Apr 25, 2021 - Shishu Vihar (Sunday AM)

Hari Om Parents,

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. 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 12 in My Prayers book)

9. "Sri Rama Rama Ramethi" (page 129 in My Prayers book) - new

10. "Budhir Bala" (page 159 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. We added the snake pose by popular demand! The kids are becoming experts!

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

4. Khate bhi Ram Kaho

   Pite bhi Ram Kaho

   Ram Ram Ram, bolo 

   Raam Ram Ram, Raam Ram Ram,

   RAM RAM RAM

   
   

   Padhate bhi Ram Kaho

   Likhte bhi Ram Kaho

   Ram Ram Ram, bolo 

   Raam Ram Ram, Raam Ram Ram,

   RAM RAM RAM

   
   

    Uthate   bhi Ram Kaho

   Bethte bhi Ram Kaho

   Ram Ram Ram, bolo 

   Raam Ram Ram, Raam Ram Ram,

   RAM RAM RAM

   
   

   Hasate bhi Ram Kaho

   Rote bhi Ram Kaho

   Ram Ram Ram, bolo 

   Raam Ram Ram, Raam Ram Ram,

   RAM RAM RAM

   We introduced a new Hanuman ji Bhajan

   Anjaneya Veera Hanumantha Shoora

   Anjaneya Veera Hanumantha Shoora

   
   

   Vaayu Kumara Vanara Veera

   Vaayu Kumara Vanara Veera

   
   

   Anjaneya Veera Hanumantha Shoora

   Anjaneya Veera Hanumantha Shoora

   
   

   Vaayu Kumara Vanara Veera

   Vaayu Kumara Vanara Veera

   
   

   Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jai Jai Ram

   Seeta Ram Jai Hanuman (4X)

   
   

   Anjaneya Veera Hanumantha Shoora(softly and slowly)

   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 had everyone on mute so that the kids wouldn't have any potential distractions from each other. A few of our students got the count correct! Most of them were really close. Impressive how most of the kids are able to keep their eyes closed and concentrate. 5. After some meditation and calming down, we repeated numbers 1-10 in Sanskrit. We had the kids put up their fingers as we counted together. 6.Geetha Chanting, we practiced shlokas 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 from chapter 2 of the Geetha. We chanted them together. We introduced the 6th shloka. It was such a wonderful feeling to see and hear several kids chanting shlokas 1, 2, 3 and 4:)yay!! 7. Story Time. 8. 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 several kids did during this class!! The song and the emphasis during the beginning of the story apparently gave it away for this week's craft:) The kids were asked to cut strips to make the sun's rays and asked them to sick them to a paper plate that was colored/painted. Then they were asked to make a smiling face. Thank you again to the adults for your enthusiastic participation. Below are a few of our class smiling/golden suns:).
   
   

9. After the craft project, a few of our older kids finished early. We shared a link for a connect the dots. A few of the kids enthusiastically connected the dots to be pleased to see Lord Hanuman's face appear on their screens once they completed it:)

Story of Lord Hanuman's childhood:

We began our story by slowly popping a puppet of Hanuman on the screen. The kids were asked if they know who has joined us for class. A few of our kids said Hanuman ji. Then they were asked what animal he is. They all said, "MONKEY". The kids were asked to act out how a monkey behaves. There were comical expressions and actions on the screen:) Then the class was asked what Hanuman is holding. One said mace and a few others said gada! 

We then went into Hanuman's childhood. The kids were asked if they like to play with their friends. They all said yes and went on to tell us what they like to play. Then the kids were asked if they tend to forget about eating when they get engrossed in play, most said yes, one said no:))! In a similar fashion, baby Hanuman (a puppet of baby Hanuman in diapers was shown on the screen and the kids found that really funny, as Hanuman baby was introduced as not having been potty trained yet:) was playing with his friends and got really hungry after his friends left. 

Hanuman saw an orange tree and tried to reach for an orange. The kids were asked to stretch like Hanuman. He was able to pick and gobble up one orange. The kids were asked to pretend to eat an orange. Baby Hanuman was still hungry (like the hungry little caterpillar) and wanted more. He couldn't reach another one and started jumping. The kids were asked to jump like Hanuman. He was able to strive, jump and reach a high branch. A puppet of baby Hanuman on a high branch was shown on the screen. He ate up a few more oranges but his tummy was still grumbling and he wanted more. From the high branch, Hanuman could see a very large orange up in the distance. A puppet of baby Hanuman in diapers, glancing up to the large orange was shown on the screen...immediately, a few of our kids said, "that's not an orange, that's the sun"!!! 

