Sevikas: Nanda, Ruchi and Jacqueline
Home Fun Work: Print out and color this picture.
Discuss the meaning of this picture with your child.
Morning Prayers:
• OM Saha Naavavatu click here for text
• Vakratunda Mahakaya click here for text
• Sarasvati Namastubhyam click here for text
• Shree KrishnaH click here for text
• Shree Hanumaan click here for text
Quiet Time: 1 minute of complete silence followed by very accurate shell counting. Two thumbs up, kids!!
Bhajans: Ganapati, Ganapati click here for audio and text
Geeta Chanting: Shlokas 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. click here for on-line registration, audio and text
Likhita Japa:
• राम 21 times click here for tracing card
• ऊँ 21 times click here for tracing card
Letter of the week: "V is for Victory"
Story: The Story of Raja Harischandra
Activity: Stations where small groups of children had to solve a completely different puzzle than the rest of the groups. When everyone was finished with their project, we then posed the question: "Which group was victorious?"
Ending Prayers: OM PoornamadaH click here for text
Comments: Today sure was a fun-filled day! First, we want to thank all the parents (grandparents, too) who joined us for our class activities. We were really glad that you could be a part of your child's balavihar experience today, and hope that you got a good glimpse of how well your children are doing with their weekly disciplines and learning.
After reviewing the vedantic alphabet, we learned our letter of the week: "V is for Victory." To help us understand this concept, Auntie told the story of Raja Harischandra (the very same great story that affected Mahatma Gandhiji in a very profound way during his childhood!) After story time, we then moved into our activities to help us comprehend in a "kindergartener's world" what victory is. Five different puzzle stations were set up throughout the room (legos, mosaic picture making, blocks, etc.) We then had the children divide into groups of 4-5 and assigned them one particular station. When they completed their puzzle they were to raise their hand and tell us they were done — and then wait for the others. As they shouted out "We're done!" we would put a check mark next to their name on the whiteboard. The yellow team finished first. Then the red team, and so on. When everyone completed their puzzles, we then asked the children "Who was victorious?" On first impression, one might think the Yellow Team because they finished first. But then we talked about how everyone was victorious, because we each completed the task that was set before us ... no matter how long it took. We each had different tasks — and we each accomplished them!
Our Geeta Chanting is coming along nicely. We will be moving up to Shloka 6 in our next class on April 11. Please continue to practice with your child at home. We also hope that you make sure to register your child, on-line, for the competition in May. Pronunciation will be critical this year, so we urge you to not only use the blog for practicing and memorization, but you can also take advantage of the free classes that are offered at the ashram — which are conducted by wonderful Sanskrit instructors. We believe that they are on Friday evenings, but please double check the schedule by visiting the Vrindavan website, or by asking Vasavaji.
We will be resuming our End of the Year play rehearsals during next class. Parents, please don't forget to add your child's wardrobe to your "Things To Do List." We will be needing the kids to wear black pants and a black shirt for the big performance in June. Your choice of short sleeves or long sleeves .... just make sure that they are completely dressed in black.
We certainly hope that this incredible weather continues — boy, is it a day to romp around outdoors, or what?!! Maybe on one of the warm days in May, we can convince the kids to hold a balavihar class outside ... what do you think, kids — a good idea?
Anyway, many thanks again to all the parents for an enjoyable morning. We are truly grateful to be able to spend this time with your children ... not only is it an opportunity for us to forget that we are part of the "older generation," but there isn't a class that passes when we haven't learned something from our young friends!
Enjoy your spring break — and we look forward to getting back together in two weeks.
Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda
March 21, 2010
Mar 21 Class: Section 2
Sevikas: Kalpana and Indira
Today was a great day with parents and children! We had 20 children, and of course 20 parents visited us. All the parents came at 10:40 and our children greeted them with "Hari OM" and we had a fun day. Here is what we did:
• Before parents came for the class room visit, we had our morning prayers, followed by one minute meditation. (The children are getting good at keeping quiet for one minute!)
• We had an Alphabet Quiz between children and parents. Few children were able to tell stories related to Alphabet, especially Aditya. Children won the quiz.
