SIMPLY EXPLAINED
April 9, 2026
SCHOOLS IN THE FOREST
Farida Mirza © 2025
The moment children in school hear the ring of the recess bell, magic happens. Their eyes sparkle, smiles break out and bodies relax. Just as birds fly out the moment their cage door opens, children rush out into open spaces the moment they hear the bell. Out in fresh air, they move around at will enjoying the freedom.
In the early history of mankind, before children attended formal schools, they lived close to nature and learned from their natural surroundings. They learned from ‘nature schools.’ Children who lived in the desert learned from ‘desert schools’, children who lived close to the sea learned from ‘beach schools’ and those who lived in forests learned from forest schools.
When and where was the first children’s formal school established? There is not much information regarding global developments in childhood education. However, it is generally agreed that kindergartens and nurseries were first set up in Europe, the UK, North America and Asia in the 19th century.
During the 18th and 19thcenturies, tuberculosis, also known as ‘consumption’ was killing a lot of people including children. In the 1908s, outdoor schools opened to fulfill the educational needs of children suffering from tuberculosis. Outdoor schools provided a fresh air environment to sick children. With the discovery of antibiotics, tuberculosis was controlled and open-air schools closed around 1938.
In the 1950s, a Swedish ex-military man, Goesta-Frohm, introduced the idea of teaching children about nature. This gave rise to forest pre-schools, also called, “rain or shine” schools. Swedish forest schools take students on trips to meadows and natural spots where children learn to ski, sled and canoe. The nature training children get is real. Students are not provided with toilets. They learn to walk ‘seven bushes away’ and dispose of waste safely.
Imagine children going to a forest to learn. They breathe in clear fresh air and smell the scents of the forest. They get to touch and feel tree trunks, leaves and the soil. They throw away their shoes and feel the grass under their bare feet. Everywhere they look they see greenery and natural colors and all this as they listen to birds chirping, tree branches swishing and streams murmuring. It’s a feast for their senses.
There were no official forest schools in the world until 1952 when Ella Flautau, a lady in Denmark, formed a group of her and her neighbours’ children who would gather daily in a forest close by. There were no indoor spaces available for setting up childhood centres where children could gather. The parents of these children supervised them as they played and learned from their activities in the forest. It was not a formal school but more like a day-care group created by parents.
In the 1960s, Germany introduced forest schools for their children. It was not until 1993 that there was an official state-supported daycare called the German Forest Kindergarten where children spent their mornings in the forest and afternoons indoors.
In the US, the first known modern forest school was started in California in 1996.
The benefit to children who spend as much time as possible in the outdoors began to be recognized and forest schools started to become popular. The number of registered outdoor preschools and kindergartens rose dramatically.
In 2006, The Children’s Play Council of the UK commissioned a study about the importance of play and of creating better play opportunities for children to improve child health. One of the conclusions of the study was that, “Direct contact with nature has direct benefits for children’s physical, mental and emotional health. Free play opportunities in natural settings offer possibilities for restoration and hence, well-being.” – Study conducted by Stuart Lester, lecturer in Play and Playwork at the University of Gloucestershire, UK and Martin Maudsley, UK, a professional story-teller who focuses on the natural world.
Forest schools provide traditional academic education, an awareness of the environment and health benefits to children. The goal is to give children a complete experience so that they thrive academically as well as benefit from being in fresh air and natural surroundings.
There are now forest schools in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, China, Japan and Italy. More forest schools are being established in other countries.
Note: If sanyone would like a hard copy of the above copyright article, please email me at fmirza@fmirza.com or use my contact page. Please give credit to Farida Mirza whenever you use it. Permission for non-commercial use only.
END
February 25, 2026
COMPUTERS
By Farida Mirza © 2025
A very long time ago in China, when large numbers of people started to do business buying and selling things, they found it difficult to do calculations using large numbers. They invented the abacus.
Throughout history, whenever humans felt a need to do large amounts of important work in an easier manner and in less time, they developed a tool. A tool or a device is a thing that helps humans do work easily and quickly.
The first mechanical calculator was invented by Charles Babbage of England in 1830. At first computers were used by the government and large companies. Around 1975, the first personal computer became available for home use in
the USA.
A computer has two parts, hardware parts, and software parts. Computer parts such as monitors, keyboards, and mouses built in factories are ‘hardware’ parts. Instructions written for a computer by trained people called programmers are ‘software’ parts.
When computer users want to share information or kno
wledge such as the latest news, stories, drawings and even music with other computer users, they enter what they want to share into a computer.‘Data’ is the term for the information fed or input by users as well as the instructions that programmers feed or input into a computer.
Without instructions, a computer cannot work. A computer only follows the instructions written for it that tell it what to do with the information that a computer user or programmer inputs. Programmers write instructions using a special computer language that a computer can read. Computer languages are made up of codes or symbols and not written with the alphabet.
Human beings store information in their brains. We call it memory. For example, once we learn how to brush our teeth, it stays in our memory. Whenever we need to brush our teeth, we remember how to do it.
