Chennai kids day out!

Contests on Madras for children

2009-07-26T20:07:00.002+05:30

Come August, many organisations host special events to celebrate the city we live in. That is Madras or Chennai.
There are walks to take, talks to listen to, exhibitions to watch, quizzes and contests to participate and win prizes. These are all open to public of all ages.
What is there for children?
A lot, actually.
www.yocee.in- the website for Chennai kids has come out with many contests for children studying in classes 5 to 12.
There is one to draw the route and mark the landmarks, one to just click photos and email them, one to draw the sketches of the scenes of the city and one more to listen to stories from grandmas and grandpas and mail them.
There are a lot of goodies to win as prizes in these contests.
What else, YOCee plans to put the entries together and make online albums of photos, sketches , maps and also publish online the stories of the city.
Though these contests are for kids, they need the parents and teachers to tell them about the city and its landmarks and routes.
So participate as a family so that kids could win prizes and take home a lot of unknown stories about the city.

Time to sing along

2009-07-16T09:38:00.002+05:30

Led by the well known storytellers and singers Krishna Iyer and Jeeva Raghunath, 'Sing Along' is an annual show for 15 years now. The troupe of singers, instrumentalists, young dancers will be part of this show.

This year the event will be held on July 25 at Sir Mutha Venkatasubbarao Concert Hall, Chetpet.

The popular songs sung at the Sing Along show in the past years have made it to an audio CD titled “' Along Peppy Songs' and will be released on the day. ,

Passes for the show are available at Landmark (Nungambakkam) and Odyssey (Adyar and Annanagar). For details contact 24914374 or 42060081.

>>>> More on events for children at www.yocee.in/whatsup.php >>>>

HOLIDAY CAMPS For International School Kids

2009-07-13T10:45:00.003+05:30

The schedule of International schools coincide with the academic calendar followed by schools around the world. So when the West takes break, these schools also take their break so the kids can be with their parents, visit their folks abroad.
Families from abroad visit India this time. And find the summer camps are over here and the kids are back at school.

Here is one who thought of this issue and has come up with a programme mainly for these kids in International schools.

Wordly Wise at 4, Landons Road, Kilpauk is organising theme based camps for kids studying in International schools and NRI kids who are having their annual vacation.

The camp is from 20th July to 30th August, Monday to Friday, 10am-12pm for ages 3-8 years. Activities include dance, craft, drawing, drama, story telling, field trips, confidence building, public speaking, creative writing and more.
Contact 98840 52220/ 42858992 for further details.

--- Keep of track of happenings in the city for kids at http://www.yocee.in/whatsup.php ---

Debating matters

2009-07-03T10:54:00.001+05:30

Yes, debating matters!
This forgotten activity in schools is still a favourite in the UK schools. And the British Council organises an event cum contest to encourage children to take up debating for reasons.

The Debating Matters contest for 2009-10 is on at the British Council.
There is a preliminary online test which is open from July1 and is on till August 31.

Open to students of Classes 11 and 12.

More details here - http://www.britishcouncil.org/india-projects-debating-matters-about.htm

--- For events in the city, keep a tab on YOCee - the website for Chennai kids ---

Edu CDs on sale

2009-06-30T14:53:00.000+05:30

Pebbles Infotainment and Dove Multimedia have put up an expo cum sale of educational CDs, DVDs in Chennai at various venues.
There are multimedia CDs from nursery rhymes to maths, science, language, software tutorial CDs on sale with huge discounts. Also on is a workshop on tips on scoring for 10th and 12th class students.
A few venues are Dass Community Hall on Cathedral Road, Ramasamy Hall, near Ayyappan temple signal in Anna nagar, Chellammal Mandapam, Bazaar Road in Madipakkam.
More details at 93810 99714

YOCee Newsletter June 2009

2009-06-21T15:37:00.003+05:30

YOCee Newsletter June 2009

Events / contests on World Environment Day - June 5

2009-06-03T13:56:00.000+05:30

Here are a few events and contests hosted by various organisations in Chennai.

