Hari Om Parents,
We started our class with chanting Om 3 times and Om Saha navavathu. We chanted our daily prayers 'Karagre vasathe lakshmi' & 'Samudra vasane devi'. We explained the meaning of slokas and they also learned when we chant these slokas during the day. Please encourage the kids to learn these slokas as part of their daily routine.
Karagre Vasathe Lakshmi - As soon as you wake up, look at your palms and chant (pg.11 in My Prayers Book)
Samudra vasane devi - Before you step off from a bed and your feet touch the ground (pg.11 in My Prayers Book)
Story: After a brief recap of our story, we continued our Bala Ramayan story with the Yaga preparation. Kids learned that Yaga is a big fire ritual and how it is performed. We discussed how a yajna Purusha emerged with a bowl of payasam. King Dasaratha gave the payasam to Kausalya & Kaikeyi. Kausalya got one son, Rama. Kaikeyi got one son, Bharatha and Sumitra got a pair of twins Lakshamana & Sathrugna since Kausalya & Kaikeyi shared their portions of payasam.
The story continued with the four babies born & growing up. All four brothers were trained in the arts of warfare & archery and taught Vedas & Upanishads. Rama soon became the favorite of everyone. Then we discussed about Viswamitra's arrival and he asked to send Rama to the forest with him to protect their yajna from Subahu & Maricha rakshasas. King Dasaratha stunned into silence, but following Guru Vasista's advice, the king allows Rama along with Lakshmana to go with Viswamitra to protect them from demons. From these stories, kids learned ' To be a winner, do as the teacher says".
Activity: Kids played the 'four corners game' using names that we learned in class. ( Dasaratha, Kausalya, Sumitra & Kaikeyi). Next in another round with the names Rama, Bharatha Lakshmana & Sathrugna.
Best Regards,
Sailatha & Sita
