Hari Om Parents,
We had a few new kids join our class today.
Shlokas:
1.“Om Saha navavatu” (page 8 in My Prayers book)
2. "Ekadantam Mahakaayam" (page 27 in My Prayers book)
3. “Karegre vasate” (page 11 in My prayers book)- New
4. “Akanda-mandalakaram” (page 61 in My Prayers book)- New
Activites:
- We played the Concentration Game. After the chanting of 3 “Om”s kids keep their eyes closed. They count the number of stones being dropped into a box during the quiet time. Later they give the count of the stones dropped. The game quitens the mind and improves the concentration.
- We did some yoga stretches
- We played the 4 corners game using names that we learnt in class (Dasaratha, Kausalya, Sumitra & Kaikeyi) & another round of (Rama, Bharata, Laksmana & Satrughna)
We continued our Bala Ramayana story with the Yaga preparation, discussed about the fire ritual & how a yajna purusa emerged with a bowl of payasam. We then talked about why Sumitra had twins. Please ask the kids & see if they remember the story.
The story continued with the 4 babies being born & growing up. Rama was identified as everyone’s favorite. Rama & Laksmana became close just as Bharata & Satrughna did with each other.
We then moved on to Visvamitra’s request. We asked the kids how their parents would feel if they were asked to leave to help fight a cause! They came up with different scenarios, leading to how King Dasaratha felt when Rama was summoned. Following Guru Vasistha’s advice, the king allows Rama along with Laksmana to go with Visvamitra to protect them from demons.
The three of them crossed river Saryu & took a raft across the Ganges and came into the Dandaka forest. We described the nature of the scary place where Tataka resided in. On hearing Rama twang his bow, Tataka started throwing boulders on the puny man. Rama was able to take out all of her limbs with his bow & arrow, finally killing her. Sage Visvamitra embraced him & the devas rejoiced.
We discussed why Tataka & Marica were cursed by sage Agastya to lead ugly lives as demons. So we talked about not doing anything bad or wrong when we are angry. The consequences are deadly!
We will continue our story next week. Please practice the prayers that we teach the kids, at home. The Bala Ramayana Coloring Book should be available next week. Please have the kids bring that & the My Prayers book to class. Please ask the kids what they learnt in class.
