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	<title>My Toy Story-Books, Reviews, Toys, iPad, iPhone and Parenting 2.0</title>
	<link>http://www.mytoystory.com</link>
	<description></description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 05:15:52 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Child Sexual Abuse in Cyber World. Just Cannot Ignore!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Bunch of blogger friends are hosting a month long initiative on child sexual abuse awareness. Please visit the site, support and spread the word. Do your bit for your child. 

We like it or not, we have stepped into times where the line between the virtual and physical world is getting blur. Online sexual abuse is on the rise and is as damaging as physical abuse. When I talked to friends about this initiative, was surprised to hear how they  completely overlook online abuse. These friends, who are otherwise ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2011/04/24/child-sexual-abuse-in-cyber-world/</link>
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		<title>Hindi Consonants iPad app on App store</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Our latest addition to Fliplog Learning Series is available on the app store. An iPad app to help kids familiarize with Hindi consonants and their sounds. Kids can doodle to practice writing. App also comes with 2 games bundled. One to recognize the beginning sound of a word and another puzzle to familiarize with the order of the alphabets.
This app is free to download. As always, we would love to hear from you and your kids.
Available on itunes &#8211; http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hindi-alphabets-consonants/id421989627?mt=8
Video Demo &#8211;

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]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2011/03/06/hindi-consonants-ipad-app-on-app-store/</link>
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		<title>Paper Craft &#8211; Weaved Basket</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The theme for one of the Sunday&#8217;s reading/crafts session we did back in August was Reuse/Recycle/Reduce. We started the session by reading this book &#8211; Chasing the Plastic Pisach by Pratham Books. We followed the reading session by making a paper basket out of newspaper strips and out of cereal cartons. In a repeat session, we made another basket with a LOT of glue and magazine strips ( post to follow ).
&#160;
What you need: 
One hour&#8217;s time, newspaper OR cereal cartons, stapler, paint, patience and a lot of excitement. 

How ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/11/24/paper-craft-weaved-basket/</link>
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		<title>Why picture books for young children?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Excellent write up on the role of picture books in child development, by Lori Calabrese at The Children&#8217;s Book Review site. 
Some points I could completely identify with:

-Picture books are multi-sensory, which aids a childâ€™s growing mind and stimulates their imagination.
-The repetition in many picture books allows a child to participate in the story.
-Children love art.
-The illustrations of a picture book help children understand what they are reading and allow young readers to analyze the story.
-Chapter books are not necessarily more complex than picture books and in fact, their vocabulary ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/11/22/why-picture-books-for-young-children/</link>
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		<title>Bangalore Book Festival &#8211; Books, Books and more Books</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Inventory of books bought from the Bangalore Book Festival 2010. We have read, read and read in the last couple of days. These books have been accompanying us everywhere, to the park, to friends house and to the school even! A handful of books already missing, apparently they have been given to their friends! 
National Book trust
Pratham Books
Tulika Books
eAppu and some adhoc books
Thanks to SaffronTree, I had read a lot of reviews on NBT books. Obviously picked up a whole lot, luckily the walking talking encyclopedia happened to be there ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/11/16/books-books-and-more-books/</link>
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		<title>Bangalore Book Festival 2010 &#8211; Nov 12th &#8211; Nov 21st @ Palace Grounds</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The eighth edition of the Bangalore Book Festival starts on November 12th @ Palace Grounds. It is a 10 day feast, with publishers and distributors from all over the country participating. The festival also claims to host entertainment programmes, book reading sessions and author meets. 
&#160;Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mindonfire/3956865159/in/photostream/
&#160;
via The Hindu

Over a million titles under various categories and languages will be displayed in more than 300 stalls during the 10-day Bangalore Book Festival (BBF). The fest is expected to attract more than two lakh people. The country&#8217;s biggest publishers, distributors, exporters ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/11/07/bangalore-book-festival-2010-nov-12th-nov-21st-palace-grounds/</link>
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		<title>Flash cards &#8211; Hindi Consonants</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Printable flash cards of Hindi consonants.
Also available as a free iPad app on app store &#8211; http://www.mytoystory.com/2011/03/06/hindi-consonants-ipad-app-on-app-store/ 
If the embed does not work, click here to download and print. 

]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/10/26/flash-cards-hindi-consonants/</link>
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		<title>CROCUS 2010 @ Saffrontree</title>
		<description><![CDATA[If you haven&#8217;t visited ]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/10/25/crocus-2010-saffrontree/</link>
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		<title>Home made non toxic play dough</title>
		<description><![CDATA[As part of the Sunday reading/crafts session I do, we tried &#8220;cooking&#8221; play dough. Must say this was such a super hit, the kids are asking for repeat session already. 