Madras Naturalists' Society and Pelican Nature Photography Society have organised a talk on Tanzania's Wildlife by Aparna Rao. On June 4. Time 6 00pm
Venue: Mediscan, Dr. Natesan Salai, Opp. East Entrance of CitiCentre. Chennai 600 004
There will also be an Introduction to the book by authors Chinna Sathan and Bal pandian
"Diary on the Nesting Behaviour of Indian Birds", Copies of the book will be available for sale at the venue

Tamil Nadu Science and Technology Centre, Kotturpuram hosts quiz and on the spot painting contest for the children studying in classes 6 to 8 at their centre. Time : 9 am onwards
Contact: 2441 0025, 2491 5250.

Civil Society Group organises an evening of fun with nature on Besant Nagar Beach. Near Police Beat, between 5 pm and 7 pm. Kite flying, music, songs and street plays. Contact - beachcampaign@gmail.com

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) celebrates the 'World Environment Day' each year. This year, TERI, in association with Hewlett Packard plans to commemorate the World Environment Day by organising an 'Environment Fair' (sutrupurasuzhal vizha) in Chennai. This will include an 'On the spot painting competition' and 'Quiz' for the students. For more details contact the co-ordinator Ms. Livleen K Kahlon on the email - kahlonl@teri.res.in

To know all the events for kids in Chennai go to www.yocee.in/whatsup.php. Updated daily

Read a book and win a life size stuffed puppy

2009-05-22T12:16:00.002+05:30

If you love reading, go for the Woofus series of books now.
Fill in a coupon with a slogan why you deserve to take Woofus home.
You could in a life size stuffed toy of Woofus.
For details click here. The contest closes on May 25.

World Environment Day - June 5, 2009

2009-05-19T10:54:00.003+05:30

If you are a nature enthusiast, look out for activities in your neighbourhood on the occasion of World Environment Day.
If you don't find anything, start a simple campaign of door-to-door walk in your street along with a few of your friends.
Take clues from here - http://www.unep.org/wed/2009/english/content/tips.asp

YOCee Newsletter May 2009

2009-05-07T16:38:00.000+05:30

YOCee Newsletter May 2009

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Magazines & Newspape children website

Donate your old toys

2009-04-26T08:30:00.000+05:30

Toys for Joys Fest organised by Pantaloons is on from April 24 till May 31.
This fest is aimed at lighting up under privileged children's life with toys.
You can drop in your old toys in any of the Pantaloons outlet at Nelson Manickam Road or Spencer Plaza and get a Gift voucher of Rs.50 for every toy.
All the old toys that are collected will go to an NGO called SOS Care for passing on the toys to the under privileged kids.

Contact : 4358 2288 - 91 (Aminjikarai outlet), 2841 8533-6 (Spencer Plaza Outlet)

Ganesha launches this youth theatre!

2009-04-24T20:14:00.000+05:30

Launching the youth theatre group MYT, Masquerade is hosting a special event on April 26.
A Performed Story Reading of 'Ganesha The Prankster (an Indian STAR WARS)' will be hosted by Hippocampus this Sunday at 5 pm.
At Hippocampus, Subbraya Avenue (off C.P. Ramaswamy Road), Abiramapuram.
Open to all
Young artists Sanchith Shivakumar, Siddharth Shivakumar, Ramya Mukund, Harshavardhan Ganesan, Hrishi Siddhartha and Dileep Rangan willperform at this event and the evening will be introduced by KK, a well known theatre person.

To know all the happenings in Chennai for kids, visit www.yocee.in/whatsup.php periodically.

NCERT Textbooks online

2009-04-20T15:08:00.002+05:30

For those kids who start preparing for their 10th and 12th class board exams during the summer holidays, the text books are generally not available in shops.
The shops and the schools supply the text books only by the end of May or early June.
Till then here is a link to online text books - http://www.ncert.nic.in/html/textbooks.htm

After reading the instructions on the above page, keep clicking 'Continue' till you reach this page - http://www.ncert.nic.in/textbooks/testing/Index.htm

On this page select the class and the subject from the menu on the top and proceed!

