Week 1
Hari Om Parents! Welcome to 1st Grade Balavihar, we had a great start to week 1. It was nice to see all of the new and excited faces ready to begin the year & we were really happy to see all of those familiar faces return!
Class started with a brief introduction of the kids and the teachers.
Shlokas:
- “Om Saha navavatu” (page 8 in My Prayers book)
- "Ekadantam Mahakaayam" (page 27 in My Prayers book)
Story:
With Ganesha Chadurthi right around the corner, we heard a story about why Lord Ganesha has 1 broken tusk. The kids were enthusiastic & they wanted to tell us why Lord Ganesha has an elephant head!
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 colored a Lord Ganesh sheet & made sure all of us knew how to write “OM”.
- We sang the bhajan “Ganesha Saram” (page 31 in My Prayers book)
We will be teaching the kids Bala Ramayanam this year.
Our goal for this year is to narrate the story of Lord Rama & inspire the kids to be like Rama. We were able to complete chapter 1. We started off with describing the city of Ayodhya. Explaining how King Dasaratha kept his people & land happy. Leading to the meaning of Ayodhya, “where there is NO fight”. We discussed who we go to when we have a problem. Then described how King Dasaratha went to his Guru, sage Vasistha to solve his problem. We stopped there, but a few kids were ready with the continuation:)
Required books for Grade 1
- My Prayers Book
- Bala Ramayana Coloring Book
We take pictures during class & share them with our class parents, so that you get a feel of what your little ones are up to. If anyone has an issue with that please let us know. If we are asked to share pictures publicly, we will come back to you for separate permissions.
Please go to the below link to check out the pictures from this week’s class
See you all in the next class. Class starts promptly at 9:15A.M and ends by 10:40 A.M. Kids will then assemble at the prayer hall for Arthi and pledge.This would end by 11:00AM.
We require at least 1 parent inside the ashram during the full duration of the class. You are free to choose an Adult Study Group or sign up to Volunteer or Meditate/Read in the Temple.
Regards,
Keerthi Kobla and Rukmini Sriram
