6/14/2015

Our last class of this Balavihar year.
We had an early assembly, where we had our Dear Swami Ji joining us and blessed us. There was a beautiful Graduation ceremony. About 8 12th graders graduated from balavihar this year and they were honored. Followed by all the teachers were felicitated. Then we had few presentations by Language classes, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Sanskrit. It was so nice to see all these programs and we then proceeded to our classes.

As usual, we started with OM chanting 3 times and followed by the slokas we learned this year- Gajananam, Saraswathy namasthubyam, Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu, Sivam Sivakaram and Sarva mangala. Each and every child did an awesome job by chanting and reciting all the slokas.
We are so proud of all of you, children!

We then had a potty break and then had a nice end of year party with chocolate chip cookies, juice and lolly pops!
The parents expressed their happiness and how they have started liking the balavihar as the year progressed. We are extremely thankful to everyone of them.

The children gave all of us warm good bye hugs before leaving. We concluded with the closing Prayers- Poornamadha poornamidham.

We hope to see our present Madhuram families to come back in fall and be a part of Balavihar in the coming year as well.

Take care. Have a great Summer.
Hari OM

Regards
Rajesh Ramamoorthy
Vidhya Aiyer

6/7/2015

On June 7th, the Kindergartners and the 8th graders did class presentations at the morning assembly. 

After which we got to our classes and started our regular routine with OM chant 3 times and then followed by Ganesa slokam, Saraswathy slokam and Guru slokam one after the other in a fast manner. Then we slowed down for the Siva and the Parvathy slokam. The 4 kids who were present that day, did a remarkable job by saying loud and clear and with enthusiasm.

We did some yoga and some fun physical activities- the jumping jack was real fun. We also learned the tree pose is called the vruksha pose. Tree is Vruksha in Sanskrit. 

We then got to our seat to color a beautiful Siva Parvathy image. The kids outsmarted each other in coloring. Good job children! proud of all of you!

A little walk stretch in the hallway for a potty break and got back with clean hands to much the yummy snacks, given by Sidhu. Thank you Sidhu.

Rajesh uncle, then shared an interesting story from the Mahabharatha. Dronacharya teaching the princes the archery, and about focusing the target- shoot an arrow/aim at the birds' eye. This was the base taken by the 8th graders and presented in a contemporary way!

At the end of the session, we concluded with the closing prayers- The shanthi mantra. Kids were given sticker rewards.

Next class on the 14th is our last Balavihar for this School year and we hope to see all of you and go into summer. The assembly starts at 9 AM that day and we request everyone to please come by 8.45 and take seats in the auditorium. There are a few programs lined up after which we get a few minutes in our class.

We hope all children will get back to Balavihar this fall- with the Madhuram (the sweetness) they have, they seem all set to enter the Amrutham. (the nectar)

Sweetness from this year to more sweetness of the nectar coming year, will make them happy and inclined towards building rapport with the mankind as Hinduism preaches.

Hari OM

Thank you.

Best Regards

Rajesh Ramamoorthy

Vidhya Aiyer

Madhuram teachers

5/31/2015

Today initially we had a thin presence of three kids and the other Pre-K class didn't have any teachers so we had a combined class. As we were starting we had the Amrutham teacher join  and as it progressed we had six kids from our class. 

We had a wonderful joint class with Amrutham kids. We started with chanting OM three times, followed by the new Ganapathy Slokam "Vakrathunda  maha kaya..." though it was new to our kids, they were able to repeat with us. Then we chanted "Gajananam.." Folllowed by that, we said "saraswathy namasthubyam..".  Once we prayed to Saraswathy, we did our Guru Slokam.

We took a bathroom break. Kids lined up nicely and went to the bathroom. 

Then We did a wonderful craft work of identifying and pasting various cut pictures of Lord SHIVA and Lord Ganesha along with Thrishul, Damru, Modhak, laddu and Mooshika.  A Big Thanks to Meena aunty of Amrutham class to bring in the craft work. The kids completed and spoke about both GODs, their various names. All kids were very enthusiastic about it and clearly mentioned the names and identified various aspects of the GODS.

The kids then had yummy snack. It was time and we chanted our concluding prayers. See you all next weekend June 7th.

Thank you. Hari OM.

Rajesh and Vidhya

Madhuram.

