The class was canceled due to forecast of inclement weather.
Happy New Year everyone and see you all next year.
December 13th Class
Words of the week: वृकः (vRukaH - wolf); मेषः (meShaH - sheep)
Prayers:
* ॐ सहनाववतु - Om sahanaavavatu (My prayers, pg. 6)
* कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मीः - karaagre vasate lakshmIh (My prayers, pg. 43)
* वक्रतुण्ड महाकाया - vakratunda mahaakaayaa
* सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhayam (My prayers, pg. 44)
* गुरुर्ब्रह्मा - gururbrahmaa (My prayers, pg. 9, 3rd shloka of 'gurustotram')
* बुद्दिर्बलं - buddirbalam (Lord Hanumaan shloka)
* वसुदेवसुतं देवं - vasudevasutaM devaM (My prayers, pg. 15)
Geeta Chanting: Chapter 10, shloka 1, 2 & 3
Bhajans:
Story: The boy who cried 'Wolf!
Art Project: Sheep Hanging Puppet
Sanskrit segment: Numbers; Shapes.
Yoga segment: Surya Namaskaara; stretches.
End of class:
Although it was a short class as per schedule, our class was packed with activities. After the regular shlokas, bhajans and Geeta chanting, we went on to hear a story - about the 'Boy who cried Wolf!' We learnt that it is not a nice thing to trick people or tell lies. They saw that the boy learnt his lesson the hard way, but he sure learnt it! Our kids were very smart to learn the lesson from the shepherd boy's mistake - never to tell lies. We then made our very own - Sheep puppets - to take home and take good care of :)
The kids know almost all the shapes we have learnt in Sanskrit! They see the picture and identify the shape almost instantaneously now. Good practicing kids and good training parents :)
We loved the stretching and bending during the Surya Namaskaara and also some jumping as an added bonus at the end of the class. It sure was fun. But parents, please be reminded that it is advisable to discourage the children from running around during or after the class. One thing, it is distracting to the other kids. Secondly, the rest of the kids tend to follow suit. Most of all, they could slip and get hurt. So please, discourage running around.
Have a great week until we meet next Sunday. Stay warm!
Snippets: The question during the shloka time was 'what instrument does Lord Krishna hold in his hand'. The children replied 'a flute'. The follow up question was 'what does it do - play music or make noise'. One of the parents replied 'depends!' (on who is playing it :)
Prayers:
* ॐ सहनाववतु - Om sahanaavavatu (My prayers, pg. 6)
* कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मीः - karaagre vasate lakshmIh (My prayers, pg. 43)
* वक्रतुण्ड महाकाया - vakratunda mahaakaayaa
* सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhayam (My prayers, pg. 44)
* गुरुर्ब्रह्मा - gururbrahmaa (My prayers, pg. 9, 3rd shloka of 'gurustotram')
* बुद्दिर्बलं - buddirbalam (Lord Hanumaan shloka)
* वसुदेवसुतं देवं - vasudevasutaM devaM (My prayers, pg. 15)
Geeta Chanting: Chapter 10, shloka 1, 2 & 3
Bhajans:
- गणेश शरणम् - Ganesha sharanam (My prayers, pg. 7)
- जय जय देवी - jaya jaya devI
- अम्बा देवी सरस्वती - ambaa devI saraswati
- गोपाला गोपाला - gopaalaa gopaalaa
- कृष्णं वन्दे नन्दकुमारम् - kRuShNaM vande nandakumaaram
Story: The boy who cried 'Wolf!
Art Project: Sheep Hanging Puppet
Sanskrit segment: Numbers; Shapes.
Yoga segment: Surya Namaskaara; stretches.
End of class:
- ॐ पूर्णमदः - Om poornamadaH
- Aarti and pledge in the auditorium
Although it was a short class as per schedule, our class was packed with activities. After the regular shlokas, bhajans and Geeta chanting, we went on to hear a story - about the 'Boy who cried Wolf!' We learnt that it is not a nice thing to trick people or tell lies. They saw that the boy learnt his lesson the hard way, but he sure learnt it! Our kids were very smart to learn the lesson from the shepherd boy's mistake - never to tell lies. We then made our very own - Sheep puppets - to take home and take good care of :)
The kids know almost all the shapes we have learnt in Sanskrit! They see the picture and identify the shape almost instantaneously now. Good practicing kids and good training parents :)
We loved the stretching and bending during the Surya Namaskaara and also some jumping as an added bonus at the end of the class. It sure was fun. But parents, please be reminded that it is advisable to discourage the children from running around during or after the class. One thing, it is distracting to the other kids. Secondly, the rest of the kids tend to follow suit. Most of all, they could slip and get hurt. So please, discourage running around.
Have a great week until we meet next Sunday. Stay warm!
