List of the "Words of the Week"
Prayers Recited:
- OM saha naavavatu ("My Prayers," pg. 6 )
- Early Morning Prayer ("My Prayers," pg. 43)
- Before Studies Prayer ("My Prayers," pg. 44)
- Before Evening Lights Prayer ("My Prayers," pg. 45)
- Guru Brahma ("My Prayers," pg. 9 -- third shloka of Shree Gurustotram)
- Lord Hanuman Shloka
Bhajans:
- Ganesha Sharanam ("My Prayers," pg. 7)
- Jaya Ganesha ("My Prayers," pg. 7)
- Gopaalaa (2nd verse)
- Om Namah Shivaya
Story: The Little Red Hen
Art Project: Lord Shiva Paper Sculpture
Sanskrit: Today we read two books -- "बृहत् लघु" (Big Little by SAMI) and "नीलं शिरस्त्रम, हरितं शिरस्त्रम् (Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton). We reviewed Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and Shiva vadati.
End of Class: Arathi and Om Poornamadah.
Comments: Today our class activities celebrated Maha Shivaratri. In addition to our usual morning curriculum, we took a few minutes to breath deeply and chant OM Namah Shivaya 11 times.
Our Gita Chanting is definitely coming along nicely -- we really want to encourage all the parents to register their children online (Chinmaya Vrindavan Site) and join us in a day of fun gathering and chanting. Our little ones will be allowed to chant in a group (they will not be asked to chant individually), and parents will be permitted to sit with them. Please remember that the toddler group is the only age category where the rules don't apply :-) If you do want your child to compete individually, then please be sure to talk with the coordinators to find out what their guidelines and restrictions are. We have been told that the class who registers the most will have a pizza and ice cream party with Swami ji!
And speaking of pizza and ice cream -- the CORD committee has reminded us that they still owe us a pizza feast. April 11 from 12:30 - 2:00 has been scheduled -- so please be sure and mark your calendars. We have sent an Evite with the details. Please respond, we need to know how people plan to attend. If you did not receive an invite, be sure and let one of the sevikas know.
Poor Swami ji -- he's going to be awfully sick of pizza and ice cream by the time the year ends...
Also, for those parents with older school children, please note that the Ashram will be conducting a Day Summer Camp from June 22 through August 14. Details and registration are posted online. An extended day program will be available for parents who need. Unfortunately, we are not able to accommodate the toddler and pre-k age groups this year.
Hope everyone left Balavihar and immediately went to the Ashram to join in the MahaShivaratri celebrations! Remember, no class next week ... yep, another week off. We wish everyone a very peaceful vacation and look forward to another fun day together on the 8th.
Priyanka, we can't wait to see you and your baby brother again! Dad says you'll be back on the 15th -- make sure to bring in some cool photos so you can share them with us.
p.s. For those who might be interested in the hip-hop 'OM Namah Shivaya' we listened to today -- the album is "Elephant Power" by MC Yogi. It is a newly released album and one you might consider having -- especially if you want to dance around the house with your children, singing the stories and glories of Lord Ganesha and Lord Shiva :-)