But think twice before taking a print out, as every print causes damage to your environment.
All the best!

Think beyond summer camps... and write thereafter!

2009-04-19T21:46:00.003+05:30

March is to exams. And April is to Summer camps?
What is May for then?
June is back to school? There ends the cycle?
No. If you are game for learning beyond the summer camps, you should enroll in a year long programme and continue the next years too!
Here is a programme to sign up for - YOCee's Student Reporter programme.
Open to all the kids in Chennai studying in class 6 and above. And, of course, for those kids bitten by the writing bug!
Look around, watch the happenings in your school and colony closely.
You will find a lot of stories you would like to share with your friends. Stories beyond the newspapers and the television tell you.
See happenings from your angle and present your voice to be heard.
Learn on the spot wearing a reporter badge and shaking hands with people who make news daily.
Apply before April 22, 2009.

YOCee Newsletter for April 2009

2009-04-07T16:37:00.000+05:30

YOCee Newsletter April 2009

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Magazines & Newspape children website

Career Guidance for students of class 12

2009-04-06T20:38:00.003+05:30

Do all the students who have taken Science subjects in class 11 and 12 should pursue a career in engineering or medicine?
What are the prospects for pure science graduates and post graduates?
If these are the questions on your mind too, go for this workshop organised by Science City, Chennai.

This one day Workshop on “' Guidance for Science Students' will be held on 16th April, 2009 for the benefit of +2 students those who have waiting for results and aimed to pursuing higher education in science.

This workshop will cover various fields of Engineering and Technology, Agricultural Sciences, Veterinary Sciences, Medical Sciences, Basic Sciences, Career Counseling in Civil Service Examinations and Employment Opportunity available in various sectors. The Lectures will be delivered by eminent personalities in their respective fields. This workshop is aimed to motivate in science subjects and create awareness among students in higher education.

A certificate will be issued to all participants at the end of the workshops and this camp is absolutely free for all students.

Interested candidates may contact the office of the Science City, Periyar Science and Technology Centre Campus, Gandhi Mandapam Road, Chennai – 25
Contact phone numbers 24454054, 24454034 for the further details about the workshop.
The Last date for receipt of application on or before 8th April, 2009

Toothy affair!

2009-03-30T19:45:00.003+05:30

Chocolates? No no. If yes, brush your teeth after eating!
When do the teeth fall, do they keep falling till the kids are 13 or 14 years old?
What's all about the 'wisdom tooth'?

Kids and parents are always worried about what the kids eat and what remains between the teeth! If you and your mom, dad too dothat, why don't you check them up?
I came across this a few days ago in the city edition of a newspaper - http://toothfairyindia.com/
I liked the website. May be I would visit the place soon!
Tell me if you have been there!

Summer camps for kids in Chennai - 2009

2009-03-15T23:38:00.002+05:30

The special section on Summer Camps in Chennai for this year (2009) is launched to day.
Here is the link to the section - http://yocee.in/summercamps.php
The section will try to gather info on all summer camps across the city of Chennai with details of contacts.

If you host a camp mail the details to yocee.in [at]gmail[dot] com
Basic details will be listed for free.

YOCee - Newsletter for March 2009

2009-03-07T16:36:00.000+05:30

YOCee Newsletter March 2009

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Magazines & Newspape children website

Kadhai Carnival - a procession of stories for kids

2009-03-04T09:15:00.000+05:30

Ten year old nursey - primary school Kids Central in Chennai, found out a unique way to celebrate the occasion.
So the kids of this school will present a lotof stories with songs, dance and action trained by the renowned theatre person Feisal Alkazi from Delhi.

These kids have spent nearly 40 days training under teh maestro with the script drawn from the wisdom of the Panchatantra.
This play will be staged at the Bharata Kalakshetra auditorium in Thiruvanmiyur on March 6 and 7, at 6.30 p.m.

