Hari Om Parents,
Today was the 8th class of Balavihar. Here is the summary of what we covered in the class today:
Opening Prayers & Sloka: We started with three OMs and then proceeded with Opening Prayers - Sahana Vavatu, Vakratunda Mahakaya, Saraswati Namastubhyam, Krishnaya Vasudevaya, Ramaya Ramabadraya and Samudravasene Devi. A lot of the kids beautifully chanted the shlokas individually.
Yoga: Children did Thoppukaranam, Vrikshasana, Bhujangasana and learnt the butterfly pose (Baddha Konasan)
Attendance : Attendance was taken and each kid responded by saying Hari Om.
Introduction the Next Letter: Letter 'F' is for Friendship- Friendship- is a feeling of mutual affection and respect. And we need to care and share with our friends.
Brainstorming : We discussed a couple of scenarios which show how to start and maintain good friendships, and also understand how not to behave which can hurt our friends and lose their friendship, Kids shared their views and got the essence of how a good friend needs to be.
Story Time: Through the story of Krishna's Best Friend - Krishna and Sudama, we learnt what true friendship is, how we need to respect and care for our friend, and how we need to help our friends when they truly need something or are in trouble, without them specifically asking for our help. And that it does not matter how big or small you are to be a good friend. 'A true friend helps without even being asked' and 'Friend in need is a friend Indeed'.
Activity : We did an activity called My Best Friend to show how to treat their Friend/(s). Children drew pictures of their best friends which included Mom, dad, siblings, grandparents as well. We asked them to crumble the paper and spread it across the room. Later they were asked to state two things they like the most about their friends. Finally, they were asked to retrieve the crumbled up drawings and see if they can remove the lines and wrinkles in the paper. Key takeaways through the activity were
- To have a good friend, one has to be a good friend also
- Value of of treating their friends nicely at all times.