A computer has a brain too. It is called a ‘central processing unit’ or CPU. The CPU is a microprocessor on a chip inside a computer. It is a tiny brain that follows instructions that tell it what to do. If you set an alarm for 8 am in your digital clock, the microprocessor inside the clock will make the clock ring at 8 am.
We can say that a computer has ‘memory’ too. Whenever a computer user inputs information, the CPU first gets the instructions written by a programmer that are already stored inside the hard drive of a computer. The CPU then follows the instructions. A computer also shows the information on a monitor or printer. Without instructions, the CPU can do nothing by itself.
When two or more computers are connected they exchange data, that is, send and receive data. This is called a computer network. The internet is a network of connected computers located all around the world. Global data is exchanged through the internet.
Data is exchanged by computers using electric signals which are short flows of electric currents that carry the data. The CPU has millions of tiny electronic parts called transistors or switches that carry data signals. Like switches, transistors act in only two ways; they turn on or off.
This is why computers use only two digits, 1s and 0s, to send and receive data. Strings of 1s and 0s are used instead of letters and numbers.
Computers send data to other computers on their network in different ways.
A modem is used when computers send data using telephone lines. An antenna is used when computers send data wirelessly using the air.
There are many types of computers in use today. Desktop computers are computers that cannot be carried around. Laptop computers can be carried around just like a school bag. Newer types of computers are being designed every day. Tiny computers are used in robots, cars, airplanes, and household items such as digital clocks, washing machines, and microwave ovens.
Computers are now used all over the world by people of all ages, Children use computers in schools and at home, engineers use computers to build rockets and aircraft, and doctors use computers to do surgeries.
Note: If sanyone would like a hard copy of the above copyright article, please email me at fmirza@fmirza.com or use my contact page. Please give credit to Farida Mirza whenever you use it. Permission for non-commercial use only.
END
February 7, 2026
GERMS
By Farida Mirza © 2025
Germs are tiny living things that are found all over the world. Germs are so tiny that we cannot see them with our eyes. We can see germs only through a microscope. A microscope is like a magnifying glass that makes small things look bigger.
Germs live outside as well as inside our bodies. All living things need food to grow. Germs also need food to stay alive and to make more germs. Germs that live outside our bodies get their food from our surroundings. Germs that live inside our bodies get their food from inside us.
If we wish to stay strong we must eat good food. Imagine you are building a strong wall. If you use strong bricks, the wall will be strong. If you use weak bricks the wall will fall down. Good food makes protein in our bodies. Like strong bricks, protein keeps our bodies healthy. Good food and body movement give us energy to walk, run and play when awake and sleep well at night.
When germs enter our bodies, they make their home inside and stay for a long time. They eat up the healthy parts from the food that we have, parts that help our bodies make protein. In return germs make toxins inside our bodies. Toxins are bad protein that act like poison to make us weak and sick.
However, there are good germs too that live inside our bodies and keep us strong.
There are altogether four types of germs that can enter and live in our bodies:
1. Bacteria 2. Viruses 3. Fungi 4. Protozoa.
Good bacteria live in our intestines and help us digest food. Scientists use good bacteria to make medicines and vaccines. Vaccines are medicines that stop us from getting sick.
Bad bacteria give us diseases such as eye diseases, skin diseases, sore throat, tiny holes in teeth called cavities and pneumonia.
Once viruses enter our bodies they make us sick with influenza or common colds, measles and chicken pox.
There are good and bad fungi. Mushrooms are good fungi that people eat. Bad fungi give us diseases such as Athlete’s Foot, a skin disease that makes the skin between our toes itch.
Protozoa live in damp places and are found in water. If we drink dirty water that has protozoa living in it, we get diseases such as diarrhea, stomach ache and vomiting.
When germs make us sick, we visit a doctor. The doctor takes a small amount of spit, blood or urine from our body and sends it to a laboratory for testing. The tests show what type of germ has made us sick. Once the doctor knows the type of germ, the doctor gives us the right medicine to make us healthy again.
Spit, urine and blood from sick people have germs that can make other people sick through shaking hands, touching or sharing pencils, spoons, plates and glasses. When sick persons cough, sneeze or breathe, germs move through the air to other people and enter their bodies to make them sick.
If you wish to stay healthy, always wash your hands well before eating, drinking and cooking, Wash your hands well after using a bathroom, touching an animal, visiting a sick person or coming home after play. The right way to wash your hands is to count from one to twenty as you rub your hands with soap.
Always cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you sneeze or cough. If you don’t have a tissue, sneeze or cough into your elbow, not your hands. Dirty hands move germs from one person to another through touch.
For good health, eat healthy food, move a lot and get enough sleep. To keep germs away, bathe regularly, wash your hands frequently and keep your surroundings clean. Vaccinations are another way to protect from diseases.
Note: If sanyone would like a hard copy of the above copyright article, please email me at fmirza@fmirza.com or use my contact page. Please give credit to Farida Mirza whenever you use it. Permission for non-commercial use only.
