Strategies to Improve Eye-hand Coordination in Children:

Eye–hand coordination is the ability to track the movements of the hands with the eyes, thus enabling the eyes to send important signals to the brain about hand movement. Poor eye-hand coordination can greatly affect your ability to exercise and can also affect everyday task such as writing.

Activities to improve eye-hand coordination<

Peg-board activity
Threading and lacing: Threading beads is a fine motor activity that has a big eye hand coordination component. Use different sizes of beads to challenge the child.
Homemade puzzles:
- Collect different objects (different shapes & sizes) at home, place them on a piece of paper & trace around them.
- Have your child match the items with the outlines and put them in the correct place.
Mini clothesline:
- Using a piece of string suspended between two objects to form a small clothes line.
- Give your child small squares of fabric and pegs to hang them up.
Suspend a ball in net:
Throwing and catching the suspended ball using both hands help to increase eye-hand coordination.

Importance of Play Skills in a Young Child:

Play is an essential part of every child's life and is vital for the enjoyment of childhood as well as social, emotional, intellectual, physical and language development. Children's access to good play environment can-
Increase their self-awareness, self-esteem and self-respect
Improve and maintain their physical and mental health
Allow them to increase their confidence to developing new skills
Promotes their imagination, independence and creativity
Provides opportunity for language development and for developing social skills
Provides opportunity to make choice and nurtures learning
Build resilience through risk taking and challenge, problem solving and dealing with new situations
Provide opportunities to learn about their environment, understand about difference in abilities, enhance peer interactions
Allows adults to understand their child's body language & expressions

Play is integral to the academic environment. It has been shown to help children adjust to the school setting and even to enhance children's learning readiness, learning behaviours and problem solving skills. Play that allows peer interactions is an important component of social-emotional learning.

School reopened for teachers on the 4 of June. This year the mood at the start of the new academic year was uncertain and hesitant as many of our teachers were leaving on long leave for personal reasons. While most reasons were celebratory, not having new staff in place with nearly twelve new admissions was daunting to say the least and it was just the silver lining that the month of June has been a transitioning month where the new comers could join and the older teachers could orient them into their new places. A few hiccups no doubt, but now the school looks like it's picking itself up and coming to its feet. We are hoping to have a jolly, strong, purposeful ride ahead!
The students came in on the 11th and the school wore a new look. This year we have restructured our groups as in the junior school which has classes from KG upto Grade 5. And the rest of the school becomes the senior school who will be a doing vocational program. They continue to have a main lesson with topics ranging from biology to history to civics and this main lesson answers the soul need of the students who learn , move, sing, draw, sculpt, perform and generally increase their world awareness quite seamlessly. The first block was that of Digestion and went well with the vocations of cooking, farming, and gardening in the school premises. The Senior school learnt about the digestive system and in batches they worked on parts of the system. They learnt about how the tongue helps in tasting the food, the teeth in grinding it, the food pipe that carries it to the stomach, the digestion of the food in the stomach etc. A few photos enclosed.
What has been delightful to see is the senior students now coming like young trainees and wearing formal collared t.shirts with their trousers. Only the junior school wears the uniform now.
Senior students have settled well into their vocations both morning and in the evening. Sports for the students has begun at the corporation ground on RK Mutt Road from this Monday.
On 14th Thursday, Dr. Maria from AIMS Media Delhi office had a meeting with the parents of the students attending AIMS class at Sharada. She had individual meetings with them regarding the student's working, parent's queries, doubts and what the course offered in the coming weeks. Photo attached.
On Thursday, Grade 3 visited the Anjaneyar Temple at Nanganallur, in relation to their main lesson of Ramayana. The students enjoyed the trip and the visit into the temple.
We also had Ramzan celebrations conducted by Shakila and Aadil, Aaqila's mom and brother, who explained about what Ramzan meant for them, how they prepare for it and what is done in the holy month and conducted a short prayer too. She also provided "Nombu Kanji and vadais" for everybody.
Tuesday 19th was an important day for a few of our students. They had a simple but beautiful graduation in the afternoon from KLC to VTU. Usha and Shanthi had come over to receive them with warmth and love into their fold. Parents of the students had also come over. It was a very emotional moment for all of us as students who came in as early as 2003 moved over to VTU. The students were - Pon Harish, Pranav, Chinmay and Chandra. They were escorted by their old teachers and parents and were ceremoniously handed over to the new care givers after passing through a human bridge made by the rest of the school. Photos attached.
We had a Teachers Orientation on the 7 and 8 of June where a few thought provoking talks were shared by Vasudha, Gita, Lakshmi Sudhakaran and Parimal. The attempt was to begin the year on a common thoughtful note and a direction in which the year can be steered. Especially the teachers in preparation for their own availability for the coming year.
KLC celebrated Vasudha's birthday with love and deep affection for the person who created this space for children with special needs. For your time, love and space Vasudha we thank you like every year and pray that the sun shines brighter on you so you continue to fill our paths with light!

