Today we started our class with some yoga poses - tree pose, turtle pose, pigeon pose, and also did 18 jumping jacks to warm up while we waited for the remaining students to join us.
We started the class with 3 OMs followed by Sahana Vavatu.
We had the children take turns to lead Vakratunda, Saraswathi, Guru Brahma. The rest of the class followed suit. Every week we ensure children take turns to recite the shlokas so they are comfortable and confident in reciting them. Please talk to them about the shloka they recited.
We taught the Dhyana Shloka - Buddhir Balam explaining every word in the shloka. We wrote it on the whiteboard and explained meaning and quizzed them end of the class
Buddhir - Intelligence
Balam - Strength
Yash - Fame
Dhairyam - Courage
Nirbhayatvam - Fearlessness
Arogata - Good health, free of diseases
Ajatyam - Alertness, free from laziness
Vakpaduthvamcha - eloquence
These values make up our backbone. We showed pics of animals/birds and asked the kids to show which one is a vertebrate and which ones are invertebrate.
We showed a string vs a ruler to demonstrate which one is straight and strong.
Then moved on to a fun Coloring activity with coloring a monkey hanging on a branch...then we did a Rama insert at the heart. residing in the heart of the monkey. Kapi is word for Monkey and we also told the children how Hanuman was also referred to as Kapeeshaya - Lord of the Monkeys
We sang Veera Hanumana Bhajan first few lines
Story Time:
The Empty Pot.
Once there was a king who had no children, so he wanted to see who can rule after him. One day, he devised a clever plan to select the right person as the successor to the throne. The king gave flower seeds to all subjects in the kingdom and announced, "you have six months to grow the healthiest plants you can. I shall choose the future king based on the growth of your plant."
Six months passed. All the subjects came with healthy plants in their hands proceeded towards the palace. A young boy also rushed towards the palace but his pot was empty. Nothing had grown! All the people laughed at him. The young boy said nothing and only smiled in response. When the king looked at the boy's empty pot and asked what happened ? The boy replied, "your majesty, I watered.I fertilized. I took care of it, but nothing grew. I am sorry, but I have tried my best."
The king then shocked the crowd by proclaiming the boy as the future king. " You have all proven unworthy. I gave you roasted seats that would never sprout. Each of you lied, because of the greed to gain the kingdom, but only this young boy despite all your mocking spoke the truth. Thus, he is the only one among you who is fit to be the future king."
Ask the kids why they think the boy became the king? The boy was sure of his efforts and knew he had worked hard and was very careful and yet his seeds just did not sprout. He had a choice. He could have cheated and replaced those seeds just as everyone else in town. Instead he was able to stand firm & he refused to lie. Because he had a strong invisible back bone that allowed him to stand up for what is right and uphold his virtues and beliefs.
We lined up to go to Aarti as we selected our line leader, door holder and caboose to lead to the prayer hall.
With Prem and Om
Yamuna and Subha
