Shlokas:
1. "Om Saha Navavatu" (page 8 in My Prayers book)
2. "Vakrathunda Mahakaya" (page 27 in My Prayers book)
3. "Saraswathi Namasthubhyam" (page 12 in My Prayers book)
4. "Karagre Vasate" (page 11 in My Prayers book)
Activities:
Please have the kids make it a habit to chant the above shlokas every morning, after their bath/shower. This will help them learn, memorize as well as develop a lifelong habit of morning prayer and daily prayer.
We rolled right in to some Yoga stretches. We began with the Tree pose with some swaying, then went into a Tiger pose and had everyone roar like a Tiger or a Lion (we had to prompt them to be louder!). Then we sat on the floor and turned into little butterflies, fluttering in the breeze. We introduced a new pose - Flower Pose, we had the kids sow a seed and pretend to grow that plant into a flower. Then added the Snake Pose as well with an overwhelming request from Daiyan!
Bhajan time - we sang the bhajan twice Gauri Ganesh, Uma Ganesh Parvathi Nandhana Sri Ganesh Sharanam Ganesh Sharanam Ganesh Shiva Nandhana Ganapathi Ganesh
We then we went right into, "Great God Ganapathy" (page 36 in My Prayers Book). As we were sitting in one place for a while, this action bhajan got the kids moving a bit. We sang this bhajan twice.
We played the Concentration Game. After the chanting of 3 Om's kids tried to keep their eyes closed. They counted the number of stones being dropped into a box during the quiet time. Later they give the count of the stones dropped. The game quiets the mind and improves concentration. We muted everyone so that the kids wouldn't have any potential distractions from each other. Several students got the count correct! The rest of them were very close.
After some meditation and calming down, we introduced the class to numbers 1-10 in Sanskrit. We showed images of the numbers in Sanskrit and in English on the screen as well as a a visual of circles with the corresponding number. We had the kids put up their fingers as we counted together.
Story Time
Craft Time: With Deepavali around the corner, we decided to make a diya for craft. We had the kids shape play-doh into diyas. The kids were really creative with their shapes, colors and designs. Then we had the kids put a tea light candle in it and have it dry out so it will be ready for Deepavali. The kids were eager to show us their diyas. Please take a picture of the kids with their finished diyas and share them with our class. Thank you.
Story Time:
The kids were eagerly waiting for story time. We decided to give the class a brief background of why we celebrate Deepavali. Different people celebrate the holiday for different reasons. To start off, a puppet of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana was shown on the screen. The class was asked who they see. A few answered Rama. Then they were asked what they see lining the streets (Deepam-Valli). They said lamps. So we discussed that it was a dark new moon night when the trio returned to Ayodhya. Then a puppet of Sathyabama taking down Naragasura on the screen, with Krishna unconscious in the background. Then we touched on how Jains and Buddhists also celebrate Deepavali. No matter the reason behind why we celebrate the festival, the celebration is a representation of the same symbolic victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance and good over evil.
Puppets of :
1. A family with shopping bags, gifts and them wearing new Indian attire
2. Two kids with diyas, another one with
3. Two kids decorating the floor with colorful rangoli
4. A spread of Indian sweets
5. Three kids enjoying the night bursting fire crackers
Each puppet was discussed and kids interacted saying that they do this, that, all or the other :)
Lakshmi Story
Character intros:
Puri Temple in India - A puppet of the Jagannath temple was shown on the screen. A brief explanation of the temple was given.
Puri Jaganath - A puppet of Lord Jagannath was shown on the screen. I zoomed in on the peacock feather and the kids said Krishna! We discussed that this particular temple has the main deities of Lord Krishna and his siblings (Jaganath, Subadhra and Balabadhra) made of neem wood.
Goddess Lakshmi - A puppet of Goddess Lakshmi was shown on the screen, many kids knew who she was. We discussed what she gives us.
Owl - The kids were asked if they remember who is Lord Ganesha's vahana is...they said, "a mouse". Then they were asked who is Lord Muruga's vahana is...they said, "a peacock":) Then I asked them if they knew who Goddess Lakshmi's car is, they weren't sure. Then a puppet of an owl was shown on the screen and was introduced as her vahana.
After character intros, we began the story of how Goddess Lakshmi decided to go outside the Puri temple and visit houses, riding on her owl, to see how they were decorated to welcome Her in for Lakshmi pooja. She was happy to see all the bright and beautiful decorations, yummy treats, families wearing new clothes and all the celebration. Then She came to a very tiny and poor house. The family inside were not wearing any fancy clothes. They did not have a lot of food and the kids had no toys. They really didn't have much. There in that house, lived a very poor woman named Shreeya. She was a sincere devotee and she had done her best and cleaned her house and decorated the floor with rangolis. She had decorated Lakshmi's image with lotus flowers and was praying to with full devotion. Goddess Lakshmi was pleased with Shreeya's prayers, so she asked her what she wanted. Shreeya asked for a son and prosperity to have enough to eat and live comfortably. She granted that wish and returned to the temple.
Lord Jaganath was waiting for Her as Lakshmi returned to the temple. Puppets were shown to animate the scene. He asked her how and why she would go to a poor house and denied Her entry. An enraged Lakshmi responded by saying that she does not discriminate and goes where she feels love and devotion. Offended by the Lord's comment, She stormed off...
Goddess Lakshmi went out in search of a place to stay and found a tiny hut. It was very simple on the outside, but wen she went in, everything was made of gold and was as beautiful as She was! She was so excited and decided to live there. Now that Lakshmi was not residing in the temple anymore, something happened!
A puppet of a bag of rice was shown on the screen. That bag started moving towards the temple door and started to follow Lakshmi. Then another, another and then all the bags of rice followed Lakshmi out of the temple. Lord Jaganath watched as the rice left the temple. Puppets were used to animate the scene. Then a puppet of a bucket of water was shown on the screen. Then buckets of water started to follow the rice and Lakshmi. Then all the water from the temple left. Lord Jaganath had no food to eat. He thought Lakshmi would return to the temple, but she did not! Lord Jaganath was getting thirsty and there was no water as well. He realized that Lakshmi really loved anyone that was devoted to her. It never mattered if they were rich or poor, all that mattered was that they loved her. Lord Jaganath felt sorry and went on an expedition to find her. He looked everywhere but couldn't locate her. Finally He came to the tiny poor looking hut. He found Her! She invited Him inside, She made Him dinner, and then the duo went back to the temple.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness! Goddess Lakshmi loves those who are devoted to Her. She doesn't discriminate between rich and poor. She blesses everyone. The class agreed to clean their rooms and help with getting ready for Deepavali and Lakshmi pooja.
We concluded class with Om Purnamadha (page 15 in My Prayers book)
Pranaam,
Keerthi and Pramila