Snippets: The question during the shloka time was 'what instrument does Lord Krishna hold in his hand'. The children replied 'a flute'. The follow up question was 'what does it do - play music or make noise'. One of the parents replied 'depends!' (on who is playing it :)
December 6th Class
Words of the week: हरिणः (hariNaH - deer); व्याधः (vyaadhaH - hunter)
Prayers:
* ॐ सहनाववतु - Om sahanaavavatu (My prayers, pg. 6)
* कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मीः - karaagre vasate lakshmIh (My prayers, pg. 43)
* वक्रतुण्ड महाकाया - vakratunda mahaakaayaa
* सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhayam (My prayers, pg. 44)
* गुरुर्ब्रह्मा - gururbrahmaa (My prayers, pg. 9, 3rd shloka of 'gurustotram')
* बुद्दिर्बलं - buddirbalam (Lord Hanumaan shloka)
* वसुदेवसुतं देवं - vasudevasutaM devaM (My prayers, pg. 15)
Geeta Chanting: Chapter 10, shloka 1, 2 & 3
Bhajans:
Story:
Art Project: Deer Paper bag Puppet
Sanskrit segment: Head, shoulders, knees and toes; Counting
Yoga segment: Stretches; Surya namaskaara
End of class:
Comments: Good class inspite of the the weather today. It was cold and windy outside, but it was all fun and learning at Balavihar! We learnt a new shloka for Lord Krishna and included it to our list of regular prayers. We also learnt a new Bhajan for 'Krishna and Rama' - together. And started working on the 3rd Bhagavadgeeta shloka as well! Phew, that was a lot of learning.
We heard a fun story about a deer who was very proud of his shapely Antlers and almost ashamed of his thin long legs. When a hunter came to catch him, he started running. Unfortunately, his big and beautiful antlers got caught in the branches of a tree. He struggled hard, untangled his antlers from the branches and ran for dear life. When at a safe distance, he paused to think of his earlier pride about the antlers and contempt for his legs. On contemplating the happenings, he realized that - it was his legs who had helped him run for life while his beautiful antlers almost got him in trouble. He learnt that each part has its own special duty to perform and it is uncalled for to be proud about or ashamed of anything for that matter.
The kids loved the story and the moral. They were so quick to apply the moral to real life and in such simple words, that too! (see snippets :)
Kids also had a lot of fun making their own deer puppet. They traced out their hands for the antlers of their deer! Wasn't it so fun kids...
We have a wonderful group of smart children. Looks like we can't say that enough times. We keep saying that over and over :).
Snippets: After the story, aunty said "Oh, my brain makes me smart, it helps me think. But my hands can't think. Maybe I'll leave them at home today..." They squealed with laughter and replied, "then you can't eat!" Then, aunty tried saying "I have pretty eyes, but I don't like my nose. May be it should be cut off..." Our smartie pies said, "then you can't smell!" So we concluded saying that - there are so many people in the world who may not be bestowed with all senses, hence we should not be proud, but very thankful to God for what we have been blessed with, which is - A LOT!
Prayers:
* ॐ सहनाववतु - Om sahanaavavatu (My prayers, pg. 6)
* कराग्रे वसते लक्ष्मीः - karaagre vasate lakshmIh (My prayers, pg. 43)
* वक्रतुण्ड महाकाया - vakratunda mahaakaayaa
* सरस्वति नमस्तुभ्यम् - saraswati namastubhayam (My prayers, pg. 44)
* गुरुर्ब्रह्मा - gururbrahmaa (My prayers, pg. 9, 3rd shloka of 'gurustotram')
* बुद्दिर्बलं - buddirbalam (Lord Hanumaan shloka)
* वसुदेवसुतं देवं - vasudevasutaM devaM (My prayers, pg. 15)
Geeta Chanting: Chapter 10, shloka 1, 2 & 3
Bhajans:
- गणेश शरणम् - Ganesha sharanam (My prayers, pg. 7)
- जय जय देवी - jaya jaya devI
- अम्बा देवी सरस्वती - ambaa devI saraswati
- गोपाला गोपाला - gopaalaa gopaalaa
- कृष्णं वन्दे नन्दकुमारम् - kRuShNaM vande nandakumaaram
Story:
Art Project: Deer Paper bag Puppet
Sanskrit segment: Head, shoulders, knees and toes; Counting
Yoga segment: Stretches; Surya namaskaara
End of class:
- ॐ जय जगदीश हरे - Om jaya jagedeesha hare (My prayers, pg. 22).
- ॐ पूर्णमदः - Om poornamadaH.
Comments: Good class inspite of the the weather today. It was cold and windy outside, but it was all fun and learning at Balavihar! We learnt a new shloka for Lord Krishna and included it to our list of regular prayers. We also learnt a new Bhajan for 'Krishna and Rama' - together. And started working on the 3rd Bhagavadgeeta shloka as well! Phew, that was a lot of learning.
We heard a fun story about a deer who was very proud of his shapely Antlers and almost ashamed of his thin long legs. When a hunter came to catch him, he started running. Unfortunately, his big and beautiful antlers got caught in the branches of a tree. He struggled hard, untangled his antlers from the branches and ran for dear life. When at a safe distance, he paused to think of his earlier pride about the antlers and contempt for his legs. On contemplating the happenings, he realized that - it was his legs who had helped him run for life while his beautiful antlers almost got him in trouble. He learnt that each part has its own special duty to perform and it is uncalled for to be proud about or ashamed of anything for that matter.
The kids loved the story and the moral. They were so quick to apply the moral to real life and in such simple words, that too! (see snippets :)
Kids also had a lot of fun making their own deer puppet. They traced out their hands for the antlers of their deer! Wasn't it so fun kids...
We have a wonderful group of smart children. Looks like we can't say that enough times. We keep saying that over and over :).
Snippets: After the story, aunty said "Oh, my brain makes me smart, it helps me think. But my hands can't think. Maybe I'll leave them at home today..." They squealed with laughter and replied, "then you can't eat!" Then, aunty tried saying "I have pretty eyes, but I don't like my nose. May be it should be cut off..." Our smartie pies said, "then you can't smell!" So we concluded saying that - there are so many people in the world who may not be bestowed with all senses, hence we should not be proud, but very thankful to God for what we have been blessed with, which is - A LOT!
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