Hari Om Parents,
We started our class with 3 OM and the following shlokas and prayers
- Sahana Vavatu
- Vakratunda Mahakaya
- Saraswathi Namastubhyam
- Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu
- Samastha Jana Kalyane
We did an ice-breaker where the students had to introduce themselves. They had to tell their name, school name, their hobbies, and their favorite God. Some students shared their favorite God, while others kept it to themselves. But when hearing the favorite God of others, a few of the kids discovered that their own favorite God was actually the same as others' too. During the ice-breaker activity, it was great to see the variety of interests among the students. Many had hobbies such as martial arts, gaming, music, singing, and robotics. Some kids became very enthusiastic when they started talking about First Lego League, a robotics program that had piqued their interest.
All the students were given craft materials to create their own unique name tags.
Mahabharata: Introduction
- We talked about the author of the Mahabharata, Sage Veda Vyasa, and his scribe Lord Ganesha. Lord Ganesh has said that he will be a scribe only if Sage Veda Vyasa continues to dictate uninterruptedly. For this, Sage Veda Vyasa said that Lord Ganesha has to write only after he understands what is said.
- We talked about the greatness of Sage Veda Vyasa, who has divided the Vedas into four, gave us 18 puranas along with the Mahabharata.
- Children were introduced to the topic of the Mahabharata, stating that it had 18 parvas or chapters.
- The Mahabharata was introduced as Itihasa - as it happened. Children were reminded that this is not mythology or fiction.
India, the Sacred Land: Ganesha
With Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, we talked about the significance of the festival and how the festival is celebrated over five days. We covered these festival rituals in detail:
- First Step: Idol installation
- Second Step: Shodashopachara or Offering or Pooja
- Third Step: Ganpati Visarjan
We also discussed Ganesha Symbolism, i.e., Significance of the different parts of the Ganesha
The class watched a short animated film on the birth of Ganesha. Below is the link for the film and the presentation.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1E8OLFxAEArDtrd6g6kN129b09vzEAh91vXrJY-2tbS4/edit?usp=sharing
Please have them bring the decorated name tags to the classes. Please make sure children bring in My Prayers book, handbook, notebook, pencils, etc (to take notes, do activities in the class)
Hari Om,
Sachin Gaikwad & Devender Akula