The placement intiative through vocational training programs undertaken by V-Excel was featured in the Deccan Chronicle and covered the journeys of three of our trainees - Chandramouli, Ankit and Vijayasarathy. Read more in this link:

Swachh Bharat Campaign

Swachh Bharat has always been an initiative we have always aspired to contribute to.

On World Environment Day, June 5, we took steps in making that dream a reality. We partnered with local authorities with the support of Dr. R. Natraj, MLA to help them maintain a stretch of the roads outside our premises. We also had Sriram Ayer, Nalandaway Foundation joining our trainees from Youth Empowerment Centre on Luz Church Road to spread awareness and initiate the campaign opposite Nageshwara Rao Park.

In the evening, we had a similar campaign happening at Sharada, our educational centre on Thiruvengadam Street, Mandaveli. Dr. Natraj inaugurated the event and led the way with our students and faculty.

International Yoga Day

International Yoga Day it is! It is all the more special back here at V-Excel keeping in mind the therapeutic benefits of Yoga.
Making an impact at Cholamandalam Investments and Finance were the trainees from Vocational Training Unit and Youth Empowerment Services. The trainees and employees of Cholamandalam came together for a combined Yoga session.
This event was organised by United Way Chennai as part of their Day of Action Initiative.

Tarang in Chennai

Music has a unique ability to bring the right emotional balance to our lives. Amidst the multiple emotions we carry - happiness, sadness, elation, anger and lot more, music provides a therapeutic healing to all of it.
At V-Excel, we have monthly concerts - Tarang for our students, trainees, families and anyone who would like to spend an afternoon fulfilling your aural senses.
This month, Akkarai Sisters, Subhalakshmi and Sornalatha, accompanied by Rahul R on the Violin and Sai Giridhar on Mirudangam performed some soulful numbers making the afternoon memorable!

Greetings from V-Excel Remedial Unit. As we step into another Academic Year, we thank each and every one for the support given to us and are confident of making new strides in the coming year.

The month started with the regular orientation programs for the members. The children have started coming for the sessions, though attendance is low. We have signed an MOU with Anandam Old Age Home for setting up a resource room and guidance. Anandam Home is a free home for Senior Citizens who have no living children and no source of income. It caters to around 100 senior citizens and is situated in Puzhal, near Ambattur. It is managed by Smt. Bhageerathi Ramamoorthy and Dr. Malini with a group of like-minded people. They provide free tuition to around 250 children from the nearby government schools. They requested V-Excel to assist in helping children who have difficulties in learning. The VRC team visited their premises and have completed assessments for 10 children. The teachers handling these children are also given training in Sharada and have also enrolled for the ATE courses. Hopefully, the Resource Room will be fully functional from August.

We have been getting enquiries from different schools for conducting workshops and setting up resource rooms. The VRC team is in constant dialogues with the management and the principals of these schools. We had our German donor-partners visit our center. They were quite impressed by the work and also the documents maintained.

Sharing the success story of one of our student, Samuel Peter, written by our Special Educator Ms. Gayathri Sridhar
Samuel – The Samurai:
Samuel Peter came to us with more questions about acceptance in the new school environment, mixed emotions owing to his physical challenges and psychological developments during the growing up age of life. He has great faith in God and greater love for his family members. He does care for others too and always wanted to be listened. He dreams to be a healthy and wealthy individual in the future and talk more about it.

We received him with RESPECT, accepted him with the assurance to navigate him to challenge his challenges. The very first objective was to treat him, age appropriate and guide him to be independent with his daily chores of life to the extent with minimum help from the family members. The energy of the child was very much connected with the grandmother as she ‘the caretaker’ ever since he was born.

He was not comfortable sitting inside the classroom with the teacher and used to keep on calling grandmother with big shout of his cry. He would excuse himself asking help for toileting so that grandmother would come in for his comfort. He never accepted teachers helping inside the washroom and would spoil the dress purposely. Getting attention and to escape from the class, he continued with his own drama strategies.

He was given both individual and group sessions to bring in holistic development. As he wanted to be listened we gave him opportunities to be a part of a small group. He was given simple responsibilities to communicate with others and get things done. He loved to 'lead' sat with friends during lunch sharing his food. The group activities helped him to understand his strengths and thereby feeling positive about himself as an individual.

The individual program focused on:
• Gross motor skills - to enhance motor planning
• Attention Focus - to organize thoughts and communicate
• Oral Comprehension - to improve vocabulary/ situation based perceptions on facts and feeling
• Fine Motor Skills - For recreation wet-on-wet, painting, playing xylophone
• Nature Walk - To open up the psychological blocks and feel one with Nature

Over the period, he is blooming up beautifully and shows intent to learn and happy to come to school. He is understanding and also concerned about what's happening in the classes. Accepts help and guidance to challenges and come out as "I" the emotional stability is also being a concern is attended to by telling stories that feature successful characters with disabilities on a main lead. We are happy to see Samuel sailing through beautifully and wish many more magical moments in this beautiful journey.

