- Date: Friday Oct 20th 2018
Hariom Parents,
Welcome back to balavihar after the Navratri break. Hope all of you have had a good navratri season this year.
- We started the class with opening prayers.
- We started continuing with Mahabharata. After Keechaka Vadham went to more of the episodes, covered the war by Arjuna, Yudhistra getting hurt by Virata King, and ended when all Pandavas revealed themselves at the court and Abimanyu's marriage with Uttara.
- Started discussing about celebration of Navaratri at different parts of India and also at the each of the kid's home.
- Finished the class by doing a very short garbha in the class. All of us went around in circles, in the beginning with number beats and then with a song over the phone.It was fun and active in the class.
- Then all of us assembled at the auditorium and all children took part in doing Sarswathi pooja. It was beautiful and children enjoyed very much. All of them took have their own Saraswathi picture with them.
Next week we have class on October 28th at mercer County Park for CORD walkathon – 9:00am
Please also try to attend the Oct 28th evening cultural program in the ashram – the Andal Story kathanrithyam performed by Ramya Ranarayan and Dushyanth Shridar if possible (4:00pm Oct 28th ). This would be a good way for the youths to learn about the Andal story which is part of our curriculum. The session is free for the balavihar childern accompanied by parents.
Thanks & Regards
Shankar & Harinee.
- Date: Friday Nov 2nd 2018
Hariom Parents,
Wish you all a very happy Diwali. Hope you all enjoyed the Diwali celebrations at home with family and friends. Sorry for the delayed update of this past weeks class.
Please find below attached a picture of our Balvihar Class. This was takedn on Oct 20th when the children were dressed in colorful Indian traditional cloths for the Saraswathi puja. We thought it was a good moment to capture the excited and smiling faces right before the puja. Hope you like it.
As always we started our Friday session class with starting prayers and then jumped right into the Mahabharata Discussion after taking attendance.
We had completed Virata Parva in the last class and thus started this class with the discussion on Udyoga Parva. This section starts with Pandavas trying to claim back their kingdom (after completing their exile) in a peaceful manner. There are multiple attempts to claim back the kingdom, however all of the attempts fail. None of the elders of the family or the Pandavas are able to convince Duryodhana who is adamant on War. Thus both the Pandavas and kauravas start preparing for the war. We will continue the discussion in the next class further on deliberations and attempts to settle this peacefully. We will use some pictures in next class to make the learning more interesting and exciting.
This week our Grade students had the opportunity to lead the Aarti , Prayer and Pledge. I am sure you saw your Children out in the front leading the whole Assembly. Thus the last part of the class was spent in practicing for the same. I am sure you agree that the team did an awesome job to lead the whole assembly.
We noted that some of the newer students who are new to Balavihar this year are caught up with the First part of the Mahabharata and also come prepared for the session. I am sure this would not be possible without the support you provide at home going over the book or the Topic of discussion and the enthusiasm of the children to learn. Thank you for all those who helped in inspiring the children and helping them learn more. It is always fun to narrate the story to the class that has a bit of a background already and is excited to hear more.
Look forward to continuing the discussion on Mahabharata with the children in the upcoming class this coming Friday.
Thanks & Regards
Shankar & Harinee
- Date: Friday Nov 9th 2018
Hariom Parents,
Another week where we made some good progress moving along the defined curriculum.
This week after our starting prayers and attendance we continued our discussion on Mahabharata
- We first reviewed the portion of Udyoga parva discussed in last class. We then continued the discussion on the same topic. We were able to conclude this topic and will start the discussion on the Bhisma Parva in Next class.
- We had our first chanting session of the Mahalakshmi Ashtakam Stotra. Many children seemed to be well versed with it. We will continue this for the next couple of classes as well to help the children memorize this Stotra. Please attempt to practice this at home if possible. We would like everyone to memorize this famous Mantra.
- We then discussed one of the famous Udipi Krishna Temple and particularly delved on the Stala purana of this Udipi Temple. Sthala Puranas not only enables us to have an insight into history but also enrich our knowledge of local culture and local customs. If you know of any Sthala Puranas of any of the temple it would be good for you to discuss with the children as well.
- We concluded the day with Doing Geeta Chanting.
Overall a full session where we could make some good ground on the curriculum.
Thanks
Shankar & Harinee.
- Date: Friday Nov 16th 2018
Hariom Parents,
Another great week with full class attendance. It was good to see the whole class come together at once. Felt like Thanksgiving balavihar session. Hope to see this trend continue through the rest of the balavihar year
This week after our starting prayers and attendance we continued our discussion on Mahabharata
- We first reviewed the portion of Udyoga Parva discussed in last class. We then spent some time narrating and discussing Bhisma parva. We concluded the session with the events of the first day of the war. We will continue this session in the next class. We keep the session interactive by asking questions and driving some discussion which seems to work well. We are planning a Jeopardy session in the next couple of weeks as a refresher for the Mahabharata position covered this year so far.
- We did a repeat chanting of the Mahalakshmi Ashtakam Stotra. We will continue this one more time in the next class as well before switching to the next Stotra the children are supposed to learn. Please attempt to practice this at home if possible. Audio Link is provided above for them to follow along if needed. If memorized the children can get some house points by reciting this in front of the Judges. In general, it is good to memorize this Stotra as well among a few others that are being done in the Balavihar Classes.
- We continued our discussion on Temples of India and this time covered Jagganath Puri Temple and also delved into the Stala purana of this Temple as well. Next class we would get some visuals to help them have a visual impression of the temples we discussed this Far.
- We concluded the day with Geeta Chanting - following Swamiji on Tv. We strongly encourage doing some coaching at home for the Geeta Chanting so they are well prepared for the upcoming Geeta Chanting competition (in Apr'19) . A little support from you goes a long way.
Overall a full session and happy with the progress this far. Happy Thanks giving to all. Our next Balavihar session is on Dec 7th. Please join us for the Surabhi Event scheduled for Dec 1st. if you need info or tickets please reach us out.
Thanks
Shankar & Harinee.
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