Funny stories for 8 year olds

Devraj and the Catapult

Devraj had just retired from a bank after working as a manager for 22 years. Now Devraj was bald as a grindstone and had been covering up his baldness with a wig all these years. He had a large house and a larger garden. Gardening was Devraj’s hobby and he always was digging up something or the other in his garden. In the center of his garden stood a large mango tree. 

Talking about his garden, although his garden was large, Devraj’s heart was small. He never shared any mangoes or flowers from his garden with his neighbors. This didn’t deter the neighborhood kids from constantly trying to steal mangoes from his tree and getting thwarted at their attempts by Devraj. Suraj was the leader of the pack of kids in trying to steal the mangoes. 

One day Suraj saw his cousin brother using a catapult to hit a stray cat. This gave him an idea. He borrowed the catapult and he along with all the neighborhood kids gathered around Devraj’s home for a new attempt to steal mangoes. Suraj fixed a stone to his catapult and hit out at the fresh and juicy mangoes. His aim was good and the mangoes fell down from the tree. No sooner had he heard the sound of mangoes falling than Devraj came running out. 

Exactly at the same moment Suraj’s next stone from the catapult went awry and hit Devraj’s head. His wig came out and fell down. As he stood with his bald head exposed, all the kids laughed at Devraj . He became very ashamed and ran away inside his house. From that day onwards Devraj stopped being selfish and started to share his glorious garden with everybody.

Chandni’s God

Chandni’s grandma was very pious and she was brought from a young age with the same God fearing values. She used to visit the Mahasiddhi Vinayagar temple everyday with her grandma. Her school was close to her home and she used to walk every day to her school. 

She enjoyed the accompanying sights and sounds of the quiet town where she lived. The rhythmic sound of the tailor using his tailoring machine, the women using the hand pumps to fill water, the cacophony of the birds and the barking of the stray dogs. 

One day as she was going to school along the same path she saw Rama, Lakshmana and Sita walking down the road. Chandni immediately fell down at their feet and worshipped them. All the townsfolk started to laugh and it was then she realized that it was people dressed as gods but not real gods. Chandni realized her mistake and quickly made it to her school. When she returned from school she told her grandma what happened and they both had a good laugh over it.

Note:

Although it is a story for kids, I’ve used words like awry, thwarted, pious and cacophony as it will stimulate the kids to reach for the dictionary and find out their meaning. The words are interwoven and the meaning of the story I hope is still clear for the kids.

10 Tips to Improve Your Child’s Concentration and Focus

A child’s concentration wavers as they are very inquisitive in their growing up years, in this age of TV, video games and not to mention gadgets like cellphones, tablets etc a child’s concentration wavers even more. As parents we have tremendous responsibility to ensure that children focus on what they intend to do and work towards their aim whether it is studies or sports.

Having said that, it does not mean it is the end of the road, here are 10 tips to improve your child’s concentration and focus.

1.       Limit screen time

We started off by talking about gadgets and video games, so let’s make it the first point. The more the screen time we allot the harder it gets for us to wean them from the gadgets, eventually leading to their addiction. So set strict time limits.

2.       Discipline

The purpose of schools opening and closing at the right time in addition to the time period of their study is to impose a sense of discipline to the kids. Do the same at home. Make them do their share of work or study daily and strictly enforce it.

3.       Dividing tasks

Any task may seem intimidating if given as a whole. This works even for adults as well. So break the big tasks to smaller tasks and make them do it one piece at a time which leads to their completion.

4.       Make them take pleasure in their work

Kids who take inherent pleasure in their work do their tasks well and they don’t even need supervision. Don’t try to impose it on them. This does not mean that every task they should do should be interesting. There are tasks which need to be learnt even when they are not so interesting so try to get them interested in it.

5.       Quiet place

A quiet place to work without any distractions makes them more efficient. Tasks which take a lot of time can get done in half the time or lesser if they are in a quieter place.

6.       Time management

Before beginning an assignment like homework, set a time limit for its achievement. This makes them more focused, but be extra careful as this makes some kids anxious.

7.       Make it a Habit

Start of any day by making them do their things at the right time. If a child does his or her homework exactly at 5 PM everyday for instance, their mind becomes attuned to it. When the time comes their mind remembers the work and they automatically start to do it.

8.       Appreciate them

A well worded word of praise works wonders for everybody and kids are no exception. Their confidence level is boosted and their level of productivity goes up.

9.       Games and fun

Like the saying “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” you need to give your child room for playing. It helps them relax and unwind and improves their concentration.

10.   Right eating habits

Make sure your kids are eating a balanced diet. Ensure that they eat enough green leafy vegetables which they may try to avoid as it is bland.

To sum up, a series of activities of the right kind ensure that children retain their concentration and focus. Not only does it help the kids in their growing up years it ensures that they become well rounded adults and pass on the same things that they learnt as kids to their offspring.