From Bridges Learning Academy: Greetings from BLA. We are proud to inform you all that the academic year 2018-19has started on a bright note with a close to 100% success, by our students of NIOS. All the Teachers attached to BLA attended the In-Service training programs conducted by V-Excel and VRC. We are ready with the improvised curriculum for this year. We have grown in numbers, which only goes to prove the faith that the parents have repost on us.

Summer Report from VRC :
April being the academic year end and also the closure of the morning group, teachers were engaged in the preparation of reports and the farewell party. The attendance was lean, but we could give compensation classes to children who had missed sessions. Two of our Readiness Group children were admitted to KLC. A small function was organized and the children were given certificates.

A brief report on the Sale of Traditional Drinks by VRC:
Our VRC team organized the sale of buttermilk and lemon juice prepared in a traditional way. The sale was done on a trial basis for three days from 21-25 April 2018 at Sharada. BLA children headed the sales, under the supervision and guidance of VRC staff. The stall was organized by the admin team at the entrance. Each cup was priced at Rs 10. It was well appreciated by the general public.

The summer camp preparations are in full swing and the theme of the camp is Vrukshgyan, an initative to spread the importance of trees and uses. There were consultations suggested by the schools to decide about the promotion of children and the concessions that could be availed from the Board. Assessments were done and reports were also given.

Bridges Learning Academy:
Primary: Revisions and Final exams were conducted in the first week of April. Progress reports were given and parents meetings were held in the second week. The parents meeting with the class teachers and the coordinator were very fruitful. The feedback from the parents was very encouraging and the were willing to cooperate with the teachers in future.

Pre-NIOS: The promotion of the students to the next level {NIOS –Secondary} were held in the first week of April. It has been decided that two of the students of Pre-NIOS can be promoted to NIOS.

NIOS: Students of NIOS attended the board exams in the month of April. Rigorous revisions and model exams and special coaching were held to support the students. Preparations for Hari's senior secondary were in progress. Records and assignments were allotted.

Group Activity for BLA: Students of BLA organized a sample summer camp fireless cooking was organized. Snacks like bhel puri & fruit salads were prepared and distributed by the students themselves. Pre NIOS organized the ironing activities clothes identification, and grocery identification for primary students. It was very touching to see the care and involvement of students between themselves.

M.P. Aanandh School Summer Camp Report:
Summer camp in MP Aanandh School was conducted from 16th to 18th April 2018. The theme of the summer camp was "Life Skills". Topics covered in our theme were:
1. Fireless cooking (fruit salad and lemonade)
2. Traffic signs and signals
3. Basic first aid
4. Basic cloth stitching concept
5. Differentiating degradable and non - degradable substances

A booklet was made with the pictures and craft items of the activities done during the summer camp. A total of 16 students confirmed their participation, yet only 2 students attended the summer camp from 10.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. On the 1st day (16th of April), students did fireless cooking along with teachers. They made fruit salads and lemonade. They were taught how to use knife to cut different types of fruits. Then students themselves mixed all the fruits in the bowl. On the same day they made lemonade. They themselves squeezed the lemon and with the help of teacher they made the lemonade and served to other school teachers and the principle along with the fruit salad. Students really enjoyed eating the fruit salad without any hesitation, as they were very excited to eat the food which they made with their own hands.

On the 2nd day (17th April), traffic signals and basic first aid procedure is taught to them. Initially they hesitated, but they started to get involved to know more about the traffic signs and signals. They stuck the pictures of the traffic signals in their scrap book and named them. On the same day, they were taught basic first aid procedure of how to clean a wound, apply anti-septic cream and apply bandage to it. Steps involved in performing first aid. Students showed more interest in knowing about the procedure and were very happy that they will be able to help a person when they need first aid help.

On the last day (18th April), students learnt cloth stitching. They were very interested to learn basic needle stitching, and were happy that they will be able to sew torn parts of their dress in future. They stitched all the 4 corners of the cloth and stuck it on the scrap book. On the same day, they were taught about how to differentiate degradable and non – degradable substances, the harmful effects of non – degradable substances and how to reuse them to avoid its pollution. The students were excited to know about the sorting of different things and made a pledge that they would reduce he usage of non – degradable things and try to reuse them. They were also excited to tell their parents about the difference while disposing the garbage.

Summer Camp Report - Vrukshagyan - from Kejal Bakshi:
On 30th April evening, first floor of Sharda was ornamented well. All rooms were ready, draped with cloths, materials were kept ready and the teachers were waiting eagerly for 2nd May, 9.30 am.

