Feb 19, 2021 - Grade KG (Friday)

हरी ॐ Dear Parents & Our adorable class (Aarna, Arjun, Brahmani, Dhriti, Nikhil, Siya, Vishnu & Dhillan),
 
Here's a brief summary of the previous 3 classes (Jan. 29th / Feb. 5th / Feb. 19th):

1.) Started with chanting "OM" three times

2.)  Opening Prayer:
                              OM saha naavavathu
                              saha nau bhunakthu,
                              saha veeryam karavaavahai,
                              tejasvinaavadheetamasthu 

                              maa vidhvishavahai
                              OM shanthi shanthi shanthi
 

   

3.)  Recap of Alphabet Safari:

             "A" for Aspiration
             "B" for Brotherhood
             "C" for Cleanliness

             "D" for Daddy

             "E" for Enthusiasm        

             "F" for Friendship

             "G" for GOD

             "H" for Happiness

             "I"  for Intelligence

             "J" for Japa

             "K" for Kindness

        

4.) Lesson on Alphabet , "L" for Love, "M" for Mother  & "N" for Nobility

    

   --- "Love" is fondness and warm affection...i.e, when you really care about someone or something.....

         You try very hard to take care of them and keep them safe, just like how mom & dad take care of their children and keep them safe.

         

        Children had an exciting brainstorming session on 'Love' and understood how :

            -We all cannot live without love. 

            -Love can be expressed through good behavior & through serving others.  

            -Love is so powerful that it can even change a bad person into a good person.

  ---"Mother"  one who loves, cares, nurtures and protects us.... "Matrudevo Bhava"

       

       We had a very involved and interactive session...

       It is a favorite and most loved topic for the kids and we teachers, as well.  

       Children were excited to share about their mom & their love for mom.  

       We also learnt to worship "Mother Earth, Mother India, Mother Nature etc.

   ---"Nobility" is living a good life, pure life, following all values taught in Bal Vihar.  

        

        Children learnt about our beloved Pujya Swami Chimayanandaji as he was a great and noble soul, who wanted to share his knowledge about God with everyone. 

        We talked about how Gurudev was the pioneer to start our Balavihar Classes and also about his love & affection for kids.

          

5.) Short Story - 

         On letter "L" we did the story of "Shabari - A Great Devotee's Love".  

                       The story of Shabari is a perfect example of  love between the Lord & His Bhaktas.

                       This story is also a perfect example of all the values that we have learnt through our Alphabet Safari so far... 

                       Though born as a tribal woman - with her sheer aspiration, discipline, hard work, enthusiasm, perseverance, love & devotion she became a disciple of Sage Matanga 

                       and was meritorious enough to see & serve Lord Rama.  

                       

                       Lord Rama said, "Whoever offers a fruit, a leaf, a flower or water with LOVE, I take it with great joy".  

                       Moral: LOVE... is GOD...

                                 

                                 

         On letter "M" we did the story of "P.S. I Love You, Mom".       

                  This story is about a little boy named Rudra.  How he realized that all the things his mother did for him went unnoticed and unappreciated.  

                  As the story progresses, Rudra understands how much his mom loves and takes care of him in every possible way and never complains or expects anything in return.

                  Rudra feels ashamed of his mistake and decides to express his love for all that his mother does - by giving her a hug, helping, respecting & listening to her.

                   

                  Moral:  When you love, you do not demand anything in return.

     

          On letter "N" we did the story of "The Other Shoe".

                 This story is about "Mahatma Gandhi", Father of the Nation (India)

                 One day Gandhiji got into a train and one of his shoes slipped and fell on the train tracks below.  As he figured out that he cannot retrieve it, he quietly took off his other shoe and threw it back 

                 along the tracks so it landed close to the first one.  When a fellow passenger asked why he did so, Gandhiji smiled and said, "The poor man who finds the shoe will now have a pair he can use."

                 

                 Moral:  Let anything you do, be of some use to some one.

    

        

 6.)  Shloka:

            (a.) We did the following "Shree Rama Sloka" while doing letter "L" for Love and the story of Shabari & her love for Lord Rama:

                  Shree Rama Rama Ramethi,

                  Rame Raame Manorame;

                  Sahasranama Tattulyam,

                  Rama Nama Varanane.

