have your kid count by tens, starting with the number five. This activity may be hard for younger kids, but you can at least teach them the numbers so your kid gets familiar with Gujarati numbers.
5, પાંચ, panch
15, પંદર, pandar
25, પચ્ચીસ, pacchis
35, પાંત્રીસ, pantris
45, પિસ્તાલીસ, pistaalis
55, પંચાવન, panchaavan
65, પાંસઠ, paansath
75, પંચોતેર, panchoter
85, પંચ્યાશી, panchyaasi
95, પંચાણું, panchaanum
Now its time for પ for પથ્થર (patthar, stone).
Today is all about math and science, so let's learn about graphs.
Draw a grid on a piece of paper
On the x axis, write different foods. We used foods that start with પ and wrote them in Gujarati.
On the y axis, write numbers in Gujarati from 1 to 11.
Label the graph "Things we like to eat".
Use rocks/stones from your backyard to graph how much your kid likes each food.
Last but not least, let's learn about directions.
Teach your kid the 4 cardinal directions. Each time you say one of the directions, have your kid point their પેટ (pet, belly) and પગ (pag, foot) in that direction.
ઉત્તર, uttar, north
દક્ષિણ, dakshina, south
પૂર્વ, poorv, east
પશ્ચિમ, paschim, west
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 પ share the story of પુશપેડન્ટ, Pushpadant. You can read this story (and more) under the “Gujarati stories” tab on our website.
Character/Quality Corner:
While learning letters is super important, learning character is even more important. So why not do both simultaneously? Associating letters with characters and qualities helps pique my kid’s interest in great historical figures while also allowing her to practice saying the letter out loud.
Characters:
પુશપેડન્ટ (Pushpadant)
પાણીની (Panini)
પાંડુ (Pandu)
પરશુરામ (Parshuram)
Qualities:
પ્રસન્ન, prasanna, satisfied
પ્રામાણિક, praamaanik, honest
પવિત્ર, pavitra, holy
Sing-A-Long:
The best way to learn a letter is to sing it! For the letter પ, teach your kid the પાન્ડુરંગાષ્ટકમ (Pandurangashtakam).
Once you are done singing that stotra, you can turn the sing-a-long into dance-a-thon. Even though Navratri is still long gone, we can still do some garba! Play the following YouTube video (પંખીડા તું ઊડી જાજે પાવ ઘડ રે) so we can pretend to learn about પ while we get our garba on!
YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18GsCzx7yyE
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 પ!
પ for પંક્તિ (pankti, row/line)
પ for પક્ષી (pakshi, bird)
પ for પથ્થર (patthar, stones)
પ for પ્રોત્સાહન (protsaahan, encouragement)
પ for પ્રણામ (pranaam, bow)
પ for પૃથ્વી (pruthvi, earth)
પ for પૌરાણિક (pouraanik, myth)
પ for પગદંઇયું (pagdandiyu, footpath)
પ for પલંગ (palang, bed)
પ for પતંગ (patang, kite)
પ for પવન (pavan, wind)
પ for પવિત્ર (pavitra, holy)
પ for પીળો (pido, yellow)
પ for પૌત્રી (pautri, granddaughter)
પ for પૌત્ર (pautra, grandchild)
પ for પૌત્રા (pautraa, grandson)
પ for પુત્રી (putri, daughter)
પ for પુત્ર (putra, son)
પ for પૂંછડી (puchadi, tail)
પ for પૂર્વ (purva, east)
પ for પશ્ચિમ (paschim, west)
પ for પગ (pag, foot)
પ for પેટ (pet, stomach)
પ for આંખણી પાંપણ (aankhni paampana, eyelashes)
પ for પપૈયા (papaya)
પ for પિસ્તા (pistaa, pistachio)
પ for પાલક (paalak, spinach OR guardian)
પ for પરાઠા (paraatha, type of bread)
પ for પૈદા (paidaa, generated)
પ for પુષ્ટિ (pushti, confirmation)
પ for પહેલ (pahel, initiative)
પ for પાયાની (paayaani, basic)
પ for પ્રાર્થના (prarthanaa, prayer)