Yes, first day of Vrukshgyan – summer camp at VRC. Children entered the premises, little knowing of whats in store. Some were old faces and some were new. We, teachers were very happy and received them all with open arms. A typical day in the summer camp started with circle time with rendition of two short prayers. The children were then divided into two groups depending on their age and were sent to either a main lesson class or cooking class. In cooking the group made a snack and a drink. This was followed by handwork/craft or painting or music and games.

Main lesson, was for an hour, where the children did movements, nature walk, made scrap book, heard stories, narrated and enacted poems. All children were involved in making a scrapbook. They depicted the poem they read in the form of art each day.

The younger group were exposed to different types of trees and seasons such as autumn and spring. They were taught this in the form of movements, poems and free drawing. The older group narrated a poem in rhythm and enacted the poem. Each child was given a chance to be the characters in the poem and experience it. It was a magical moment for us, when children read the entire poem in rhythm, where we had taught them only the first paragraph. The children, who were shy, not able to read well, also were narrating it in the group.

When given a space to perform, it was nice to see how children who hardly spoke on the first few days of camp, selected their roles. Vafir walked from a corner of the room and came in the centre to be a tree, Narayan, Dravidmani, Roshan, Vishal each selecting the role they want to enact was a sight to see.

Snacks were carefully planned, keeping in mind the banana tree in mind. So, we used banana stem, banana flower for vadais, banana for chips and so on. Every day children would prepare one snack and one drink like buttermilk, lime juice, panangam and so on. On the ninth day, aunty treated us all children very delicious coconut juice. On the last day, Lekshmi aunty, BLA teachers, and few akkas, made lunch in the kitchen for all the vrc teachers. It was a sumptuous meal. All the children enjoyed cooking class. They would then serve to all the other children.

Mayank, a child on spectrum, non-verbal, wanted to only do cooking all the ten days. So, when his group was not doing cooking, he insisted on being in the kitchen to prepare snacks. We had three sessions of wet-on-wet painting. Children were guided to make a landscape and then to paint a tree. We also explored dry brush painting and ear-bud painting. All the children enjoyed painting. Initially all the children would draw the tree by drawing the trunk in two reverse C and then making curves for leaves. But, during the ten days, and slowly guiding them, making them conscious of how tree grows through drawing, painting, and other mediums, all the children now draw roots growing upwards, then the trunk, the branches, the leaves and fruits. Each tree was unique and beautiful.

Handwork session were conducted, we made basket with coconut leaves, thoranam with mango leaves, spoon with jackfruit leaves. Then they were taught to trace a compressed leaf and change it into a different image like fish, boat, or scenery of the child’s choice. All the students enjoyed this session very much and their creativity was expressed very well. Especially, Dravidamani, who usually don’t like art, made beautiful scenery out of the leaf which he traced. He also stuck few leaves and transferred into a butterfly and added a background for it. Sharvan, child on spectrum, insisted that he wanted to make a fish out of the leaf traced, and he did it independently. He was very happy that he made it by himself. Lingesh, liked the leaf tracing, and wanted to do it more.

Games session at the end of each day was the most welcomed activity of the summer camp. Every child enjoyed it. They played games like musical chair, kho kho, passing the ball, reverse ball passing, tug – of –war, balloon walking and balloon bursting. Games with balloon were the most enjoyed games by the child. Especially balloon bursting game, where they had to si in the balloon and burst it.

Hamsini, voluntarily busted 4 to 5 balloons on her own. Also, during the musical chair game, Thareesh heard the rhythm of the music being played with spoon and plate, he picked it up and played the same throughout the game. During the Music session, Children taught few Kabir dohas and tree song – (Tamil) to all the children. All the children enjoyed and were humming the songs from the next day.

It was a pleasure to hear Hamsini humming the songs while doing painting. Towards the end of ten days, all the children were singing the songs taught to them. Silendra song song became the favourite of all. Every day, every hour teacher’s, akkas, children would hum these songs.

On the sixth day, we visited Theosophical society. All the children were very excited for the field trip and they were all on time. It was a great experience, where the children were exploring the trees, touching, smelling, breathing the fresh air. Teachers gave children a surprise, by performing a small musical drama on Chipko movement. The children watched were thrill to watch it, and then they too went hugging every tree. We sang songs for the trees and then left for Breakfast at Sangeetha ,which was sponsored by Mr. Rajagopal ,the owner of Sangeetha Hotel.

As a closure activity, the children were taught to make a bracelet with coconut leaves and were asked to exchange it with their friends. Everyone was very excited to exchange the bracelet, which they made by themselves. Sarveshra, who was bullied by other children, selected one of them as his best friend, which was much unexpected. Thareesh chose Hamsini, as his best friend and gave her the bracelet. Thareesh and Hamsini were in different groups and we were quite surprise of this silent friendship.

On the last day, treasure hunt games were conducted where the students along with their parents participated and played all the games. Every one enjoyed playing and actively participated. At the end, all the students along with the teachers presented the songs in front of their parents, which they learnt during the summer camp and then the teachers and parents shared their experiences with each other.