• Bhajans
• Geeta chanting
• We did our alphabet "V is for Victory." Our story was about King Harishchandra and we also had a few lines of our National Anthem (Indian).
• We did a coloring page for "U is for Unity."
• We showed our cute Monkey and explained to parents about our "End of the Year Program."
We request that parents give negative and or positive comments and any changes they would like for future classes. The feedback form can be found in the announcement section on this blog.
Today was a great day with parents and children! We had 20 children, and of course 20 parents visited us. All the parents came at 10:40 and our children greeted them with "Hari OM" and we had a fun day. Here is what we did:
• Before parents came for the class room visit, we had our morning prayers, followed by one minute meditation. (The children are getting good at keeping quiet for one minute!)
• We had an Alphabet Quiz between children and parents. Few children were able to tell stories related to Alphabet, especially Aditya. Children won the quiz.
• Bhajans
• Geeta chanting
• We did our alphabet "V is for Victory." Our story was about King Harishchandra and we also had a few lines of our National Anthem (Indian).
• We did a coloring page for "U is for Unity."
• We showed our cute Monkey and explained to parents about our "End of the Year Program."
We request that parents give negative and or positive comments and any changes they would like for future classes. The feedback form can be found in the announcement section on this blog.
March 14, 2010
Mar 14 Class: Section 1
Sevikas: Nanda, Ruchi and Jacqueline
Home Fun Work:
Print out and have your child color this picture.
Discuss with your child who this picture is of, and why is he important to us.
Morning Prayers:
• OM Saha Naavavatu click here for text
• Vakratunda Mahakaya click here for text
• Sarasvati Namastubhyam click here for text
• Shree KrishnaH click here for text
• Shree Hanumaan click here for text
Quiet Time: One minute of silence. We had a distraction during our shell count ... so that was unfortunate. But next week, we all agreed that we will definitely sit quietly and focused ;-)
Bhajans: None
Geeta Chanting: Shlokas 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 click here for text, audio and on-line registration.
Letter of the Week: "U is for Unity"
Storytime: Hunter and the Net
Activity/Art Project: Color by Number Page (in Sanskrit) click here to view
Likhita Japa: none click here for राम tracing card
Sanskrit Words of the Week: click here for complete list
• एकता (ekataa, unity)
• रक्तः (raktaH, red)
• नीलः (niilaH, blue)
• पीतः (piitaH, yellow)
• हरितः (haritaH, green)
• धूमलः (dhuumalaH, purple)
Ending Prayers: Aarti and prayers were conducted in the auditorium.
Comments: We missed quite a few of our regular friends today. Apparently, the rain and wind storm we had yesterday caused some flooding and road damage. Someone told us that in some cities they were having a hail storm this morning. (Mother Nature can certainly make us pay attention, when she wants ;-) Anyway, we hope that everyone stayed dry and safe — and look forward to seeing you all next week!
We learned a new prayer for Lord Hanumaan this morning. We all agreed that the words seemed a little hard at first, but with practice and by the end of the year, we will all be saying it with ease. The kids were reminded how Shree KrishnaH seemed a little hard just a few months ago — and now it's a breeze ... and they are able to listen for specific words and their meanings, to boot!
Our letter today was "U is for Unity." Aunty shared the much loved story of the "Hunter and the Net." Afterwards, to illustrate the beauty of unity, we did an activity of a "Color by Number" page. We discussed how when we look at the page at first glance — all we see are a bunch of triangles with a number. However, after we color #1 red, then the image starts to have some interest. We see a field of red, and a bunch of triangles. Then we colored #2, # 3, etc. After all the triangles were colored, what we had were no longer just triangles, but a beautiful picture made up of many colors. The colors all worked together to create a thing of beauty for us to enjoy.
We are delighted to learn that each child remembered their character for the play. Wow!! To be truthful, the aunties thought they would have to go over the roles again. However, when Aunty called out "Bear # 1" the children who are operating that puppet held up their hands. Everyone remembered their character perfectly! Just so you know: we will not be having play rehearsal in class next week. However, in our following get-together (in April), we will resume rehearsals. Our hopes (and plans) are to have a few working puppets for the children to practice with. Keep your fingers crossed!
