December 18, 2011

Hari OM!

Beginning Prayers

• Om Saha Navavathu
• Vakratunda Mahakaya
• Saraswathi Namastubhyam
• Ramaya Ramabhadraya
• Buddhir Balam Yashodhairyam

Bhajans:

We reviewed the following three bhajans 

• Vigneshwara Vinayaka

• Rama Lakshmana Jaanaki Jai Bolo Hanuman ki
• Om Shiva Om Shiva Paraatpara Shiva

Stotram:

• GuruStotram (My Prayers, Page 9) - We did slokas 1, 2, 3, 5 and 14
• Lingashtakam:

• We started teaching Lingashtakam this week.  This is part of the first grade curriculum. We did the first slokha.

Geeta Chanting:

• We did the first verse of Chapter XII.

Story:

We recapped the story from the last class and conducted a quiz.

We contined with the story.  Rama, Lakshmana and Sita spend about 10 years in teh forest peacefully roaming between different ashrams and protecting them from the rakshasas.  Finally as they near the end of their exile,  Sri Rama wants to meet the great Sage Agasthya.  When they meet him, he suggests they settle down at Panchavati and they do.  Surpanakha (Ravana's sister) comes by and wants to marry Rama.  In the end when she tries to hurt Sita, Lakshmana cuts her nose and ears adn she goes running to her brothers who rule over that part of the forest.  They come to fight Sri Rama but Rama kills them all.  Finally, Akampana (the only rakshasa who survives) goes back to Ravana and tells him to kidnap Sita so Rama can die missing her.  It would be impossible to kill him, he tells Ravana.  Ravana agrees and tries to convince Marica to help him accomplish this.  Marica convinces Ravana that he is already the ruler of the 3 worlds, why would he want to try to fight Rama.  Ravana agrees but when he sees Surpanakha, his sister, he is unable to make peace.  So he goes back to Marica and orders him to disguise himself as a golden deer to entice Sita out of her hut.
Activity:

Today, the kids drew and colored a picture of Sri Rama, Lakshmana and Sita living in Panchavati. .

Games:

4 Corners:  We played this game with a twist - the kids wnated to play it the American way and we did.  Surprisingly most kids liked the 'Indian' way of this game.

Likhita Japa:
We wrote the name of Sri Rama 11 times in silence.

Conclusion:

We concluded by doing the Aarthi and Pledge in the classroom.

Comments:

The kids are still working on learning the Gurustotram.  Parents, please work with the kids on the Gurustotram. We will continue to learn Lingashatakam.

We started teaching verse 1 of Chapter 12 for Geetha Chanting.  There are extra Geeta Chanting classes on Fridays in Basking Ridge and possibly  in a new location soon.  Please try to bring your kids for these sessions so they learn to chant the Geeta.  Please encourage your children to participate in the Geeta Chanting competion.

Parents, please encourage your children to participate in WOW-Sanskrit word of the week. 

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. Scissors
8. 1st grade Balavihar books - Bala Ramayan, Ramayana characters and a copy of 'My Prayers'; assembly handbook.

December 11, 2011

Hari OM!

Beginning Prayers

• Om Saha Navavathu
• Vakratunda Mahakaya
• Saraswathi Namastubhyam
• Ramaya Ramabhadraya
• Buddhir Balam Yashodhairyam

Bhajans:

We reviewed the following three bhajans 

• Vigneshwara Vinayaka

• Rama Lakshmana Jaanaki Jai Bolo Hanuman ki
• Om Shiva Om Shiva Paraatpara Shiva

Stotram:

• GuruStotram (My Prayers, Page 9) - We did slokas 1, 2, 3, 5 and 14
• Lingashtakam:

• We started teaching Lingashtakam this week.  This is part of the first grade curriculum. We did the first slokha.

Geeta Chanting:

• We did the first verse of Chapter XII.

Story:

We recapped the story from the last class and conducted a quiz. 