Thareesh, who came late wanted to sing all the songs, and he initiated all the songs all over again. All the children joined him again.

Summer camp was an enriching experience for all the teachers. We were so attached to the children, that last day was very difficult to bid bye to children and to Vrukshgyan. Harish Kalyan also helped a lot and he too was part of the sumercamp. In some ways, he helped in organising and in some ways, he was still a student. It was very nice to observe him, and to see how he is working on his difficulties and still able to do a good job. Vafir and Harish had good conversations in their own ways.

After the lull experienced during summer vacation, the school building was abuzz with lots of activity and June turned out to be a very busy month for all of us. This academic year began with Teacher-training.
Mrs. Maya Sanghi, Speech and Language Pathologist, presented hands-on experience for the teachers on "Importance of Development of various methods of Communication in non-verbal children" . Our Clinical Psychologist Mrs. Pradnya Apte presented a lecture on the various welfare schemes of the National Trust for the disabled.
Two students from the Early Intervention group have been mainstreamed this year- Arjun Anish and Kuber Mankar.
This year 3 new students have taken admission in the Vocational Center and 14 students have joined the school. Also 2 new teachers have been appointed. Mrs Shubangi Bairagi, an ace Art & Craft teacher of Nashik, displayed some simple art and craft techniques, which can be taught to the children in the school, quite easily.(Photo enclosed)
International yoga day was celebrated in the school on 21st June. All the students of the school and Vocational Center performed several easy Asanas( poses) that have been taught to them during the last Academic year.
Some of the teachers and students of the school attended a function organized by Saksham Trust. Twelve children from our school were given new school bags and note-books.
Summer Report from Nashik:
World Autism Awareness day was celebrated in the school. All the teachers and students came dressed in blue colour. The children planted saplings and sowed seeds in the garden pots. In the afternoon various competitions were held for the children and all the kids enjoyed the event.
The special guests of the day were the mothers of all the autistic kids studying in our school. All the guests were felicitated by Mrs. Jayanthi Vishwanath and an Art therapist Mrs. Shefali addressed the special guests of the day about the therapeutic effects of Art and painting.
Earlier in the same week, our Regional Director Mrs. Jayanthi Vishwanath and Clinical Psychologist Pradnya Apte were interviewed by the RJ Ms,Rucha of Radiocity Nashik FM95 about the Occurrence, Identification and Management of Autism Spectrum Disorders. The excerpts from the interview were broadcast on April 2nd afternoon.
All the students of the school and Vocational Centre were taken to the famous Kalaram temple in Nashik, on the occasion of Ramnavami celebration. The children enjoyed the soulful Bhajans and Music performances rendered by renowned musicians of Nashik. Annual evaluation of all the students were carried out both in the school and YES and many children have performed very well.The Annual evaluation reports were handed over to the parents on 28 th April, which was the last working day of this Academic year. In May this year, five students from the slow-learners section of our school registered for the NIOS exam under the OBE(Open Basic Education ) category.
From Gopal Jahagirdar in Solapur
On 4th June Monday re-opening of school and Therapy Center took place. 5th June world environment Day was celebrated in Center. On 16th June blood donation camp and blood group check of our students was done in our Center by Rotary Starlet Group and Kadadi family of Solapur. New admission of school: - 10 students were admitted to the vocational and school section and 3 children in the therapy and remedial section.

