Sevikas: Mamtha Rao and Jacqueline Gaines
Home Fun Work:
• Print out this Shiva Lingam Mandala and have your child color it and then do their likhita japa around the border. They can write"ऊँ", "ऊँ नमः शिवाय" or "om namaḥ śivāya" — their choice! Please make sure, however, that your child brings this page to our next class so we can put them in our journals.
• Click here for the next drawing page in our animal series.
• Click here for our Flashcard set of Animals (in Sanskrit) — with pictures
Extra Home Fun Work:
• Print out this Tracing Sheet of ऊँ नमः शिवाय (om namah shivaaya) and have your child practice writing this mantra.
Morning Prayers:
• Om Saha Nāvavatu (click here for text)
• Vakratunḍa Mahākāya (click here for text)
• Sarasvati Namastubhyam (click here for text)
• śrī Hanumān (click here for text)
• śrĩ Krishnaḥ (click here for text)
Quiet Time: 1 minute of silence (click here for game instructions)
Geeta Chanting: Shlokas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (click here for audio and text)
Letter of the Week: R is for Right
Story/Activity: Right or Wrong?
Likhita Japa: Finished our mandalas from our last class and practiced drawing a Lord Shiva Lingam Mandala in our journals.
Ending Prayers: Prayers and Aarti were conducted in the auditorium.
Comments: We missed a lot of our young friends today ... hope everyone hasn't come down with the nasty bug who seems be making the circuit. Today's class was a bit abbreviated due to the 6th grade performance and aarti in the auditorium. But all that aside, we sure accomplished alot!!
After our prayers and Geeta chanting, we decided to do our silence activity and shell counting game. We haven't done this in the past few classes, so we thought it would be good to put our focus to the test. Boy, were we a little "off" — we all all agreed that our attention kept wanting to be on the chanting that was being done in the next room :-)
Geeta Chanting is going fantastically well — congratulations to all of you!!! Most everyone is right up to speed and has shlokas 1-6 completely memorized. We will start shloka 7 in our next class (March 6) and have all agreed that we will now begin to focus some attention on our posture. We told the children that even though pronunciation is most crucial in the competition, so, too, is their posture and facial expressions important. Hands folded in prayer, legs criss-crossed, back straight, and love pouring from their expression — after all, we are chanting the Lord's Divine Song!!
Today's letter was "R is for Right." This definitely threw everyone off course :-) The kids were certain that we were on the letter "P", because this is the letter that comes after "O." Well, true .... but not in the Vedanta Alphabet. P and Q come after Z. Seeing that P stands for Prayer and Q stands for Quiet — these qualities come only after we have practiced and perfected all the other letters. How's that for a twist?!!
After reviewing our alphabet we spent a few minutes talking about Shivaratri (March 2) and how this is Lord Shiva's most favorite day. On this day, adults will be fasting, chanting, performing pujas, and staying awake all night dedicating all sorts of activities to the Lord. We shared a rudraksha mala with the children and talked about how this seed is Lord Shiva's favorite, and in fact, originated from the Lord's tears. Each child has a rudraksha seed to treasure and care for. (I think Auntie put them in his/her coat pocket — so check there :-)
We then settled down into our likhita japa journal segment where the children learned to draw a Shiva Lingam Mandala. Their assignment for Wednesday is to color in a Lingam Mandala (see above Home Fun Work) and then perform likhita japa on the border. Please, please, have your child bring their drawing to our next class so we can put this in our journals.
Well, the weather is truly amazing. Spring is clearly around the corner ... we saw some green poking up from the ground on the way to Balavihar this morning :-) Hope you all have a wonderful week — and may the blessings of Lord Shiva bring all of you much peace, happiness and good health!
See you next Sunday ...
Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda
February 27, 2011
February 13, 2011
Feb 13 Class: Section 1
Sevikas: Mamtha Rao and Jacqueline Gaines
Home Fun Work: Click here to download this week's "Connect the Dots" assignment. This is a fun activity page to help your child learn Sanskrit numbers (1-20.)
Click here for the next drawing page in our "Animals" series.
Morning Prayers:
• Om Saha Naavavatu (click here for text)
• Vakratunda Mahaakaaya (click here for text)
• Saraswati Namastubhyam (click here for text)
• Shree Hanumaan (click here for text)
• Shree Krishnah (click here for text)
Quiet Time: None (click here for game instructions)
Geeta Chanting: Chapter 11, Shlokas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (click here for audio and text)
Letter of the Week: O is for Obedience
Story: "Quick and Quack" This is a story about 2 ducklings who did not listen to their mother's instructions about not swimming in the middle of the river. The ducklings thought they were old enough and strong enough ... so when Mother Duck went to gather some food, the two ducklings decided to have a race in the river. Things were going good ... that is, until they got caught up in a strong current and were carried downstream. Fortunately, a cow was grazing nearby and heard their cries!
