Jan 10, 2021 - Shishu Vihar (Sunday AM)

Hari Om Parents,

Happy 2021, welcome back to Shishuvihar. We hope that you had a relaxing winter break. Below is a recap of what we did during Sunday's class.

 

We began another delightful Sunday morning of Shishu Vihar, with our cute kids' faces popping up on our screens, with stories to share about their break! Once we had most of our friends join our session, we began our class with 3 OMs.

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)

5. "Samudhra Vasane" (page 11 in My Prayers book)

6. "Shubam Karoti" (page 12 in My Prayers book) - new

     

Activities:

1. 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.

2. 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 then went into the Flower Pose, the kids are slowly getting a hang of this relatively new pose.

3. Bhajan time - we introduced the class to a new Lord Muruga bhajan

   Subrahmanyam Subrahmanyam Shanmukhanatha Subrahmanyam
   Shiva Shiva Shiva Shiva Subrahmanyam
   Hara Hara Hara Hara Subrahmanyam
   Shiva Shiva Hara Hara Subrahmanyam
   Hara Hara Shiva Shiva Subrahmanyam
   Shiva Sharavana Subrahmanyam
   Guru Sharavana Bhava Subrahmanyam
   Shiva Shiva Hara Hara Subrahmanyam
   Hara Hara Shiva Shiva Subrahmanyam

4. 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! Impressive how most of the kids are able to keep their eyes closed and concentrate. (We did have some technical difficulties with the audio, but were able to restart and got through our meditation part if our class).

5. After some meditation and calming down, we repeated 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.
   

6. Geetha Chanting, we practiced shlokas 1 and 2 from chapter 2 of the Geetha. We repeated them once. We introduced shloka 3 and repeated the 3rd shloka twice. It was such a wonderful feeling to see few of the kids chanting the 1st shloka:)yay!!

7. Story Time.

8. Craft Time, we made our own kites, for Makar Sankranti that's coming up this week and also had a coloring sheet with scenes for the 4 days of Pongal. One of our friends decided to use the coloring sheet to make the kite which was really smart:) The rest of our class had super creative and colorful kites. The kids were asked to cut out a square colored paper and were given the choice of decorating their kites with pieces of , rhine stones, stickers, pom poms, crayons and/or markers. One of our friends even tried to fly the kite that she had created!! We sure do love our craft time! The kids were happy to share their completed art work. Below are few of our class kites.
   
   

Today's story began with a discussion about the upcoming festival. The kids were asked if they knew what festival was around the corner. A few said Sankranti, then the kids were asked if they had flown a kite before. Several of them said that they have! A puppet of a family wearing traditional attire and flying kits was shown on the screen. Then the kids were asked if they celebrate Pongal/ Uttarayan/ Makar Sankranti/ Lohari/ Bihu. We had a few say yes for each one of them! Then they were asked if they would be celebrating Thanksgiving this up coming week, there was a resounding "NO" (and the expressions on their faces were priceless)! Well, after a moment, the kids were told that all the above festivals were a form of Thanksgiving and a harvest festival, just celebrated in different ways and called by different names in India, but the main idea behind the celebration was basically the same. We then went on to discuss the festival of Pongal.

Pongal is a harvest festival thanking nature and deities for the bountiful produce, celebrated in southern part of India. This festival is celebrated for 4 days in month of January. Rice, pulses, turmeric, and sugarcane are harvested during this time. 

Day 1 (Jan 13) - Bhogi Pongal, this day is celebrated to thank the rain God Indira. People thank Him for the proper rain which resulted in abundant crops. Another ritual performed is burning of unnecessary household items in a bonfire, a puppet of a bonfire was shown on the screen and we discussed "out with the old and in with the new". Everyone cleaned their homes in preparation of the main day of Pongal. A puppet of people getting ready for Pongal was shown on the screen.