On 2nd April World Autism Day was Celebrated in our center with parents and children at 10 am. On 16th April on occassion of Autism awareness month we and Inner Wheel Club conducted Health Check up by Dr. Deepa Babaladi and Dental check up by Dr. Arpita Sankh for this event we invited Resp. Mayor Mrs. Shobhatai Banshetti. From 16th April we took summer camp for our school children.In that we took different activities every day like colour day, rangoli, craft, sensory activities, outing, clay work, sports, kitchen, music and story. All kids enjoyed it and also parents liked these activities and requested to take summer camp every year. Sunita Vaidya, Mr. Patil, Ketaki Kulkarni, Rajani Bahirat went to Chennai for Town Hall Meeting and Vocational training. 28th April was last working day we gave annual report cards to all children.
From Abhyasa Kendra - Srirangam
V-Excel Srirangam Vocational unit trainees are empowered with full-time employment. Our trainees received therapies and receivied training for 2 years in our training unit. Now 8 trainees have been promoted to work in our production unit which gives them an employment opportunity. They are producing Areca leaf plates and edible podis and vadams. Now they are getting a monthly salary for manufacturing the following items.
Areca Leaf Plates – 6’, 8’, 10’, 12 inch plates, Production value of areca plates in Uune is 17,500/-
Edible Podis: Angaya Podi, Arisi Upma Mix, Elaivadam, Idly Chilli Podi, Kanchipuram Idly Mix, Kootu Podi, Paruppu Podi & Rasa Podi. All these podi items are made by our trainees in production unit, June production value was Rs 25,000/-
From Outreach Centre - Pollachi
Summer camp at Outreach Remedial center, Pollachi, was conducted from April 2018 to May 2018 between 11.00 am to 3.30 pm. The summer camp was organized to enhance the learning, social and emotional skills of children who are of age group between 06 to 13 years. A total of 22 children (9 girls and 13 boys) attended the summer camp.
Everyday, the session starts with brain gym exercises followed by yoga for 30 minutes. After a break of 15 minutes, academic sessions begin. Children are grouped according to their mental age. The children are divided into four groups namely, system A, B, C and D. There are four faculties to teach. They divide the children into small groups and teach English, Tamil (reading, writing) and arithmetic. The session continues for an hour and comes to an end by 1pm for lunch break. Post lunch children are given value education on different topics as per parents areas of concern like “ Respecting elders, Restricted TV watching, Excessive talking, Mobile phone usage, Sibling rivalry, Time management, Taking care of their possessions etc.,” for half an hour. The children again go for their regular sessions in small groups till 3pm. Its story time for children for another half an hour, where they listen to moral stories in computer. The session comes to an end by 3.30 pm.
In order to develop the inquisitive skills among children, various activities was conducted in the summer camp like, a role play was organized on money concept where, a group of children enacted to be vendors and few children as costumers for various retail stalls. Children were given duplicate currencies and plastic coins. Children learnt the cost price and selling price concept and decision making skills and how to handle the money.
A food festival was conducted during the summer camp, children bought variety of seasonal fruits and they prepared fruit salad and lemonade. Children were taught how to wash the fruits, cut, peel and mix. A group of children prepared lemonade. Teachers were available to instruct them when needed. Children learnt the art of preparing fruit salad and how to do it carefully without wasting the food, the fruit waste was given to a child to feed his cow in his farm.
A talent show was conducted, where all the children exhibited their talents in dance and drama. This show helped the children to enhance their grooming skills and helped them to overcome the fear to perform in a group.
A craft workshop was conducted to mark the closing ceremony of the summer camp where children was taught to make paper umbrellas, rockets, water melon, dolls etc., with the help of color craft papers and ice cream sticks. This activity helped them to enhance their creative skills. The summer camp was a good teaching / learning experience for teachers and for children it was a new experience where they learnt academics and life skills.

Greetings to friends of V-Excel as we come back to you with our stories this fresh academic year. The academic year for the unit began on the 1st June. The teachers of VTU Sreyes and YES had an inservice on the 1st and 2nd. The resource persons for the sessions were Vasudha, Behaviour therapist Madhu Ram and Lalitha. Common challenges, behavioural as well as social and work related challenges were discussed . Approach to understand and work out ways to address the same were discussed and learnt. The teachers felt good to have been able to discuss about the challenges and also to find a commonality in the matters.

4th, 5th & 6th were days of discussion and preparation of timetables and class. Getting materials ready for work and deciding on the main points for IPP of the trainees. 7th and 8th, were very useful and important days of in service which the teachers had with all teachers of Chennai V-Excel. This was conducted by Dr. Vasudha, Gita Bhalla, Laekshmi Sudhakaran and Parimal.

The teachers felt very much enriched after these sessions and requested for similar ones every year. VTU started new academic year for the trainees from 11.06.2018, most of the old trainees attended on 1st dayThree new trainees have joined the Foundation course. We started Foundation and vocational activities in full swing with order of 150 Gada bags.

The Trainees started to get training in SN, Kitchen activity, Paper Mache, Jute Loom, Hand stitching, Automobile and art & Craft. While one trainee continues at the local automobile workspot, two of them have moved ahead. They go after VTU training hours to a bigger place and are exposed to more areas of work.

On 12th of June 2018 we had the graduation of Foundation Trainees and 3 trainees were graduated. and transferred to YES. The occasion also doubled as a small party for Jason who moved away to Bangalore. On the 20.06.2018 Ponharish, Chandra, Pranav and Chinmay joined in Foundation course at VTU.

The new Trainees get training in hand stitching and paper bag also with help of teachers. Trainees Gowthami, Nikhil, Venkatesan along with Yoga teacher Mrs Priya Ramesh went to Cholamandalam finance for doing Yoga in their premises on Intenational Yoga day.As they did the yoga, the staff of the company followed them Our trainees were good demonstrators and were appreciated by all. The trainees enjoyed the soulful music of the Akkarai sisters on the 26th at BVB. Radhika, our counsellor met with parents and trainees on Thursdays. With the volunteer Ms Rama resuming her Friday sessions, the unit is complete in all aspects of activities.

VTU May Report :
The month of May, at VTU Sreyes was one of "being cool in the hot summer". The trainees took turns in making spiced buttermilk and set up a shady kiosk to sell their cool pot of "moru". The initiative was very much appreciated and patronised by the locals. The unit worked till the 15 th of May.

