Story telling in schools:
Yayyy!!! Kathalaya aunty has come!!!is a familiar scream from the children waiting for the resource person from Kathalaya to get into their class. The 40 minute class once a week in these schools for classes 1 to 6 is something that the children look forward to. Even before one class is over the children from the next class are impatiently knocking on the doors demanding the teacher to come to their class.

Kathalaya conducts these weekly classes, one period in the week for each class on the basis of a contract with the schools. These sessions are well planned with follow up activities during our weekly meetings. During these meetings we also build the material required for the follow up activity. The stories are carefully chosen so that they go hand in hand with the concepts they learn in subjects such as English, Science, Math and Environmental sciences at each level.

The following is a sample lesson plan.

Story:	The Giving Tree
Source:	Shel sylverstien- folk tale.
Concept:	Photosynthesis, seed growing into plants, environmental consciousness, relationship of the man and the tree, Values of trees and the different types of trees.
Objectives:	Understand how each of us effects the habitats of plants, animals, and people by the things we do. How can you become involved in the Tree movement? Explain the food chain.
Subjects:	EVS, Science-Biology, Botany, English -Direct and Indirect Speech.
Class:	Junior school, Middle school, High school
Method of Storytelling:	Chitrakathas.
Time taken:	20 minutes for story and concept- 20 minutes of follow up activity

After the story:
Was the boy good to the tree?
Was the tree good to the boy?
Can you list out the ten uses of the tree and what it gives us?

Now imagine you a re a seed. Bend down to the ground and slowly grow. Feel the shoot, leaves, stem branches, trunk and the flowers and the fruits. Someone is picking the fruits. Feel it. The wind is blowing past you. Swing from side to side. Have you tried hugging a tree? Have you seen a tree being felled? Can you recall what you felt when you watched someone cutting down a tree? How do you think you can help?

Some of the schools where Kathalaya has been involved are:

• Shishugraha
• A.V.Education society
• A.P.S.School
• Kumarans Schools
• Little Flower

• Headstart
• Anurag
• Little Feet
• Stepping stones

Workshops: These workshops are conducted at our premises, in schools and public spaces. The teachers' workshops are conducted on an on going basis during weekends or for specific number of days as requested by the organizations. For children, we conduct Saturday workshops covering 6 Saturdays or weekly workshops during holidays. Please see our calendar of events for details.

Stories on wheels: In order to give children an "Out of classroom" experience in learning, we take them out on trips. This is regularly done for schools where Kathalaya conducts weekly storytelling classes. Half a day is devoted to visit to a factory, heritage place, folk life or a day out in the village and the other half is spent on games and fun activities. We also do this for other schools who want to combine education with fun and have Edupicnics for their children. For corporates, we undertake cultural trips in and around Bangalore on Sundays. . Bosch is one of our regular customers for such trips. These trips are tailored according to the needs of the school or corporate. For specific details you may email us or call us.

Libraries/bookshops: We do storytelling at libraries and bookshops at their request.