            (b.) We also did the following "Saraswathi Sloka" - talked about why we pray to the goddess, her form and the significance. 

                   Sarasvathi Namastubhyam,

                   varade kaamaroopini;

                   Vidyaarambham karishyaami,

                   siddhirbhavatu me sadaa.

            (c.) Completed learning (Gita Chapter 2) - Prelude, Verse 1 to Verse 7

                  Please refer to Balavihar Handbook Page 18

                  Please make children practice with the audio file sent out through our WhatsApp group.

    We are extremely pleased seeing our kids interest in learning & their superb grasping power.  

    Keep up the good work 👏👏👏  

     

7.) Activities / Games / Bhajans:

     (a.).  Children always enjoy Videos on relevant themes as it's a visual representation of the lesson(value) of the day.

     (b.).  Yoga - Tree pose, drawing alphabet with feet etc.

     (c.). "I Love You Mom Picture" - kids were eager to put their imagination on paper with various colors to draw a picture for their loving mom

     (d.).  Kids showed their "True Spirit" by enthusiastically participating in the Spirit Day Activities on Feb.19th

Looking forward to seeing you all this Friday, Feb. 26th at 7pm sharp.

   

Sincerely,

Kavita & Pranjali

Friday, Grade KG Sevikas  

Jan 22, 2021 - Grade KG (Friday)

हरी ॐ Dear Parents & Students,
 
Here's a brief summary of the previous 4 classes (Dec. 11th / Dec. 18th / Jan. 8th / Jan. 22nd):

1.) Started with chanting "OM" three times

2.)  Opening Prayer:
                              OM saha naavavathu
                              saha nau bhunakthu,
                              saha veeryam karavaavahai,
                              tejasvinaavadheetamasthu 

                              maa vidhvishavahai
                              OM shanthi shanthi shanthi
 

   

3.)  Recap of Alphabet Safari:

             "A" for Aspiration
             "B" for Brotherhood
             "C" for Cleanliness

             "D" for Daddy

             "E" for Enthusiasm        

             "F" for Friendship

             "G" for GOD

        

4.) Lesson on Alphabet , "H" for Happiness, "I" for Intelligence, "J" for Japa & "K" for Kindness

    

 We learnt how :

    --- "Happiness" is a choice & state of mind. It's an attitude.

          We talked about simple ways to cultivate Happiness.

          We teachers, along with our little kiddos had a super exciting journey riding the "Chinmaya Happy Train"  & blowing the whistle "Harih Om Harih Om", at each stop.  Through this great adventurous train ride we understood 

          how we cannot control many situations in life.  However, if we decide that, no matter what life throws at us, we will remain happy - nothing can prevent us from being so.  We can spread happiness to the world around us, 

          because happiness is contagious.

    ---"Intelligence" is the mental ability of understanding / learning new facts.  We can use our intellect wisely by making the right choices.

    ---"Japa" is repeating God's name with devotion.  It builds concentration & which in turn helps us succeed.  

        We talked about "OM" which is the sound of the Universe - that encompasses everything in the world.  It's a mantra or a vibration.

        By chanting "OM" we connect to the universe & each other.

        Also, how japa/chanting "OM" will spread calming vibrations around you...the room...& the universe.

    ---"Kindness" is being gentle, generous & good natured.

        We talked about how being kind/helpful through our actions can bring us close to God.

5.) Short Story - 

         On letter "I" we did the story of 'The Celestial Fruit'.  

                       Through this story we learnt how god Ganesha uses His intelligence and wins the race over his brother Kartikeya/Muruga.

                       Also, how, our intelligent & wise Ganesha thinks about the situation carefully & chooses the wisest solution by going around his parents, Lord Shiva & Goddess Parvathi and could win the celestial fruit.

                       

                       Moral:  Just like Ganesh, think before your act & think before you speak. Ganesha did not jump on his rat right away, but he stopped & thought his steps through and then acted upon to win the race.

                                          So, an Intelligent person:

                                         - thinks before he speaks & thinks before he acts.  

                                         - does not rush to do anything.  

