Sevikas: Mamtha Rau and Jacqueline Gaines
Home Fun Work: Print out this page for your child to color. (Click here for page.) Spend a few minutes with your child discussing who this picture is of and why he is so very important to us.
Morning Prayers:
• OM Saha Naavavatu (click here for text)
• Karagre Vasate
• Vakratunda Mahakaya (click here for text)
• Saraswati Namastubhyam (click here for text)
Quiet Time/Focus Game: The children did great today — 1 full minute of silence followed by our focus game with shells.
Geeta Chanting: Chapter 11, Shloka 1 (See comment section below.)
Story Time: The teacher who asked the children to eat their apples in a place where God was not.
Activity: Find the hidden ladybug
Likhita Japa: ऊँ 21 times (click here for the tracing sheet)
Game: KrishnaH Vadati (click here for full text) Verbs we introduced today:
• उपविशतु (upavishatu, sit)
• उत्तिष्ठतु (uttiSThatu, stand)
• भ्रमतु (bhramatu, spin around)
• उत्पततु (utpatatu, jump)
• हसतु (hasatu, laugh)
• रोदितु (roditu, cry)
• नृत्यतु (nRtyatu, dance)
Ending Prayers:
• PoornamidaH (click here for text)
• Chinmaya Pledge (click here for text)
Comments: Today was our official, 1st full class — and we certainly were jam packed with oodles of activities and learning!
We began our Geeta Chanting this morning. Your children will be responsible for memorizing the first 8 shlokas for the competition this Spring. In order for them to be completely at ease and prepared for the "Big Day," we decided there was no better time to start than the present! Our goal is to add one new shloka each month. This way we will have 3 classes to familiarize ourselves with each shloka before introducing another. Parents: Please note that pronunciation will be very important for the judges this year. We will do our very best to help the children work on memorization, pronunciation and presentation in class — but obviously you will be the best and most most effective teacher for your child. We urge you to take a few minutes each day to practice — and if you start now, then come Spring your child will feel very comfortable with the chanting and the judges. Beware: this chapter is a bit tricky ... :-) CD's were handed out to all the families this morning to so we can do some "self-study." If you did not receive one, please make sure that you stop by the front desk and pick one up. These cd's are extremely helpful with pronunciation. Also, chapter 11 will soon be posted on the "Geeta Chanting Blog" in its entirety. You can reach this blog by visiting Chinmaya Vrindavan's website.
We spent some time with the children talking about our Alphabet Safari lessons for the year and how we will be going on a journey of different values with the ABC's. The lesson today, however, was a discussion on "Who is God?" and "Can we see God?" .... "Where is God?" The kids had lots of ideas of this topic, and it was fun exploring this subject with them :-)
After our discussion, we did Likhita Japa. We found that a few of the children were very comfortable writing ऊँ. However, many do not know how to make the proper strokes. So we will be using our tracing cards over the next few weeks until we all feel confident with our writing. Once we are all on the same page (so to speak,) we will then introduce राम. Late fall the children should be ready for keeping a Likhita Japa journal. This is a wonderful leap in their learning — and the aunties always get excited when they see everyone sit quietly writing the Lord's name ... it's truly amazing to see.
We ended our class with a a few rounds of "KrishnaH Vadati (definitely one of this auntie's favorite games.) This game is performed much like "Simon Says," except in Sanskrit. In this activity we aim to introduce the children to simple verbs with instructions (in the imperative) from our Lord Krishna hand puppet. Everyone has a lot of fun with this — and by the end of class we all welcome the opportunity to get up and jump around a little. And it's extra fun doing it in God's language!
Hope everyone has a great week — and we look forward to another "Party with God" next Sunday!
Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda
September 26, 2010
September 19, 2010
Sept 19 Class: Section 1
Sevikas: Mamtha and Jacqueline
Morning Prayers:
• OM Saha naavavatu (click here for text)
• Vakratunda Mahakaya (click here for text)
• Sarasvati Namastubhyam (click here for text)
Quiet Time: One minute of silence followed by our focus game (see comments below)
Story: Ganesha Goes to a Party
Craft/Activity: Made a small Lord Ganesha out of modeling clay. (click here to view sample and directions on how to make.)
Comments: Parents, we've gotta say that these children are more 1st graders than kindergartners! Everyone did so well on their first day ... not one tear ... and lots of enthusiasm!
We started our class with the morning prayers listed above. Afterwards we spent a few minutes and talked about what each "Shanti" means at the end of the prayer. The first Shanti is asking for peace of the universal elements (like thunder, heavy winds, monsoons, etc.) The second Shanti is for environmental disturbances around us (like dogs barking, kids arguing, car horns beeping, etc.) And the third Shanti is for ourselves ... which is why we say it softer. We are asking for peace on the inside.
We then did our "quiet time." For the parents not familiar with this segment: The children sit quietly for one minute with their eyes closed. At the end of one minute they hear a stone drop into a bowl. Then another ... and another ... and another. The children are instructed to count the stones (in their head) as they drop. When aunty says "Okay, open your eyes," we go around the room and ask each child how many stones they counted. As you can imagine, our numbers vary quite a bit in the beginning. However, by the end of the year our young friends will be able to sit absolutely still for two whole minutes with very focused attention and counting — we guarantee it!! :-) This is an activity that we will be doing in every class.