The story continued with Kaikeyi telling Bharata how happy she was to secure the kingdom for him and how she banished Rama to the forest.  Bharata and Shatrugna on hearing this are really shocked and angry and yell and scream at Kaikeyi.  Shatrugna, who is usually quiet, also drags Manthara on the floor.  Bharata performs the last rites for his father and then tells the court that he will go and bring Rama back and make him the king.  Ayodhya is very happy and follow Bharata into the forest to bring back Sri Rama.  Guha and Sage Bharadwaja meet Bharata and give their blessing and help to bring back Rama.  When Lakshmana sees Bharata coming in the forest he misinterprets Bharatha's intentions - he thinks Bharatha is coming to kill Rama.  Rama convinces him that there's no way Bharata would do that.  Bharata is dressed in ascetic clothes just like Sri Rama and tells him how King Dasharatha is no more.  Sri Rama faints on hearing this and on recovering performs the last rites for his father.  Then Bharatha tries to convince Sri Rama to come back and take over the kingdom.  Rama refuses and tell him the greatest philosophy that joys and sorrows come in pairs.  Everyone's got to do what their duty is and whichever way destiny takes them.  Rama has vowed to his father to stay an asceitc life in the forest for 14 years and he will have to keep his word.  On hearing this, Bharatha is sad but agrees to run the kingdom as Rama's representative for 14 years till Rama comes back.  Bharatha then asks for Sri Rama's paduka (Slippers) and takes it home on his head. He tells Rama that his paduka will sit on the throne and rule the kingdome.  Meanwhile, Bharatha will live like Rama, in a hut as an asceitc outside Ayodhya and run the kingdom on his behalf.
After Bharata and his army leaves, Rama tells Lakshmana that they should move out of CHitrakuta since it is too close to Ayodhya and people might keep visiting them from Ayodhya.

Activity:

Today, we made a Balavihar Christmas ornament .

Games:

The Correct Answer Is: We played this game with a number of questions from the Ramayana story learnt so far.

Likhita Japa:
We wrote the name of Sri Rama 11 times in silence.

Conclusion:

We concluded by doing the Aarthi and Pledge in the classroom.

Comments:

The kids are still working on learning the Gurustotram.  Parents, please work with the kids on the Gurustotram. We will continue to learn Lingashatakam.

We started teaching verse 1 of Chapter 12 for Geetha Chanting.  There are extra Geeta Chanting classes on Fridays in Basking Ridge and possibly  in a new location soon.  Please try to bring your kids for these sessions so they learn to chant the Geeta.  Please encourage your children to participate in the Geeta Chanting competion.
Parents, please encourage your children to participate in WOW-Sanskrit word of the week. 

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. Scissors
8. 1st grade Balavihar books - Bala Ramayan, Ramayana characters and a copy of 'My Prayers'; assembly handbook.

Christmas Ornament

Materials

Plastic Empty Ornament
Picture of OM and Chinmaya Mission Logo with Class Name
Snowflakes Stickers
Glitter Glue
Glue

Directions

• Glue the snowflakes onto the ornament
• Glue the pictures of OM and Chinmaya mission onto the ornament
• Decorate the ornament with glitter glue as desired.

Balavihar ornament is ready to be hung in the Christmas tree or displayed on a mantlepiece.

December 4, 2011

Hari OM!

Beginning Prayers

• Om Saha Navavathu
• Vakratunda Mahakaya
• Saraswathi Namastubhyam
• Ramaya Ramabhadraya

Bhajans:

We reviewed the following three bhajans 

• Vigneshwara Vinayaka

• Rama Lakshmana Jaanaki Jai Bolo Hanuman ki
• Om Shiva Om Shiva Paraatpara Shiva

Stotram:

• GuruStotram (My Prayers, Page 9) - We did slokas 1, 2, 3, 5 and 14
• Lingashtakam:

• We started teaching Lingashtakam this week.  This is part of the first grade curriculum. We did the first slokha.

Geeta Chanting:

• Today we did the introduction to Geetha Chanting.

Story:

We recapped the story from the last class and conducted a quiz.  The boys and girls answered very enthusiastically and the result was a tie.