It was a time of meeting with parents, getting their feed back and discussing the trainee's path as expected by the parents. The teachers had put together many reports: analysis of their skill development, personality development, functional development, academic development, emotional development. Annual report of the student activity and progress was collated from the same. It was found that all of them have beniffited from the program( vocational production/ foundation) and each had their own path of empowerment.

Met with all the 20 parents and shared details of the year's journey travelled with each of them. It is with great happiness that we share the parents ' appreciation of the programme and the growth they have perceived in their ward. 3 of the trainees from the foundation course will graduate to YES and three others to a focussed vocational training at Sreyes VTU. Consultations have been going on for admissions for the academic year 18-19.

Outstanding orders and deliverables from the production unit were all met. The trainees were further engaged in the beautification project of the premises. They cleaned, washed certain areas of the outside walls. Almost the whole group was involved in the drawing and colouring of the murals. They have given Sreyes a bright look. The trainees were also part of the annual stock taking and clearing of the unit. The unit has a fifteen break and will reassemble on the 1st June.

VTU April Report :
The month of April has been as eventful as the others at VTU Sreyes. On the 2nd April, the trainees , along with their peers from YES made a trip to the Mylapore MLA's office and the Police commissioner's office to create awareness on World Autism Day.

This has a been a month of report writing and annual evaluations . The staff have been very busy and so have the trainees , wrapping up their training modules and production orders. It a time for inviting new admissions to the program and we have had 4 consultations this month. Looking forward to a new group joining the Foundation course.

The production team have been occupied with the orders for IRA program and some others for the Poompuhar and the potential Dakshin Chitra shelves. Introduction to a new cyber entrepreneur has been exciting. We hope to bag order for paper mache products to be marketed by her. Right after the annual Grand Town Hall Meeting of the 23 rd where all the V -Excel staff ( across our subcontinent) participated, the Heads of the departments had the meeting.

The trainees of Sreyes and YES went on an experiential learning trip to Kumbakonam. It was a group of 32 trainees and 10 staff on a 3 nights 4 days trip.We travelled by day in an A/c coach. Train travel was first experience for many and it meant inclusion. They had their breakfast and lunch in the train and doing that was a learning in itself. While some trainees learnt to climb to the upper berth , others practiced to lodge themselves there and did their best not to roll off. Some others made friends with the general copassengers while getting used to strangers moving back and forth , while the train itself was travelling at different speeds was a challenge to get used to for some. On the whole the train travel was enjoyed by all. For many, it was the first time "They are away from their parents".

At Kumbakonam, they were lodged in rooms/ hall attached to a marriage hall and hence lot of common space for gathering together. The days began with a walk / yoga / fitness in the paved common area. On day one, The group visited a small scale Dairy unit which processed milk enough to make fresh milk available to public in sachets. They got first hand experience at the bronze school, where they not only were shown how bronze statues were made but got an experience of it. Each of the trainees were given a chunk of moulding material to make a shape of their choice. Two of the trainees got gifts in acknowledgement of their skill. They also got to try their hand at the glazing and smoothening process.

At the loom which weaves silk fabric, the group got to touch and feel silk yarn and Zari as is used for weaving silk yardage saris. They were shown the process of silk extraction from silk worms fed on mulberry leaves. The group visited a bakery run by a family and got to see the baking as well as icing process. They had a good time at the potters yard making small diyas or designing ones made by their friends. The visit to the Panduranga mandir and goshala was very exciting for all. The trainees recited slokas and sang fervently at the mandir and were very interested to see hundreds of cows and calves in the sheds.

Of course they did have their share of entertainment and games. A local group of traditional 'Silambam' artists entertained the group for more than an hour. In the evenings after the days tour, the group had interactive games . All together it was a "SUPER" experience, in the words of the trainees. The parents though apprehensive in the beginning were very happy to see the enthusiastic youngsters return looking and feeling more independent and confident. In all of this , we owe a big round of applause to the staff who have worked with them through the year/s , those that travelled to be with them and the persons who helped us put the whole program together and not to forget the dear sponsors and our own ever supportive team.

From Youth Empowerment Services:
From Rama Nagarajan's Desk June month had a great start with two days of group discussion on the kumbakonam trip. The session was held in Sharadha on 1st June and 2nd June 2018. Mrs.Rama Nagarajan, Mrs. Gayathri Suryanarayanan, Mrs. Divya Venkatesh and Mr. John Bosco attended the session. The whole session was wonderfully coordinated and anchored by Mrs. Usha Rajagopal. Dr. Vasudha Prakash and Mrs. Madhuram spoke about how to handle age related issues and behavioral issues respectively, which gave us all a new approach.

On 4th June 2018, YES reopened for all after a week's break for maintenance. All the trainees came back with full of energy and enthusiasm. On 5th of this month, we inaugurated Swacch Bharat campaign at Nageshwara Rao Park. Many trainees and all the trainers actively participated in all the activities, which includes creating awareness among the public on keeping the environment clean, sweeping and cleaning up the neighborhood. This was done with the help and support of Ramky Agencies.

