Sevikas: Mamtha Rao and Jacqueline Gaines
Fun work to do at home over break:
• Print out this page and have your child fill it in with likhita japa.
• Print out this page and have your child say the numbers and colors aloud as they color.
Click here for Sanskrit numbers 1-5 (with English translation)
Click here for Sanskrit colors (with English translation)
Click here for short video on Sanskrit Colors
For extra, extra work: Print out these coloring pages to learn Sanskrit numbers 1-10
Morning Prayers:
• OM sahanaavavatu (click here for text)
• Vakratunda Mahaakaaya (click here for text)
• Sarasvati namastubhyam (click here for text)
• Shree KrishnaH (click here for text)
Quiet Time: 1 minute of complete silence and very good shell counting!!! We're going to try and sit for one minute and 30 seconds next class .... (click here for game instructions)
Geeta Chanting: Chapter 11: Shlokas 1, 2 and 3 (click here for audio and text)
Letter of the Week: "F is for Friend"
Story: Sudaamaa and Lord Krishna
Activity:
• Read Blue Hat, Green Hat (by Sandra Boynton) in Sanskrit (click here for translated text)
• Colors in Sanskrit (click here for text)
• Numbers in Sanskrit, 1-5 (click here for text)
Likhita Japa: राम (click here for tracing card and video)
Ending Prayers:
• OM PoornamadaH (click here for text)
• Chinmaya Pledge (click here for text)
Comments: Well, we certainly got a lot accomplished today — nearly everyone arrived on time, so we were able to get right down to business. Good going, kids!
To begin with, the aunties want to congratulate all of our young friends for their very successful "Quiet Time" segment. Today was the first time we barely saw any movement at all. Therefore, we all agreed that it's time to move up to a minute and a half. So next class we're going to give it a try :-)
We also want to acknowledge how well the kids are doing with their "Home Fun Work" assignments. We were extremely delighted that so many children brought in their creative likhita japa to share with us. Please make sure to pause and take a look at the slide show above. Their efforts are truly amazing — and we are thrilled that they are continuing the likhita japa practice at home!!! We think the kids are going to enjoy doing the one we posted for this week — do please be sure and print it out for them. Hopefully, it will remind them of this week's lesson, "F is for Friend." (We told the story of Sudaamaa and Lord Krishna.)
We finally began Shloka 3 of Chapter 11, Geeta Chanting. No question about it: this shloka is a bit tricky. Therefore, the aunties have instructed your children to use your computers to do some homework over break :-) Chapter 11 has been completely broken down line by line and is now available on the blog (see the link above.) This is really a great tool — and we highly recommend that your child use this on a daily basis. All is takes is a few minutes each day ... and before you know it, both of you will have memorized the shloka with perfect pronunciation!
Because the children have worked so well at home practicing their ऊ, we decided to introduce a a new tracing card for our likhita japa segment. Today the children learned the writing strokes for राम (Raama.) As we wrote राम, we carefully said the sound each letter made. Honestly, we were amazed at how well everyone did!!! Clearly, these kids are ready for the next level :-) Please feel free to print out the tracing sheet and have your child continue practicing at home. The link is posted above for your convenience.
Before our story of Lord Krishna and Sudaamaa, we spent a good amount of time talking about a quote from Gurudev. "Learn to always speak softly, words of love and affection, then friends multiply." We defined some words like "affection" and "multiply," and then re-read the quote with a deeper understanding.
Our class ended with a few minutes of some Sanskrit Learning fun. We introduced 5 color names and counting (1-5). We also read Sandra Boynton's silly book "Blue Hat, Green Hat" in Sanskrit. Whenever time permits, we will try and bring out some games and books for a little fun. God's language is truly a most beautiful one — and there is no question that we should be having fun while learning it, too! Please be advised, however, that we will not be teaching any grammar rules. That is done in the language class :-)
We'll certainly miss everyone over our mini break. Enjoy the long weekend coming up ... and don't forget to go outside and breathe in some cool fresh air ... it feels really good! Can't stay inside all the time just because it is starting to get cold :-)
Rishika, it was really good seeing you again today. We missed you while you were away and are glad to have you back!
Lots of love and hugs for all of our young friends!
Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda
November 21, 2010
November 14, 2010
Nov 14 Class: Sections 1 and 2
Sevikas: Nayna Gohel, Nanda Subbarao, Mamtha Rao and Jacqueline Gaines
Homework Fun: Print this page for your child and discuss who this picture is of and why he is important to us. (click here for coloring page)
Likhita Japa for Home: Please print this page and have your child fill it in with colorful ऊँs. (click here for activity page.) Feel free to encourage your child to be creative and draw their own picture inside the mandala. They can also write in both English and Sanskrit.
Morning Prayers:
• Saha Naavavatu (click here for text)
• Vakratunda Mahaakaaya (click here for text)
• Saraswati Namastubhyam (click here for text)
• Shree KrishaH (click here for text)
Quiet Time: 1 whole minute of complete silence — with no movement!!! We still need to work on our quiet, focused counting ... but given the number of kids we had today, everyone definitely gets a "4 thumbs up!" (Ask your child to show you how to get a "4 thumbs up" :-) (click here for game instructions)
Geeta Chanting: None
Letter of the Day: "E is for Enthusiasm"
Story: How the squirrel got his stripes
Craft Activity: Made a spinning top (click here for project's instructions)
Likhita Japa: none
Ending Prayers: Aarthi and Pledge was performed in the auditorium
Comments: Bright and early this morning we learned that Asha Aunty needed to stay home with a bad cold. We were definitely sad to hear that she was not feeling well. BUT then we realized that we had an opportunity to turn something not so good into something great ... we combined both of our kindergarten classes! It was great to be together and we certainly had lots of fun at our Party with God!!
And if that wasn't enough ... Nanda Aunty joined us for the day, and we couldn't have been happier to have our "E is for Excellent" Storyteller back :-)
After our morning prayers, we began the class with an alphabet review. We quickly discussed the meanings of "A is for Aspiration," "B is for Brotherhood," "C is for Cleanliness," and "D is for Daddy." Then we jumped into some possibilities for the letter "E." We had some good suggestions from our young friends, such as "E is for Energy," "E is for Excitement" "E is for Explore" and "E is for Excellence." And then, someone shouted "E is for Enthusiasm" — how cool is that??!! She was right, today we were going to learn about enthusiasm. (Although, in the process we were going to also learn about our other examples that were suggested, too.) But what exactly does "enthusiasm" mean? And better yet, how could we describe it?
Nanda Aunty came to our rescue. She knew a story that would help us understand ... it was a story about some squirrels who desperately wanted to help the monkeys and bears build a bridge to Lanka, so that Lord Raama could cross it to rescue Mother Sita. Most of our kids were familiar with this story about the bridge, but hearing it with a emphasis on the enthusiasm of a little creature's determination definitely gave us some new insight. :-)
We then settled down to make a paper spinning top to always remind us what enthusiasm kinda looks like. For example, if we "kinda" give the top a spin, it dies down very quickly and rolls over. However, if we are focused and happily give it a good, steady whirl, we get to watch the top spin for a really long time — and it can't help but give us tremendous joy and a sense of satisfaction!!!
Ahhhh, steadiness, focus, and joy ....
Because of our large class size, we had to improvise our curriculum a bit. Unfortunately, we did not get to do our likhita japa (which got some "aawwws" from some of our friends.) And because of time constraints, we were not able to do our Geeta Chanting either. Fret not, however, next week the aunties are back on schedule.
The weather today is unbelievable! We hope that each and every one of you are right now outside romping around in the sunshine! This aunty's bike is certainly calling her from the garage ....
Hope you all have a great week — and lots of hugs to our young friends.
Homework Fun: Print this page for your child and discuss who this picture is of and why he is important to us. (click here for coloring page)
Likhita Japa for Home: Please print this page and have your child fill it in with colorful ऊँs. (click here for activity page.) Feel free to encourage your child to be creative and draw their own picture inside the mandala. They can also write in both English and Sanskrit.
Morning Prayers:
• Saha Naavavatu (click here for text)
• Vakratunda Mahaakaaya (click here for text)
• Saraswati Namastubhyam (click here for text)
• Shree KrishaH (click here for text)
Quiet Time: 1 whole minute of complete silence — with no movement!!! We still need to work on our quiet, focused counting ... but given the number of kids we had today, everyone definitely gets a "4 thumbs up!" (Ask your child to show you how to get a "4 thumbs up" :-) (click here for game instructions)
Geeta Chanting: None
Letter of the Day: "E is for Enthusiasm"
Story: How the squirrel got his stripes
Craft Activity: Made a spinning top (click here for project's instructions)
Likhita Japa: none
Ending Prayers: Aarthi and Pledge was performed in the auditorium
Comments: Bright and early this morning we learned that Asha Aunty needed to stay home with a bad cold. We were definitely sad to hear that she was not feeling well. BUT then we realized that we had an opportunity to turn something not so good into something great ... we combined both of our kindergarten classes! It was great to be together and we certainly had lots of fun at our Party with God!!
