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 હ.
Activity time:
First up, its time for હ for હાઉસી (Housie).
It's time to play the game Housie! This is an Indian game that is similar to Bingo.
Create a 5 x 3 grid on a piece of paper.
Fill each box with your choice of any number between 1-30. Make sure to write the numbers in Gujarati!
One person will randomly pick numbers. If a number that is on your board is called, you can cross out that box.
Repeat step 3 until one person crosses out an entire row. The first person to do this wins!
**This is a great game to help your kid write and recognize Gujarati numbers!
Next up, its હ for હોળી (Holi).
The Indian festival of Holi just passed. To celebrate this, we did two different activities.
For the first activity, we brought Holi to life on some paper.
Grab a blank sheet of white paper.
Place drops watercolor paint onto the paper.
Use a straw to blow at the paint drops in order to spread the colors out.
Repeat steps 2-3 with different colors.
For the second activity, we brought Prahlad to life. Holi is not just a fun festival, it is a time to learn about Prahlad's life and bring his own passion and brilliance into our own!
Share the story of Prahlad with your kid.
Have your kid draw a scene from that story. My kid drew Prahlad in the fire. Around Prahlad, she drew different people playing Holi!
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 હ share the story of the હાથ /hand. You can read this stories (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:
Hanuman (હનુમાન)
Qualities:
હિંમત (himat, courage)
હસમુખી (hasmukhi, smiling)
હોશિયાર (hoshiyaar, smart)
Sing-A-Long: The best way to learn a letter is to sing it! For the letter હ, sing the song હાથી ભાઈ તો જાડા (Haathi bhai to jaadaa). Check it out on the following YouTube link:
Word Salad: The best way to learn another language is to hear as many words as possible. For the letter હ, check out these words:
હરણ (haran, deer)
હંસ (hansa, swan)
હાથી (haathi, elephant)
હવા (havaa, wind)
હોઠ (hout, lips)
હથેળી (hateli, palm)
હસવાનુ (hasvaanu, to laugh)