5/17/15

This week we went on our field trip to our Vrundavan Ashram in Cranbury, NJ. The ashram & temple was wonderful. We all felt @ home. Initially, the kids attended the local Balavihar classes for the first fifteen minutes where the kids were asked to do "Likitha Japa" of the sanskrit OM word. It was wonderful - a 3 with a tail, moon and a dot. We traced the activity. After which, we all assembled in the temple for Aarathi. It was such a nice atmosphere were the entire Balvihar families (from both) attended.

The assembly started with Meena aunty singing a bajan followed by Seema aunty announcing the Bhagavad Gita Preliminary winners. Muni uncle along with the finalists recited the entire 15th chapter. Congratulations to the finalists. After this, our kids performed on stage. The Kids did a marvelous job of reciting all FOUR slokams. It was so beautiful. A great round of applause to all the kids and the Parents for making this a success. Everyone loved it. Followed by us, the Amrutham class performed as well. It was so awesome. We had a good presence, seven kids and family.

After the assembly all kids below the 5th grade attended a class where the teachers lead by Pushpa aunty conducted various activities for all the kids. While the parents were involved in multiple Seva activities in the ashram and Meena aunty gave a tour of the ashram.

The sixth grade and above were giving a speech on the 14th sloka "Aham Vaishvanaro...", it was wonderful to watch the kids give a speech and you can see how much they have learnt as most of them I have seen like our class kids in Balvihar years before.

It all ended with a sumptuous lunch and ice cream. The final desert was really an icing on the cake as it was hot & humid that day.

Thanks for all. See you again in CORD walkathon on May 31st. We DO NOT have classes this weekend for Memorial Day. Have a wonderful long weekend.

Hari OM
Thank you.
Rajesh and Vidhya
Madhuram.

5/3/15

We had a little longer assembly with the 7th graders presenting the Chinmaya news letter and the interview with adults & kids on our Pujya Gurudev Chimayananda ji.

After the assembly, we got to our classes and Rajesh uncle led the class with OM chant and today the kids wanted to say the slokhas themselves. One by one said the Gajananam, Ganesha Slokha. We followed this with our Parvathi Slokam and we did Yoga for a short time.
Then we went back to learning Parvathi slokam. Kids one by one said Saraswathi and Guru slokam. We revised various names of Ganesha and kids remembered pretty much all the names of Ganesha. Since the kids are saying the slokam themselves, we are planning to have the kids say
these slokas in the stage in our Cranbury ashram. Parents, please practice all four [Ganesha, Saraswathi, Guru and Parvathi] at home.

Please refer to our blog if you need any help or drop me a line. Please practice atleast once a day.

A potty break followed by snacks (thanks to Siddharth) and we revised the Ekathantha story and Ganapathy story. After which we concluded with the closing verses.

Remember, we don't have class this coming weekend (Happy Mother's day). The following week May 17th is our field trip to our ashram in Cranbury.
Field Trip to Vrindavan Ashram (95 Cranbury Neck Road, Cranbury, NJ 08512) on May 17.

On May 17 2015, BBNJ Parents and Children will be going to Field Trip to Vrindavan Ashram directly (There will be no sessions @ Bridgewater school on that day.) Every one must attend the Trip.

It is a wonderful place and it would be an awesome experience for the kids to visit our own ashram, the place where we all can go back to.

Reminders- a water bottle (weather getting better, so please do not miss bringing in water bottles)
-a Box of crayons and
-a hand sanitizer.

IMPORTANT- There is no class on May 10th and May 16th is the Baghavad Gita Preliminary competition in our High school.
The next class is on coming Sunday May 17th in Cranbury ashram. Please try to reach there by 9:30 AM.

Hari OM

Thank you.

Rajesh and Vidhya

Madhuram

4/26/15

We had a little longer assembly with the 9th graders presenting the values of Bhagavad Gita through Harry Potter. Our little ones even remembered Harry Potter from the assembly.

After the assembly, we got to our classes and Rajesh uncle led the class with OM chant and later with our Ganesha slokam along with revising various names of Ganesha. Kids remembered pretty much all the names of Ganesha. We followed that with Saraswathy slokam and Guru slokam.
By now, the kids individually knows all the three slokhams and they recited one by one individually. We did yoga to get some energy and kids participated enthusiastically. With gaining energy, we prayed to Parvathy mata with the "sarva mangala" slokham. Now kids can say this slokam together.  Along with the parents we discussed how the kids can now say the three slokams for Ganesha, Saraswathy and Guru and that they should make it a point to say atleast once a day.

