Music: "Krishna is Love" by MC Yogi. (Elephant Power)
Next Class: February 6 – 8, 2015
Venue: Chinmaya Vrindavan Ashram
95 Cranbury Neck Rd., Cranbury, NJ
Please arrive no more than 10/15 minutes before the time slot your child is registered for. There will be classes in session before us. Thank you!
Friday@ 7:00 p.m.
Saturday @ 2:00 p.m.
Sunday @ 8:45 a.m.
Sunday @ 12.45 p.m.
Sunday @3:15 p.m.
Hari Om!
Well, the time has finally arrived... we are now formally residing in the ashram and will no longer be conducting classes at Crossroads. Please note the time slots listed above and double check to make sure that your child is registered in the one that you will be attending. We know that things have been a little confusing these past few months, so we have combined classes to try and make things a little easier during our stay at Crossroads. However, we now have to stick to our proper schedules and procedures. Otherwise, chaos with a Capital "C" will reign... and we certainly don't want that to happen.
We sure are going to miss seeing everyone's smiling faces every Sunday morning. However, we did reassure our young friends that even though we're not all going to be in the same class anymore... we'll DEFINITELY be seeing each other at the Ashram. So please reiterate to our young friends that the aunties will be expecting to hear those friendly "Hari Oms" and seeing those big shining smiles!!! And of course, we'd also be grateful for a little hug every now and then, too.
Anyway, sorry that we're posting a few days late this week. Aside from the Nor'Easter hoopla, this aunty had some unexpected tasks that popped up and took precedence... and now we're back on track.
Our class topic this week was "J is for Japa"— a real favorite of ours. In fact, we'd be very happy to do this lesson every. single. week. No doubt you've seen your child's Japa Mala by now. We hope that s/he has been practicing with it every day, because as we learned in class. — daily japa brings us much closer to God. And for that reason alone, Japa is an activity we want to incorporate into our life.
So, on that happy subject, we'd like to direct your attention to the video posted above. This was compiled a few years ago from a previous class during our likhita japa segment. Your children have been doing so beautifully with their likhita japa, that we think it's time for us to start focusing the rest of our year on integrating our love and creativity for God through likhita japa. So be prepared, kids... we're gonna have a blast!!
Hope everyone enjoyed our brief "Nor'Easter"and got to romp around in the snow a little. If any of you remembered to make your Lord Ganesha sculpture, please send us a photograph so we can share it with everyone. Remember: Nothing is more beautiful than seeing Lord Ganesha snow sculptures everywhere!!!
:-)
Look forward to seeing everyone soon... and stay warm!
*****************
Shlokas
• Saha Naavavatu
• Ekadantam Mahaakaaya
• Sarasvati Namastubhyam
• Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu
We sure are going to miss seeing everyone's smiling faces every Sunday morning. However, we did reassure our young friends that even though we're not all going to be in the same class anymore... we'll DEFINITELY be seeing each other at the Ashram. So please reiterate to our young friends that the aunties will be expecting to hear those friendly "Hari Oms" and seeing those big shining smiles!!! And of course, we'd also be grateful for a little hug every now and then, too.
Anyway, sorry that we're posting a few days late this week. Aside from the Nor'Easter hoopla, this aunty had some unexpected tasks that popped up and took precedence... and now we're back on track.
Our class topic this week was "J is for Japa"— a real favorite of ours. In fact, we'd be very happy to do this lesson every. single. week. No doubt you've seen your child's Japa Mala by now. We hope that s/he has been practicing with it every day, because as we learned in class. — daily japa brings us much closer to God. And for that reason alone, Japa is an activity we want to incorporate into our life.
So, on that happy subject, we'd like to direct your attention to the video posted above. This was compiled a few years ago from a previous class during our likhita japa segment. Your children have been doing so beautifully with their likhita japa, that we think it's time for us to start focusing the rest of our year on integrating our love and creativity for God through likhita japa. So be prepared, kids... we're gonna have a blast!!
Hope everyone enjoyed our brief "Nor'Easter"and got to romp around in the snow a little. If any of you remembered to make your Lord Ganesha sculpture, please send us a photograph so we can share it with everyone. Remember: Nothing is more beautiful than seeing Lord Ganesha snow sculptures everywhere!!!