Likhita Japa: The children spent 15 - 20 minutes performing creative likhita japa in their journals. Afterwards we gathered in a circle to share about our feelings while we were writing. Some of the feelings the children described were "peaceful," "calm," "proud," "happy," "love," "quiet," and "God." Great work, Kids!!!
Ending Prayers:
• Om Poornamidah (click here for text)
• Chinmaya Pledge (click here for text)
Comments: Well, parents ... your children are definitely ready for 1st grade. We are so pleased with everyone's classroom participation, how well they are doing — and how much they have matured over these past few months. What a great blessing for the aunties to be able to witness their growth!
The children did not miss a beat today. We practically started on time and immediately immersed ourselves in our prayers and Geeta Chanting. Nearly everyone has the shloka for Shree Krishna memorized — and "Shree Hanumaan", (which at first seemed way too difficult for us) is now being pronounced with ease and confidence!
As always, we recapped all the letters we have learned so far (A-N) ... with the children helping the aunties understand the meaning of each word. Then we moved on to "O is for Obedience." We talked about rules and why we need them ... who we should obey (our parents, our Guru, our teachers, etc.) and why we should obey them, even if we don't really agree :-) For example: babies love to explore and sometimes they try to play with things that are not safe – like electrical sockets. When mother picks the baby up and takes him away, does the baby always agree? No — usually they cry, and fuss! But mother knows best and she will do what is necessary to keep the baby safe ... even if he throws a temper tantrum :-)
To illuminate our word's definition, we then told the children a tale about two ducklings who got into serious trouble by not listening to their mother's advice: "Don't swim to the middle of the river, you're not strong enough." Fortunately, for the ducklings, a cow grazing nearby, came to their rescue as they were being swept downstream by a strong current! By the end of the story, the ducklings realized their wrongdoing and swore to always listen to their mother ... even if they don't agree with their mother's rules. Our moral for today: Parents (and Guru) knows best!!
As you can see from our outline above, the children spent quite a bit of time performing likhita japa in their journals today. These kids are doing amazing stuff! Not only are they able to sit quietly — focused on their writing ... but they are eager to "get down to business" and do more! Please take a few minutes to view our art gallery link above to see their work. We hope to have a gallery showing at the end of the year for all the parents. The kids gave quite a hearty laugh when we told them that the parents will have to "look with their eyes, not their hands!" — just like in a real museum :-)
We wish you all a wonderful mini-break. This weather is invigorating —and we hope that you take full advantage of it! This auntie is pulling her bike out from the garage this afternoon ...
Lots of love to our young friends — we'll miss them next Sunday.
Home Fun Work: Click here to download this week's "Connect the Dots" assignment. This is a fun activity page to help your child learn Sanskrit numbers (1-20.)
Click here for the next drawing page in our "Animals" series.
• Om Saha Naavavatu (click here for text)
• Vakratunda Mahaakaaya (click here for text)
• Saraswati Namastubhyam (click here for text)
• Shree Hanumaan (click here for text)
• Shree Krishnah (click here for text)
Quiet Time: None (click here for game instructions)
Geeta Chanting: Chapter 11, Shlokas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (click here for audio and text)
Letter of the Week: O is for Obedience
Story: "Quick and Quack" This is a story about 2 ducklings who did not listen to their mother's instructions about not swimming in the middle of the river. The ducklings thought they were old enough and strong enough ... so when Mother Duck went to gather some food, the two ducklings decided to have a race in the river. Things were going good ... that is, until they got caught up in a strong current and were carried downstream. Fortunately, a cow was grazing nearby and heard their cries!
Likhita Japa: The children spent 15 - 20 minutes performing creative likhita japa in their journals. Afterwards we gathered in a circle to share about our feelings while we were writing. Some of the feelings the children described were "peaceful," "calm," "proud," "happy," "love," "quiet," and "God." Great work, Kids!!!
Ending Prayers:
• Om Poornamidah (click here for text)
• Chinmaya Pledge (click here for text)
Comments: Well, parents ... your children are definitely ready for 1st grade. We are so pleased with everyone's classroom participation, how well they are doing — and how much they have matured over these past few months. What a great blessing for the aunties to be able to witness their growth!
The children did not miss a beat today. We practically started on time and immediately immersed ourselves in our prayers and Geeta Chanting. Nearly everyone has the shloka for Shree Krishna memorized — and "Shree Hanumaan", (which at first seemed way too difficult for us) is now being pronounced with ease and confidence!
