Hari Om.
Dear Parents,
This week's class we had our opening prayers and recapped what was discussed in the previous class. We celebrated Ananya's birthday by singing a happy birthday song. We collected the dasāvatāras word search homework and most of the kids mentioned that they enjoyed working on the puzzle at home and wanted similar puzzles.
We continued the story of King parīkṣit who was cursed and how he wanted to spend his last 7 days of his life. In this context, we discussed, as a class, as to what King parīkṣit would be thinking of doing in the last 7 days of his life. The kids responded with a wide range of answers including unlimited Chuck E. Cheese's pizzas and non-stop partying. The discussion was guided towards understanding the concept of happiness and more importantly the distinction between temporary and permanent happiness. We learned that sage śukadeva advised King parīkṣit to learn the stories of the Lord's divine play.
We then learned about varāha avatāra and how Lord nārāyaṇa incarnated to save mother earth (bhū) which was on the ocean floor after pralaya. Kids learned that brahmā created manu and satarūpa - first man and the first woman and asked them to start a family. Realizing that there is no place for manu and satarupa to start a family, brahmā starts to think deeply to find a solution. Lord nārāyaṇa, in the form of a thumb size boar, suddenly sprang out of brahmā's right nostril grew in size, dives deep into the ocean to lift the earth from the ocean floor. On the way back he fights an asura king - hiraṇyākṣa and successfully brings mother earth to the surface by balancing it on his tusks to the delight of all the devatas.
This week we started to do our first craft activity. Kids were given a picture sheet to color. They enjoyed coloring while chanting "oṃ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya" and "oṃ namo nārāyaṇāya".
We practiced slokas 1 thru 3 of Guru Stotram and then learned the fourth sloka. Kids are able to chant slokas 1 thru 3 on their own without the teacher's help.
स्थावरं जङ्गमं व्याप्तं यत्किञ्चित्सचराचरम् ।
तत्पदं दर्शितं येन तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः ॥ ४॥
sthāvaraṃ jaṅgamaṃ vyāptaṃ yatkiñcitsacarācaram ।
tatpadaṃ darśitaṃ yena tasmai śrīgurave namaḥ ॥ 4॥
Note: Please find the complete stotram in 'My Prayers' books and also in Bala Vihar Handbook.
Few kids had a chance to present their fortnite dance moves. The class enjoyed the moves.
Practiced chanting of Gita: Chapter 18, Verses 41 to 44.
Gita Chanting: Kids watched Swamiji's Gita Chanting video on youtube - Chapter 18, Verses 45 and 46. At home, please watch the video on youtube and practice. The youtube playlist is at https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVaQ1AsTFVEI9cHOqjnFcAsR9gi42Yu-6
Announcements:
- If you have not yet joined the class WhatsApp group, please use below link to join 'Parents BV SUN1245 3rd Grade'. https://chat.whatsapp.com/JIeaux9xuEcKVT5dNi92Uk. We will use this group chat to communicate class reminders or relevant information.
- CORD Walkathon: Oct 28th, Sunday 10:00 AM at Mercer County Park. East Picnic area. Please register at http://www.chinmayavrindavan.org/cord-walkathon/ . Please spread the word, bring all your friends and family members and walk with us. $25/walker. CORDUSA, Tax-ID:27-0540459, qualifies for most of the corporate Matching Gifts program. Help us maximize the funds by checking with your employer. Raffle prizes for the most number of pledges collected. Note that walkathon is followed by Field Day activities.
Next Class (10/21/2018):
Please note that there is no balavihar on 10/14/2018. Next balavihar class is on the following week 10/21/2018. The class will start normally at 12:45 PM, will be in session for about 30 minutes and kids will be taken to temple auditorium area for Saraswati puja.
Unto him our Best
Vasavi and Venu 