:-)
Look forward to seeing everyone soon... and stay warm!
*****************
Shlokas
• Saha Naavavatu
• Ekadantam Mahaakaaya
• Sarasvati Namastubhyam
• Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu
Geeta Chanting: Chapter 15, Shlokas 1, 2,3,4, and 5
We were very happy to "hear" that a lot of our young friends have been practicing at home. Great work, everyone!! During our next class we will introduce Shloka 6. And from this point onwards we're going to learn 2 new shlokas per month, instead of one. This way we'll be as ready as we can be for the Spring.
Here is an audio blog that has archived all the Bhagavad Geeta chapters. It is a wonderful learning tool... and we highly recommend that you check it out:
We were very happy to "hear" that a lot of our young friends have been practicing at home. Great work, everyone!! During our next class we will introduce Shloka 6. And from this point onwards we're going to learn 2 new shlokas per month, instead of one. This way we'll be as ready as we can be for the Spring.
Here is an audio blog that has archived all the Bhagavad Geeta chapters. It is a wonderful learning tool... and we highly recommend that you check it out:
Concentration/Shell Game
As we've mentioned before, these kids sure do make the aunties work hard. And yes, they did it again... they won! Their attention span is becoming much stronger and they can now sit silently for 2 and a half minutes... and also get the right number of shells dropped in the bowl.
Yoga Stretches/Exercise
We really needed to warm up on this cold morning and we did by doing Sun Salutations! Kids enjoyed stretching and warming up.
Circle Time/Activity Time
To help emphasize the meaning of Japa, Aunty taught us a new bhajan: Khaate Bhi Raama Kaho. Not only does this bhajan have a catchy tune to it... but it was fun to reenact, too!
After singing the bhajan, we played a game where all the children sat in a circle... and then one child would say "Raama" while gently touching the child next to him/her. Then that child says "Raama" and touches the next child in the circle, etc. Our objective was to go faster and faster without breaking the link and our focus.
Craft
A small japa mala made out of beads.
Likhita Japa
At this time of the year we like to introduce the children to creative likhita japa. Up until now they have been using the tracing sheet to learn the writing strokes for Raama (in Sanskrit). However, we have been noticing that the children are feeling pretty confident with their writing, so we are now ready to express our love and gratitude for God creatively, using colors and shapes. Please note that from this point onwards, your child will most likely not be able to finish their likhita japa art during class time. Therefore, they will be bringing home their paper to work on during the week. We encourage your child to bring their finished work with them to the next class. We will be having a "show and tell" segment where the children can share their artwork... and feelings, if they want to.
As we've mentioned before, these kids sure do make the aunties work hard. And yes, they did it again... they won! Their attention span is becoming much stronger and they can now sit silently for 2 and a half minutes... and also get the right number of shells dropped in the bowl.
Yoga Stretches/Exercise
We really needed to warm up on this cold morning and we did by doing Sun Salutations! Kids enjoyed stretching and warming up.
Circle Time/Activity Time
To help emphasize the meaning of Japa, Aunty taught us a new bhajan: Khaate Bhi Raama Kaho. Not only does this bhajan have a catchy tune to it... but it was fun to reenact, too!
After singing the bhajan, we played a game where all the children sat in a circle... and then one child would say "Raama" while gently touching the child next to him/her. Then that child says "Raama" and touches the next child in the circle, etc. Our objective was to go faster and faster without breaking the link and our focus.
Craft
A small japa mala made out of beads.
Likhita Japa
At this time of the year we like to introduce the children to creative likhita japa. Up until now they have been using the tracing sheet to learn the writing strokes for Raama (in Sanskrit). However, we have been noticing that the children are feeling pretty confident with their writing, so we are now ready to express our love and gratitude for God creatively, using colors and shapes. Please note that from this point onwards, your child will most likely not be able to finish their likhita japa art during class time. Therefore, they will be bringing home their paper to work on during the week. We encourage your child to bring their finished work with them to the next class. We will be having a "show and tell" segment where the children can share their artwork... and feelings, if they want to.