On 7th and 8th of June, we had orientation sessions which included informative session on Autism – A perspective by Mrs. Gita Bhalla, The Human Heart by Ms. Lakshmi Sudhakaran and Biography by Ms. Parimal Pandit. From Yes unit, Rama, Gayathri, Divya and John attended the sessions.

Mrs. Lalitha, the counsellor assigned for YES unit, visits the centre on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She has started meeting all our trainees for this academic year. Parent meetings are also scheduled and will happen in coming weeks.

Beginning the second week of this academic year, the focus was on scheduling and allotment of vocations for the trainees and trainers. This is done taking in all the inputs and feedback from parents. On 13th June 2018, three trainees, Venkatesh, Manas and Prasanna joined YES after successfully completing the foundation course at Sreyes. At present the number of trainees in YES is 32.

On 16th June, we had a group session with all the parents to elaborate on all the activities of the previous academic year and to share our proposed roadmap for this new academic year. We are very glad to say that we had almost 100% attendance and all the parents gave us a very good feedback. Prof. Anand Jagadeesan, Mrs. Rama Nagarajan and Mrs. Gayathri Suryanarayanan addressed the gathering and spoke about all important events and the vocational activities of YES.

As part of the L&T project, we have started making idly melagai powder and upma kozhakattai mix. We made one batch and gave as samples for which we got a positive feedback from all.

In our Printing and documentation unit, we undertook many internal and external orders. Internal orders include photocopying BLA books, various binding works and printing ID and visiting cards. External orders include designing ID card for AMM foundation. On 20th June, we had a meeting to discuss on the implementation of Swachch Bharat. We had Mr. Sivakumar and Mrs. Uma Sivakumar for SWM, Mr. Selvam from Ramky agencies, JE Mr. Soundararajan team from Chennai corporation attended the meeting. Mrs. Rama Nagarajan, Mrs. Charumathi Sriram, Mrs. Shanthy Duraiswamy, Ms. Aishwarya Jayaraman and Mrs.Gayathri Suryanarayanan represented V-Excel. Many key issues were discussed and it was decided to begin with the actual implementation of the project. To start with, an orientation session for all the trainees and trainers is to be organized. The date for which will be deicded and intimated.

As part of International Yoga day, on 21st June, 6 of our trainees, Aditya Mahesh, Arjun, Naveen, Sidharth, Karthik Ramani and Gokulakrishnan performed yoga at Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Pvt. Ltd. at their Head office. Our trainee Aditya Mahesh spoke on the asanas and its benefits.

In our Printing and documentation unit, trainees were involved in various production activities to fulfill many internal orders. Orders include designing and printing visiting cards for YES and BLA, lamination work for ATE and 1000 envelope covers for Srirangam centre. Vocational assessments and counselling assessments are happening for the trainees.

Summer Report from YES :
To create awareness about autism, trainees and staff of V-Excel's Youth Empowerment Services (Mylapore) and Vocational Training unit (Adyar) visited MLA Dr. R. Nataraj, Mylapore Consituency on April 2, 2018. They interacted with Dr. Nataraj and his staff and pinned the blue autism ribbon on their shirts as a gesture of solidarity.With the help and advice of MLA, all the trainees along with the staff met the Chennai Commissioner of Police Mr. A.K. Viswanathan at his office. Trainees interacted and gifted them products that were crafted and produced at V-Excel's premises, followed by the visit to the EA for the art exhibition conducted by We Can - a Special School.

On Saturday April 7th trainees were taken to Nageswara Rao Park open gym were they did their workouts happily and enjoyed the walk around the park. In Printing and Documentation unit safety measures, troubleshooting, locating the materials needed to perform a task and billing were trained to the trainees. In Baking and confectionery unit safety measures, measurement of ingredients, counting, packing and billing training were given to the trainees. In Laundry Unit for the effective participation of the trainees in laundry work training like sorting, counting, ironing, packing and billing trainings were given to the trainees. In Kitchen activities many trainees are effectively involved in cutting, mixing, garnishing and serving the fruit and vegetable salad, buttermilk, panagam and sandwich. As a part of kitchen activity fruit juices were prepared and the sample juices were given to our Trustee Mr. Kandaswamy, Mr. Padmanaban of Jayam construction, Naturals Salon and Kanchi Weavers.

Therapy class addressing the needs of the trainees happens effectively twice a week. Activities like gardening, Yoga and gym are done daily involving the trainees. The trainees are briefed about the safety measures to be followed during their trip to Kumbakonam. On 26th April 2018, 21 trainees and 5 staff members along with VTU trainees and staff started the field trip to Kumbakonam, it was a three nights and four days trip. All the trainees had a best learning experience visiting Loom, Bakery, Dairy farm and statue making place. This overnight stay program is an experiential learning program, It was a well-planned program, it has exposed our trainees to the world of artisans.