Today was a combined class. Next week we will be back to normal.
Homework Fun: Click here and print out this Lotus Mandala picture. Have your child fill it in with colorful ऊँs. This is a great way to keep them practicing their likhita japa at home, while exercising some creative freedom :-) Have them bring in their finished likhita japa so we can photograph it and put in our kid's art gallery. Have fun, kids!
Coloring Page: For those of you who did not get a chance to color this page last week, we've left it up one more week. Parents: print this page and discuss with your child who this is a picture of and why he is so very important to us.
Morning Prayers:
• Saha naavavatu (click here for text)
• Karagre Vasate
• Vakratunda Mahaakaaya (click here for text)
• Saraswati Namastubhyam (click here for text)
• Shree KrishnaH (click here for text)
Quiet Time: 1 minute of silence followed by the shell dropping game (click here for game instructions)
Geeta Chanting: Chapter 11, Shlokas 1 and 2
Letter of the Week: "B is for Brotherhood"
Storytime: "God's Dream" by Archbishop Desmond Tutu (click on the title for book details)
Activity: Sharing Game (click here for instructions)
Likhita Japa: Because of our class size, we were not able to do our likhita japa. However the children agreed that they would practice their japa at home this week. Please see our homework assignment at the top of this page.
Ending Prayers:
• Om Poornamidah (click here for text)
• Chinmaya Pledge (click here for text)
Comments: Today's "Letter of the Day" is probably one of the most significant ones of the year — "B is for Brotherhood." And, seeing that we are gearing up for our CORD Walkathon on October 24, we thought this could be a great opportunity to discuss with the children real ways that we can demonstrate caring and sharing — no matter how old or young we are!
After we read our wonderful book by Archbishop Desmond Tutu , we played a game which helped us understand how great it feels to give and receive ... and how "not so good" it feels to do nothing at all. Please click on this link to see how the game is played. We are really proud of these kids! Most of them volunteered to share their chocolates, even after we had just confessed that sometimes its not easy to share with others. We spent some time discussing what God's Dream is — that we share, care and love one another ... and how we are all one big family — no matter what our skin color is, what language we speak, or how we talk to God.
The class lesson "B is for Brotherhood" became a perfect segue into CORD and how important it is for us to lend a hand, however we can. We explained to the children that in two weeks we will be having our class at the Walkathon — and that we want all the kids to participate and help raise money to send to India. No doubt they are telling you all about it now :-)
Therefore, we can't stress enough how important it is to register your child for the CORD walkathon. It really will only take a few minutes — and it's extremely easy! As you know from our previous emails we have a class goal of raising $1,200 for CORD — which is a very doable goal. All it will take to accomplish this is for each child (and sevika) to mail their personal Walkathon page to family members and friends, asking them to sponsor your child for this very worthy cause. We really feel that this is a great opportunity for our kindergartners to learn the importance of giving ... and that no amount will ever be too small if it is put to good use. We are truly blessed with this opportunity for self growth and awareness, and it would be a shame to not "give it our all." Definitely take a few minutes and visit the CORD Walkathon's blog. (click here for the link.) Also, just so you know, our kids will not do the full 5 miles (unless they want to, of course!) We will probably do 1 or 2 miles ... ending with lots of play on the playground!
And, when your child is registered, please have them email us their webpage so we can write an encouraging message for them. We really want to support their efforts and congratulate them on their spirit of "Brotherhood."
Well, today sure was a lot of fun — and God has given us some fabulous weather to romp around in! We wish everyone a wonderful Navaratri — and look forward to our next get together on the 17th!
Oh yeah, try not to eat too much of all that delicious food while visiting everyone's homes ... gotta save some room for Diwali sweets and Halloween treats :-)
A very Happy Birthday to Neil! He turned 6 on October 5.
Hugs to all of our kinder friends!