Guess no one is going outside to play this afternoon — perhaps God thought we needed to spend a day indoors reading or doing puzzles. Hope you all stay warm and cozy ...
See you next week for our weekly party with God and Gurudev!
Home Fun Work:
Print out and have your child color this picture.
Discuss with your child who this picture is of, and why is he important to us.
Morning Prayers:
• OM Saha Naavavatu click here for text
• Vakratunda Mahakaya click here for text
• Sarasvati Namastubhyam click here for text
• Shree KrishnaH click here for text
• Shree Hanumaan click here for text
Quiet Time: One minute of silence. We had a distraction during our shell count ... so that was unfortunate. But next week, we all agreed that we will definitely sit quietly and focused ;-)
Bhajans: None
Geeta Chanting: Shlokas 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 click here for text, audio and on-line registration.
Letter of the Week: "U is for Unity"
Storytime: Hunter and the Net
Activity/Art Project: Color by Number Page (in Sanskrit) click here to view
Likhita Japa: none click here for राम tracing card
Sanskrit Words of the Week: click here for complete list
• एकता (ekataa, unity)
• रक्तः (raktaH, red)
• नीलः (niilaH, blue)
• पीतः (piitaH, yellow)
• हरितः (haritaH, green)
• धूमलः (dhuumalaH, purple)
Ending Prayers: Aarti and prayers were conducted in the auditorium.
Comments: We missed quite a few of our regular friends today. Apparently, the rain and wind storm we had yesterday caused some flooding and road damage. Someone told us that in some cities they were having a hail storm this morning. (Mother Nature can certainly make us pay attention, when she wants ;-) Anyway, we hope that everyone stayed dry and safe — and look forward to seeing you all next week!
We learned a new prayer for Lord Hanumaan this morning. We all agreed that the words seemed a little hard at first, but with practice and by the end of the year, we will all be saying it with ease. The kids were reminded how Shree KrishnaH seemed a little hard just a few months ago — and now it's a breeze ... and they are able to listen for specific words and their meanings, to boot!
Our letter today was "U is for Unity." Aunty shared the much loved story of the "Hunter and the Net." Afterwards, to illustrate the beauty of unity, we did an activity of a "Color by Number" page. We discussed how when we look at the page at first glance — all we see are a bunch of triangles with a number. However, after we color #1 red, then the image starts to have some interest. We see a field of red, and a bunch of triangles. Then we colored #2, # 3, etc. After all the triangles were colored, what we had were no longer just triangles, but a beautiful picture made up of many colors. The colors all worked together to create a thing of beauty for us to enjoy.
We are delighted to learn that each child remembered their character for the play. Wow!! To be truthful, the aunties thought they would have to go over the roles again. However, when Aunty called out "Bear # 1" the children who are operating that puppet held up their hands. Everyone remembered their character perfectly! Just so you know: we will not be having play rehearsal in class next week. However, in our following get-together (in April), we will resume rehearsals. Our hopes (and plans) are to have a few working puppets for the children to practice with. Keep your fingers crossed!
Guess no one is going outside to play this afternoon — perhaps God thought we needed to spend a day indoors reading or doing puzzles. Hope you all stay warm and cozy ...
See you next week for our weekly party with God and Gurudev!
March 7, 2010
Mar 07 Class: Section 1
Sevikas: Nanda, Ruchi, and Jacqueline
Home Fun Work:
Print out and color this page (click here.)
Have your child come to class next week and tell us who the picture is of.
Morning Prayers:
• OM Saha Naavavatu click here for text
• Vakratunda Mahakaya click here for text
• Sarasvati Namastubhyam click here for text
• Shree KrishnaH click here for text
Quiet Time: We're ready to try for 1 minute and 15 seconds. Today was a great success! Everyone sat still for one whole minute and got a very accurate shell count during our focus game.
Bhajans: Ganapati, Ganapati click here for audio and text
Geeta Chanting: Shlokas 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 click here for audio and text
Letter of the Week: "T is for Truth"
Storytime: The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf
Likhita Japa: none
Sanskrit Words of the Week: none click here to view complete list
Ending Prayers: OM PoornamadaH click here for text
Comments: We are clearly ready to move into 1st grade. Our young friends are doing extremely well with all of their morning disciplines — and eagerly share the meaning of the prayers that they have been learning. We promised them that next week we will learn a new prayer for Lord Hanumaan (click here for text.)