As always, we recapped all the letters we have learned so far (A-N) ... with the children helping the aunties understand the meaning of each word. Then we moved on to "O is for Obedience." We talked about rules and why we need them ... who we should obey (our parents, our Guru, our teachers, etc.) and why we should obey them, even if we don't really agree :-) For example: babies love to explore and sometimes they try to play with things that are not safe – like electrical sockets. When mother picks the baby up and takes him away, does the baby always agree? No — usually they cry, and fuss! But mother knows best and she will do what is necessary to keep the baby safe ... even if he throws a temper tantrum :-)
To illuminate our word's definition, we then told the children a tale about two ducklings who got into serious trouble by not listening to their mother's advice: "Don't swim to the middle of the river, you're not strong enough." Fortunately, for the ducklings, a cow grazing nearby, came to their rescue as they were being swept downstream by a strong current! By the end of the story, the ducklings realized their wrongdoing and swore to always listen to their mother ... even if they don't agree with their mother's rules. Our moral for today: Parents (and Guru) knows best!!
As you can see from our outline above, the children spent quite a bit of time performing likhita japa in their journals today. These kids are doing amazing stuff! Not only are they able to sit quietly — focused on their writing ... but they are eager to "get down to business" and do more! Please take a few minutes to view our art gallery link above to see their work. We hope to have a gallery showing at the end of the year for all the parents. The kids gave quite a hearty laugh when we told them that the parents will have to "look with their eyes, not their hands!" — just like in a real museum :-)
We wish you all a wonderful mini-break. This weather is invigorating —and we hope that you take full advantage of it! This auntie is pulling her bike out from the garage this afternoon ...
Lots of love to our young friends — we'll miss them next Sunday.
February 6, 2011
Feb 06 Class: Section 1
Sevikas: Mamtha Rao and Jacqueline Gaines
Home Fun Work:
• Click here for a "Connect the Dots" activity page. Be sure and have your child count aloud as he/she completes the drawing!
• Click here to print the next drawing page in our animal series.
Extra Home Fun Work:
• Coloring Pages for Sanskrit Numbers 1-10 (click here to download)
• Coloring Pages for Sanskrit Numbers 11-20 (click here to download)
Morning Prayers:
• Saha naavaavatu (click here for text)
• Vakratunda Mahaakaaya (click here for text)
• Sarasvati Namastubhyam (click here for text)
• Shree Hanuman (click here for text)
• Shree Krishna (click here for text)
Quiet Time: none (click here for game instructions)
Geeta Chanting: Ch 11, Shlokas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 (click here for audio and text)
Letter of the Week: "M is for Mother" and "N is for Noble"
Likhita Japa: 5 Minutes of Likhita Japa Game (click here for instructions)
Activity: (Click here to view project ) Made a watercolor mandala which is to be completed by the child at home. Please have your child spend a few minutes each day performing likhita japa in one of the concentric circles — starting with the outer circle and ending with the inner circle. These should be brought back to our next class to put in their journals.
Ending Prayers:
Poornamidah (click here for text)
Chinmaya Pledge (click here for text)
Comments: Before we start talking about our morning's activities, we want to extend a very big "Hari OM!" to our new friend, Uday. He joined us for the first time today — and we're very excited to have him in class. Uday, we hope that you will have a lot of fun with all your new friends every Sunday morning!
Well, today was definitely a busy one — we sure covered a lot of material. After our prayers, we jumped right into our Alphabet Safari ... reviewing letters A through L. It's clear that these kids have a pretty good handle on all of the definitions we've been discussing these past few months :-)
This week's class combined two letters – "M is for Mother" and "N is for Noble." We spent some time talking about all the great things our mothers do for us ... how much they sacrifice and work for us. Just like Father is God, so, too is Mother ... Mother is God. We pointed to the story that we told in "I is for Intelligence" — Lord Ganesha circling his parents for the celestial fruit. He showed us that parents are God and the world to us! We then went on to talk about other Mothers we worship. For example, we have Mother Nature, Mother Earth, Mother India, Mother Shruti, and the sacred Mother Cow. No question about it — Mother is to be worshipped!! As an assignment for this week, the kids have all agreed to do something nice for their mothers — without telling them about it, or asking for anything in return. Let's see how that goes ... :-)
This led us to our next letter "N is for Noble." Things got a little more complicated at this point ... not an easy concept to grasp (not even for us adults :-) So, to illuminate this value we told the story of Punyakoti — an all-time favorite! Nothing can shine light on the definition of "Noble" like this story!