And if that wasn't enough ... Nanda Aunty joined us for the day, and we couldn't have been happier to have our "E is for Excellent" Storyteller back :-)
After our morning prayers, we began the class with an alphabet review. We quickly discussed the meanings of "A is for Aspiration," "B is for Brotherhood," "C is for Cleanliness," and "D is for Daddy." Then we jumped into some possibilities for the letter "E." We had some good suggestions from our young friends, such as "E is for Energy," "E is for Excitement" "E is for Explore" and "E is for Excellence." And then, someone shouted "E is for Enthusiasm" — how cool is that??!! She was right, today we were going to learn about enthusiasm. (Although, in the process we were going to also learn about our other examples that were suggested, too.) But what exactly does "enthusiasm" mean? And better yet, how could we describe it?
Nanda Aunty came to our rescue. She knew a story that would help us understand ... it was a story about some squirrels who desperately wanted to help the monkeys and bears build a bridge to Lanka, so that Lord Raama could cross it to rescue Mother Sita. Most of our kids were familiar with this story about the bridge, but hearing it with a emphasis on the enthusiasm of a little creature's determination definitely gave us some new insight. :-)
We then settled down to make a paper spinning top to always remind us what enthusiasm kinda looks like. For example, if we "kinda" give the top a spin, it dies down very quickly and rolls over. However, if we are focused and happily give it a good, steady whirl, we get to watch the top spin for a really long time — and it can't help but give us tremendous joy and a sense of satisfaction!!!
Ahhhh, steadiness, focus, and joy ....
Because of our large class size, we had to improvise our curriculum a bit. Unfortunately, we did not get to do our likhita japa (which got some "aawwws" from some of our friends.) And because of time constraints, we were not able to do our Geeta Chanting either. Fret not, however, next week the aunties are back on schedule.
The weather today is unbelievable! We hope that each and every one of you are right now outside romping around in the sunshine! This aunty's bike is certainly calling her from the garage ....
Hope you all have a great week — and lots of hugs to our young friends.
November 7, 2010
Nov 7 Class: Section 1
Sevikas: Mamtha Rau and Jacqueline Gaines
Homework Fun: Click here to print out this page. Have your child make their own colorful likhita japa rangoli using different colored markers. Also, be sure and encourage them to write in both Sanskrit and English — each language creates a very unique texture :-)
Click here for the "Lord Ganesha" Likhita coloring page
Morning Prayers:
• OM Saha naavavatu (click here for text)
• Vakratunda Mahaakaaya (click here for text)
• Saraswati namastubhyam (click here for text)
• Shree Krishnah (click here for text)
Quiet Time: One minute of silence with some awesome shell counting — great going, kids!!! (click here for game instructions)
Geeta Chanting: Chapter 11, Shlokas 1 and 2
Letter of the Week: "D is for Daddy"
Activity: Kids made an "I Love You, Dad" card (click here for photo album)
Story: How Father's Day became a national holiday.
Likhita Japa: 10 minutes of drawing OM and ऊँ inside a Lord Ganesha Mandala. (click here to view coloring page.)
End of Class Prayers:
• OM PoornamidaH (click here for text)
• Chinmaya Pledge (click here for text)
Comments: First, we want to wish everyone a very Happy, Healthy, Peaceful and Prosperous New Year — we hope you all had a wonderful Diwali!
It sure was nice being back in class again this morning. After having so many consecutive classes in September and October, a real void was felt last week while we had our mini-break. We spent our first few minutes of class doing some sharing — what we were for Halloween, how many sweets we collected from neighbors and friends and all of our fun Diwali celebrations. Then we finally settled into our morning prayers and quiet time activity. The kids didn't miss a beat — everyone chanted beautifully, and loudly :-)
Today's lesson was "D is for Daddy." We spent some time going over all of our dad's good qualities, and what great things he does for his family. Then we listed all of the great qualities of God and what things he does for us. After we made our lists we then looked for a connection — and it was clear as sunshine ... Dad is like God to us!! We talked about how Father's Day came to be an important holiday in recent American history ... and how we really should be celebrating Father's Day every day. Though it's really cool to have one day a year dedicated to our dads ... it doesn't fully speak to how great they are! After all, we don't just have one day a year that we celebrate God, thanking him for all he does for us :-)
When we finished our discussion, we settled down to make Father's Day cards. Definitely take a few minutes and view our slideshow above. The kids did a fabulous job and really got into expressing their love for their dads.
