Class Review- 4 Grade Section B - 09/29/2013 - Sangeeta & Suma 's Class

HariOm EveryOne!

We started our class with breathing exercises and chanting Om 3 times. We did our morning prayers and learnt Sree Ganapati Stotram. We gave handout to kids, please ask them to practice and bring the sheets to class.Click here for the text and audio version of Ganapati Stotram.

We revised what was taught in our previous session. ( Story of Kansa -- Devaki, Vasudeva's wedding, Akasavani's alert to Kansa that his sister's eighth son will kill him .. Vasudeva's promise and Birth of Lord Krishna. )

We also learnt about the limbs of Sri Vishnu.

1. Vedas, people who know Vedas
2. Cows
3. Austerity
4. Truth
5. Physical, Mental discipline
6. Faith
7. Kindness
8. Tolerance
9. Sacrifice and worship.

We also heard some short stories -- Story of Oak tree& Grass which gave us the moral of tolerance and the story of young boy who was bullied but was tolerant and cleverly walked out of the situation.

We continued the story and learnt how Krishna's birth was celebrated in Gokula, how Kansa's evil plan to destroy his nephew failed.. Putana's futile attempt to poison baby Krishna, how forgiving Krishna was .. purified and gave moksha to Putana with his touch.

We ended our session with closing prayers -- Aarathi & Pledge.

Please make sure to drop off your kids on time at 9.55AM and ask them to keep their bags ready the night before with folder, notebook, pencils, crayons, glue stick, My prayers book.

See you all in our next Balvihar class on Oct 6.

September 22 2013, class review

Hari Om,
      We started the class with likitha japa and morning prayers. The children then learned the first two verses of Sankashtnashna Ganesh sthothram. Please ask the children to recite for you.

We started the Krishna Lila story introduction and as a precursor went over the Dasavatarams of Vishnu. Most of the children had done their homework and were able to name the avatars and describe the events leading up to the avatar. We discussed the yugas. The following is more detail writeup from Sanskrit.org

Hinduism perceives time to flow in great cycles called yugas. There are four yugas and depending upon the yuga the duration varies. The four yugas along with their duration in earthly years are: The yuga cycle Satya Yuga       1,728,000 Treta Yuga        1,296,000 Dvapara Yuga      864,000 Kali Yuga             432,000                         __________ Total                  4,320,000  One yuga cycle. I say earthly years because Hindu scripture gives the years as divine years–time according to the calculation of the Gods. Notice that the basic number is 432,000, the age of Kaliyuga, and so dvapara is twice that number, treta is 3 times that number and satya is four times that number. One rotation of these four yugas is called a yuga cycle which is a total of 4,320,000 years. A thousand yuga cycles is called akalpa and therefore a kalpa is 4,320,000,000 years. Time moves on in these great cycles, yuga after yuga, kalpa after kalpa, eternally.

We stopped the Krishna Lila stories at the birth of Krishna. We enjoyed narrating the stories  to your children. Please take a moment to discuss the stories and their homework 'STOP THE KALI'

Sincerely 

Lakshmi

we welcome you

 Hari Om!                                                                                                         September 21, 2013

Welcome to a new year at Chinmaya Mission Balavihar.  It is a pleasure to have your children in our class.  Hope you had an enjoyable summer and are ready for your kids to jump into another fun filled year of Bhagavatam stories, bhajans, and shlokas.    

Supplies needed for Balavihar class

1.       My Prayers book

2.       Balavihar binder with few lined sheets and a few plain sheets
3.       Pencil
4.       Bāla Bhāgavatam Textbook (same as last year)
5.       A small notebook for Likhita Japa (preferably one that can fit in the binder)

Shlokas and Bhajans

This year, the class will be learning new shlokas including, Pranamya Shirasa Devam, Namaste Sharanye, Omkara Bindu Samyuktam, Maha Mrtyunjaya Mantra, Sri Govinda Damodara Stotram and Achutam Keshavam.  Copies will be provided for bhajans not printed in My Prayers.

Starting around mid-October, we will begin teaching verses from Chapter 14 of the Bhagavad Gita.  Chinmaya Mission Tri-state area’s annual Bhagavad Gita competition will be held in April/May 2014.  All are encouraged to participate.  More detailed announcements will be made later in the year.

Curriculum

The goal of the curriculum this year is to inspire children to be virtuous and happy though interactive stories from the life of Lord Krishna in the 10^th canto of Bhagavatam.  The prescribed Bāla Bhāgavatam textbook has all the stories that will be discussed.  The focus of the classes will be on subtly highlighting the morals and values from these stories in a way that fourth graders can relate to easily.  They will be encouraged to reflect upon their weekly actions, and assess if they are living by the values that bring them closer to Krishna.  

In the second half of the year, we will delve into the 11^th canto of Bhagavatam – also known as Avadhuta Gita.  We will introduce and discuss the 24 teachers from this text.  The goal here is for children to learn about the importance of teachers, and the proper attitude for learning.  We will focus on Nature as one of our greatest teachers.  During these classes, children will make a booklet to record their learning. 

Annual Day

At the end of the year, our class will be participating in the Annual Day Program on June 10.  Tentative plan is for the children to sing a bhajan or a song.  Once finalized, we will be practicing in class.  More details will be announced in April. 

Class Schedule

The typical class schedule will be as follows:

10:00 – 10:05      - Likhita Japa – Sri Krishna Sharanam Mama

10:05 – 10:10      - Chant Om 3 times, followed by Sahanavavatu… (page 6) and opening chants
10:10 – 10:40      - Bhajans and Shlokas including Gita Chapter 14 Verses
10:40 – 10:50      - Recap of previous week’s lesson
10:50 – 11:30      - Stories from Bhāgavatam
11:30 – 11:40      - Aarti (page 22) & Pledge (page 136)

We plan to handout/email class summary at regular intervals.  The children can use this as a guide to review material covered.  Our contact information is given at the top of the letter.  At any point if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Look forward to an enjoyable and productive year of spiritual learning.