Please find below the summary for the 18th Session of our Class.
Opening Prayers: We all sat straight, criss-cross, hands folded, chanted together 3 Oms, then Sahana Vavatu, Ganesha Slokha -Vakra Tunda, Saraswathi Slokha- Saraswathi Namasthubayam, Krishnaya Vasudevaya, Ramaya RamaBadraya, Guru Brahma and Tvameva Mata
Yoga : Children did Thoppukaranam, Tree Pose, Bhujangasana and Butterfly Pose. We also learnt the warrior pose.
Refresh /Quiz: We had a quiz time today as well, Children were wonderful remembering stories, alphabets and learnings from past classes.
Introduction : R is for Right. Right means to do what is good , just and correct. When we do what is right and fight for what is right it's called righteous.
Brainstorming : We discussed several situations like screaming at friends, eating candy for dinner, playing when parents ask to study , sharing snacks/toys etc.. with the children and they identified not just what was wrong, but also explained to us what was the right thing to do and why. ! We all repeated "Do Right, Don't you Fuss!"
Story time : Through the story of The rock on the road, where a king , by keeping a huge rock in the middle of a busy road teaches the lazy people of his kingdom the importance of doing what is right even if nobody else does it and that Doing the right thing always brings good rewards and happiness in the end.
We made a list of the right things to do such as : Make your bed when you wake up, clean up after play time, turn off lights when you come out of a room, Put on plates what you can eat - Don't waste food, Listening to teachers at school etc..
Children came up with beautiful examples of people who have done right such as Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa , Mahatma Gandhi etc.. We were extremely proud and delighted to hear such apt answers and explanations from young minds!
Attendance : Class Attendance was taken and children had their water breaks.
Brainstorming : We also spoke about S is for Smile. We reiterated the learnings from H for Happiness - such as smiling can make friends, Smiling makes you look prettier, it will help you stay healthy /happy and it will make the world a little happier. We tried frowning, angry faces and realized that it takes so much more energy and muscles to be angry and very little when you smile! We should always Keep Smiling (Balavihar Motto!) . We did the experiment that laughter is contagious and ended up getting all children laughing.
We also introduced S for Seva or Service. Service is when we do something for someone, without expecting anything back.
We took examples to explain such as Waiters in restaurants bringing water which is a job that they get paid for, Vs children giving grandparents a glass of water or to their parents who just returned back from a long work day. We asked children what they think the person receiving the service feels (Grandparents/Parents) and how would they feel doing it? Happy!
Children shared that prior classes they have learnt about people such as Sravana Kumar, Our Gurudev, Gandhiji, Mother Teresa etc.. are all people who focussed on Seva/Service. We also discussed that the cow serves us by giving and giving and giving. Tulsi maiya serves us by healing us and they are worshipped in many parts of India for these reasons.
Story : Through the story of Panduranga waiting for Pundalik, we learnt that When you serve people who are in need even God understands and does not require you to go to him and He will gladly come to you instead.
Quiet time /Meditation : Children closed their eyes and stayed in a comfortable quiet position for 2 min.
Game : Children participated in the game "I Love to Smile" , where they took turns to make their friends smile and laugh. Children were very creative in expressions here and we could not hold back the laughs!
After this, we colored the Happy Smilies print out and then disbursed to the hall for Aarati.
It was another interesting session today, and we look forward to the next session.