We continued the story about how Rama, Lakshmana and Sita seek Rishi Bharadwaja's advice as to where to set up their Ashram.  Rishi Bharadwaja advices them to set up the ashram at Mt.Chitrakuda in Tapovan.  When they reach Chitrakuda they like the environment and Lakshmana quickly puts up a house of mud with thatched roof.  Meanwhile the Minister Sumantra returns to Ayodhya with the empty chariot and seeing that King Dasharatha is grief stricken. That night he confesses to Kaushalya the story of Sravana.  A young prince Dasharatha had learnt the art of shooting at his target without seeing it. One day while he was out hunting he heard the sound of an elephant drinking water and immediately shot his arrow  only to find he had hit a young boy filling water in a pitcher.  His name is Sravana and he says that he was taking the water to his blind parents. Prince Dasharatha asks Sravana's forgiveness as he had shot at Sravana by mistake.  Sravana asks Dasharatha to got to his parents and dies.  On seeing Sravana's blind parents Dasharatha explains his mistake and tells them of their son's death and seeks their forgiveness.  The parents tell Dasharatha that even though he committed the sin unknowingly he will still have to bear the consequences. He too will suffer separation from his beloved son. Thus narrating the story to Kaushalya King Dasharatha breathes his last with Rama's name on his lips.  Ayodhya is in mourning.  Sage Vasistha sends for Bharata who is on vacation.  Bharata who has been restless lately returns to Ayodhya and is confused to see the sad faces on his way to his mother's palace.  There his mother tells him about the death of the old king and how she had planned and succeeded in making Bharata the king of Ayodhya.  Bharata is shocked. 

Activity:

Today, we made a bookmark with Rama's picture on it and decorated it. 

Games:

Hangman: We played Hangman to recap the names from the story from today and past few weeks. 

Conclusion:

We concluded by doing the Aarthi and Pledge in the classroom.

Comments:

We had ok attendance today.  The kids are still working on learning the Gurustotram.  Parents, please work with the kids on the Gurustotram. We will continue to learn Lingashatakam and start Geetha Chanting by January, 2012.

There are still some kids who dont bring in their snacks.  Please send in a snack with your child.

Parents, please encourage your children to participate in WOW-Sanskrit word of the week. 

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. Scissors
8. 1st grade Balavihar books - Bala Ramayan, Ramayana characters and a copy of 'My Prayers'; assembly handbook.

Sri Rama Bookmark

Materials

Cardstock
Picture of Sri Rama
Ribbon/String
Bead
Glitter Glue
Glue
Sequins and buttons for decoration (optional)

Directions

• Cut the cardstock to desired length and width
• Glue the picture of Sri Rama on the top half of the cardstock sheet
• Punch a hole in the middle of the top of the bookmark
• Make a tassel using a ribbon/string and a bead
• Loop the tassel through the hole in the bookmark and knot it to finish.
• Decorate the rest of the bookmark with glitter glue/sequins and/or crayons as desired.

Sri Rama bookmark is ready to be used.

November 20, 2011

Hari OM!

Beginning Prayers

• Om Saha Navavathu
• Vakratunda Mahakaya
• Saraswathi Namastubhyam
• Ramaya Ramabhadraya

Bhajans:

We learnt a new bhajan on Ganesa from the Assembly book

• Vigneshwara Vinayaka

We reviewed the following two bhajans.  The children are now quite familiar with these.

• Rama Lakshmana Jaanaki Jai Bolo Hanuman ki
• Om Shiva Om Shiva Paraatpara Shiva

Stotram:

• GuruStotram (My Prayers, Page 9) - We did slokas 1, 2, 3, 5 and 14

Story:

We recapped the story from the last class.

We talked about how happy Ayodhya was with Sri Rama and Princess Sita's arrival.  Thus passed 12 years.  Soon, King Dasharatha was thinking about retiring to the forest after handing over the kingdom to Sri Rama.  As his coronation was being planned, Manthara-the hunchback maid of Keikeyi sowed the poisonous seed in Keikeyi's mind that only Bharatha should be made King.  So, Keikeyi asks Dasharatha to give her the 2 boons (promised earlier) - 1.  Bharatha should be made king. 2.  Rama should be sent to the forest for 14 years. This devastates King Dasharatha, but in order to be true to his dharma he sends for Rama and gives him the orders to go to the forest.  Rama takes these orders as calmly as he did when he was told he would be coronated.  Lakshmana and Sita convince Rama that they will accompany him in his exile to the forest.   They depart to the forest, amidst a very sad Ayodhya.
Activity:

Today, we colored a picture of Rama and Sita.

