Hari Om Parents,
We had a great first day. We were very happy to see excited and engaged kids in class. With Gurudev's blessings, we will ensure to keep up this excitement and engagement throughout the year.
We began the class with a fun icebreaker to help everyone get to know each other. Each child shared their name, one fact, and one made-up fact about themselves. The rest of the class had to guess which was which. The kids had a great time learning about their peers!
We asked the children why they come to Balavihar. The most common response was "to learn about God." Hearing this from such young minds was truly inspiring. Kudos to you, parents—keep up the momentum! Together, we can plant and nurture these beautiful thoughts.
We then discussed what Balavihar is and who gave us the opportunity to come together as a community to learn about God.
We shared the story of Pujya Gurudev—how a young, loving boy grew into a great Guru. His vision is what brought us all together in this sacred space and gave us the opportunity to learn more about our religion, culture, and the stories of God.
We introduced the test that we would be reading in this year: BALA BHAGAVATAM. Kids already started sharing many name of devotees that they know. (Prahlada, Dhruva and so on).
We just touched upon meaning of the"AVATAR". will go into details by next class.
Please ensure to have the following items for class:
-Bala Bhagavatam book available at the book store
-1 Notebook
-Pencils/Erasers/Color pencil (if possible).
We talked about some ground rules for the class. Be regular to Class, no bathroom breaks (we will try to enforce if possible), and be on time.
Discussions to recap their memory from Class:
-Who is Swami Chinmayananda's Guru: Guru Tapovan Maharaj Ji
-Which place did Gurudev learn at: Himalayas
-What prompted our Gurudev to come down from the Himalayas to share his knowledge with all of us: Mata Ganga's flow.
With GuruDev's Blessings
Saratha and Geeta