Goal was to make the kids measure, mix, feel the texture, observe the texture change from coarse to smooth. And of course the glow on the kids faces when they start mixing color to the cooked playdough and see it all coming through after patiently waiting for 15 minutes! 
&#160;
There are about a million sites talking play-dough recipe, and here ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/10/17/homemade-play-dough/</link>
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		<title>Word Search Puzzles &#8211; Sea Animals</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Click here for more puzzles and worksheets 
On popular demand from family and friends, we are back with puzzles and worksheets. Here is a word search puzzle on sea animals theme. Included supporting pictures from Wikipedia and MorgueFile, so kids can visually identify the animals. 
Tip: Line down, line up, diagonal and reverse diagonal. 

!!&#160;&#160; H A P P Y&#160;&#160; &#160;S O L V I N G &#160;&#160;!!
]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/09/26/word-search-puzzles-sea-animals/</link>
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		<title>NEA &#8211; 50 Multicultural Books Every Child Should Read</title>
		<description><![CDATA[


List of must-have multicultural books was originally compiled by the Cooperative Children&#8217;s Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison

*Image Courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ian_munroe/3970602664/
]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/09/21/nea-50-multicultural-books-every-child-should-read/</link>
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		<title>Sand Craft</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Spotted this sand craft kit hiding somewhere in between a shelf full of barbies and disney board games in a nearby gift shop. We had tried sand art back in the US at my littlest one&#8217;s birthday party, it was an instant hit with my then 3 year old. I so miss Michael&#8217;s and the likes.
The kids gulped up their milk in an instant, cleaned up their bowl of oatmeal in no time, listened to everything that was told to them   The older one even invited her bestest ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/09/16/sand-craft/</link>
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		<title>Fliplog Kidbooks iPad Apps on App Store</title>
		<description><![CDATA[BILINGUAL BOOKS


Ekki Dokki
Ekki Dokki is a bilingual book in Hindi and English. It is based on an  endearing Marathi folktale about two sisters. Ekkesvali has one hair on  her head; Dhonkesvali has two and thinks sheâ€™s great.
Download from  iTunes


Mirchi Ka Daana / Runaway Peppercorn ( Hindi/English )
THE RUNAWAY PEPPERCORN by Suchitra Ramadurai, art Ashok Rajagopalan, is a bilingual book in Hindi and English. Amminikutty Amma picks out the last peppercorn from her spice box to make some tasty onion chutney. But little Kurumolagu has no intention of ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/08/23/fliplog-kidbooks-ipad-apps-on-app-store/</link>
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		<title>Hindi Vowels on iPad</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Are you a NRI parent wanting your child to be familiar with basic Hindi. Here is an iPad application that could be the first step in generating interest. It is fun and very simple to use. 
As a parent, I have been struggling to get my 5yro daughter interested in Hindi. She can speak decent Hindi now, but there was no interest in written language. 75% of her Hindi schoolwork stays incomplete. This app has helped tremendously. Both my daughters love the leaderboard screen that toggles between the alphabet and ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/06/09/hindi-vowels-on-ipad/</link>
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		<title>Annual Haircut Day on iPhone, iPad and Android</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Annual Haircut Day was the first iPhone and iPad application we published in April. We were truly excited to make it to day one of iPad launch.
A big thanks to Pratham Books for putting this book under creative common license and for their encouragement and support. Thanks to Radio Mirchi for the read-along recordings. 
Annual Haircut Day is the story of Sringeri Srinivas &#8211; man with very long hair. For one reason or the other, everyone refuses to cut his hair. Poor fellow runs around the village asking for help. ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/06/08/annual-haircut-day-on-iphone-ipad-and-android/</link>
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		<title>iPad App &#8211; Doodle Buddy</title>
		<description><![CDATA[To sum it up in one word &#8211; Amazing!
iPad&#8217;s touch screen with a large real estate combined with simplistic design makes this app a favorite at home front. My girls(3 and 5) will do anything for 5 minutes of Doodle buddy.
Is is a simple paint app, comes with predefined background images and stamps. You can also choose any saved photographs from iPad&#8217;s photo album as the background image. Various brush styles including glitter and smudge. Best is the undo feature, one of the girls accidentally touches the screen spoiling the ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/05/30/ipad-app-doodle-buddy/</link>
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		<title>iPad is fun, TV is boring. Interview with a 5 year old girl.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Impromptu interview session between the father and the 5 year old daughter.
Father: Can I ask you some questions.
5yrold: Sure.
Why do you want to go to school?
Because I don&#8217;t know some things.
ok. What do you like doing in school?
Worksheets.
Arts n Crafts.
Who is your favorite politician?
What is a &#8220;politician&#8221;?
hmm.. Like Prime minister of India, President of India, President of USA..
Don&#8217;t know. I have not even meeted (met) them. Don&#8217;t know how they look and how they talk.
(If only grown ups gave so much thought before electing!)
Who in your family do you like ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/05/09/ipad-is-fun-tv-is-boring-interview-with-a-5-year-old-girl/</link>
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		<title>Book reading event on ocassion of World Water Day</title>
		<description><![CDATA[PrathamBooks is organizing a book reading event of their popular book Cauvery tomorrow @ 11 AM.
More details here..
Wish I could participate, but there is somewhere else I need to be at the same time. The dreaded PTM! 
]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/03/19/book-reading-event-on-ocassion-of-world-water-day/</link>
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		<title>Chasing The Plastic Pisach</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Title: Chasing The Plastic Pisach
Author/Illustrator: Sumathi Sudhakar / Arka Prabha Roy Chowdhury
Publisher: Pratham Books