                                         - is a good listener (big ears of Ganesha symbolic of this)

                                         - good memory / remembering what you learnt (big head of Ganesha - elephant head)

                                         - has wisdom to choose between right & wrong (long trunk of Ganesh - how it uses differently as per the situation - it can pick a tiny needle or uproot a mighty tree)

                                         

           On letter "K" we did the story of "Kindness Of Prince Siddhartha".       

                      Through this story we learnt how the handsome, charming, strong & athletic prince Siddhartha (Gauthama Buddha) saved the life of the bird (Swan) through his kindness.  

                      How his unkind cousin Devadatta shot the bird & how prince Siddhartha ran fast to save it by gently picking it up & nursing it back to life and freeing the bird into the wild.

                       

                      Moral:  Kindness does good things for others and brings good things to us.  When we are kind to others, we feel good within.

        

 6.) Completed learning (Gita Chapter 2) - Prelude, Verse 1, Verse 2, Verse 3, Verse 4, Verse 5 & Verse 6

     Please refer to Balavihar Handbook Page 18

     Please make children practice with the audio file sent out through our WhatsApp group.

    We are extremely pleased seeing our kids interest in learning & their superb grasping power.  

    Keep up the good work 👏👏👏  

     

7.) Activities / Games / Bhajans:

     As part of letter "J" for Japa, kids were super excited to make a Japa Mala with string & beads in class.

     Amazing to see our intelligent & focused kids practicing & chanting (Japa) "Om Namah Shivaya", for 11 times.

     

    Our energetic & enthusiastic kids learnt/sang the bhajan, "khate bhi rama kaho" with actions /gestures.  

    We love, love to see all the kids participating/enjoying thoroughly ☺ 

    Also, so wonderful to see everyone's involvement in the activity to discriminate between 'kindness' & 'unkindness'

      

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow at 7pm sharp.

   

Sincerely,

Kavita & Pranjali

Friday, Grade KG Sevikas  

Dec 4, 2020 - Grade KG (Friday)

हरी ॐ Dear Parents & Students,
 
Here's a brief summary of the previous 3 classes (Nov. 6th / Nov. 20th / Dec. 4th):

1.) Started with chanting "OM" three times

2.)  Opening Prayer:
                              OM saha naavavathu
                              saha nau bhunakthu,
                              saha veeryam karavaavahai,
                              tejasvinaavadheetamasthu 

                              maa vidhvishavahai
                              OM shanthi shanthi shanthi
 

   

3.)  Recap of Alphabet Safari:

             "A" for Aspiration
             "B" for Brotherhood
             "C" for Cleanliness

             "D" for Daddy

             

4.) Lesson on Alphabet "E" for Enthusiasm, "F" for Friendship & "G" for GOD

5.) Short Story - 

         On letter "E" we did the story of little chipmunk 'Gitu'.  Though being the smallest animal in the entire forest, with his enthusiasm & determination he was able to save himself, all the animals, the village, the people and the entire forest from the floods.

         On letter "F" we did the story of 'Krishna's Best Friend'.  We learnt how a true friend helps without even being asked...How Lord Krishna helped his poor friend, Sudama by giving everything the family needed.

         On letter "G" we did the story of "Three Questions".  Through the story we could understand:

                        *.  Q:  Who is God?  

                             A:  God is He, who can do what no one else can.  Just like...He can make a brown cow eat green grass, and make her produce white milk.

                        *   Q:  Where is God?

                             A:  God is everywhere, just like the lighted candle....spreads light everywhere.

                        *.  Q:  What does God do?

                             A:  God can make impossible things possible.  Just like the old wise minister in the story said..."Only God can put a cook on the throne, a king on the floor, and a minister on his knees."

 6.) Completed learning (Gita Chapter 2) - Prelude & Verse 1, Verse 2 & Verse 3

     Please refer to Balavihar Handbook Page 18

     Please make children practice with the audio file sent out through our WhatsApp group.

    We are extremely pleased seeing our kids interest in learning & their superb grasping power.  

    Keep up the good work 👏👏👏  

     

7.) Kids were excited & took part in all the fun games/activities.  It is a nice way to charge them up & go on like little energizer bunnies ☺

Looking forward to seeing you all today at 7pm sharp.