Passes are available at Odyssey (St. Mary’s Road and Adyar outlets), Landmark (Citi Centre and Nungambakkam outlets) and Fashion Folks, Adyar.

Spelling Bee contest

2009-02-17T19:03:00.000+05:30

Are you a spelling wizard?
Then go for the HDFC Standard Life Spell Bee – India Spells 2009 contest.
Phase I of the contest is going on in schools in Delhi, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai. It is for students in Classes 6 to 9.

In Phase I, dictation for students will be held in the classroom. The winners from these tests move on to Phase II, the regional round. This will be an interschool competition. It will be held in Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram on February 21. In this round, in addition to spelling, the focus will also be on pronunciation and etymology. Pictures and symbols will also be used.

In Phase III, top teams from each of the above 11 cities will compete for pre-finals in Mumbai. After this will be the grand finale on March 28. Each team member will be invited with one parent to Mumbai. The four pre-finals and the grand finale will be telecast as a five-part series on National Geographic Channel. The winner will go to Washington to witness Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 26 and 27. For details, call 98925-74349.

To know what's up in the city, visit www.yocee.in/whatsup.php

Go trekking!

2009-02-03T20:52:00.001+05:30

I came across a news of a group taking kids from an orphanage on a trek.

Further links from this news took me to an exiting trip to all information about trekking and the group in Chennai passionate about trekking.

Check it out here.

Hey, find a list of what to carry for a trek, dos and don'ts in a trek and much more.

So, another activity to check during summer vacation!

Dora's Fundoo bag in Chennai

2009-02-01T18:37:00.000+05:30

Are you a Dora fan?

Now you can buy Dora's Fundoo bag in Chennai.

The ‘Nick Fundoo Bag’, is an assortment of super cool Nick merchandise - Dora 2 in 1 puzzle, Dora Friendship bands, Dora spoons and forks, a SpongeBob SquarePants Story Book, a Dora Magic pad, a DVD: with 1 Episode each of Dora, SpongeBob & Diego, a Nick slime kit, Nick yo-yo, Dora key chains and a Nick bag.

Priced at Rs. 699 and the fundoo bag is available at all Crossword stores.

Crossword has two outlets in Chennai.

KRM Centre, Above Shoppers’ Stop, Harrington Road, Chetpet, Chennai – 31. Phone: 2836 3853

Kuppu Arcade, Venkatnarayana Road, Near Panagal Park, T. Nagar, Chennai – 17. Phone: .4264 1850

For more book stores in Chennai, click here.

Moon is the limit!

2009-01-22T17:09:00.004+05:30

Had you been at this meet with Mayilsamy Annadurai, the Chandrayaan Scientist?
If not, here is something you should read. . .

If people think that 'rocket science' is something which cannot be explained to kids, read this report on how patiently Annadurai explained about the mission to school kids.

For kids here's a tip from him on how to proceed with your dreams and mission -

He told the students to take the advice from their parents and teachers seriously. He talked about how his father wanted him to study literature and named him Annadurai too, but he had stood by his choice and proved that he was successful.

So, be clear in communicating your choice to your parents. If you are determined to achieve something big in the field of your choice, nobody can stop you. Your parents will help you in realising your dreams.
It is YOU who has to be determined and be clear about it.

Season of Turtle walks in Chennai

2008-12-30T19:08:00.000+05:30

The Olive Ridley sea turtles land on the shores of Chennai beach between December and March to lay their eggs.
During this season, Madras Crocodile Bank Trust organises Turtle Walks - a program designed to promote Sea turtle awareness that includes introduction to the Sea turtles, informative talks and a long walk on the beach stretch adjacent to the Croc Bank. There are great chances to actually see a female Sea turtle come ashore and lay eggs!

To register and for further information, contact Madras Crocodile Bank at Phone number 2747 2447 (between 10am – 5.30 pm)

Email: mcbtindia@gmail.com