My Balwadi

Author: Rukmini Banerji

Illustrator: Sheetal Thapa

Translator: Madhav Chavan

This is my school. It is called the balwadi.

My brother Mannu and I go to the balwadi.

It is a small school for little children like us.

We leave our shoes and slippers by the door.

Everyone puts their shoes or slippers in a line.

It looks good that way.

We leave our tiffin boxes near the wall.

Some boxes are big. Others are small.

Water bottles are hung on the wall.

The bottles are of different colours. Red, blue, green, yellow.

I like to count. Mannu plays with blocks and puts different shapes together. He likes to play with beads. I like the cards with dots.

Our teacher says playing with these toys is good for the brain.

We read books. Some books have pictures.

The teacher helps us to learn the letters. She says I will read soon because I can recognize all the letters. I can also read sentences.

She does not know it.

Now it is time for stories. Our teacher has puppets.

The teacher uses the puppets to tell us stories.

The puppets speak in a funny voice.

My friends think that the puppets can speak. They are surprised.

But I am not. Puppets do not talk.

I know that it is the teacher who speaks in a funny voice for them.

It is now time to play. The school has a tub with some play dough. Mannu likes to make shapes out of the dough. I like to make fruits, toys and other things.

At 4 o'clock, the school bell rings. My mother comes to take us home. I hug her first. Mannu does not like that. He complains. I have fun at school. But going home is more fun.

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Story Attribution:

This story: My Balwadi is translated by Madhav Chavan . The © for this translation lies with Pratham Books, 2004. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Based on Original story: ' हमारी बालवाड़ी ' , by Rukmini Banerji . © Pratham Books , 2004. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license.

Other Credits:

This book has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books. The development of the print version of this book was supported by Dubai Creek Round Table, Dubai .U.A.E. www.prathambooks.org

Illustration Attributions:

Cover page: Happy children , by Sheetal Thapa © Pratham Books, 2004. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 2: Children going to school , by Sheetal Thapa © Pratham Books, 2004. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 3: Happy boy and girl , by Sheetal Thapa © Pratham Books, 2004. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 4: Boy and girl entering a room , by Sheetal Thapa © Pratham Books, 2004. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 5: Children hanging tiffin boxes on wall , by Sheetal Thapa © Pratham Books, 2004. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 6: Children and toys , by Sheetal Thapa © Pratham Books, 2004. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 7: Teacher and children learning , by Sheetal Thapa © Pratham Books, 2004. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 8: Teacher holding puppet and children watching , by Sheetal Thapa © Pratham Books, 2004. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 9: Surprised children , by Sheetal Thapa © Pratham Books, 2004. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Page 10: Children playing with a tub , by Sheetal Thapa © Pratham Books, 2004. Some rights reserved. Released under CC BY 4.0 license. Disclaimer: https://www.storyweaver.org.in/terms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved. This book is CC-BY-4.0 licensed. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. For full terms of use and attribution, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

My Balwadi (English)

Children always like to share their experience with others. My Balwadi shows how enjoyable the experiences can be.

This is a Level 2 book for children who recognize familiar words and can read new words with help.

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