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