Thanksgiving Special Class Journal

Time for the balavihar class journal update :)

As usual we began with the Dhyaana Shloka - Om Sahanavavatu (pg 9) followed by attendance. For the daily prayers (Karaagre Vasate, Vakratunda, Saraswati Namastubhyam, Bramhaarpanam, Shubham Karoti, Kara Charana - pages 14-17 of the My Prayer Book), we went around asking each child to say the prayer out loud. We revised the Guru Sthothram (pg 85-86) till the 9^th verse and also sang the bhajan Atma Nivasi Ram. It would be great if the kids say their prayers regularly at home as it would help them to retain the verses in their memory and we could move forward.

In Ramayana, we discussed the story of Rama preparing to go to the forest after obtaining the blessings of his mother.  Just as he advises his mother Kaushalya that she cannot accompany him to the forest because a wife’s place is with her husband, Sita convinces him that she is ready to bear any hardship as long as she stays with Rama. Lakshmana also insists on coming along and Rama agrees to it. He requests Dasharatha and Kaikeyi for simple clothes, baskets and spears to help him survive in a forest. When the people of Ayodhya get angry and upset and insist on going with him, he calms them down and tells them to not get upset with Bharata and support him instead as he is not to be blamed. The people and the minister Sumantra follow Rama till the banks of the river Ganges where everyone decides to rest till the next morning. The chief of that village, Guha, provides food and refreshments and offers any aid needed. Rama accepts his offer of a boat ride to cross the river the next morning.  Rama gets ready to leave with Sita and Lakshmana before day break, so that the people of Ayodhya, who are still sleeping, will not follow him into the forest.

As this was a “Thanksgiving special” class, I had the kids trace out their hands and make a colorful turkey. On each finger the kids were asked to list out whatever they were thankful for. Right from parents to teachers to toys, the list made for some entertaining reading. 

We concluded the class with the closing prayer - Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaha (pg-19)

Enjoy your thanksgiving break. See you at the next class. Please be sure to bring you folders.

Class Journal Update (Test Time!)

The last class saw a 50% turnout - guess it is the vacation season. Even if you have not attended the class, please have the kids go through their prayers and alphabet practice as we are proceeding with our syllabus.

Our class began with the Dhyaana Shloka - Om Sahanavavatu (pg 9) followed by attendance. For the daily prayers (Karaagre Vasate, Vakratunda, Saraswati Namastubhyam, Bramhaarpanam, Shubham Karoti, Kara Charana - pages 14-17 of the My Prayer Book), we went around asking each child to say the prayer out loud. We proceeded onto the 9^th verse of the Guru Sthothram (pg 85-86) and also sang the bhajans Rama Naama Thaarakam and Atma Nivasi Ram. Parents are requested to please have the kids chant their daily prayers as a few of them are still not comfortable with all the shlokas.

In story time, we covered the chapters of everyone returning to Ayodhya after the marriage of Rama and Sita, the four brothers and their wives settling into a routine with their responsibilities and gaining the love and respect of the people of Ayodhya.  We moved onto the story of Manthara poisoning Kaikeyi’s mind when King Dashratha decided to crown Rama as the king. The kids were pretty sad to hear about Dashratha granting Kaikeyi’s boon of crowning Bharatha instead and banishing Rama to 14 years of exhile.

We discussed real life scenarios (such as mom cancelling a pizza dinner due to unavoidable work or missing out on a favorite movie) wherein the kids could react as calmly as Lord Rama did on hearing that he had to go to the forest. We decided that even if we get upset, we will not throw a tantrum but accept our parents’ decisions calmly and look for alternate solutions.

I conducted a test of the Sanskrit vowels. Amit scored the highest followed by Vedant. The kids still need to work on their alphabets. We also learned to write the vowel “ऋ”.

For their homework, I have given out a practice sheet for the vowels in Sanskrit, please have the kids complete it. 

We did a quick revision of Sanskrit colors and body parts. We concluded the class with the closing prayer - Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaha (pg-19)

See you at the next class. Please be sure to bring you folders.

Happy Diwali!

The past Balavihar session was a special one as we celebrated Deepavali. All the kids were dressed up in traditional clothes and were in high spirits!

We began our class with the Dhyaana Shloka - Om Sahanavavatu (pg 9) followed by attendance and the daily prayers (Karaagre Vasate, Vakratunda, Saraswati Namastubhyam, Bramhaarpanam, Shubham Karoti, Kara Charana - pages 14-17 of the My Prayer Book). We also revised the Gruru Sthothram till verse 8 (pg 85-86). We ended the first part of the session with singing Atmanivasi Ram – we are just left with the last verse in this bhajan, which we will learn after we finish the Ramayana story.

Please ensure that the kids practice all their prayers at home. Some of the kids are not at the same level as the rest of the class. Daily practice will help us proceed with the rest of the curriculum for the year.
Instead of carrying on with the chapter wise story telling of Ramayana, we skipped lessons and covered the story of Lord Rama’s return to Ayodhya as we wanted to discuss the reason for celebrating Deepavali. We learnt that Deepavali means “Row of Lights” and that the people of Ayodhya lit lamps and were celebrating on the streets as they were happy about Lord Rama returning to the kingdom after completing an exhile of 14 years and defeating Ravana. The sparkling lights helped Lord Rama’s group to see the way and know where to land their Pushpavimaan as it was very dark.

The kids described how they celebrate Diwali at home – getting up at the crack of dawn, taking a shower and wearing new clothes, lighting lamps, candles and fairy lights at home, bursting crackers, eating lots of sweets and other homemade goodies as well as visiting friends and family. We also touched upon the fact that in some places Diwali is celebrated over a period of 4-5 days and includes Dhanteras, Lakshmi Puja and Bhai Dooj/ Bhau Beej.

For their activities, I gave out earthen diyas to the kids and they decorated it with sparkling stones and rainbow stickers. Then each of them placed a candle in the diya, which they said they would be lighting in the evening.

We concluded the class with the closing prayer - Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinaha (pg-19). The kids are now familiar with the prayer as well as its meaning.

For their homework, please make sure the kids revise their vowels and prayers. I will be testing them in this upcoming class.

 See you at the next class. Please be sure to bring you folders.