Trijaa and Shubhda attending their respective classes at Gir National Park, Gujarat.
(Tarun Kumar Bansal)

Our solution to this was starting our day around 6 am for local exploration, so that we didn’t waste day light. We would return back to the hotel by 8.45 am, just in time for the girls to settle down for the classes. Rest of the exploration would continue thereafter. Our kids enjoyed crowd-free visits, and further connected to nature by witnessing sunrise from various locations with birds chirping in the cool breeze.

Also Read: Little minds with big questions about the pandemic

In case, we were travelling to the next destination, we started our day at 7 am (after cooking and packing breakfast) and stopped on the way someplace, which was quite and had network like temple, monument, restaurant, parking lot or even safe roadside, for the duration of the classes. While kids attended classes, I would catch up on my office work.

The girls did, however, still miss some classes and assignments. However, we were relieved when teachers remarked to us towards the end of the sessions “we never felt kids were on the move. They were always very focused!”

Our second challenge was their health. In the initial five to six weeks in Rajasthan and Gujarat took a toll on kids and excessive exposure to sun, sand, erratic eating and eating out, caused skin/ hair damage. So, we headed home and took a break for 10 days before embarking on the next leg of travel. During this time, we got an electric pressure cooker from Amazon to cook and pack their favourite food anywhere we stayed. This wasn’t same as cooking at home, but it helped significantly.

Next challenge was to keep them motivated and entertained, especially during long drives or walks. I must confess, this part wasn’t easy. While it helped that the girls kept each other company, being creative and understanding your children’s likes is very important. We played their music, kept toys and games handy, made space for them to sleep, invented games like keeping count of passing cars of a given colour, or whoever closed their eyes for a longer time would win a prize.

On hectic trails, we motivated them by promising rewards. For instance, on the 6 km Ahobilam trek in Andhra Pradesh Shubhda gave up midway. As we knew her obsession with bandaids having fun design, we promised her one on completion of the trek. She completed it with enthusiasm, and demanded her reward immediately.

Once-in-a-lifetime experience

In spite of these challenges, the good part was travelling made the girls connect better to their curriculum. They experienced, firsthand, things being taught at school like Indian states, types of house, water bodies, life cycle of a river, different modes of transport, animals and trees. In one instance, their class was on a virtual train ride across India, and Trijaa completely related to each stop like Rajasthan with sand and camels.

Shubda completing her homework during the family’s stay in Hodko village, Gujarat.
(Tarun Kumar Bansal)

They also got the opportunity to be around animals. For instance, they experienced milking a buffalo, held a sheep, touched emu, elephants and camel, and even rescued a tortoise that was on the road. During the trip, they observed how crops grow.

As they had learnt about ill-effects of single-use plastic at school, they were particular that we refilled water bottles, and avoided plastic wrapped food during the trip. They also learnt common greeting and basic numbers in other languages, as they made new friends wherever we went.

Overall, it was an enriching experience for them as they connected with nature live, instead of reading it in textbooks. The trip has made the girls confident, appreciate nature and our heritage, and accept differences in cultures.

Tarun Kumar Bansal is founder of SafeOKid, a baby safety products company, and co founder of Sagacious IP, an intellectual property research and consulting firm.

Also Read: Gaps in vaccination coverage puts millions of children at risk

Trijaa and Shubhda attending their respective classes at Gir National Park, Gujarat.
(Tarun Kumar Bansal)

Our solution to this was starting our day around 6 am for local exploration, so that we didn’t waste day light. We would return back to the hotel by 8.45 am, just in time for the girls to settle down for the classes. Rest of the exploration would continue thereafter. Our kids enjoyed crowd-free visits, and further connected to nature by witnessing sunrise from various locations with birds chirping in the cool breeze.

Also Read: Little minds with big questions about the pandemic

In case, we were travelling to the next destination, we started our day at 7 am (after cooking and packing breakfast) and stopped on the way someplace, which was quite and had network like temple, monument, restaurant, parking lot or even safe roadside, for the duration of the classes. While kids attended classes, I would catch up on my office work.

The girls did, however, still miss some classes and assignments. However, we were relieved when teachers remarked to us towards the end of the sessions “we never felt kids were on the move. They were always very focused!”

Our second challenge was their health. In the initial five to six weeks in Rajasthan and Gujarat took a toll on kids and excessive exposure to sun, sand, erratic eating and eating out, caused skin/ hair damage. So, we headed home and took a break for 10 days before embarking on the next leg of travel. During this time, we got an electric pressure cooker from Amazon to cook and pack their favourite food anywhere we stayed. This wasn’t same as cooking at home, but it helped significantly.

Next challenge was to keep them motivated and entertained, especially during long drives or walks. I must confess, this part wasn’t easy. While it helped that the girls kept each other company, being creative and understanding your children’s likes is very important. We played their music, kept toys and games handy, made space for them to sleep, invented games like keeping count of passing cars of a given colour, or whoever closed their eyes for a longer time would win a prize.

On hectic trails, we motivated them by promising rewards. For instance, on the 6 km Ahobilam trek in Andhra Pradesh Shubhda gave up midway. As we knew her obsession with bandaids having fun design, we promised her one on completion of the trek. She completed it with enthusiasm, and demanded her reward immediately.

Once-in-a-lifetime experience

In spite of these challenges, the good part was travelling made the girls connect better to their curriculum. They experienced, firsthand, things being taught at school like Indian states, types of house, water bodies, life cycle of a river, different modes of transport, animals and trees. In one instance, their class was on a virtual train ride across India, and Trijaa completely related to each stop like Rajasthan with sand and camels.

Shubda completing her homework during the family’s stay in Hodko village, Gujarat.
(Tarun Kumar Bansal)

They also got the opportunity to be around animals. For instance, they experienced milking a buffalo, held a sheep, touched emu, elephants and camel, and even rescued a tortoise that was on the road. During the trip, they observed how crops grow.

As they had learnt about ill-effects of single-use plastic at school, they were particular that we refilled water bottles, and avoided plastic wrapped food during the trip. They also learnt common greeting and basic numbers in other languages, as they made new friends wherever we went.

Overall, it was an enriching experience for them as they connected with nature live, instead of reading it in textbooks. The trip has made the girls confident, appreciate nature and our heritage, and accept differences in cultures.

Tarun Kumar Bansal is founder of SafeOKid, a baby safety products company, and co founder of Sagacious IP, an intellectual property research and consulting firm.

Also Read: Gaps in vaccination coverage puts millions of children at risk