We began our likhita japa journal workshop today — and we had a great time!! The kids did amazingly well with the likhita japa focus game — most of them got it! We will be doing this exercise weekly. Parents: please note that we have the children's likhita japa paintings from last week – we are putting them in their journals. The aunties will be keeping the journals until the end of the Balavihar year. At that time we will hand the books over to your children for safe keeping (and continued summer work :-)
Unfortunately, we did not have time to paint our drawings today. If you have a paintbrush at home, please have your child brush water onto their drawings to make a water color painting. If you do not have a brush, dipping a crumpled up paper towel in water, and then rubbing gently onto the paper, should do the trick. Regardless, please have your child do their likhita japa in one of the rings each day. Don't forget to bring the painting to class on Sunday so we can put it in their journal!!
We were so impressed with the children's work from last week ...
The sun is calling all of us to venture outdoors ... what a wonderful change from our icy week! We hope you all have a great week and we look forward to seeing you next Sunday.
Hugs to all of our young friends!
Home Fun Work:
• Click here for a "Connect the Dots" activity page. Be sure and have your child count aloud as he/she completes the drawing!
• Click here to print the next drawing page in our animal series.
Extra Home Fun Work:
• Coloring Pages for Sanskrit Numbers 1-10 (click here to download)
• Coloring Pages for Sanskrit Numbers 11-20 (click here to download)
Click here for Flashcard Set: Numbers 1-10 (in Sanskrit)
Click here for Flashcard Set: Numbers 11-20 (in Sanskrit)
Click here for Flashcard Set: Animals (with pictures) (in Sanskrit)
If you wish to download these flashcards to your iPhone, click here for instructions
Morning Prayers:
• Saha naavaavatu (click here for text)
• Vakratunda Mahaakaaya (click here for text)
• Sarasvati Namastubhyam (click here for text)
• Shree Hanuman (click here for text)
• Shree Krishna (click here for text)
Quiet Time: none (click here for game instructions)
Geeta Chanting: Ch 11, Shlokas 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 (click here for audio and text)
Letter of the Week: "M is for Mother" and "N is for Noble"
Likhita Japa: 5 Minutes of Likhita Japa Game (click here for instructions)
Activity: (Click here to view project ) Made a watercolor mandala which is to be completed by the child at home. Please have your child spend a few minutes each day performing likhita japa in one of the concentric circles — starting with the outer circle and ending with the inner circle. These should be brought back to our next class to put in their journals.
Ending Prayers:
Poornamidah (click here for text)
Chinmaya Pledge (click here for text)
Comments: Before we start talking about our morning's activities, we want to extend a very big "Hari OM!" to our new friend, Uday. He joined us for the first time today — and we're very excited to have him in class. Uday, we hope that you will have a lot of fun with all your new friends every Sunday morning!
Well, today was definitely a busy one — we sure covered a lot of material. After our prayers, we jumped right into our Alphabet Safari ... reviewing letters A through L. It's clear that these kids have a pretty good handle on all of the definitions we've been discussing these past few months :-)
This week's class combined two letters – "M is for Mother" and "N is for Noble." We spent some time talking about all the great things our mothers do for us ... how much they sacrifice and work for us. Just like Father is God, so, too is Mother ... Mother is God. We pointed to the story that we told in "I is for Intelligence" — Lord Ganesha circling his parents for the celestial fruit. He showed us that parents are God and the world to us! We then went on to talk about other Mothers we worship. For example, we have Mother Nature, Mother Earth, Mother India, Mother Shruti, and the sacred Mother Cow. No question about it — Mother is to be worshipped!! As an assignment for this week, the kids have all agreed to do something nice for their mothers — without telling them about it, or asking for anything in return. Let's see how that goes ... :-)
This led us to our next letter "N is for Noble." Things got a little more complicated at this point ... not an easy concept to grasp (not even for us adults :-) So, to illuminate this value we told the story of Punyakoti — an all-time favorite! Nothing can shine light on the definition of "Noble" like this story!
We began our likhita japa journal workshop today — and we had a great time!! The kids did amazingly well with the likhita japa focus game — most of them got it! We will be doing this exercise weekly. Parents: please note that we have the children's likhita japa paintings from last week – we are putting them in their journals. The aunties will be keeping the journals until the end of the Balavihar year. At that time we will hand the books over to your children for safe keeping (and continued summer work :-)
Unfortunately, we did not have time to paint our drawings today. If you have a paintbrush at home, please have your child brush water onto their drawings to make a water color painting. If you do not have a brush, dipping a crumpled up paper towel in water, and then rubbing gently onto the paper, should do the trick. Regardless, please have your child do their likhita japa in one of the rings each day. Don't forget to bring the painting to class on Sunday so we can put it in their journal!!
We were so impressed with the children's work from last week ...
The sun is calling all of us to venture outdoors ... what a wonderful change from our icy week! We hope you all have a great week and we look forward to seeing you next Sunday.
Hugs to all of our young friends!
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