   

Sincerely,

Kavita & Pranjali

Friday, Grade KG Sevikas  

Oct 30, 2020 - Grade KG (Friday)

हरी ॐ Dear Parents & Students,
 
Here's a brief summary of this Friday class (Oct. 30th, 2020):

1.) Started with chanting "OM" three times

2.)  Opening Prayer:
                              OM saha naavavathu
                              saha nau bhunakthu,
                              saha veeryam karavaavahai,
                              tejasvinaavadheetamasthu 

                              maa vidhvishavahai
                              OM shanthi shanthi shanthi
 

     Also, we practiced & discussed the meaning of this Shanthi Mantra

  

3.)  Fun Activity -  We learnt how to do "Brain Yoga" to sharpen our intelligence

      Super impressed with their understanding & focus in doing it.

         
4.) Short Story - "Make a Difference"

             It's a story of a little boy who made a difference in the lives of few fish that were stranded in the beach sand - by saving them,

             (as he threw them into the water-ocean) in spite of the discouragement he received from an elderly person.

            

             Moral of the story -

                   Doing things with love, brings joy & excitement, which in turn helps us reach our goal (be successful).

            

5.) Completed learning (Gita Chapter 2) - Prelude & Verse 1

     Please refer to Balavihar Handbook Page 18

     Please make children practice with the audio file sent out through our WhatsApp group.

    I am extremely pleased seeing our kids interest in learning & their superb grasping power.  

    A very promising start...Kudos kiddos

     

6.) House Inaugural Activities -  Three cheers to our "Krishna's Cowboys" for their team work in both the fun activities...

      - making of House Flag

      - correctly solving the timed puzzle

Looking forward to another exciting session with our adorable class.

   

Sincerely,

Kavita & Pranjali
Friday, Grade KG Sevikas

Oct 9, 2020 - Grade KG (Friday)

हरी ॐ Dear Parents & Our adorable class (Aarna, Arjun, Brahmani, Dhriti, Nikhil, Siya & Vishnu)

 

Here's a brief summary of this Friday class (Oct. 9th, 2020):

1.) Started with chanting "OM" three times

2.)  Completed learning the Opening Prayer (Please practice):
      OM saha naavavathu
      saha nau bhunakthu,
      saha veeryam karavaavahai,
      tejasvinaavadheetamasthu maa vidhvishavahai
      OM shanthi shanthi shanthi

 
3.) Recap of Alphabet Safari:
             "A" for Aspiration

             "B" for Brotherhood

             "C" for Cleanliness

 

4.) Lesson on Alphabet "D"  

                      "D" for Daddy      

It was an interactive lesson.... Kids showed great interest in today's lesson as it was close to their hearts.

(a.)     Daddy / Father is the head of a family.  

(b.)     He is the protector of the family, just as God is the protector of the world.  

(c.)     He loves, does a lot of sacrificing & caring for the family. 

(d.)     Daddy is like God for the family..."Pitru devo Bhava"

       
5.) Story on Alphabet "D"   --- FATHERS DAY

(a.)   We learnt how a young girl named Sonora Dodd founded Father's Day to recognize, appreciate & honor fathers / fatherhood.  

(b.)  Children were proud and super excited to talk about the loving, caring & nurturing bond they share with their dads. 

(c.)  We discussed how God uses our dads to kind of show us what HE is like.

(d.)  Also, we understand God's love for us by the way our dads......

                - love us

                - take care of us

                - protect us

                - listen to us

                - know what's best for us

     - help us to be strong 

       

6.) Fun Filled Activity: Kids were super excited & enjoyed writing alphabet in air with their legs while balancing their bodies.

 

7.) Lesson: Video Introduction to Sanskrit Sounds - Geeta chnating Primer 1.

We practiced with kids the sounds of Devanagari letters so they will get familiarize before we start Geeta chanting in the class. We will share the video on whatsapp group. Please practice with your child.

     
8.) Aarti (Please refer to Balavihar Handbook Page 26 to Page 28)

9.) Pledge (Please refer to Balavihar Handbook Page 30)

We have attached here the document of ' Interview with Dad ' based on the alphabet safari lesson on letter D. Your child and mom can work together to interview with dad and fill the questionnaire form. We will discuss with children in next class.

