Next Class: February 23th
Om Sahanavavatu
Shlokas
Saraswati Namastubyam
Gurur Brahma Gurur Vishnu
Ekadantam Mahakayam
Mookam Karoti Vaachalam
Manojavam maruta tulya
Khaate bhi raam kaho pite bhi raam kaho
Gita Chanting
Chapter 14 verse 1, 2 and 3, 4
Activities
Concentration Time : Shell game
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Comments
Hari Om Parents,
We had yet another beautiful class today. The students came in with big smile and were ready to learn more. We started with our morning prayers and shlokas followed by meditation. We all chanted Bhagwat Geeta sholka loudly and revised all the topics we had covered so far. Then it was time to introduce the alphabet of the day! Today we did letter 'O' for obedience and 'R' for right. We discussed about what obedience means. How does obedience help us and why do we need to listen to our parents. We agreed that when everything and everyone works in an orderly fashion, there is harmony. The best part in discussing these topics are children's input and their understanding of the topic from their perspective. Please ask your children about how we discussed different scenarios to determine what it means to be obedient. We also heard a beautiful story of a very obedient boy. To explore further, we played "Teacher says" (like Simon says) to learn even more about listening and obeying.
After the game we all stretched and played some more games making sure that we all were listening and being respectful to each other. When we finally sat down, we started brainstorming about letter 'R' for right! We all agreed that we are pretty good at knowing what is right and what is wrong. We played a game where the teacher asked couple of questions and the students gestured with their hands what was right and what was not.Sometimes it is confusing to differentiate between right and wrong and that is the time we can go to our teachers or our parents for guidance. We heard another beautiful story about a boy who did the right thing, even when nobody else was doing it. Doing the right thing always brings rewards and happiness in the end.
Before we knew, it was time to go home. We all wore our shoes and jackets and stood in line and said good bye to each other. We all had a great time in the class today. Our next class will be held on February 23rd. Till then keep revising the "Geeta Shlokas" and all the alphabets covered so far. Have a great week.
Thanks and Regards,
Ruchi and Reshma
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Section B: Anjana Suresh and Jacqueline
Unfortunately, Meena aunty wasn't able to be with us today. But boy, were we excited when we saw Anjana Aunty open the door. She is one of our absolute favorite aunties… and we were really lucky to have her visit and help us!
Ok… time to get "down to business." Here is our class summary:
Well, to begin with, parents…. we have to say: our young friends are becoming really mature and sophisticated. Every class we've been seeing growth spurts… and today certainly was no different.
Once the clock struck 10:00, everyone quickly settled in our circle so we could begin our morning disciplines. Not only do the children now chant clearly and confidently, but they are also eager to participate in discussions and tell us who each shloka is dedicated to… and what key factors we must listen for so that we know who we are praying to. For example: Ekadantam Mahakayam… means we are praying to Lord Ganesha, because Ekadantam means "one tusk or tooth." "Mookam Karoti Vaachalam" is dedicated to Lord Krishna, because in the last sentence we say "Madhavam" which means "to Madhava"… and Madhava is another name for Lord Kristhna. And so on….
Ahhhhh…. but here's some very exciting news: we now are able to sit for 2 solid minutes during our quiet time — without moving or talking. (Of course, there are a few exceptions, but overall we're doing GREAT!!!) Today we talked about why it's important to not move or open our eyes during our Shell Counting Game…. because in order to move our hands or shake our legs, we need our brain. And if our brain is telling us to move, then it is not focused on counting the shells. And if we can't focus on counting the shell, then we'll never get the number right. :-)
So four thumbs up for all the kids!!!! They did fantastic today!
Our topic for circle time was "M is for Mother." (Note to moms: Believe us when we say that your children love you very very much. We actually spent much more time than we originally planned for our discussion… because every child wanted to share all the special qualities of their mom.)
Section B: Anjana Suresh and Jacqueline
Unfortunately, Meena aunty wasn't able to be with us today. But boy, were we excited when we saw Anjana Aunty open the door. She is one of our absolute favorite aunties… and we were really lucky to have her visit and help us!
Ok… time to get "down to business." Here is our class summary:
Well, to begin with, parents…. we have to say: our young friends are becoming really mature and sophisticated. Every class we've been seeing growth spurts… and today certainly was no different.
Once the clock struck 10:00, everyone quickly settled in our circle so we could begin our morning disciplines. Not only do the children now chant clearly and confidently, but they are also eager to participate in discussions and tell us who each shloka is dedicated to… and what key factors we must listen for so that we know who we are praying to. For example: Ekadantam Mahakayam… means we are praying to Lord Ganesha, because Ekadantam means "one tusk or tooth." "Mookam Karoti Vaachalam" is dedicated to Lord Krishna, because in the last sentence we say "Madhavam" which means "to Madhava"… and Madhava is another name for Lord Kristhna. And so on….
Ahhhhh…. but here's some very exciting news: we now are able to sit for 2 solid minutes during our quiet time — without moving or talking. (Of course, there are a few exceptions, but overall we're doing GREAT!!!) Today we talked about why it's important to not move or open our eyes during our Shell Counting Game…. because in order to move our hands or shake our legs, we need our brain. And if our brain is telling us to move, then it is not focused on counting the shells. And if we can't focus on counting the shell, then we'll never get the number right. :-)
So four thumbs up for all the kids!!!! They did fantastic today!
Our topic for circle time was "M is for Mother." (Note to moms: Believe us when we say that your children love you very very much. We actually spent much more time than we originally planned for our discussion… because every child wanted to share all the special qualities of their mom.)
Our story highlighted how much our mothers do for us… and how much they care for us. And of course, this lead us to understand how we should never take our mothers for granted… because our mother's love is the greatest gift. We then went on to talk about our other mothers… Mother Nature, Mother Earth, Mother India, Mother Cow, and Mother Shruti.
Yep. This was definitely a fun topic for us… and one that touched each of our hearts. So towards the end of class, we focused our attention on making a gift for our mothers. We decorated origami hearts, gluing on a chocolate kiss as the finishing touch. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to teach the children how to make the origami hearts on their own, but we did show them how it was made. And we also promised that we would post a tutorial video, which can be found at the bottom of this page. We definitely recommend giving these hearts a try… they are a lot of fun to make.
And that's it. Our class felt like it ended within minutes after we started...
Before closing, please mark your calendars: We do not have class next Sunday. Our next class will be on February 23rd.
Yep. This was definitely a fun topic for us… and one that touched each of our hearts. So towards the end of class, we focused our attention on making a gift for our mothers. We decorated origami hearts, gluing on a chocolate kiss as the finishing touch. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to teach the children how to make the origami hearts on their own, but we did show them how it was made. And we also promised that we would post a tutorial video, which can be found at the bottom of this page. We definitely recommend giving these hearts a try… they are a lot of fun to make.
And that's it. Our class felt like it ended within minutes after we started...
Before closing, please mark your calendars: We do not have class next Sunday. Our next class will be on February 23rd.
Sending lots of warm hugs to all our young friends… and we wish you and your family a wonderful and peaceful week!