The kids were asked if they knew the song, "Mr. Golden Sun", most of the kids said, "yes". So we all sang it together.

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,
please shine down on me.
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,
hiding behind the tree.
These little children are asking you
to please come out so we can play with you.
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun.
Please shine down on me.

Shine down on me. Shine shine shine.
Shine down on me. Shine shine shine.
Shine down on me. Shine shine shine.
Shine down on me.
Mr. Sun, Mr. Sun, Mr. Golden Sun.

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,
please shine down on me.
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun,
hiding behind the tree.
These little children are asking you
to please come out so we can play with you.
Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun.
Please shine down on,
please shine down on,
please shine down on me.

Even as a baby in diapers, Hanuman was smart, strong and determined to get what he wanted. With that said, he jumped up off that high branch and his trajectory was headed for the "Golden Sun"! A puppet of baby Hanuman leaping towards the sun was shown on the screen. When Lord Indra suddenly noticed a baby headed for the sun, he initially thought, "Oh No, this baby is gonna get burnt!", and Lord Indra needed to protect the baby. Then on closer observation, He realized that Maruti's mouth was wide open and that he was actually going to eat the sun!!

Lord Indra then thought, "If this little boy eats up the Sun, the whole world will become dark and we wouldn't be able to see anything. We might end up sleeping all day. It would be nighttime all the time! If there was no sun, the whole world would become so cold." We all pretended that it was really cold and freezing. Lord Indra knew that He had to take charge and not allow the little boy to eat up the Sun! But it was looking like baby Hanuman was going very fast, getting closer and closer and about to touch the Sun, so Lord Indra had no choice. He took out his Vajra he threw it at the little boy. A puppet of baby Hanuman being wacked in the jaw by Lord Indra's thunderbolt was shown on the screen.

When the Vajra hit him, baby Hanuman fell all the way back down to earth, and he hit the ground with a loud thud. A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen. When he hit the ground, his chin got broken. Ouch! We all rubbed our chin and took a closer look at the hurt baby and we all made a sad face. As the baby was falling from the sky, he was crying for his mommy and daddy. Just then, his mommy and daddy (Lord Vayu, the God of Wind) came running towards their baby. They held on to him tight, and kept asking if he was okay and what happened? 

Vayu got really upset and angry on seeing his baby in pain. The kids were asked to show us a sad and angry expression. Then the wind God decided to suck all the air out of the world. All the Gods feared for the all life!!! Lord Indra felt very bad because he had hit a small boy with his Vajra. But he was so scared that baby Hanuman might get burnt or would eat up the Sun, and there would be no light, so he said, "Sorry for hitting baby Hanuman with the Vajra, but I just didn't want him to eat the Sun. But I promise he can have lots of powers from now on." When baby Hanuman woke up, even though his chin was really, really sore, he had lots of powers. All the Gods blessed Hanuman with powers to fly, change form, intelligence, mighty strength, immortality and anything and everything he could wish for. This calmed his dad down and ultimately saved the world from being devoid of air/wind. A puppet of all the Gods blessing baby Hanuman was shown on the screen. The kids were asked if what Lord Indra did was wrong...some said yes, others said no. We briefly then discussed both points of view.

With all of His new found powers, baby Hanuman was having a blast. He got Himself in and out of all sorts of troubles! Some things were cute and childish. But others got Him into big trouble. One day baby Hanuman saw sage Matanga meditating under a tree. A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen. Hanuman wanted to play with the sage and He kept bothering him! When the sage did not respond to baby Hanuman's constant requests to come and play, the baby grew in size and lifted the sage, the tree and the ground beneath, started flying in the sky and landed that piece of land, tree and sage into a body of water!! A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen.

The enraged Sage Matanga, later opened his eyes as his meditation was disturbed and he cursed baby Hanuman into forgetting that he had all these powers. He was told that immaturity does not deserve all this power and that he would be reminded of them in the future. A puppet of this scene was shown on the screen. We paused our story here.

We concluded class with Om Purnamadham.

Pranaam,

Keerthi and Pramila