END
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AN ARTICLE I WROTE FOR XCHYLER PUBLISHING
https://www.xchylerpublishing.com/editors-notes-just-know/
CONTENT EDITING, LINE EDITING AND PROOFREADING
As an English teacher correcting student essays, I was content editing, line editing and proofreading without being aware of the differences in the three processes. Equipped with a pen or pencil, I was suggesting, commenting, correcting and doing whatever was necessary to help the student’s writing reach its potential. My goal was to help the student say what he or she wanted to say in the most effective way possible.
It was later in life, when I took up editing as a job, that I realized I had to separate the skills I had been instinctively using into three sections: content editing, line editing and proofreading. Though there is some overlap, there are differences in what each of the three processes involves.
CONTENT (DEVELOPMENTAL) EDITING
A content editor picks up a manuscript and reads it in order to grasp the author’s vision, intention and voice. What follows is a series of exchanges, and back-and-forth edits between the author and the content editor. The author makes revisions as the content editor suggests and guides. A close relationship develops between the two.
The content editor gives comprehensive guidance and helps the author find his/her voice, improve plot credibility, develop characters by enhancing strengths and diminishing weaknesses, deal with rising peril issues, introduce or reinforce emotional content, cut down descriptions if there are too many that might bore the reader, add to descriptions to satisfy a reader, change title and chapter headings to make them more dramatic or relevant, and work towards an attention grabbing beginning or a satisfying ending. A content editor is a guide in all matters of good story-telling.
The content editor ensures that the story stays true to the author’s vision, voice and intention. The manuscript goes through as many revisions as it takes to give it shape and polish and make it effective and sellable.
When the manuscript has undergone revisions, and there will be revisions, and the content editor and author are satisfied that the story is in place, the manuscript is ready for line-editing.
LINE EDITING
Line editors take the manuscript that has been shaped and polished, and help the author give it the sparkle necessary to make it readable and sellable.
Line editing is a qualitative process that follows content editing. Line editors understand the creative use of language elements and ensure the language used is appropriate for the reading level of the audience, conveys the intent of the author, is consistent in voice and style, reads smoothly and uses literary devices to enhance effect.
A line editor will look at the writing in great detail, gleaning out syntax errors, smoothing the flow of words, checking grammatical elements, spellings, punctuation, in general ensuring that all elements of the English language are being used appropriately. Line editors ensure that the author’s voice is not lost in the process.
After many backs and forths between the line editor and the author, the manuscript is sent to the person in charge of the editorial process for a final check. Once the manuscript is approved, it is ready for proofreadin
g, the final stage of the editorial process.
PROOFREADING
A proofreader does the final check of the manuscript before publication. A proofreader checks for typographic mistakes in punctuation, spelling, grammar and spacing. Proofreaders check page numbers, headers, footers, sections, chapters and title. They ensure that font style and size is consistent throughout the manuscript.
Proofreaders correct but not revise. If they come across grammatical or syntax errors, they bring them to the attention of the person in charge of editorial but cannot make any changes themselves. There are reasons why proofreaders are constrained from revising; they might not be aware of language elements that appear to be incorrect but might have been intentionally inserted as a result of some agreement between author and content or line editors.
Bringing attention to the issues rather than revising them is an acceptable way for proofreaders to deal with such discrepancies. Revising the text at the proofreading stage can result in the addition or deletion of words or lines that in turn can result in
the displacement of the typeset of the final copy and the disturbance of graphics.
SOME GUIDELINES FOR EDITORS
• When communicating with one another, through writing or discussions, choose words carefully, ensuring that questions and concerns address the story, not the writer or editor.
• When suggesting a change, explain the context within which the change is suggested and what prompted the change.
• Suggest revisions but do not rewrite.
• When an author is creative with words, coins words and plays around with words, do not reject without careful consideration.
• Never obliterate the author’s voice.
LEARNING DIFFERENCES
By Farida Mirza
I see you, you and you.
Do you see me?
The ‘me’ that’s hidden inside.
The ‘me’ that’s different from you.
I try hard to act like you.
When I do, I see you glance at me,
the way one glances at a stranger.
Why? I ask myself.
I know what you know.
I understand as well as you do.
I can achieve what you can,
and may be more.
Then why don’t you?
You ask me.
I need my own road to accomplishment.
Your way has been chalked out, I need mine.
I have so much to show you, so much to share.
Devise a way for me, you’ll be surprised.
The Vironaut
READ FOR FREE A little boy decides to become a vironaut, a slayer of viruses during the corona virus (Covid-19) pandemic. He does his schoolwork ...
I have written a story, The Vironaut,that provides information in a fun way to young children (8-12 yrs and older) about the corona virus and how to keep safe. I have been careful to include age appropriate and authentic information. The story is free. You can customize it by adding your child's name in the blanks. Send me an email at fmirza@fmirza.com with your email address. I’ll send the story for your child as a pdf file. More info at fmirza.com.
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