A potty break followed by snacks (thanks to Suhani) and we revised the Ekathantha story, our class's favorite one. Now, kids participated and tried telling the story from what they remember. Next week, we asked the kids to share their favorite story that they heard in the class or any other God story that they like. After which we concluded with the closing verses.

Reminders- a water bottle (weather getting better, so please do not miss bringing in water bottles)
-a Box of crayons and
-a hand sanitizer.

IMPORTANT- The next class is on coming Sunday May 3rd.

Thank you.
Hari OM.

Rajesh and Vidhya
Madhuram

4/19/15

The past Balavihar session on the 19th saw Swamini Ji Vimalananda Mata's arrival to our center. After a brief bhajan session which opened the assembly, Swamini JI Mata took over and addressed the gathering. We had cute stories told by Her to children and adults and a simple, alert, action bhajan- which we all loved doing, singing and playing.

After which all students were dispersed to their respective classes and Parents remained seated in the assembly, were Swamini JI Mata addressed them about "The art of parenting".

Our class by itself a Mom-child one, so at least one parent could able to listen to Mata Ji's talks, while the other was in the class. We started with our opening "OM" chanting 3 times, followed by Gajananam slokam. Since we had a long assembly, we could do only the Ganesa slokam and then with the potty break and to the snacks. By then, the time was up to conclude and we did by the closing verses.

On 4/25, we have "On a  quest"  movie premier and launch at 2PM and shows following at 2.30 PM and 4.30 PM at the AMC Morristown. This is our BBNJ Balavihar center's field trip and we kindly request all parents to book tickets and please do attend the movie day.

The next balavihar session is on 4/26.

Please be reminded in bringing a box of crayons, water bottle and a hand sanitizer.

Thank you. Hari OM

Rajesh and Vidhya

Madhuram.

4/12/15

The Balavihar reopened on the 12th April after a couple weeks' spring break. We had a long assembly which featured the second graders class presentation and the tiny mouths recited the long and melodious Hanuman Chalisa so very beautifully.

Followed by the High school seniors gave a small talk about the upcoming Movie "On a quest" based on our Guru Ji's life. The premier is scheduled on the 25th at Morristown AMC and there are 2 back to back shows, preceding to it is a launch at 2PM. We kindly request all Parents to please attend either the 2.30 show or the 4.30 as this is our BBNJ field trip. Please book your tickets, if you had missed, kindly do so by coming class (19th) or by clicking this link
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1mZyU3QDkW890Tc5brCnt87-uIL_nLQjhQjGxYYnkeGw/viewform

After the assembly, we got to our classes and Rajesh uncle led the class with OM chant and later with our Ganesha slokam, prayed to Parvathy mata with Parvathy slokam to get energy. The kids all did a great job in chanting. We did a little yoga to break out the routine. There was a surprise interaction between the seniors and the toddlers about the Film to be premiered on Guru JI. It was so nice to see their cute conversations between the first timers to Balavihar and the out going grads from balavihar. We went back to chanting slokam and chanted Saraswathy slokam and Guru slokam. 

A potty break followed by snacks and then to the next everyone's favorite coloring activity. We also recollected the story of how Ganga appeared on Lord Shiva. After which we concluded with the closing verses.

Reminders- a water bottle (weather getting better, so please do not miss bringing in water bottles)

-a Box of crayons and

-a hand sanitizer.

IMPORTANT- The next class is on the 19th and we have Swamini JI Vimalananda Mata visiting our center. Please assemble at the regular time and please stay for Mata Ji's address and lectures followed by Bhiksha lunch. No classes that day but entire BBNJ Balavihar will be listening to Mata JI.

Next class after 19th will be on the 26th.

Thank you.

Hari OM.

Rajesh and Vidhya

Madhuram

3/22/2015

Today, we had a fairly long assembly, which included a small talk by CHYKs from the Vrindavan Ashram. They shared their experience when they visited India for the CORD Siruvani project and their trips to Sandheepany (Mumbai) Vibhuti (Poona) and to Adi Sankara ancestoral at Ernakulam (Kerala) It was so motivating and self unfolding just by mere listening to their short talk.
After which we all went to respective classes. We started with our regular OM chanting 3 times. Today, we gathered in a circle time and started our chant. Ganesa slokam was the first to be repeated and chanted together. We felt, we needed more energy so we prayed to the Source of Energy- The Maha Sakthi- Parvathy mata- Sarva Mangala slokam. The kids all did so well, repeating and looks like they all know the slokam very well.