Looking forward to our next class on Friday evening at 7pm sharp.

Many thanks to all the wonderful parents for your support through the entire session.


Sincerely,

Kavita & Pranjali
Friday, Grade KG Sevikas

Oct 2, 2020 - Grade KG (Friday)

 

हरी ॐ

Dear KG Parents,

We had a productive and interactive class on Friday evening, kids participation was phenomenal. We had almost full attendance this week.

We started class with chanting Om three times followed by opening prayer. Kids started learning to chant shloka, 'Sahana Vavatu'. They were eager to learn and gave their best to chant shloka with correct pronunciation.

Kids learned letter C is for Cleanliness from Alphabet Safari. By being clean inside, we come close to God. We become darling of God.

We had created a PowerPoint presentation to show a chart of how to keep our surroundings, our body and our mind clean. Kids participated enthusiastically to add more points and gave their opinions about cleanliness. We discussed how we can keep our mind clean…

·       saying no bad words

·       hearing no bad words

·       by avoiding fights

·       not gossiping

·       being nice to others

·       loving everybody

·       doing the right actions

We had a quick recap of all the letters we have learned so far along with characteristics & qualities that goes with each letter

 

o        A - Aspiration - I want to be a <doctor or pilot or fireman….. >

 

o        B - Brotherhood - The whole world is one family

 

o        C - Cleanliness - Cleanliness is Godliness

 

We showed children an experiment of 'Clean or Dirty' with three clear glasses filled with water. First glass had dirt on the outside thus the dirty glass symbolizes a person who is dirty on the outside. Second glass had dirt inside the water, we asked if they would drink from this glass and the response was 'no'. This glass symbolizes a person who is dirty inside and says and hears bad things. In the third glass we added sugar in the water and again asked if they would drink from this glass. This time children responded 'yes!' Here sugar symbolizes pure and nice thoughts. We discussed that people would choose to be only friends with those who are clean both inside and outside.

Kids had a great time listening to a story about cleanliness.

How a fairy named Shubra taught a little boy the value of cleanliness.  How a Squirrel, a Birdie & a puppy made the boy realize that....

(a.) Being clean is a sign of purity or goodness.   

(b.) Cleanliness is most important for our physical & emotional well being.   

(c.) It makes people admire you or love you more.

(d.) If you are clean, the action (whatever) you do is also clean.

(e.) It helps improve our health.

(f.) It makes you successful as it enhances self-discipline.

(g.) Cleanliness is next to Godliness (means, those who are clean/pure are close to God)

Hope our adorable little kids enjoyed as much as we did teaching them.  Indeed, a very important & needed moral lesson, especially during these testing times.

 

We all did Aarti and Pledge at the end of the class.

We are grateful for all your support!

Looking forward to another productive class on Friday evening!

 

Pranams,

Pranjali and Kavita

Friday, Grade KG Sevikas

 

 

 

 

 

Sept 25, 2020 - Grade KG (Friday)

हरी ॐ Dear Parents,

 

With Gurudev's grace and our Swamiji's blessings we had another wonderful Friday evening Bal Vihar Session -
with your absolutely adorable, curious & enthusiastic group of kids.


Here's a brief summary of this Friday class (September 25th, 2020):

1.) Started with chanting "OM" three times

2.) Opening Prayer (Shanthi Mantra):
      OM saha naavavathu
      saha nau bhunakthu,
      saha veeryam karavaavahai,
      tejasvinaavadheetamasthu maa vidhvishavahai
      OM shanthi shanthi shanthi
 
3.) Recap of Alphabet "A"
             "A" for Aspiration

4.) Lesson on Alphabet "B"  
             "B" is for Brotherhood
       We talked about -
       (a.) What makes a Family....Mother, Father, Sister, Brother etc.
       (b.) How love, caring, sharing & doing things for each other keeps the family together.
       (c.) How we should love each other irrespective of color, race, place, status etc.
       (d.) How we all can extend that caring, sharing & love with others --- to our friends, neighbors, community, city, country & the entire world.
       (e.) Also, how the entire world is one big family and GOD is the Father/Mother of the entire world
           
5.) Story on Alphabet "B"   --- THE COMPLETE PICTURE
        (a.) The story is about a box of Crayons that did not get along with one another & how a little girl made the crayons realize their mistake.  
        (b.) Through the story we understood how each one of us is unique, special & gifted in some way.  
        (c,)  How with the feeling of Brotherhood, everyone in the world can live as one family...
                              VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM
                    (meaning - the whole world is One Family).

