We have several ladies in our community who teach Indian dance (Bollywood dance is what its called) , so they are not traditional dance forms which take almost 10 years or more to start mastering. If you have Indian grocery stores or an Indian community, you could ask there. I havent seen any online resources, but if I find any I will surely link to those!

I have a couple of old fashioned pressure cookers as well...the ones that are used on the stove top, I use it every day for cooking my beans and lentils (vegetarian family here). Its quick, easy to clean, easy to maintain and I cant imagine my kitchen without it! Hope you find one that you like!

My husband has the same last name as my maiden name, so I did not have to change my name at all!

Hi Nan, I have a 4th grader this year, we are in Frisco, TX. I use a combination of Khan Academy (website), Beast Academy books and the printouts from the MEP site for daily math practice. My ds doesnt do more than 20 mins of math daily. We also read a lot of 'Math' centric books from the library such as the Sir Cumference books. Hope that helps!

You will need yogurt starter to make your own yogurt. I have not had a good experience with store bought yogurt as a starter, because of the pectin added. If you can borrow from a friend, that will work well. Plain yogurt with live cultures in it might work too. Some health food stores sell the freeze dried yogurt starter. You could use that as well. Heat the milk until almost boiling and then let it cool. Use a heavy saucepan. Then let the milk cool until it is slightly warm to the touch. Whisk a tablespoon of yogurt into the warm milk. Let the yogurt set in a warm place (I usually keep it inside my turned off oven - with the light on if its winter). You can start checking after about 4 hours. The longer it sets, the thicker and tarter it gets. Once you are satisfied with the texture, transfer to the refrigerator. Hope that helps! I have been making yogurt this way for the past 12 years and my mom has been making it this way for almost 40 years!! * Yogurt made with whole milk will naturally be thicker than that made with 2%, etc

Bharat: Ek Khoj is a beautiful resource. We watched it regularly on TV as children (in India). I didnt know the series was available on youtube!! Thank you! Amar Chitra Katha comics are very easy for children to read and understand mythological stories and they have great pictures too! I also found this book on amazon http://www.amazon.com/Childrens-History-India-Subhadra-Gupta/dp/812913697X , but please know that I have only read reviews and have not seen the book myself. You might also look at the NCERT Class 7 Social Science textbook (Our Pasts) for material that is used in Indian classrooms for history!

In terms of availability of goods, you will find a huge range of things in India. The malls are really nice, you should be able to find almost everything that you need for your day to day needs. Amazon and Flipkart are two of the bigger online retailers there. The only things that you might find difficult are pollution and population, especially if you are in the bigger cities. But language should not be a problem because many people know at least enough English to get by! (I am from Bangalore, I just returned from my vacation a couple of weeks ago and am missing my family :) )

Never. My parents never used corporal punishment. My mom scolded me occasionally when I fought with my brother, I dont remember my dad ever raining his voice! I guess I am lucky that I had really nice parents and I have a very good relationship with them even now. My only regret is that they are almost 9000 miles away, in India.

In all fairness, in India, this name is pronounced Uhneel Rahm (the 'a' being pronounced as it is in the word 'large') - nowhere similar to western pronunciation :-)

I wish we had a similar setup in our ISD, an individualized plan for each of the kids currently in the GT program. Right now (my DS is in 3rd grade) he just gets pulled out of his classroom, along with all the other kids identified as GT and spends 1.5 hrs per week with a GT teacher. Best of luck for your meeting! Hope you get a clear and relevant plan for your DD! (GT - Gifted and Talented)

Nothing unusual - but growing potatoes for the first time...I also have okra, green beans, spinach and amaranth in my vegetable bed..holy basil, garlic, curry leaf plant(used in Indian cooking), lemon balm and mint are in containers. I also started some lemon seedlings from seed and am hoping that at least one survives (although it will be a long wait until I can actually get lemons from it!). I have some chamomile and calendula seeds that I havent started yet!

We have had a similar letter this year, although the room parent has specified that we do not need to do all the things suggested. She has also asked for a contribution towards a gift card. Since I work full time and am not able to volunteer in the classroom as much as I would have wished, I am not complaining!

Ghee is just clarified butter. Butter is simmered on a low flame, until all water content evaporates and the milk solids settle at the bottom of the pan. What remains is a golden colored, slightly nutty tasting liquid that is solid at room temperature, has a high smoke point and has a pretty good shelf life even outside the refrigerator. Its pretty easy to make at home. Its widely used in India and Indian dishes and hence is a regular thing that I make at home. Hope that helps!

My family is Hindu. We are lucky in that we have several temples where we live and a big Hindu community as well.

Is this workbook available now ? I would love to use this with my 3rd grader !

eucalyptus oil for coughs and colds; honey and warm grape juice for coughs, ginger and holy basil for congestion, steam baths, garlic oil for ear aches.

I have found that mixing eucalyptus oil with a carrier oil (like coconut oil or olive oil) in a 1:4 ratio and then rubbing that over the chest and back and also on the soles of the feet helps relieve my kids when they are congested! (Socks over the feet at night help keep the oil from spreading to the sheets or blankets!

Here are a few more blogs that have really good Indian recipes: http://chefinyou.com/ - Step by step instructions and pictures http://holycowvegan.net/ - Completely Vegan blog http://litebite.in/ - Lovely and easy recipes Hope that helps!

We just started school two weeks back and so far, my third grader just has 20 minutes of reading (no reading log sent yet) , a couple of math word problems to solve and spelling words to practice for a weekly test. Although I hope he starts getting slightly more homework from school, this just gives us extra time to do afterschooling activities - more math, dictation and writing, grammar and composition.

New member here ! Would you all recommend getting the guide along with the workbooks ?