We further did some physical activity to get into the grove. We did some stretching exercises and yoga poses. We also played Ring-a roses and it was so much fun!!
We also performed our favorite action Bhajan- Come here my dear Ganapathy. The kids did a wonderful job! As we gained energy, and the Goddess' blessing, we earned sticker rewards right after! YAY!

Followed by chanting Saraswathy slokam- the Goddess of knowledge and Guru Slokam- Guru Brahma. Great chanting everyone, keep up the good work!

We took a potty break, a nice stroll down the hallway and munched yummy snacks!
It was time to say goodbye and we concluded by chanting the closing verses.

Parents, please give practice chanting the Sarva Mangala Maangalye slokam at home a few times everyday, we plan on chanting this verse in our upcoming presentation on 5/17. Please stay tuned for further details. Thank you for the great cooperation.

Reminders- Box of crayons, water bottle and handsanitizer.
Next session on April 12th. Enjoy the nice spring break and stay safe from allergies! Thank you.

Hari OM
Rajesh and Vidhya
Madhuram.

3/15/15

We started our session with OM chanting 3 times. Then we proceeded to our regular slokas starting with Gajananam. Kids all did a wonderful job, repeating and chanting together. The kids randomly recollected all names of Ganesa and all did a great job. Followed by Saraswathy slokam- The Goddess blesses us with Knowledge. She holds a veena, a book and a mala in Her hands and Sits on a Lotus flower and having swan as Her vehicle. Kids repeated and chanted the sloka together.

We then chanted the Guru slokam. We repeated the verse a couple times and later on did a group chant. We also revisited what we learned in previous classes on the Hindu Trinity Gods- Brahma the creator, Vishnu the protector and Siva the destroyer of the bad forces.

We then went on to chant the Siva slokam, Sivam Sivakaram. We repeated loud and clear a few times. We also learned Siva's matted locks has river Ganga and kids spotted like a fountain in the pictures.

We later on chanted by repeating the Parvathy Mata slokam- Sarva Mangala Mangalye.. We learned Parvathy mata is the giver of the energy for all of us. Energy is called Sakthi. Parvathy mata's other name is Sakthi.

We had a potty break and then the snack time.

We had a group discussion on Siva's 2 things on His matted locks- River Ganga and the Moon.

Our coloring activity for the day is Lord Siva, where kids were asked to draw crescent shaped Moon on his Head.

Story time- How Lord Siva gained the name Neelakanta. The churning of the milky ocean by the Devas and the Asuras with the help of the Divine snake Vaasugi, as the churning happened Vaasugi spit some poison, Lord Siva took that and put in His mouth. Parvathy mata stopped the poison in His throat and thus the neck (kanta) became all blue (Neela) hence the name Neelakanta- the one with the blue neck.

In the coming class we will see from where Siva gets the Moon which adorns His matted locks.

We concluded with the closing verses and 2 stickers as rewards for all kids' excellent participation and enthusiasm.

Reminders include a water bottle, some crayons and hand sanitizer.

Next session on the 22nd. (3/22)

Hari OM

Rajesh and Vidhya

Madhuram.

3/8/15

We started the class with OM 3 times. We chanted Gajananam slokam with everyone doing together. The kids were loud and clear :)

We then continued the chant in group doing the Saraswathy slokam.

Then we did the Guru slokam, where in we repeated after the teacher. We quickly revisited the Hindu Trinity Gods as we chanted the guru slokam. We also repeated the Siva slokam after the teacher. Today we learned Parvathy slokam, "sarva mangala mangalye.." and learned Parvathy maata, mother of Ganesha and Karthikeya, blesses all of us giving immense energy or Sakthi. She is also called as Sakthi Devi.

We had a potty break and snack time. followed by a game. The kids stood in a circular position, each one whispering one of Lord Ganesa's names to the other persons' ears and the last one to say that out loud. It was a fun game and the kids all enjoyed.

As we about to wind up the session, we learned the beautiful story of how the heavenly river Ganga descended to the earth from Lord Siva's (Sankar bagwan) matted locks.

A simple Homework until we meet is to name the 2 things we see on Sankar bagwan's locks. We know one is the river ganga already. What is the next?

We wound up the class with our closing verses and smiley faces rewards.

Attached Sivam and Parvathy slokam.

Reminders- Box of crayons water bottle and hand sanitizer.

Next class is on the 15th (3/15/15) 

Thanks.

Hari OM

Rajesh and Vidhya

Madhuram.