Meditation/Japa:
We did 'Likhita Japa' today.  We wrote the name of Lord Rama in absolute silence, 11 times.

Games:

Four Corners: We played Four Corners to recap the names from the story from today and past few weeks. 

Conclusion:

We concluded by doing the Aarthi and Pledge in the assembly.

Comments:

We had a good attendance today.  The kids were a little out of touch with their slokas, not having been in class for over a month.  Parents, please work with the kids on the Gurustotram.  Soon, we will start with Lingashtakam and Geeta Chanting as well.
There are still some kids who dont bring in their snacks.  Please send in a snack with your child.

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. Scissors
8. 1st grade Balavihar books - Bala Ramayan, Ramayana characters and a copy of 'My Prayers'; assembly handbook.

November 6, 2011

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple Visit

All the BBNJ families assembled at the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple for a field day.  It was a glorious day and the kids enjoyed learning about the temple, the significance of the various Gods , Garuda, Azhwars, etc.
Later we had a bhajan session led by the Swaranjali group and then a dance performance by one of our senior balavihar kids.

It was well attended and the kids loved being in a temple environment. 

October 23, 2011

Cord Walkathon

We met at Mercer County Park for our yearly CORD walkathon.  A lot of BBNJ families showed up and we enjoyed walking 5K in the park with fall colors in the background.

Thank you for your support and for participating in the walkathon.

October 16, 2011

Hari OM!

Beginning Prayers

• Om Saha Navavathu
• Vakratunda Mahakaya
• Saraswathi Namastubhyam
• Ramaya Ramabhadraya

Bhajans:

We reviewed the following two bhajans.  The children are now quite familiar with these.

• Rama Lakshmana Jaanaki Jai Bolo Hanuman ki
• Om Shiva Om Shiva Paraatpara Shiva

Stotram:

• GuruStotram (My Prayers, Page 9) - We reviewed slokas 1, 2 and 3. 

Story:

We recapped the story from the last class.

Then we moved on with our story where Rama couldnt wait to see Rudra's bow.  He looked at Sage Vishwamitra to ask for permission and after seeking his blessings, lifts the Rudra bow with his right hand and bendsit/breaks.  Everyone hears the sound of the string, and now Sita is to be married to Sri Rama.  Word is sent to King Dasharatha to come to his son's wedding.  Rama weds Sita, Lakshmana weds Urmila, Bharata weds Mandavi, and Shatrugna weds Srutakirti.  The wedding is very well celebrated in Mithila and Ayodhay.  King Janaka is a little sad that his dearest daughter will be leaving his home but he consoles himself saying that's her rightful place.

As King Dasharatha and princes are returning back to Ayodhya with their new wives they run into Parasurama who challenges Sri Rama to life Vishnu's bow.  Sri Rama does so, and fires the arrow to kill the fruits of all of Parasurama's penance.

Activity:

Wedding Gift:  We thought it appropriate to gift Sri Rama with some gift for his wedding.  The only thing we could coem up with that Rama does not have are bad habits.  So, we wrote down our bad habits/mischiefs on a piece of paper and dropped in a gift box for Sri Rama.  This way we lose our bad habits and Sri Rama being so perfect will not be affected by it.  The entire class came forward to hand over the gift to Sri Rama.

Diwali Diya:  The kids made a diya for Diwali and decorated it.

Meditation/Japa:
We did 'Likhita Japa' today.  We wrote the name of Lord Rama in absolute silence, 11 times.

Games:

Hangman: We played hangman to recap the story from last week. 

Conclusion:

We concluded by doing the Aarthi and Pledge in the assembly.

Comments:

We had 10 kids in class today.  It was nice to see everyone so well dressed for Sri Rama's wedding to Sita.  We also talked about Diwali in class today.  In the spirit of the wedding and Diwali, Diya's parents brought in savory and sweet puris to share with the class.  The class enjoyed the treat. Thank you Diya.

