Hari Om Parents
Today was the first class of Balavihar!!
Here is the summary of what we covered in the class today:
Opening Prayers: After we went to our classroom 'Giridhari' we all sat in a circle crisscrossing our legs, hands together in Namaskar pose, kept our eyes closed, and then we all chanted three OMs and then chanted the Opening Prayers - Sahana Vavatu.
Introduction & Ice breaker round: We introduced ourselves and then asked kids to introduce themselves and then tell us Who their Favorite God is? What is their Favorite Color? And we got some wonderful answers and everyone responded well. After this, the Class Curriculum and class format(weekly) were discussed.
Discussion time: Explained why we say Hari Om when we see each other and explained how we do it - by keeping hands together in Namaskar pose and greeting each other 'Hari Om'.
And emphasized that kids need to start greeting each other and their parents & family in the same way.
Brainstorming time: We discussed God Ganesha, his elephant head, his long trunk, his tusk, large ears, his big belly, his love for food, his vehicle 'moshak' and why we pray to him first, and how we all celebrated - Ganesh Chathurthi.
Kids told us all the delicacies made at home for Ganesha pooja. We discussed Ganesh's parents and brother. We discussed Ganesh's form and explained the significance of each part of his form and explained Ganesha's vehicle -Moshak.
Yoga time: Jumping Jacks, Stretching exercise, Tree pose. Kids participated happily.
Sloka time: We chanted Ganesh sloka 'Vakra tunda Maha Kaya' - some of the kids chanted with us, we repeated it again and all kids participated. And then we explained each word of the sloka and its meaning.
And then we did Brain Yoga - Thoppukaranam which is also one way to pray to Lord Ganesha. And explained how this stimulates our brain also.
Story Time: Ganesh and the divine Mango story -Kids listened with attention and answered questions on what is the vehicle of Subramanya?, why Ganesha was right when he went three rounds around his parents, and who won the race and obtained the Divine Mango.
Activity: Ganesha picture was provided to kids for Coloring. (n the welcome email, we had requested parents to send in crayons with kids)
Exit Ticket: Kids were asked to finish their Coloring sheet and also if kids are interested- to make Ganesha with playdough and bring it to the next class.
Meet with Parents: All the kids got busy coloring, while we met parents who joined us in the classroom at 10:30 am and explained the class curriculum and weekly class format and answered questions from parents.
And then we said our Closing Prayers and we all went to the Main hall for Aarthi and Pledge.
It was a very interactive and exciting first class with kids, many of the kids participated very well and shared with us what they know about Lord Ganesha.
And we are so proud that kids sat all by themselves without parents around and participated very well in class. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with your wonderful kids and are looking forward to all the classes.
Whatsapp group: (Most parents joined if any parents have not joined please do so now)
We have created a Whatsapp group for our communication with parents. https://chat.whatsapp.com/HyEHtwC59rSIEZnaAV17Fk is the self-subscription link for parents to join. This helps act as a forum for providing information and updates regarding the class, any Q & A can be addressed as well. Feel free to connect with us at any time individually too.
Note: From the next class, you can bring kids directly to room Giridhari(near the water fountain) by 9:15 a.m. and then pick them up from the Prayer Hall after Aarti & Pledge.
Also, if it's your first time in BalaVihar, please collect your kid's copy of My Prayers book and BalaVihar bag from the front office when you come to the Ashram if you have not done it already today.
Have a wonderful week ahead!
Pranams
Mahalakshmi & Chandarani.
