Hari OM,
Sep 8th
We were glad to welcome all our 9th graders for the first class - we have 5 children new to Bala Vihar including one who has come back after a while. We started our class with 3 OMs, Sahana Vavatu, and Vakratunda Mahakaya. Then we introduced ourselves (the teachers) and asked them to introduce themselves. We told them about the topic and what we hope for them to get from this class. We have given them some time to think and come up with what they want to get out of this class. We will revisit it again in October. We then spent the rest of the time playing icebreaker games to get to know each other better. Some of the parents then visited the class and we discussed the curriculum and their expectations for the children and the events coming up this year.
Sep 15th
We started the class with 3 OMs, Sahana Vavatu and Vakratunda Mahakaya. Then we learned 2 verses from Lingashtakam. Please make sure the children have the My Prayers book with them in class. We then brainstormed about what is Culture, and what does Hindu Culture mean to them. Children came up to the board to share their ideas of what Hindu culture is - clothing, praying to God, celebrating festivals and so on. We then shared how our entire Hindu Culture derives from our Scriptures like the Vedas and Puranas and the belief in One Supreme Power. We spoke about how the word Hindu came about (people who lived east of the Sindhu river) and discussed how it should actually be called Sanatana Dharma - Eternal values or Way of Living. We talked about the evolution of Sanatana Dharma in the Indian Subcontinent as well as the timeline when the other religions made an appearance in India.
We then asked the new kids in class to take the House Sorting Quiz! We will have the House Inaugural next week where they will all be captains of their House.
We watched a short primer on how to pronounce Sanskrit vowels and consonants. We will be learning to chant Ch 4 of the Gita this year starting next class.
We have sent them all a short survey to fill out to know more about their learning styles. Please encourage them to fill it out.
We have a Youth Social for all 9th-12th graders this Sunday from 3.30pm-6.30pm. Please have them attend - we have a special guest Speaker Dr. Richa Agrawal, a Dharma Ambassador, who will talk to the children on how to answer frequently asked questions on Hinduism. We will also have a Garba workshop. The JCHYKs will be organizing the Garba event on Oct 14th at the Ashram.
Thanks & Regards
Jayashree & Jyothy