Please work with the kids to learn the Gurustotram.  They are struggling a little with shloka 2.  We would like to move on to the next set of stotrams but we need to make sure they all know the first 3 well.  We have a wonderful and enthusiastic set of kids in our class and it is a pleasure to be around them on Sundays.

Next week, there'll be CORD Walkathon and we hope to see all kids and family at Mercer County Park to show our support.  Please register ASAP if you have not done so already and be there at 930.  Kalpana aunty and Radha aunty will be there with their families.
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. Scissors
8. 1st grade Balavihar books - Bala Ramayan, Ramayana characters and a copy of 'My Prayers'; assembly handbook.

 

Diwali Diya

Materials

Modeling Clay
Gem Stickers

Directions

• Make a medium size ball from the clay/play-doh.
• Shape it in the form of a diya
• Decorate the diya with gem stickers/glitter glue.
• Leave it outside for sometime to airdry.
• Add a tea-light in the middle and light it up on Diwali.

Home-made diya is ready for Diwali

October 2, 2011

Hari OM!

Beginning Prayers

• Om Saha Navavathu
• Vakratunda Mahakaya
• Saraswathi Namastubhyam

Bhajans:

We reviewed the following two bhajans.  The children are now quite familiar with these.

• Rama Lakshmana Jaanaki Jai Bolo Hanuman ki
• Om Shiva Om Shiva Paraatpara Shiva

Stotram:

• GuruStotram (My Prayers, Page 9) - We reviewed slokas 1, 2 and 3

Story:

We recapped the story from the last class. This week we learnt how Ahalya was turned into a stone by her husband Sage Gautama and led a hidden life of penance. When Lord Rama entered the Ashrama of Sage Gautama (on the outskirts of Mithila) and his feet touched the stone Ahalya was released from her life of penance and became a human being again.  She and her husband hosted Sage Vishwamitra and the two princes. 

We talked about King Janaka of Mithila and how he found a beautiful baby when he was ploughing the land before a yajna.  He name the baby Sita and thanked Bhumidevi for the gift of this divine child.  Sita was a perfect baby and her beauty rivaled that of Goddess Lakshmi.  As she grew older King Janaka was worried about how he would find a husband worthy of Sita.  He decided that the man who lifted and bent the bow of Rudra (given to his ancestors by god Varuna) would marry Sita.  When King Janaka heard about the presence of Vishwamitra in Gautama's Ashrama, he went with his court of ministers and invited the sage to be his guest.  There he saw the two sons of King Dasharatha and was struck by their brilliance.  He happily invited the princes of Ayodhya as guests to Mithila. 

Activity:

The kids put Sri Rama's feet on Mithila. (Part of the Sri Rama Trail)

The kids colored a page from the Ramayana workbook.

Meditation/Japa:
We did 'Likhita Japa' today.  We wrote the name of Lord Rama in absolute silence, 11 times.

Games:

Quiz - we had a quiz about last  week's story. The boys and girls participated very enthusiastically and the boys won by 6 points.

Radha Aunty played Four Corners with the kids using names from the Ramayana story so far. The children really enjoyed this game and we were happy to note that they did remember the names and places discussed so far.

Conclusion:

We concluded by doing the Aarthi and Pledge. 

Comments:

We had about 75% attendance today. We would like to see all the kids attend regularly.  We distributed the gold coins today for attending balavihar on time, class participation and good conduct.  The promise of coins motivated them to be well behaved in class today. The children should have dropped the coins in the Team Ganga jar on their way out.

The children will benefit by reading the stories discussed so far in the Bala Ramayana book

We noticed that there are some students who have not purchased the recommended 1st grade books. Please buy them as we don't have enough copies to share and we do use all the books quite regularly in the class.  Also some children did not have a snack/drink..please send them as we noticed that all the children are eager to have a snack break on Sunday mornings.

This week we had Back to Balavihar and the teachers reviewed the curriculum, class format, etc with the parents.