Next week we will be learning about the letter "E." Good luck in guessing what the letter E stand for, kids. Here's a hint: it's not elephant or ear. Gotta warn everyone: make sure you are all to class on time — our lesson's activity will be making a fun toy — finishing up with a class race.
Ahhh, this should keep your mind working ... :-)
Rishika, we really miss you and can't wait for you to return from India. Please give your mom a hug for us and let her know we are sending her lots of love.
Also, before we end this post, we want to extend a very warm welcome and "Hari OM" to our new friend, Simi. She joined us for the first time today. We hope you have lots of fun with your new friends, Simi!
Can't wait for our next class party with God — see you all in 7 days!
Homework Fun: Click here to print out this page. Have your child make their own colorful likhita japa rangoli using different colored markers. Also, be sure and encourage them to write in both Sanskrit and English — each language creates a very unique texture :-)
Click here for the "Lord Ganesha" Likhita coloring page
Morning Prayers:
• OM Saha naavavatu (click here for text)
• Vakratunda Mahaakaaya (click here for text)
• Saraswati namastubhyam (click here for text)
• Shree Krishnah (click here for text)
Quiet Time: One minute of silence with some awesome shell counting — great going, kids!!! (click here for game instructions)
Geeta Chanting: Chapter 11, Shlokas 1 and 2
Letter of the Week: "D is for Daddy"
Activity: Kids made an "I Love You, Dad" card (click here for photo album)
Story: How Father's Day became a national holiday.
Likhita Japa: 10 minutes of drawing OM and ऊँ inside a Lord Ganesha Mandala. (click here to view coloring page.)
End of Class Prayers:
• OM PoornamidaH (click here for text)
• Chinmaya Pledge (click here for text)
Comments: First, we want to wish everyone a very Happy, Healthy, Peaceful and Prosperous New Year — we hope you all had a wonderful Diwali!
It sure was nice being back in class again this morning. After having so many consecutive classes in September and October, a real void was felt last week while we had our mini-break. We spent our first few minutes of class doing some sharing — what we were for Halloween, how many sweets we collected from neighbors and friends and all of our fun Diwali celebrations. Then we finally settled into our morning prayers and quiet time activity. The kids didn't miss a beat — everyone chanted beautifully, and loudly :-)
Today's lesson was "D is for Daddy." We spent some time going over all of our dad's good qualities, and what great things he does for his family. Then we listed all of the great qualities of God and what things he does for us. After we made our lists we then looked for a connection — and it was clear as sunshine ... Dad is like God to us!! We talked about how Father's Day came to be an important holiday in recent American history ... and how we really should be celebrating Father's Day every day. Though it's really cool to have one day a year dedicated to our dads ... it doesn't fully speak to how great they are! After all, we don't just have one day a year that we celebrate God, thanking him for all he does for us :-)
When we finished our discussion, we settled down to make Father's Day cards. Definitely take a few minutes and view our slideshow above. The kids did a fabulous job and really got into expressing their love for their dads.
Next week we will be learning about the letter "E." Good luck in guessing what the letter E stand for, kids. Here's a hint: it's not elephant or ear. Gotta warn everyone: make sure you are all to class on time — our lesson's activity will be making a fun toy — finishing up with a class race.
Ahhh, this should keep your mind working ... :-)
Rishika, we really miss you and can't wait for you to return from India. Please give your mom a hug for us and let her know we are sending her lots of love.
Also, before we end this post, we want to extend a very warm welcome and "Hari OM" to our new friend, Simi. She joined us for the first time today. We hope you have lots of fun with your new friends, Simi!
Can't wait for our next class party with God — see you all in 7 days!
November 3, 2010
Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
Click here for the website.
Parents: Here is a great site to explore with your child while they are on break from school this week. Be sure to browse around the site for some fabulous digital images of their collection! click here to view a picture of Elizabeth Brunner with a painting she did of Gurudev after meeting him in Delhi.
Parents: Here is a great site to explore with your child while they are on break from school this week. Be sure to browse around the site for some fabulous digital images of their collection! click here to view a picture of Elizabeth Brunner with a painting she did of Gurudev after meeting him in Delhi.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)