Lifeskills Through Games - Activity Focus

Dr. Jeyakar Vedamanickam, after a rich career in the Aeronautical industry had a stint as an academic – as the Director of the Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship in Bangalore. He has authored a book for parents, ‘Sculpting Angels: Parenting Lessons to Foster Creativity in Children’. He conducts corporate workshops on ‘Creativity and Innovation’, ‘Behavioural Economics’, Strategic Management and ‘Risk Management’.

- Dr. Jeyakar Vedamanickam

The previous edition of this serialised feature, in the July August issue of ParentEdge, distinguished between ‘Skills’ and ‘Knowledge’. Further, the episode suggested a method to encourage children to develop various skills. This episode, closely related to the previous one, distinguishes between Activity and Passivity. The importance of spending time on what would be considered Activity as distinct from what would be considered Passivity, is highlighted. The episode also introduces the concept of Flow, a state of complete absorption in an activity. Great achievers often are found to be in this state. The house was unusually quiet as Raj was lazing in bed after a Sunday afternoon nap. It was past five. He could hear the turning of a page from time to time from the children’s room. There was a sizzle heard from the kitchen, now and then. Taj was frying bondas for tea. Raj stretched out his hand lazily to reach for his phone. He couldn’t find it on his bedside table. That’s where he had left it, just before he had dozed off.

Raj sauntered out looking for his mobile. He noticed Sam, completely immersed in a Harry Potter title, The Goblet of Fire. He moved on and found the hall in disarray. Part of the dining table had turned into an easel. The jug and cups had given place to a palette, brush, pastels and crayons. Some chairs had given place to a divan, and kneeling on the divan with her torso on the table was Shama, feverishly hatching yellow lines to depict sunrays streaming from behind a rock. Her tongue pushed against her left cheek with each stroke of her brush; a mannerism that surfaced whenever she concentrated on something.