3/1/15

We had four kids in today's class. Thank you Mehul Bhai for bringing in the print-outs though Maanav couldn't make it. {please email us before so you don't have to come just for snack or other items that we might have requested you, so we can make alternative arrangements}.

We started our class with "OM" three times and prayed to Lorg Ganesha with "Gajananam" slokha. We re-visited the various names of Lord Ganesha and they wanted the story of "Ganapathy". Kids enjoyed the story and remembered the names and the fruit story between Ganesha & Karthikeya. We went on to say "Saraswathi Namasthubyam" and prayed to Goddess Saraswathi and how she gives us knowledge. Kids remembered our Guru "Chinmaya Ji" name and identified the portrait. We said the "Guru Vishnu" Guru Slokham. While explaining, we revisited the Hindu Trinity. The various names of Lord Shiva. Followed by it, the kids had coloring activity of Lord Shiva.

Kids colored beautifully, lot of them are showing great improvements over the period. At the end of coloring, we had a snack break. Today Vibhu was the "Snack Helper". He distributed snacks to all the students in the class. It was rather a long snack break. We concluded with our concluding prayers.

Reminders- a Box of crayons, water bottle and a hand sanitizer. 

Our next class is on 3/8. Stay warm, Take care.

Hari OM

Rajesh and Vidhya

Madhuram

2/22/15 - NO Balavihar

Hari OM,

Balavihar is canceled today (Feb 22) due to icy road conditions. Next Balavihar class is on Mar 01, 2015.

Stay safe and warm.

Vidhya A

2/8/15

We started our class this morning with OM chanting 3 times.

We then chanted Gajananam slokam with so much of enthusiasm. The kids all lined up near the podium and chanted so beautifully! We saw happy parents capturing little videos and made this moment memorable. Kudos kids! you all deserve a big Hug and a pat on your shoulder.

We then chanted the Saraswathy slokam- Saraswathy maata holding a veenai, a mala and book in other hands and sitting on a lotus flower with her vaahana- her ride (easy understanding term used by them) the swan. Again, kids came up front and had a beautiful chant! adorable sight was that.

We discussed about their vaahana (the rides) Mooshika for Ganesa, Swan for Saraswathy maata. We subsequently discussed Ganesa's brothers- Karthikeya with Peacock, His vaahana and Aiyappa with the tiger, His Vaahana.

The Siva parivaar has 2 kids Ganesa and Karthikeya along with Siva and Parvathy. Aiyappa is also Siva's son- born to Siva and Mohini (women form of Vishnu) So Siva has 3 boys.

We then chanted Guru slokam- Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu...

We know that Lord Brahma is the creator, Lord Vishnu is the Protector and Lord Siva is the destructor of all the evil forces in the world.

We practiced the Sivam Sivakaram slokam, the latest one we learn.. (page 8 in our assembly handout, 1st slokam)

As discussing the Siva parivaar, we learned a new story- the story of Mango where Lord Ganesa stresses our parents are our world. The divine fruit mango when given by Sage Narada, it can't be shared or cut but consumed wholesome. So the parents and Narada come up with the idea of "who ever goes around the world and comes back first, will be given this fruit as a prize" So Karthikeya sets off on His Peacock and flew away. But Lord Ganesa, thought for a minute and knew He can't fly with his Mooshika (mouse) but then declared His Parents are the world for Him and goes around Them and wins the Prize.

This story was our coloring activity for today (page 25 in Glory of Ganesa book)

A walk stretch at the Hallway for the potty break before munching yummy snacks.

We then concluded with our closing verses.

Reminders- a Box of crayons, water bottle and a hand sanitizer. 

Our next class is on 2/22. Stay warm, Take care.

Hari OM

Rajesh and Vidhya

Madhuram

2/1/15

We had a fairly long assembly today, when information about the Mahasamadhi Camp coming up in summer was given with a great presentation. Details to follow.. please stay tuned :)

We as usual started our class with OM chanting and followed by Gajanannam slokam. We are very happy that all kids today sounded loud and clear and chanted the slokam very, very well! Kudos to all of them and to parents who is giving practice at home :) Thank you.

The kids also said many names of Lord Ganesa.

We then chanted the Saraswathy slokam. Kids amazed with this too :) We discussed Goddess Saraswathy with 4 hands, Holding a Veenai, a mala and a book, with the Swan her vehilcle.

We then repeated the Guru slokam, first in a slow pace (word by word) and then a little faster with two words at a time.

