September 23, 2012

Hari OM!

Beginning Prayers

• Om Saha Navavathu
• Vakratunda Mahakaya
• Saraswathi Namastubhyam
• Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu
• We learnt Ramaya Ramabhadraya slokha.

Stotram:

• GuruStotram (My Prayers, Page 9) - We reviewed sloka 1.

Story:
We started the story session by conducting a quiz based on the first week's lesson.  The kids were divided into two teams - A & B.  Team A won by 1 point.  We continued the story. King Dasharatha had 4 sons - Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrugna.  We also talked about how they were learning the art of archery (there were no guns at that time) and how good they were at that art.  All the kids want to be like Rama, who listens to his parents and is very obedient and dutiful. 

Then we  discussed how Sage Vishwamitra came to Ayodhya to ask for Rama's help in fighting the rakshasas Subahu and Maricha.  King Dasharatha did not want to send his son there, but Sage Vasistha convinced the King that there must be a reason why Sage Vishwamitra was asking for Rama's help.  King Dasharatha then agreed to send Rama and Lakshmana with Vishwamitra.  Rama and Lakshmana were very excited about this adventure and they enjoyed Mother Nature when they walked through the forests.  The princes arrive at the Dandaka forest where they heard the story of Tataka.  Tataka is the mother of Maricha. Rama challenges Tataka to a fight and kills her.  Vishwamitra praises Rama and teaches him the use of divine weapons.

Activity:
The kids colored a picture of the three queens with their 4 sons.
The kids put Sri Rama's feet on 'River Ganges' as part of marking Sri Rama's trail on the Indian map. 


Meditation/Japa:
The kids wrote Rama 11 times (Likhita Japa).

Games:
None

Conclusion:
We conluded the day with 

• Om Purnamadah

Comments:
The kids participated very enthusiastically in the quiz.  Surprisingly they remembered all the new names they learnt in the last class and every quiz question was answered by them. 

Reminders:
Please try to send the following items in your childs bag:

1. Crayons
2. Pencil
3. Notebook
4. Glue
5. Snack/Drink
6. A folder to keep their pictures/artwork.
7. 1st grade Balavihar books - Bala Ramayan, coloring book and a copy of 'My Prayers'

Next class is on September 30th, 2012.

September 09, 2012

Hari OM!

Beginning Prayers

• Om Saha Navavathu
• Vakratunda Mahakaya
• Saraswathi Namastubhyam
• Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu

Stotram:

• GuruStotram (My Prayers, Page 9) - We did sloka 1

Story:
We described Ayodhya and how beautiful a city it is.  It is where King Dasharatha was ruling, and there was no fight/war in the city - hence the name.  We also talked about how King Dasharatha ruled such a happy peaceful kingdom but was sad himself.  He was sad because he had no kids and his guru asked him to perform the putrakameshti yagna.  On performing that yagna, he was blessed with 4 sons - Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrugna.

Activity:
The kids colored a picture of Rama/Sita.
Meditation/Japa:


Games:


Conclusion:
We conluded the day with

• Om Purnamadah

Comments:
We had a wonderful start to our Balavihar year.  All the kids enjoyed doing their own Ganesha idols in the cafeteria.  We had about 9 friends in class today, most of whom seem to be not new to Balavihar.  We have a very enthusiastic bunch of kids, who were willing to participate in all the activities and class discussions.  We talked about how everyone spent their summer and how excited they are to be back in Balavihar.


Reminders:
Please try to send the following items in your childs bag:

1. Crayons
2. Pencil
3. Notebook
4. Glue
5. Snack/Drink
6. A folder to keep their pictures/artwork.
7. 1st grade Balavihar books - Bala Ramayan, coloring book and a copy of 'My Prayers'

Next class is on September 23rd, 2012