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. Scissors
8. 1st grade Balavihar books - Bala Ramayan, Ramayana characters and a copy of 'My Prayers'; assembly handbook.

Next class is on October 16th 2011.   We will be celebrating the marriage of Rama and Sita (as the story will progress to that point) and also Diwali.  We encourage the students to come dressed in their Indian finery for this festive occasion. 

September 25, 2011

Hari OM!

Beginning Prayers

• Om Saha Navavathu
• Vakratunda Mahakaya
• Saraswathi Namastubhyam

Bhajans:

• Rama Lakshmana Jaanaki Jai Bolo Hanuman ki
• Om Shiva Om Shiva Paraatpara Shiva

Stotram:

• GuruStotram (My Prayers, Page 9) - We did sloka 1, 2 and 3

Story:

We recapped the story from last 2 classes.  We continued the story of how Rama and Lakshmana went with Vishwamitra to help him fight the demons.  We talked about how Rama and Lakshmana were very excited about this adventure and how they enjoyed Mother Nature when they walked through the forests.  We discussed the arrival of the princes at the Dandaka forest where they heard the story of Tataka.  Rama challenges Tataka to a fight and kills her.  Vishwamitra praises Rama and teaches him the use of divine weapons.

Rama and Lakshmana along with Vishwamitra crossed the River Ganges on a raft and finally reached Vishwamitra's ashram 'Siddhasrama'. The next day Vishwamitra started his Yajna and for 5 days and nights everything went smoothly.  On the 6th day Marica and Subahu appear in the sky ready to disrupt the Yajna: Rama uses the 'Manavastra' to tie Marica in a bundle and hurl him near the sea; he then uses the 'Agneyastra' to kill Subahu. Vishwamitra complete his yajna without any problems.  

We concluded this week's lesson by talking about how Vishwamitra decides to take Rama and Lakshmana  to Mithila to attend a yajna conducted by King Janaka.

The teachers talked about CORD and the CORD walkathon and about Navrathri celebrations. 

Activity:

The kids put Sri Rama's feet on the River Ganges. (Part of the Sri Rama Trail)

Radha aunty taught the kids how to do a Toran in class today.  The kids enjoyed putting the various pieces onto a string and Radha aunty took some pictures of the finished craft. 

Meditation/Japa:
We had a minute of quite time doing Rama Japa.

Games:

Quiz - we had a quiz about last 2 weeks story. The boys and girls participated very enthusiastically and we were happy to note that they have been paying attention to the Ramayana story.

Conclusion:

We attended the Assembly today. 

Comments:

We had about 75% attendance today. We would like to see all the kids attend regularly.  The kids were quite enthusiastic and attentive.  We learned the bhajans by dividing the students into two groups and each group sang a verse and alternated them and finally learned the 'Om Shiva' bhajan.  We also had a quiz about the Ramayana story from the last 2 classes and we had to split the class into 2 teams.  The girls won the quiz by 2 points.

We learnt a lot of new names today and it would help if the kids reviewed the Tataka and the Marica/subahu stories in the Bala Ramayana book.  We attended the monthly assembly today and all the 1st graders who were present behaved very well and fully participated in all the slokas and bhajans. 

We did not have enough glue/scissors in class for the kids.  They had to share it with their friends.  Please make sure the kids bring in their own scissors, glue, crayons etc so they are not waiting for their turn with these items.

Each student received the assembly handbook and they should bring it to the class every week.  We have copies for the students who missed the class today and will hand it over to them next week.

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. Scissors
8. 1st grade Balavihar books - Bala Ramayan, Ramayana characters and a copy of 'My Prayers'; assembly handbook.

Next class is on October 2nd 2011.   It is also back to balavihar day.

Navratri Toran

Materials

Green construction paper

Foam flower stickers
Yarn
Glitter glue
Pictures of Lakshmi/Saraswathi (optional)
Glue
Scissors

Directions

• Cut out leaves from the green construction paper
• Glue the leaves by folding one end on to the yarn.  Leave some space between the leaves
• Stick the foam flowers in between the leaves
• Stick pictures of Lakshmi on the leaves
• Decorate the leaves with glitter glue (gold or other colors)

The toran is ready to be hung on the doorway in your houses.  Usually toran is done with fresh flowers and leaves.

