Dr. Dasaratha Rama

The 100 Days of Family Fun and Learning is our main initiative for engaging parents and supporting them in creating enjoyable learning experiences with their children. 

I. A Memorable Moment
Ananth narrated The White Peacock story on December 2, 2022 at a SpecialSaathi event.  While we didn’t realize it at that time, this celebration on his 25th birthday was about to set a chain of events in motion.  We launched @ananthsadventures Youtube channel in January 2023.  Today, we are able to implement our 100 Days of Family Fun and Learning Lab!

Our resource development and sharing plan has clarified significantly during the last few weeks. Please check out our monthly resources and weekly schedule map: https://embed.kumu.io/b38663f75dc1f964e4cd59aa348fd0cd
 
II. Resource Map and Weekly Schedule
This map provides access to our shares on Ananth’s Adventures, LIFESMART, SpecialSaathi, RASA

This will be our schedule for shares from now as both Ananth and I have resumed blogging on SpecialSaathi. I am also creating weekly ParentSaathi lessons with SpecialSaathi.
Monthly Map of Resources and Weekly Calendar
Monday: Videos on Ananth’s Adventures Youtube channel are shared in the 100 Days of Family Fun and Learning Whatsapp group.
Tuesday: Parentsaathi lessons by Rama are shared in the 100 Days of Family Fun and Learning Whatsapp group.
Wednesday: Blog on SpecialSaathi by Rama will be shared in the 100 Days of Family Fun and Learning Whatsapp group.
Thursday: Blog on SpecialSaathi by Ananth will be shared in the 100 Days of Family Fun and Learning Whatsapp group.
Friday: Natya Imprints Blog by Ananth will be shared in the 100 Days of Family Fun and Learning Whatsapp group.
Saturday: Daily Rhythms and Family Fun will be shared in the 100 Days of Family Fun and Learning Whatsapp group.
Sunday: Hasta (Hand Gesture) Stories on RASA web channel by Ananth will be shared in the 100 Days of Family Fun and Learning Whatsapp group.

III. How it Works
Monday: Video of the Week
These videos by Sri Ujwal Jagadeesh and or Ananth Raghunandan present simple activities (movement activities, storytelling).  They include theater activities and demonstrate the use of visual and tactile tools.  Start your week by reviewing these simple videos.
See it, Do it Share it!
Watch the videos. Think about how you can use the information in the video. Do the activity.  There are many possibilities:
• Do the activity presented in the video.
• Simplify the activity to match it to your child’s point of learning.
• Choose a similar activity from a different source.
• Use a specific technique that you see in the video (e.g., use of imitation for learning)
• Share your experiences with the community.  We can learn from each other.  Your shares also provide information for us to refine our resource creation and sharing process.
Tuesday: ParentSaathi Lesson by Rama
The ParentSaathi lessons are intended to present the big picture behind our shares.  Every simple video is informed by our experiences with numerous approaches (e.g., Relationship Development Intervention (RDI), Waldorf Education, Enki Education, Distinctions, Systems, Relationships, Perspectives (DSRP) method, and Theater Arts for Holistic Development (TAHD)). 
Understanding the big ideas, tips and techniques, our explorations and learning for over two decades, and suggestions for parents to use with children of different ages and at different stages of development will help parents and educators better utilize what we are sharing.
Wednesday: SpecialSaathi Blog by Rama
This is the most important resource of the blog as it will integrate all other resources.  We have often created additional videos based on the video of the week.  Videos, tips and techniques, and big ideas will be integrated in my blog.
Thursday: SpecialSaathi Blog by Ananth
This blog will focus on the video of the week and related resources.  Ananth will share additional details to better utilize the video of the week.
Friday: Natya Imprints Blog by Ananth
This blog focuses on the theme of Life is Theater, Theater is Life.  Ananth shares his application of this theme in daily life in this blog.
Saturday: Daily Rhythms and Family Fun

Our daily rhythms are organized by the Six Ss :
1) Smile Brightly and Dance
2) Soothing chants
3) Storytelling
4) Silence
5) Self-inquiry
6) Surrender

Embedding such practices as part of the daily rhythm is of vital importance.  By practicing the Six Ss as described below, we are able to use these techniques for stress management, emotional regulation, and happiness throughout life.  Reacting to stress does not work for us.  We are now proactive in practicing several techniques daily.  Follow the link below for more details:
https://specialsaathi.com/2024/07/09/discovering-daily-rhythms-that-workreconnect-with-happiness-2/

As with our videos, our shares on daily rhythms are meant to stimulate thinking and discussion on calming, relaxing daily rhythms that facilitate learning.  Each parent and family will have their own approach.

IV. Join our 100 Days of Family Fun and Learning Project


1. Join our Whatsapp group:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/G3ugGAtcQOK0sGQg5X8LnP

2. View the video resources on Ananth’s Adventures Youtube channel:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqFzR-vYU-ZhWWw9QjIMI0pPRQKFK2uCM&si=Fe6wM_ZLRWN4mKES


3. Read my blog and Ananth’s blog on SpecialSaathi.

Acknowledgements
We are deeply grateful to Dr. Ambika Kameshwar, Founder and Director of Ramana Sunritya Aalaya (RASA), Dr. Vaishnavi Poorna , Deputy Director, RASA for their ongoing encouragement, guidance, and support.  We are thankful to Ms. Usha Sankaran for building the foundations in Theater Arts for Holistic Development (TAHD).  Her coaching on presentations has proved to be very useful for Ananth in developing his Ananth’s Adventures channel.  We appreciate the ongoing encouragement, guidance and support provided by Sri Ujwal Jagadeesh, Ramana Maharshi Center for Learning (RMCL). Finally, we appreciate SpecialSaathi’s efforts to bring varied perspectives to inform, encourage, and inspire parents, professionals, and neurodivergent learners.  Thank you Shilpi Mayank-Awasthi for encouraging Ananth to blog and for hosting his birthday celebrations on SpecialSaathi!

Author Dr Dasaratha Rama
Dr. Dasaratha Rama is a professor and home educator. She was the editor of a monograph on service-learning published by the American Association of Higher Education. This monograph was a part of a series of monographs on service-learning published by AAHE. She was also an Engaged Scholar with the Campus Compact, an association in the US dedicated to higher education civic and community engagement at colleges and universities. She has served as the Chair of the Teaching and Curriculum Section of the American Accounting Education. She is a certified leader in systems thinking, mapping, and leadership under a program offered by Cabrera Research Lab. She is currently doing a certificate in Theater Arts for Holistic Development (TAHD) from RASA (Ramana Sunritya Aalaya).