We began another delightful Sunday morning of Shishu Vihar, with our cute kids' faces popping up on our screens. 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)
7. "Krishnayan Vasudevaya" (page 105 in My Prayers book)
8. "Karacharana Krtam" (page 13 in My Prayers book) - new
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 then went into the Flower Pose. We added the snake pose by popular demand!
Bhajan time - we introduced the class to a new Lord Shiva bhajan
Dhimiki Dhimiki Dhim Dhimiki Dhimiki Dhim
Nachey Bhola Nath
Dhimiki Dhimiki Dhim Dhimiki Dhimiki Dhim
Nachey Bhola Nath
Nachey Bhola Nath
Mridanga Boley Shiva Shiva Shiva Om
Mridanga Boley Shiva Shiva Shiva Om
Damaru Boley Hara Hara Hara Om
Damaru Boley Hara Hara Hara Om
Veena Boley Namah Shivah Namah Shivah
Veena Boley Namah Shivah Namah Shivah
Nachey Bhola Nath
Nachey Bhola Nath
Dhimiki Dhimiki Dhim Dhimiki Dhimiki Dhim
Nachey Bhola Nath
Dhimiki Dhimiki Dhim Dhimiki Dhimiki Dhim
Nachey Bhola Nath
Nachey Bhola Nath
Story Time.
Craft Time, the list of items required for our craft projects are sent prior to class. After the story, the kids are usually asked if they can guess what we are going to make. It is quite impressive when they figure it out! Like Rivaan did during this class!! The close up of what the Lord Shiva puppet was holding prior to starting our story was the big clue! "Trishul" was what Rivaan said! And yes, the kids were asked to cut out a Trishul from a cardboard cereal box and then decorate it. They all enjoyed making their craft. Thank you again to the adults for your enthusiastic participation. Below are a few of our kids modelling their trishul craft. 
7. After the craft project, a link to a puzzle was sent on the chat. Most of the kids were able to complete it and they were thrilled to have Lord Shiva and Nandhi show up on their screen:)
8. A link for an "Om" coloring sheet was shared in our chat. The kids were given the option of printing it out and coloring it.
9. After the puzzle, a zoom link was shared with our class. We went over to watch the 4th grade show. They put on an amazing performance!
Story of Lord Shiva and Bhasmasura
Before we got into our story, a puppet of Lord Shiva was shown on the screen. The kids immediately said Lord Shiva. Then the kids were asked if they knew the different identifying features and objects related to Him. We started at the top with the crescent moon, the river Ganga, Lord Shiva's three eyes, then went on to the snake around His neck and to the rudhraksha beads. His minimalistic attire made of deer or tiger skin, his weapon of choice the Trishul and lastly his Damaroo. A close up of His Trishul was shown again (hint hint:) Most kids were able to give the answers to these questions! Pretty impressive.
Character Intro:
Bhasmasura - A puppet of Bhasmasura was shown on the screen. The kids were asked if they know who an asura is. Abhi immediately said, "he's a bad guy"! Then a close up of his face was shown on the screen and the kids were asked how he looked, some said, "scary", others said, "mean". Asuras/Demons/Rakshasas were described as cruel and dangerous, and had the tendency to constantly create havoc. The devas' responsibility was to make sure that they were put in their place! Then we discussed that Lord Shiva does NOT discriminate between good and bad when it comes to His devotees.
A puppet of a snow capped mountain range was shown on the screen. The kids were asked if they knew which mountain range Lord Shiva resides in. It took a while and some prompting, then a few said, "The Himalayas". Bhasmasura, the rakshasa, had an ulterior motive when he decided to spend years meditating in the Himalayas, to please Lord Shiva. A puppet of Bhasmasura meditating was shown on the screen. The class was asked to do the same, we all chanted, "Om Namah Shivaaya" together. We chanted nine times and the kids were told that Bhasmasura did this chanting for years!! We got a few stunned faces:)
Appeased by Bhasmasura's devotion, Lord Shiva appears before him and asked him to make a wish. A puppet of Lord Shiva appearing in front of Bhasmasura was shown on the screen. The clever Bhasmasura then asked, "Lord, grant me the boon that whatever I touch with my right hand will immediately burn up and turn into ashes." The kids were asked to show us their "right" hand. A few needed to make a quick switch (the other "right" - like Toy Story :) Lord Shiva immediately granted the boon not realizing the evil intentions behind the request of the asura.
Bhasmasura immediately wanted to test the boon on the Lord Himself, to turn Lord Shiva into ashes and gain the supreme power. Bhasmasura began to chase Lord Shiva in hot pursuit, they ran everywhere!!! Lord Vishnu witnessed this and decided to save Lord Shiva from the rakshasa. A puppet of Lord Shiva being chased by Bhasmasura was shown on the screen. Lord Vishnu had to decipher a smart plan to outwit Bhasmasura, as his right hand had turned into an extremely powerful weapon now!
Lord Vishnu decides to turn Himself into an avathar of a beautiful woman named Mohini and appears before Bhasmasura. A puppet of Mohini was shown on the screen. She was very attractive and looked like a princess. The class was asked who their favorite princess was. There were multiple votes for Princess Elsa! Then a few more for Cinderella. The boys felt a bit shy to chime in any response :) Mohini's mesmerizing beauty, served as a distraction and made Bhasmasura take his eyes off of Lord Shiva. Mohini makes it a point to inform him that she was an extremely skilled dancer and that Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu themselves were unable to keep up with her moves! That caught his attention and he was immediately ready for the challenge. To sweeten the pot even more, Mohini says that she would marry the one that could beat her in a dance-off contest. Bhasmasura overconfidently accepted the challenge.
We took a quick diversion, the class was asked if they had ever played the game, "Simon Says". Surprisingly, most of them said yes! So, we decided to play a few rounds of "Teacher Says". The kids were able to follow the directions till at the end, when it was said to put you finger on your nose, all except for Aarya, put their finger on their nose (that instruction was given without saying, "Teacher Says")! This was done just to show the kids that they need to pay close attention to the directions, just like they might have to, in a dance-off contest.
Back to the story, Bhasmasura agreed to the contest and followed every step Mohini did with élan (energy, style and enthusiasm :)!!!. A puppet of the synchronized dancing of Mohini and Bhasmasura was shown on the screen. As his confidence kept increasing, Mohini decided to perform a step by putting her right hand on her head. The kids were asked to show their right hand & this time all of them put up their "right" right hand :) The over-confident rakshasa forgot about his boon and put his right hand on his head. Immediately, he turned into ash. A puppet of Bhasmasura burning up into flames was shown on the screen. The kids were quiet and Rishab's expression was priceless :) when asked what happened, they slowly realized the trick that Lord Vishnu played on the asura!!!
"Be Careful What You Wish For, 'Cause You Just Might Get It ALL"!! - Home by Daughtry :)
We concluded class with Om Purnamadham.
