Hari Om Parents,
Today was the seventeenth class of Balavihar!! Here is the summary of what we covered in the class today:
Opening Prayers: We together chanted three OMs and then chanted the Opening Prayers - Sahana Vavatu.
Opening Prayers: We together chanted three OMs and then chanted the Opening Prayers - Sahana Vavatu.
Recap: We discussed Letter R and what it means to be doing the Right thing while at the Ashram and during Aarthi and Pledge in the Prayer Hall.
Introduction of the Next Letter: Introduced the next letter 'S' the letter of the day as S for Smile - a facial expression of joy and happiness. We discussed that happy and funny things make us smile. And when we smile, people want to talk to us and make us happy.
Brainstorming: We discussed various scenarios which make us happy and smile. And to smile is easy and a simple thing to do to make everyone happy. When we smile, we stay healthy and a Smile is contagious, hence everyone around us also smiles and is happy as well.
Exploration: We asked kids to use the Activity sheet to find the Hidden Smile and color it. And kids were taught 'Wear a Smile and stay in Style'. And we drew Smiley's on their hands, kids were excited and were vying with each other to get a better Smiley.
Activity 1: Laughter Exercise : We teachers just started laughing in class and in turn each kid started laughing and smiling - similar to Laughter Yoga. And we asked kids to try not to smile, while we teachers tried to make them laugh, and soon everyone was all smiles.
Activity 2: Kids shared funny jokes and made everyone laugh. And thereby illustrated to kids - laughing,smiling are all contagious activities and using this we can easily make everyone around us happy.
Yoga time : Stretch exercises, Tree pose, Snake pose, back walk poses and some kids showed a couple other yoga poses..
Introduction of the Next Letter: T is for Truth which means integrity and sincerity in words and actions. And that we need to be truthful by not being scared of the consequences and understanding that it is always better to tell the truth than lies. And Ultimately Truth alone always triumphs.
Brainstorming: We discussed various scenarios to discuss when we say the truth and when we tell lies. We lie when we feel that the truth will get us into trouble, but a lie will save us. We lie because we feel we will benefit by lying. And we lie because we forget: Ultimately, truth alone wins. Also, it takes a lot of effort to tell lies, whereas when we tell the truth, all facts can easily be remembered.
Storytime: Through the story of the Boy who cried Wolf, we learnt that by lying, we can hurt ourselves and others around us. And kids were taught 'Satyam vada, Priyam vada' and kids were given small notes stating the same to ponder at home.
Attendance: was taken by each kid saying 'Hari Om' when their name was called out.
Exit Ticket: Kids were provided Coloring Sheets for Letters O,R, S and T and were asked to complete their coloring.
Bhajan practice: We played the Ganapathi bhajan, and all kids, specifically Bhajanotsav participants practiced singing the bhajan.
And then we went to the Prayer Hall for the Closing Prayers, Aarthi and Pledge.
It was another very interesting session with kids. Kids were all smiles throughout the class and happily shared their thoughts and views on both topics.
The class summary is available in the Parent Portal 2022-23. Please reference it for all of the class summaries.
Have a wonderful week ahead!!
Pranams
Mahalakshmi & Chandarani.
