Literary Festival at School

Who would've thought that years after graduation I would be back to early mornings for school, helping with homework, attending PTMs and occasionally dropping by for festivals? Back then, I thought I was done with "scheduled days"—one of the reasons which always kept me from a regular job. I like to have control over how I spend my day.

Years later, my sleep-deprived brain is reflecting on the present. I slept only 4 hours last night, been awake since sehri, and did two school runs with no time in between for even a nap. I don't nap anyway; I sleep for straight 7-8 hours at night, or I don't. Only being able to sleep in absolute silence is a curse—not just the silence of the world around but also of the mind. In my case, they rarely cooperate. Once kids are back home, sleep is out of the question. I then desperately wait for the day to end. Today is that kind of day.

Luckily, a friend is sending food for iftar today, so I have nothing much to do. Hence, this post. I was going to write about a literary festival that happened at my 4-year-old's school last week. But when my sleepy brain read the word school, it took me on another track.

---

Kids were required to dress up as one of their favourite book characters. My son wanted to go as a bumblebee. I have absolutely no idea why and I don't recall having a relevant book at home. So, I found a story and read it to him. There was no point in the literary activity if he didn't know about the character.

Next, he needed a bumblebee costume, but I didn't want to buy something which he would never use again, so I had to improvise. A quick look into his wardrobe gave me the idea to use one of his sweatshirts with yellow and navy blue stripes. That was the closest thing that was giving Bumblebee feel at home.

Then, I made a paper headband with a bumblebee face and antennas. For the wings, I used cardboard and painted it light grey. The real challenge was to secure the wings on the shirt. I think I did a reasonable job.

Things, schools make parents do these days. 🫠

We both went to the festival together; he was very excited about having me as a company and going as a bumblebee. The event ground was vibrant and buzzing with kids and their parents. On one side, a puppet show was in full swing and on the other end, arts and crafts activities were organized for kids. In the middle, there were food and stationery stands.

^{I drew spiderman face for a wandering kid who was more interested in our table than where his family was.}

There was another unusual tent, which was kind of a walk-through of Alice in Wonderland.

The school staff and faculty put together a wonderful show that parents and kids equally enjoyed. At least, we did.

---

In case you are confused, I wrote parts of this blog on different days; hence, it might seem a little incoherent, and I deliberately didn't align the pictures today just because.

Happy Ramadan to all Muslim friends.