September 18, 2011

Hari OM!

Beginning Prayers

• Om Saha Navavathu
• Vakratunda Mahakaya
• Saraswathi Namastubhyam

Bhajans:

• Rama Lakshmana Jaanaki Jai Bolo Hanuman ki
• Om Shiva Om Shiva Paraatpara Shiva

Stotram:

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

Story:

We recapped the story from last class.  Then we talked about how King Dasharatha did his yaaga, and got the payasam that he gave to Queen Kausalya and Kaikeyi.  Both the queens shared it with Queen Sumitra and that's why Sumitra had 2 sons.  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 also 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.

Activity:

Radha aunty gave all the kids a map of India.   The kids are going to file it in their folders and bring it to every class.  Today, we put Sri Rama's feet at Ayodhya since thats where he is.  We will be tracking Sri Rama's trail through India as we learn the story of Ramayana.

We also did a paper bag puppet of Sri Rama in class today.  The kids enjoyed coloring/decorating Sri Rama as they imagined him.

Meditation/Japa:

Games:

Fill in the blanks - Kalpana aunty wrote the Saraswathi Namastubhyam shloka on the board and took out a
few words.  The kids had to say the missing word.

Quiz - we had a quiz about last weeks's story.

Conclusion:

We conluded the day with

• Om Jaya Jagadeesha Hare
• Pledge
• Om Purnamadah

Comments:

We had one new friend today, and a full attendance.  The kids were quite enthusiastic and attentive today.  We played a 'fill in the blanks' game with a couple of our shlokas today in class.  The kids were very good at the game.  We also had a quiz from last week's lesson and we had to split the class into 2 teams.  Both teams did very well in answering the quiz.  It was a tie!

Then we talked about Sri Rama's birth, the names of his brothers.  We also learnt of Sage Vishwamitra's request for Rama to accompany him to the forest to help fight the rakshasas.

Then we did our Sri Rama puppets.  And finished up with our concluding prayers.

We did not have enough glue/scissors in class for the kids.  They had to share it with their friends.  Please make sure the kids bring in their own scissors, glue, crayons etc so they are not waiting for their turn with these items.

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. Scissors
8. 1st grade Balavihar books - Bala Ramayan, Ramayana characters and a copy of 'My Prayers'

Next class is on September 25th, 2011. Next week Swamiji will be visiting our Balavihar and we will have assembly from 11.45 am to 12.30 pm. All the kids will be attending the assembly.

Sri Rama Paper Bag Puppet

Materials

Blue lunch bag

Black construction paper (for hair)
Yellow construction paper (for crown)
Scraps of decorative paper (in different colors)
Sequins, lace, etc.
2 Googly eyes
Glue stick
Crayons/Markers
Scissors

Directions

Each child gets a blue paper bag -- and the rest is left up to them. Put different materials on the table and let them choose how they want to create their own Lord Rama

September 11, 2011

Hari OM!

Beginning Prayers

• Om Saha Navavathu
• Vakratunda Mahakaya
• Saraswathi Namastubhyam

Bhajans:

• Rama Lakshmana Jaanaki Jai Bolo Hanuman ki

Stotram:

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

In the next class we will explain the meaning of the above slokas  and will help the kids get familiar with the meanings and pronunciation.


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.

Activity:
Each of the kids drew the city of Ayodhya as they imagined it - by the river Sarayu, a palace, a bright sun, happy men, women and kids, gardens, birds, chariots etc

Meditation/Japa:
We did 'Likhita Japa' today. We wrote the name of Lord Rama, in absolute silence, 11 times.

Games:
We played Hangman with the kids, reiterating some of the new names/places they learnt today

Conclusion:
We conluded the day with

• Om Jaya Jagadeesha Hare
• Pledge
• Om Purnamadah

Comments:
We had a wonderful start to our Balavihar year.  We had about 11 friends, and we will learn the names of all our friends soon.  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.

We also talked about trying to win the best attendance awards and to collect as many gold coins as we can for our team 'Saraswathi'. 

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 18th, 2011