6.) We watched a short animated video called 'World's Family', related to our topic of Brotherhood, which explains even in spite of various cultures, languages, festivals, religions and colors we should embrace the world as a family.

7.) Kids enjoyed playing a fun Game of "Krishna Says" and also they took turns giving instructions to their friends.
     
8.) Ganesha Bhajan:
   
       Ganesha Sharanam, Sharanam Ganesha (2)
       Vaageesha Sharanam, Sharanam Vageesha (2)
       Saareesha Sharanam, Sharanam Saareesha (2)

9.) We talked about: 

          (a.) Why we should do Aarti ?      

          (b.) How to do Aarti?

     Kids were curious and watched as we prepared the Aarti plate on zoom. We also discussed that with Aarti plate we do a circle around the picture or statue of the God to see His whole form, and then we do a semi-circle at the bottom because devotees always want to see the feet of the God to get his blessings.

       
10.) Aarti (Please refer to Balavihar Handbook Page 26 to Page 28)

11.) Pledge (Please refer to Balavihar Handbook Page 30)

Soon we will start reciting Bhagavad Geeta Chapter 2 (verses 1-8) with kids. Please refer to Balavihar Handbook page 18 &19. Here is the link for the information on Geeta Chanting Yagna.

http://www.chinmayavrindavan.org/geeta-chanting/

Looking forward to our next class on Friday evening at 7pm sharp.

Many thanks to all the wonderful parents for your support through the entire session.


Sincerely,

Friday, Grade KG Sevikas

Sep 18, 2020 - Grade KG (Friday)

हरी ॐ   KG Parents,

 

Welcome to Chinmaya Balavihar 2020-21. With Gurudev's grace and our Swamiji's blessings we had a great start of our online balavihar this year.

We have a cheerful and enthusiastic young group of kindergarteners, and we are excited for a fun-filled learning experience.

KG Balavihar curriculum is as follows:

·       The Alphabet Safari (kids will learn ABCD with simple values like aspiration, brotherhood, cleanliness etc through discussion,       

         stories, videos and various activities)

·       Shlokas from My Prayers book.

·       Bhajans (Ganesh Sharanam, Bam Bam Bhola etc.)

In Friday class, we started with Om chanting 3 times followed by opening prayer Sahana Vavatu. Since it was the first class, kids introduced themselves to all their friends. We talked about their summer activities. We played an ice breaker game called forming a link. In this game, kids tell their friends about themselves like name, likings, favorite things to do, favorite God, favorite food etc. as well as try to remember their balavihar friend's favorite things too.  Even though we are seeing each other online and not in person but we all are together in one big group and we are very much connected with each other. Kids became more friendly and talkative while playing a game with their new friends.

 

We learned our first alphabet- A is for Aspiration. We had to use it in a sentence for them to understand its meaning. We all have dreams of what we want to be, what we want to do when we grow up. That is Aspiration or Ambition. We asked what each of their personal aspirations are and some said artist, teacher, doctor, race car driver etc.

A is for Aspiration - I want to be a <doctor or pilot or fireman….. >

While discussing aspiration, we came across the question, is it enough to have aspiration? What is needed to support your aspiration?

Parents- please ask your kids what is needed as follow up to aspiration.

We also watched an animated video of Career Day, introducing different professions to kids.

During story time, Kids enjoyed the story of Arjuna, the best archer. They learned about how Arjuna became the best archer through practice, hard work and focus. 

Later children joined with parents for group Aarti and pledge.

 

Looking forward to another exciting class on Friday evening! 

We are grateful for your support.

Sincerely,

Friday, Grade KG Sevikas

Welcome to Kindergarten - Friday Session

Please look out for regular updates from the teachers soon after the session starts on Sept 18th