Fall by Swati, written in 2006

Fall by Swati, written in 2006
----

Some places in the fall
it snows, it snows
You can play, you can walk
in snow,in snow

And the wind will blow
Icy cold, Icy cold
And all the creatures are gone
In the cold, In the cold


My toes are too cold
From the snow
All cheeks are red
So I say bye to the snow
And go to sleep

I love you first

I think between 2-3 year old is the most charming age. Agastya these days think anything he reaches or touches first becomes his. One day I was telling him that I love you so he started saying I love you first :-)

Poem about Swati's name

This was written by Ashish on our trip to New Zealand and Australia in 1996. He has to write one for Agastya.

"One meaning of my name is a star constellation,
the other meaning of my name is a Dew Drop,
However, there is a more poetic meaning to my name for which I have to tell you a poem-
Every once in a while
Say 100 years or so
On a star called Swati
A dew drop appears
It falls to the Earth
And what do you know
It gets in an oyster
And that's how pearls grow"

Swati finished Harry Potter

Swati finally read complete Harry Potter series in 4 weeks (starting 24th Jan) and finishing the final book on Feb 24th 2010.

Biospehere Empathy

I was hearing NPR this morning - I did not get the name of the author however the topic was how human consciousness has evolved over centuries from hunters to religion to theology to philosophy to psychology to empathy.
And how we extend it to various groups - The concept of empathy started in late 20th century and earlier it extended to groups which people could relate to but then extended beyond religious boundaries and cultural boundaries. And in last five years it is extending beyond humans in general to other mammals.

Beauty is .. by Swati Goel

Swati wrote this in October 2009 as part of one of her school projects. The topic was "Beauty is..."

"The beauty of HUMAN lies in the heart and mind. That is what makes us intelligent, strong, and kind. This is the beauty of human.

The beauty of LIGHT is to give us sight so we can appreciate every object in day or night. Light gives us color, warmth, and life. This is the beauty of light.

The beauty of SPACE is that it is earth's home, just like houses and buildings are our habitat. Space inspires us to imagine and explore. This is the beauty of space.

The beauty of EVOLUTION is having life repeat over and over in different forms. Usually it gets smarter, just like we do by learning in school. This is the beauty of evolution.

The beauty of NATURE is to make the earth look like more than a humongous mound of dirt. Just like we wear clothes, plants decorate the earth. This is the beauty of nature.

The beauty of COMMUNITY is that it lets a group do more than any single person. Community helps creativity because the best work comes when one person's ideas mix with the others. This is the beauty of community."

Animals by Swati Goel

This is another poem Swati wrote on her experience in Children's Eternal Rainforest in MonteVerde Costa Rica in Dec 2009. She is 7 years old.

"As they flutter around with wings,
As they leap and hop on feet of web,
As they pounce along to show their strong,
As they slither and hiss to show their venom;
A chain of life that never ends, the only end is where they began."

Another short one on active volcano is Arenal in Costa Rica

"Thundering explosion of melted rock, breaking and building in an endless stock"