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Week 1:
We had a great start of week 1 with all our enthusiastic kindergartners. Class started with a brief introduction of kids and the teachers.
Shlokas:
We recited "Ekadantam Mahakaayam" shloka.
Story:
The story that was narrated in the class was Ganesha's birth followed by "Great God Ganapathi" song.
Activites:
We played the Concentration Shell Game. After the chanting of 3 “Om”s kids keep their eyes closed. They count the shells being dropped in the box during the quiet time. Later they give the count of the shells dropped. The game quitens the mind and improves the concentration.
Kids had fun making Ganesha with the playdough.
Kids were given a name tag. Please have them decorate this and bring it to the next class.
Don’t forget to checkout the class pictures!!
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Week 2:
Hari Om Parents,
We had a great 2nd week. Class started off with “Om” Chanting. We taught the kids the Shloka Om Saha Naavavathu, and discussed with them the meaning of the shloka & why we say it.
We then played the Concentration Shell Game. After the chanting of 3 “Om”s kids keep their eyes closed. They need to count the shells being dropped in the metal box during this quiet time. Later they give the count of the shells dropped. We had 5 kids give us the right answer in the last class!
We talked about our first alphabet in our alphabet safari – “A”
A stands for Aspiration. We had a brainstorming session on the definition and asked kids about their goals and what it takes to reach the goal set.
Story related to this was discussed in the class. Dronacharya tests all his students (Kauravas and Pandavas) for the Best Archer. Arjuna who was focused on the goal proved to be the one. Moral conveyed in the story was “ A single pointed attention is needed to attain your Aspiration”.
Activities:
We played a short game on the Aspiration. Kids had fun reaching the goal set.
Children were introduced to likitha japa where we taught the kids to write “RAM” in Sanskrit.
They then colored the letter A (for Aspiration).
We sang the bhajan: “Ganesha Sharanam...” (please refer to page 31 in the “My Prayers” green book).
We introduced the first shloka of Chapter 18 in Gita. They are in our handbooks in both Sanskrit & English. Please help the kids practice the shlokas that were taught in class. Please refer to the following website for the Gita.
We gave kids a name tag in the class. They were asked to decorate it as their homework. Please have them bring their name tag to every class.
If your child is new to the Balavihar program, please collect a bag and a folder from the office. If you have not done so already, please buy a “My Prayers” book & the ABC book for grade K & have the kids bring them to class.
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Week 3:
Major part of the class time, kids participated in Saraswathi pooja at the auditorium.
In the class we recited
Sahanavvatu
Saraswathi Namastubhyam (new shloka)
Gita Chapter 18 shloka 1
(Please refer to the following website for the Gita.
We talked about the significance of Navaratri and the Vijayadasami celebrated on the 10th day.
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Week 4:
Hari Om Parents,
Our class started off with “Om” Chanting and prayers. Shlokas we recited:
1. Saha Naavavatu
2. Sarasvati Namastubhyam
After the shlokas we played the Concentration Shell Game (after the chanting of 3 “Om”s kids keep their eyes closed. They need to count the shells being dropped in the box during this quiet time. Later they give the count of the shells dropped) Kids did a good job on keeping their eyes closed and counting the shells dropped.
We talked about our next alphabet in the safari – the letter “B”
Brotherhood is the sense of togetherness and belonging among members of family, neighborhood, organization and the world.
We talked about family members, extended families, neighborhoods, families overseas and finally whole world as one big family.
We talked on the tale of "The Complete Picture" where a box of crayons finally accept other colors as special and unique when they get to color a picture together.
Activities:
Kids were asked to color the letter B from ABC alphabets book where they exchanged crayons with each other. The activity depicts "Sharing is brotherhood".
We sang the bhajan “Ganesha sharanam..” please refer to page 31 in the “My Prayers” book.
We practiced "Ram" likitha japa.
Kids recited first shloka of Chapter 18 in Gita. (Please refer to the following website for the Gita. gitachanting.net for the right pronunciation). Please play the link everyday so that it is easy for the kids to memorize with the proper pronunciation.