Day 2 (Jan 14) - Thai Pongal, this day is celebrated to thank the sun God. In Tamil the word "Pongal means, "Overflowing" signifying abundance and prosperity. Traditional prasad of rice cooked in milk is prepared. Sweet and Salt versions of Pongal are made. Traditionally Pongal is cooked in earthen cookware. Kolam/Rangoli are drawn in front of household. A puppet of a pot of overflowing pongal was shown on the screen.

Day 3 (Jan 15) - Mattu Pongal is celebrated on the 3rd Day of Pongal and is dedicated to cows. Cows help a lot in farming and are treated as a holy animal. This day cows, ox and bull are cleaned and decorated and offered Pongal. This day celebrates the hard work that the animals do to helps in yielding the crop. A puppet of a decorated cow, a priest and a family showing their respects and bowing to the cow was shown on the screen.

Day 4 (Jan 16) - Kannu Pongal is last day of the festival. The word Kannu means "to view". This day people visit their relatives and friends. This is the day to thank relatives and friends for their support in the harvest. This day women place colored rice in the courtyard and pray to nature for well-being of their families. In some places, a similar tradition to Rakshabandhan, is done where the women pray for the well being of their brothers.

We then decided to share two short stories behind day 1 of Pongal and day 3 of Pongal.

The legend of Mount Govardhan

A puppet of Lord Indra was shown on the screen. A few kids remembered Him from our Kurma avatar story and immediately identified Him. The God of rain, who had recently been crowned King of the Devas, had become proud and arrogant. When the village people honored him with their offerings, He became even more proud. Young Lord Krishna wanted to teach Lord Indra a lesson. A puppet of a mountain was shown on the screen. So, Lord Krishna convinced his cowherd friends and the people of the village to worship the Govardhan mountain instead of Lord Indra. A puppet of Lord Krishna with his cowherd friends in the village was shown on the screen. He convinced them by saying that the mountain provided food for cattle and so the mountain should be worshipped. The villagers agreed and from then on, they all worshipped the Govardhan mountain.

This infuriated Lord Indra! He decided to punish the people with never ending heavy rains, thunder and lightning that created havoc in the village. Everyone had no clue what to do, but continued to worship the mountain. Then Lord Krishna lifted the enormous Govardhan Mountain with His left pinky finger. The kids were asked to hold up their left pinkies. They were asked what they can lift with that tiny finger, most of them said nothing. But young Lord Krishna lifted and held that mountain like an umbrella for 7 days without eating to protect the village. Lord Indra realized his mistake and the divine power of Lord Krishna, which made him beg the Lord for forgiveness. A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen. Lord Krishna forgave Lord Indra and a celebration was organized. That is why the Rain God is worshiped on Bhogi.

The Legend of Nandi
A puppet of Lord Shiva was shown on the screen. The kids immediately knew who He was. The kids were asked if they knew who Lord Shiva's vahana was. A puppet of Nandi was shown on the screen and introduced as Lord Shiva's beloved bull vahana. One day, Lord Shiva asked Nandi to deliver a message to the people on Earth. His specific instructions was to tell them to have an oil massage and bath everyday and to eat food only once a month. Nandi was half asleep, the kids were asked to show us a sleepy face. Nandi wasn't concentrating on the message, and instead announced to the people to have an oil massage and bath once a month and consume food every day! He completely flipped the message around!! A puppet of a furious Lord Shiva was shown on the screen. The kids were asked how Lord Shiva was feeling, some said mad, some said angry and the kids showed us their mad faces. Due to the miscommunication, Lord Shiva explained to Nandi that there won't be enough food on Earth, so due to his mistake, Nandi was banished to live on Earth to help the people plough the fields. A puppet of oxen helping a farmer plough the fields was shown on the screen. Mattu Pongal celebrations originated from this legend.

We will not have class next Sunday in observance of Pongal/Makar Sankranti/Uttarayan/Lohari/Bihu (our Indian Thanksgiving Harvest Festival). We will see you all back for Shishuvihar on January 24th.

We concluded class with Om Purnamadha (page 15 in My Prayers book)

Pranaam,

Keerthi and Pramila