Hari Om! Parents,
Warm welcome to the 2019-20 Grade 1 Balavihar Class! We are Rashmi and Uma, your child's Balavihar teachers for this year. Class is 7 p.m. on Fridays, please arrive promptly so we can begin on time.
Topic for Grade 1 is "Bala Ramayana". The required coloring book is available at the Publications near the Temple, please get one for your child. The "My Prayers Book" is also required as the class will learn shlokas and bhajans from there. That is also available at the Publications desk. Lastly, your child must bring their "Chinmaya Vrindavan Balavihar Handbook" to every class. It contains Bhagavad Gita chanting verses for practice, and they will refer to it for the Shanthi Mantras, Aarti and Pledge. Your child can also bring crayons or colored pencils for the coloring activity.
Our first class started with the "Hari Om! Circle", children greeted each other and introduced themselves. After some stretching exercises, we chanted opening prayers. Next was an icebreaker activity, where each child passed yarn to each other after sharing interesting facts about themselves. After we were done, the class had found a lot of things in common and also made a cool web of yarn! Next the class learnt a bhajan, "Khate bhi Rama kaho", with actions.
We started storytime with the story of Sage Valmiki, who is the author of Ramayana. Next we spoke about the different Avataras of Bhagavan Vishnu. After introducing Rama as one of those Avataras, we showed all the places in the Ramayana story on a map. The children were surprised to hear that we can still visit those cities in India even today. The story of Ramayana's Bala Kanda starts in Ayodhya, a beautiful city on the banks of River Sarayu. King Dasharata ruled the kingdom and had three wives. He performed the "putrakameshti yagna" and four princes were born. They were Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrugna. The entire kingdom celebrated their birth. We will continue with a little bit of the story in every class. The children will also color that part of the story in their coloring books from next week. The class then dismissed for Aarti and Pledge.
*Save the dates for the following Grade 1 Class activities*
Saturday, November 16, 2019 is Annadanam
Saturday, Mar 28, 2020 Geeta Chanting Yajna CNJ Regionals
Warm welcome to the 2019-20 Grade 1 Balavihar Class! We are Rashmi and Uma, your child's Balavihar teachers for this year. Class is 7 p.m. on Fridays, please arrive promptly so we can begin on time.
Topic for Grade 1 is "Bala Ramayana". The required coloring book is available at the Publications near the Temple, please get one for your child. The "My Prayers Book" is also required as the class will learn shlokas and bhajans from there. That is also available at the Publications desk. Lastly, your child must bring their "Chinmaya Vrindavan Balavihar Handbook" to every class. It contains Bhagavad Gita chanting verses for practice, and they will refer to it for the Shanthi Mantras, Aarti and Pledge. Your child can also bring crayons or colored pencils for the coloring activity.
Our first class started with the "Hari Om! Circle", children greeted each other and introduced themselves. After some stretching exercises, we chanted opening prayers. Next was an icebreaker activity, where each child passed yarn to each other after sharing interesting facts about themselves. After we were done, the class had found a lot of things in common and also made a cool web of yarn! Next the class learnt a bhajan, "Khate bhi Rama kaho", with actions.
We started storytime with the story of Sage Valmiki, who is the author of Ramayana. Next we spoke about the different Avataras of Bhagavan Vishnu. After introducing Rama as one of those Avataras, we showed all the places in the Ramayana story on a map. The children were surprised to hear that we can still visit those cities in India even today. The story of Ramayana's Bala Kanda starts in Ayodhya, a beautiful city on the banks of River Sarayu. King Dasharata ruled the kingdom and had three wives. He performed the "putrakameshti yagna" and four princes were born. They were Rama, Bharata, Lakshmana and Shatrugna. The entire kingdom celebrated their birth. We will continue with a little bit of the story in every class. The children will also color that part of the story in their coloring books from next week. The class then dismissed for Aarti and Pledge.
*Save the dates for the following Grade 1 Class activities*
Saturday, November 16, 2019 is Annadanam
Saturday, Mar 28, 2020 Geeta Chanting Yajna CNJ Regionals
Saturday, June 13, 2020 Grade 1 Mela Day Stage Program
We will be collecting your WhatsApp numbers at the beginning of next class for communication and updates. You can reach out to us if you have any questions.
Jai Sri Ram!
- Rashmi and Uma
