Shiv (name changed) attends a BUDS school in Malappuram. With the school closed since the start of the lockdown, Shiv is stuck at home. Since he is hyperactive, his teacher Kaulath P. has asked him to plant saplings and vegetables, a task he especially likes. Another student walks to shops some distance away when his family needs to buy something. Yet another child has been asked to cycle regularly.
There are 65 students in Shiv’s BUDS school, run by the Kudumbashree in association with the local self-government institution. In all, there are 270 BUDS institutions across the State with 8,521 differently abled students.
Since any gap in therapies or special education training for differently abled students leads to setbacks, the Kudumbashree has hit upon ways of continuing the training and keeping the children engaged during the lockdown. At the outset itself, teachers were asked to devise activities the children could do at home with the support of family members or on their own.
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In Malappuram, an activity calendar called Mazhavillu was prepared for them. .
The activities were designed to keep the children physically active and aid their mental development. A parents’ WhatsApp group was used to communicate the activities each morning.
On the academic side, it involved revising school sessions, be it writing letters, identifying words, naming animals, colouring, or learning their name and address.
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Activities galore
Other activities include drawing and colouring, craft, beading, stacking coconut shells, planting vegetables, washing dishes, exercise, playing ball, rearing goats, washing cars, drawing water from wells, and yoga.
Teachers make phone calls and video calls to give instructions. Photos and videos of the activities are posted by parents on the WhatsApp group each day for teachers to keep track.
BUDS schools across the State are similarly encouraging their students.