Next week will be a full class — no auditorium. Just bring your child directly to our classroom (C-106). We must warn you that the aunties are "sticklers for time" — and we will be starting precisely at 10:00. Please make sure that your child arrives a few minutes early so they don't miss out on any of the learning fun. And we will always have some set-up chores for them to help with if you decide to come 10 or 15 minutes earlier :-) If, however, you must come late, please PLEASE respect our "Do Not Enter" sign on the door. This sign will be placed outside when we are doing our "Quiet Segment." You won't have to wait any more than 2 minutes ... we promise.
The kids don't need to bring anything to class — just their smiles and enthusiasm. The aunties will take care of all the crayons, scissors, glue sticks, etc, so no need to send in a back pack. The less number of things the kids have to keep track of in class, the better.
We're really looking forward to a fun year of learning with your child. Just so you know, we like to think of our Sunday get togethers as a "Party with God!"
Enjoy this fabulous weather ... this aunty is now going out for her bike ride.
Morning Prayers:
• OM Saha naavavatu (click here for text)
• Vakratunda Mahakaya (click here for text)
• Sarasvati Namastubhyam (click here for text)
Quiet Time: One minute of silence followed by our focus game (see comments below)
Story: Ganesha Goes to a Party
Craft/Activity: Made a small Lord Ganesha out of modeling clay. (click here to view sample and directions on how to make.)
Comments: Parents, we've gotta say that these children are more 1st graders than kindergartners! Everyone did so well on their first day ... not one tear ... and lots of enthusiasm!
We started our class with the morning prayers listed above. Afterwards we spent a few minutes and talked about what each "Shanti" means at the end of the prayer. The first Shanti is asking for peace of the universal elements (like thunder, heavy winds, monsoons, etc.) The second Shanti is for environmental disturbances around us (like dogs barking, kids arguing, car horns beeping, etc.) And the third Shanti is for ourselves ... which is why we say it softer. We are asking for peace on the inside.
We then did our "quiet time." For the parents not familiar with this segment: The children sit quietly for one minute with their eyes closed. At the end of one minute they hear a stone drop into a bowl. Then another ... and another ... and another. The children are instructed to count the stones (in their head) as they drop. When aunty says "Okay, open your eyes," we go around the room and ask each child how many stones they counted. As you can imagine, our numbers vary quite a bit in the beginning. However, by the end of the year our young friends will be able to sit absolutely still for two whole minutes with very focused attention and counting — we guarantee it!! :-) This is an activity that we will be doing in every class.
Next week will be a full class — no auditorium. Just bring your child directly to our classroom (C-106). We must warn you that the aunties are "sticklers for time" — and we will be starting precisely at 10:00. Please make sure that your child arrives a few minutes early so they don't miss out on any of the learning fun. And we will always have some set-up chores for them to help with if you decide to come 10 or 15 minutes earlier :-) If, however, you must come late, please PLEASE respect our "Do Not Enter" sign on the door. This sign will be placed outside when we are doing our "Quiet Segment." You won't have to wait any more than 2 minutes ... we promise.
The kids don't need to bring anything to class — just their smiles and enthusiasm. The aunties will take care of all the crayons, scissors, glue sticks, etc, so no need to send in a back pack. The less number of things the kids have to keep track of in class, the better.
We're really looking forward to a fun year of learning with your child. Just so you know, we like to think of our Sunday get togethers as a "Party with God!"
Enjoy this fabulous weather ... this aunty is now going out for her bike ride.
September 18, 2010
About This Blog
Hari Om!
Welcome to the Kindergarten Balavihar Blog for Section 1. The sevikas for this class are Mamtha Rau and Jacqueline Gaines.
Welcome to the Kindergarten Balavihar Blog for Section 1. The sevikas for this class are Mamtha Rau and Jacqueline Gaines.
We hope that you will continue to regularly visit this online journal to learn about your child's weekly Sunday morning activities. This blog will serve as our main communication tool, so we highly encourage you to check in on a weekly basis. All announcements and class reviews will be posted each class day by 6:00 p.m.
Also, feel free to browse around to read about our previous year's activities. We have included some fun activities, videos/animations, and other websites for you and your child to explore. If (and when) we stumble across new sites and info to share, we will most certainly post them ... so do take a few minutes and familiarize yourself with this blog. It is our hope that this on-line journal will not only provide classroom information for the parents, but will also become a source of fun and enjoyment for the kids when they are at home.
For your convenience, we have made this blog available for subscription. Just click on "Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)" at the bottom of the page to set your preferences. By subscribing, you will be instantly informed of any new postings or updates. This blog is for class review only – we are not hosting a discussion forum. If you need to get in touch with one of the sevikas, please email us directly and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
We look forward to spending a very fun and spiritually enriching year with your child!
The Kindergarten Sevikas
Section 1
Section 1
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