Our apartment initiated a Go Green campaign few weeks back, with posters all over the apartment complex, starting from the entrance gate to the lift. The poster clearly depicting the three colored waste collection bins, samples of recyclable waste etc. Our apartment has mandated us to have separate bins at home, one for recyclable wastes and another for compost-able waste. One going into white trash bags and another into black, so they can accordingly dispose them into ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/03/16/chasing-the-plastic-pisach/</link>
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		<title>Hooâ€™s Tale is it Anyway!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Hoo&#8217;s Tales is a week long carnival organized by Hippocampus. This past Saturday was their curtain raiser, a day long story telling and puppetry carnival at Cubbon Park. We went for the afternoon session, and the initial thought of the weather being insanely hot got swept over by Richard Martin&#8217;s story narration in just few minutes. 
Every story teller had their own unique style. While Richard Martin&#8217;s narration was interactive with the children from the audience participating in the narration, Jeeva Raghunath&#8217;s narration was loud, animated in the form of ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/02/23/hoo%e2%80%99s-tale-is-it-anyway/</link>
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		<title>Artsy Craftsy Challenge Feb 2010</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Mindful Meanderings is running the Artsy Craftsy Challenge again. The February theme is paper crafts. More details here
The January event results ]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/02/09/artsy-craftsy-challenge-feb-2010/</link>
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		<title>A is for Apple. A is for Art.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Introducing Alphabet Tuesday&#8217;s! Every Tuesday, we plan to do an activity based on an alphabet. We start with &#8220;A&#8221;, who else!! 
We started the homeschooling hour with our favorite alphabet phonic song &#8211; a a aaapple , b b bbbat, k k cccat .. The 2yrold can now identify till g. The 5yrold is well past this stage, so we did an animal theme for her. Some of them we came up together, like w- wolf, n &#8211; nightingale. Thanks to the books currently in our reading list &#8211; Yakity ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/02/09/a-is-for-apple-a-is-for-art/</link>
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		<title>Sister Sister, Why? Where?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Title: Sister Sister, Why is the sky so blue?
Author/Illustrator: Roopa Pai / Greystroke, Sanjay Sarka
Age Group: 4-7 yrs
Publisher: Pratham Books

We read one of the Sister Sister series(subtitled &#8211; Fun Conversations about Everyday Science)  from Pratham Books. I must say I am floored! Simply in awe. How I wish the text books for first and second grades would be anything close to this. 
The little brother&#8217;s imagination goes wild and he comes up with the cutest possibilities, like the sea must be upside down with a plastic sheet wrapped under ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/02/03/sister-sister-why-where/</link>
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		<title>Long and Short Vowel Sounds</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We got this book &#8211; Amazing Animals by Innovative Kids, from a yard sale back in California. A retired teacher had carefully and neatly boxed them. My 5 year old was just 2.5 at that time, but these books were so absolutely awesome, that we could not resist and picked up the whole box. She is now reading by herself and is starting to comprehend what she read. These are a set of 10 books, each of them about 7-10 pages, the pages starting with a 2 word sentence, builds ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/02/02/long-and-short-vowels-sounds/</link>
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		<title>Apple&#8217;s Tablet to redefine textbooks, newspapers and magazines</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The tech news room is flooding over the release of Apple&#8217;s tablet, with Steve Job claiming this is the most important thing he has done. If rumors are to be believed, this will bring a revolution in the textbooks and newspaper industry. 

With the new tablet device that is debuting next week, Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs is betting he can reshape businesses like textbooks, newspapers and television much the way his iPod revamped the music industry

With some of us still adjusting to the e-book revolution, looks like it ...]]></description>
		<link>http://www.mytoystory.com/2010/01/25/apple-tablet-to-redefine-textbooks-newspapers-and-magazines/</link>
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