We all know our Guru Ji is Swami Chinmaya JI and the kids were happy to recognize Guru JI Veda Vyasa who made Ganesa to write a long story- Mahabharatha. We are all happy that the term "guru" was easily understood by the children.

Our coloring activity for today was Guru Veda Vyasa pic along with Lord Ganesa from our Glory of Ganesa book (Page 24/25) and a Saraswathy maata pic. (some did Ganesa-Vyasa and some Saraswathy's)

After Yummy snacks, we learned and revisited from the previous class's Hindu Trinity Gods, Brahma- the creator, Vishnu - the protector and Siva- The destroyer of bad forces. We will learn about these Gods in the classes to follow.

We started to learn a new Siva sloka "Sivam sivakaram..." (Page 8 from our Assembly Handout book)

We concluded with the closing verses.

The next class on 2/8/15. 

Reminders- a water bottle, box of crayons and a hand sanitizer.

Ours is a NUT FREE snack zone.

Thank you. Hari OM

Rajesh and Vidhya

Madhuram.

1/25/15 class

After a couple weeks' break, today on 25th we had our regular Balavihar session. With a brief set back of our usual classroom was not opened for usage, we were given the luxurious room in the hallway :) 
We as usual began the class with our opening prayers- OM chant 3 times. Followed by Ganesa slokam. Lord Ganesa blesses us and clear all our difficulties. The kids repeated and later on chanted the sloka all by themselves. All did a great job... hi5!

Then we chanted the Saraswathy sloka, we pray to Saraswathy maatha for gaining immense knowledge and She blesses us abundantly to start learning any art form. Kids chanted first repeating and then did all by themselves. Fabulous job!

Then we chanted the Guru sloka, Guru is our teacher- who teaches new things to us. The kids happily repeated and chanted the Guru Brahma sloka.

Coloring- Today's coloring was a big Ganesa from our book, Glory of Ganesa (page 1)

We took a potty break and then had yummy snacks.

We learned a little about the significance of Sankranthi festival.
The other new thing we learned today, is the Hindu Trinity Gods. Brahma (the creator) Vishnu (the protector) and Siva (the Destroyer of the evil)
We will learn more in detail about the Gods with more stories in the coming classes.
We concluded with our closing prayers.

Reminders- happy to note all of you are bring in own water bottles and crayons. Also better to have a hand sanitizer for quick cleansing. Thank you.
Please remember ours is a NUT FREE snack zone for all the safety purposes while bringing in snacks. Thanks.
Next class is on the Feb 1st. 

Thanks
Rajesh and Vidhya
Madhuram.

1/18/15 Class cancelled- inclement weather

Hari OM Parents.

1/18/15 Class is cancelled due to inclement weather and icy roads.

Thank you.
Rajesh and Vidhya
Madhuram teachers

Pictures for children

1/4/15 class update

A Very Happy New year to all. The first class in 2015, with a nice- not so cold day, we started with our usual OM chanting- followed by Gajananam slokam, slow and a little fast paced chanting- Praying to Lord Ganesa will clear all problems and prepare us do whatever we want to do.
We also chanted Saraswathy namasthubyam, a Saraswathy slokam and praying to Saraswathy Mata will help us expands our knowledge and praying to Guru will help us learn good things.

We welcomed a new friend Suhani to our class :)

We learned a new sloka, Gurubrahma guruvishnu on Guru. We learned our Guru is Swami Chinmaya Ji and He always wants children to keep smiling :) A teacher makes us understand by teaching and guiding us in the right path.

We also learned that Lord Ganesa has two brothers, Muruga (Karthikeya) and Aiyappa (Manikanda)

Story- The day's story was Aiyappa riding on the tiger story, where kids showed lots of enthusiasm in hearing a tiger story :)
We all gathered in the magic carpet as a circle time and discussed the story and chanted slokas. With a good weather, we chose to sit on the floor (over the blanket) but cannot possibly do this in peak winters. We understand kids like more of this, but will try to do when the weather gets good to us :)

A potty break and a little walk stretch to the hallway to break the classroom monotony, followed by munchkins snacks and coloring Saraswathy/Ganesa pics.

Reminders- Please bring in a water bottle, a few crayons and a hand sanitizer.

We have a snack sign up and parents please feel free to pick dates favoring your schedule (This is no mandatory, but purely voluntary) and please remember it's a NUT FREE School zone.

Our next session on 1/18/15. Stay warm and have a good break.

Hari OM

Rajesh and Vidhya
Madhuram.