Our letter of the week today was "T is for Truth." Even though most of the children were familiar with the "The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf," we spent some circle time discussing the meaning of this story ... and what exactly is "telling a lie, or untruth." We also discussed how important it is to be a person that everyone can believe and trust. Afterwards, we played a game that helped illustrate how difficult it is to lie ... that it takes a lot of work and thought to engage in untruths — not cool!!
We completed our second round of rehearsals for the play. It was definitely a bit chaotic in the classroom, but we finally got all the roles assigned — not an easy task, we might add :-) Just so you know: we will be posting the child's name and character within a few days. So please check back soon to learn more details.
Our puppet and prop production work is coming along nicely. We are now in the process of drawing the different animals life-size. Once that is done, then we will be able to color and decorate. Our goal is to have most of the puppets ready for April rehearsals. Wish us luck!
The kids' energy level in class clearly spoke to the need to be outdoors and enjoy this beautiful weather. Hope all of you have a great afternoon of romp and play! As for this aunty: no question about it — a super long bike ride is definitely in the plan :-)
Look forward to seeing you all next Sunday for another fun party with God and Gurudev!
• Sarasvati Namastubhyam click here for text
• Shree KrishnaH click here for text
Quiet Time: We're ready to try for 1 minute and 15 seconds. Today was a great success! Everyone sat still for one whole minute and got a very accurate shell count during our focus game.
Bhajans: Ganapati, Ganapati click here for audio and text
Geeta Chanting: Shlokas 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 click here for audio and text
Letter of the Week: "T is for Truth"
Storytime: The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf
Likhita Japa: none
Sanskrit Words of the Week: none click here to view complete list
Ending Prayers: OM PoornamadaH click here for text
Comments: We are clearly ready to move into 1st grade. Our young friends are doing extremely well with all of their morning disciplines — and eagerly share the meaning of the prayers that they have been learning. We promised them that next week we will learn a new prayer for Lord Hanumaan (click here for text.)
Our letter of the week today was "T is for Truth." Even though most of the children were familiar with the "The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf," we spent some circle time discussing the meaning of this story ... and what exactly is "telling a lie, or untruth." We also discussed how important it is to be a person that everyone can believe and trust. Afterwards, we played a game that helped illustrate how difficult it is to lie ... that it takes a lot of work and thought to engage in untruths — not cool!!
We completed our second round of rehearsals for the play. It was definitely a bit chaotic in the classroom, but we finally got all the roles assigned — not an easy task, we might add :-) Just so you know: we will be posting the child's name and character within a few days. So please check back soon to learn more details.
Our puppet and prop production work is coming along nicely. We are now in the process of drawing the different animals life-size. Once that is done, then we will be able to color and decorate. Our goal is to have most of the puppets ready for April rehearsals. Wish us luck!
The kids' energy level in class clearly spoke to the need to be outdoors and enjoy this beautiful weather. Hope all of you have a great afternoon of romp and play! As for this aunty: no question about it — a super long bike ride is definitely in the plan :-)
Look forward to seeing you all next Sunday for another fun party with God and Gurudev!
March 6, 2010
Puppets – Phase II
Hooray — they seem to be taking shape!
We tested regular crayons as our coloring medium — and the results turned out just fine! The colors seem to be coming out crystal clear ... and they retain the "kindergarten look" we're trying to accomplish. The monkey is completely done in crayons, as well as the Coconut Tree leaves.
Guess we'll be coloring this Saturday ;-) Let me know your thoughts and suggestions.
Click on each picture to view enlarged.
We tested regular crayons as our coloring medium — and the results turned out just fine! The colors seem to be coming out crystal clear ... and they retain the "kindergarten look" we're trying to accomplish. The monkey is completely done in crayons, as well as the Coconut Tree leaves.
Guess we'll be coloring this Saturday ;-) Let me know your thoughts and suggestions.
Click on each picture to view enlarged.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)