Hari Om Dear Families,
We had a fun Sunday afternoon with our kids. We did start our class with a few yoga poses and some stretching exercises to calm down. Please find below the summary of our class on Sunday, May 19th 2024.
Opening Prayers: We chanted 3 OMs followed by the following opening Prayers
- Om Sahanavavatu
- Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu
- Saraswati Namastubhyam
- Vakratunda mahaakaavya(for Lord Ganesha)
- Buddhir Balam Yashodhairyam
Kids are given an opportunity to come in front and lead the group for chanting. Please revise as we will be asking each kid to lead in our class. We started the classes with the revision of all 8 values of Hanumanji and did a recap of all the verses we did in past Verse 1 to verse 35. We have asked all the kids to hear Hanuman Chalisa daily and try to memorize as much as you can till the year ends.
Hanuman Chalisa: We started learning Hanuman Chalisa in the last 19 weeks. We have learnt 35 verses so far.
We did verse 36 .
Verse 36 :
sañkat kata mithi saba píra , jo sumirai hanumata bala bírë. (Verse 36)
Meaning:
All miseries and torments vanish when one remembers the brave Lord Hanuman ji.
Story:
The Miracle This true story is adopted from the publication of Chicken Soup for the Soul series. A little girl named Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured out her collection of coins on the floor and counted them carefully. Tess counted the change three times for she could not make any mistakes. The total had to be perfect. After carefully placing the coins back in the jar, she slipped out of the back door and made her way six blocks to the Rexall Drug Store with the big, red Indian Chief sign above the door. She waited patiently for the pharmacist to attend to her, but he was too busy to notice her. Tess shuffled her feet. Still the pharmacist ignored her. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. Finally, she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it! "And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed voice. "Can't you see I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages," he said without waiting for a reply to his question. "Well, I want to talk to you about my brother," Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. "He's really, really sick, and I want to buy a miracle." 'I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist. "His name is Andrew. He has something bad growing inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?" "We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry. I can't help you," the pharmacist said, softening a little. "Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs." The pharmacist's brother was a well-dressed man. He stooped and asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does your brother need?" "I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up with tears. "I just know he's really sick and mommy says he needs a surgery. But my daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money." "How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago. "One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered in a small voice. "And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to." "Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents, the exact price of a miracle for little brothers." He took her money in one hand and with the other hand, he grasped her mitten and said "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let us see if I have the kind of miracle you need." That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neurosurgery. The operation was completed without any charge and it was not long until Andrew was home again and doing well. Mom and dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place. "That surgery," her mom whispered, "was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost." Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle costs! It costs one dollar and eleven cents, plus the faith of a little child.
Group Discussion:
I made kids understand the moral of the story, have strong belief in God and always remembering him while you have any sorrow or pain , he will surely show you the correct path. Not only in pain but we should always be praying everyday.
Other Activities:
Yoga: We did do few yoga poses and did some stretching exercises to calm down and get the class started.
We did play a game, All kids came forward with one activity they wanted to do like some shared jokes, riddles and we played a word game too.
Likhita japa:
We did Likhita japa of the kid's favorite god in the book. Please remember to send it with the kids every class.
Yellow is our house color. To read more about Balavihar Houses, check out this link and participate in the upcoming events.
Things to note:
You will receive class updates through email every week.
WhatsApp group if you haven't joined yet: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JTCTZ4rPWLPH8te76B1QGy
Class starts at 1 PM sharp with opening prayers. Please make sure kids are inside the classroom 5 mins before the class starts.
Please make sure kids use the restroom before entering the class.
This year's parent's handbook is available at the following link- https://www.chinmayavrindavan.org/balavihar/parents-corner/handbook
Materials Needed for the Class
Notebook for Likhita japa (Pencil and Eraser)
Hanuman Chalisa book
Balavihar Handbook (Bhagavad Gita)
Regards,
Aastha .
