Twenty-five years back, I used to run a fun learning class for kids and I discovered what I had already known through my own kids. Children are naturally creative and curious, and have an intrinsic motivation provided it is supported and nurtured by the teacher/parent which means there is no force, are no rewards or punishment and the learning context is co created.

This summer, as I create a summer camp for my grandson, Rohan, it all comes back.

I first made a list of all the possibilities: cleaning up, cooking, science, math, language, art, music, drama, dance, clay, building projects, outdoor.

We then sat with the list and decided together what to keep and what to eliminate and that became the master list to choose from for the daily plan.

The next step was to flesh out each of the selected topics. For example, language included English reading, story making and writing, and -- most important -- learning Hindi.

Next came the making of a schedule for the first day and then each morning for that day, stretching from 9am to 6pm. One hour slots with free time thrown in. It was implicit that if anything else very interesting came up, it could be changed. For example, when the idea of making the Statue of Liberty gripped, it took over three fourths of a day. (:

Things started to move as planned, but also beyond.

We started by cleaning up the house and then first, the book shelves. He took out so many books to give away! In general, he started keeping things in their place. He started learning Hindi and decided that he would finish the primer as a Christmas gift for his mom. The Hindi slot is usually half hour, but one morning last week before the camp began, he started revising letters that he had learnt the day before, and also stretched his Hindi slot to almost an hour because he attempted to write letters that he had learnt, all on his own initiative.

We went to the Yerba Buena Park for the kid music shows held every Friday. Last week, there was dance from Philippines. We did the egg floating in salt water experiment for science and now we are letting the water evaporate to see what happens. As such, we observe what happens when certain foods, like mung beans, are soaked in water; just to talk of science as a way of observing things.

In writing, we have made up a story and now are co-writing and illustrating it. It was interesting to flesh out the characters -- how old they are, what would he be like, and so on.

What I find most heartening is his enthusiasm. He gets up in the morning, saying, "I cannot wait for the camp to start."

The feeling that this is his camp, built around his interests, and that he is as responsible for designing it, is perhaps the key.

There is an element of fun, an organic sense of pace and flexibility at all times; and yet, it is not at all frivolous.

Because it is so collaborative -- moving at its own pace and flexible, using materials that we have at home -- it is not stressful. My husband, Vijay, and I share sessions, so we both get our own free time.

So far, it has been joyful and the days seem to pass so swiftly.