Be it be an adult or child, emotions are often a tricky touchpoint. While you can easily facilitate scientific and mathematical concepts using the sea of resources available, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is a rocky pathway as it doesn’t have a cookie-cutter approach. That raises the problematic question ‘ what can be done to...
Home LearningAppaka: The Story of Nonnu’s Pet and Her Many Emotions
Be it be an adult or child, emotions are often a tricky touchpoint. While you can easily facilitate scientific and mathematical concepts using the sea of resources available, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is a rocky pathway as it doesn’t have a cookie-cutter approach. That raises the problematic question ‘ what can be done to take an individualistic approach to teach Socio-Emotional Skill.’ Out of many methods to SEL, a highly promising one, in my opinion, is through stories because they are fun, relatable, and often universal. So let’s look at how the story ‘Appaka’ can help our children relate and discuss various emotions:
Having a pet is a mixture of feelings; it’s two cups of friendship mixed with three cups of parenting to make eternal love and care. This mixture of emotions is attempted to be unravelled in the story ‘Appaka’ by Sreelatha Radhakrishnan.
Wondering what Appaka is? Appaka is little Nonnu’s world and smile, her pet goat kid. Soft like a cotton ball, Appaka is a lovely pet who makes Nonnu go through a plethora of emotions in the story. But, of course, the twist comes when Appaka goes missing, and Nonnu’s happy world crashes into a hundred pieces. What happens next is something that needs to be read aloud with your child.
The illustrations of Appaka, fantastically done by K P Muraleedharan, adds even more meaning to the story. The braided hair of Nonnu, the white fury Appaka, the coconut tree, the cotton tree, and many more scenic images bring out the feel of the Indian countryside.
This book will be an excellent read for your preschooler(Age 4+), who can explore and learn a lot about different emotions. The relationship between Nonnu and Appaka serves on the plate the feelings of empathy, love, care, happiness, sadness, and worry for discussion with your little one. As a ‘plus one’- we all love plus one-it also allows you to talk about the making of cotton through the character Pappu Mamma, who has a silk and cotton business!
In short, Appaka is a read that you need for your child for a happy feel about our relationship with pets. And the beauty of this story is, Appaka doesn’t have to be a pet; Appaka could be anyone in your child’s life!