After a quick round of yoga stretches & a few rounds of “Teacher Says..”, kids assembled in the auditorium for arthi.
We gave kids a name tag in the class. They were asked to decorate it as their homework. Please have kids bring the name tag to every class.
If your kid is new to Balavihar program, Please collect a bag and a folder from the office.
Please have kids bring the abc activity book along with the Balavihar handbook to the class.
Our class has been relocated to the Meditation room now.
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Week 5:
Following was covered in the last class:
Shlokas:
1. Saha Naavavatu(page 8- MyPrayers book)
2. Sarasvati Namastubhyam (page 12)
3. Sri Rama Rama Rameti (page 129)
After the shlokas we played the Concentration Shell Game. Every week we see kids getting better at keeping their eyes closed and staying focused.
Lesson:
We talked about our next alphabet in safari – the letter “C". C stands for cleanliness. Cleanliness is being free from dirt. We talked about cleanliness of surroundings, body and mind. We can keep our minds clean by 1. Seeing no evil. 2. Speaking no evil. 3. Hearing no evil.
We then talked about the story of Royal horse who always bathed in clean
water.
Moral: Even the royal horse likes to bathe in only clean water. We the
royal children of the lord should keep our surroundings, body and mind clean
Significance of Diwali:
We also talked briefly about Diwali in the class. One of the stories mainly discussed in the was Diwali being celebrated as a day when Ramchandraji came back to Ayodhya after killing Ravan.
Significance of Lakshmi puja during Diwali was also discussed.
Gita chanting and Bhajans:
Ganesha Sharanam from MyPrayers page-31 was sung in the class. Kids enjoy the fast and slow pace of Bhajan and had fun singing.
Activities:
1. 3 monkeys coloring sheet (hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil)
2. Lakshmi devi coloring sheet.
3. Exploration on clean and dirty with 3 paper cups: One can be dirty outside, dirty inside or clean through out. Just as we would choose to drink only from the clean glass and shun the dirty ones, we choose to be friend with those who are clean both inside and outside.
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Week 6:
Hari Om Parents,
This week we had the CORD walk-a-thon. It was held at our own Vrindavan, for the first time! The weather was very pleasant and comfortable & we had a good time walking for this very deserving cause. Unfortunately we had NO kindergarteners participate & walk with us!
Please help your child practice & memorise the first shloka of chapter 18. We will be testing the kids on Sunday & will award prizes & points for those who are able to recite it properly. We will help them if they get stuck. Please refer to http://www.geetachanting.net/bvg18v01-10/ for the right pronunciation.
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Week 7:
Hari Om Parents,
Following was covered in the last class:
Shlokas:
1. Saha Naavavatu
2. Sarasvathi Namastubhyam
3. Sri Rama Rama Ramethi
We had our first Geeta Chanting test & our kids did an amazing job! 7 kids have memorized the 1st shloka of chapter 18! Congratulations! They won special prizes too! Thank you parents for reiterating the importance of memorization & practicing at home. 3 of the kids were able to read & repeat (which is a good start). We will re-test those who were absent and those who have not memorized it yet. We introduced shloka 2. Please practice at home. Please refer to http://www.geetachanting.net/bvg18v01-10/ for the right pronunciation.
We talked about our next alphabet in safari – the letter “D"
D is for Daddy. Daddy is the head and the protector of a family just as God is protector of the world.
We brainstormed the kids on - who is Daddy, what does Daddy do to the family, what qualities come in the mind when they think of their Daddy.
We then talked about Father's Day and a story about why it is being celebrated in America.
Activities:
Kids made a “Best Daddy Award” for their Daddy.
The kids have predicted the answers to 6 questions about their Dad. Their answers are on the back of the Daddy Interview sheet.
Please have the kids interview their dads & have the dads write the answers on the sheet. Then you can compare them with the kid’s answers. Please bring them back to class for a brief discussion.
We have no classes for the next 2 weeks (Surabhi & Teacher’s convention long weekend), please join us on Nov. 4th for the Chinmaya Surabhi. Please visit the website for details & tickets.
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Happy Halloween & we will see you all back in November (wow time flies)!!!
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