Nov 2, 2025 - Kindergarten (Sunday AM)

Hari OM Dear Families,

Here is this week's update.

 

Week : 7

2nd Nov 2025 / 9:15AM

 

Shlokas-

We all chanted OM 3 times followed by  shloka

"Om Saha Navavatu" (page 8 in My Prayers book) 

"Sarawathi namasthubhyam" (page 12 in My Prayers book)

F is for Friendship

Friendship is a feeling of mutual affection and respect.

A true friend is one who helps without being asked.

We maintain friendship by helping, being nice and kind and happy.

What true friendship is,how we need to respect and care for our friend, and how we need to help our friends when they truly need something or are in trouble, without them specifically asking for our help. And that it does not matter how big or small you are to be a good friend. 'A true friend helps without even being asked' and 'Friend in need is a friend Indeed'.

Do you come to Balvihar class so that you can be with your friends? Yes. 

Do you look forward to going to school to learn and to be with our friends? YES! 

We want to phone  OUR FRIENDS! 

We want to visit our friends' homes, go to parties with them and watch movies with them.

We all want to have friends and be with our friends.

How to start and maintain good friendships?

10 ways to start a friendship.

1. Be happy for others 

2. Be a good listener. 

3. Always be forgiving 

4. Spend time with friends 

5. Invite others to join your activities 

6. Offer to help in times of need 

7. Give compliments frequently 

8. Take turns in playing 

9. Treat others nicely 

10. Smile at others often.

Do you know there is one friend who will be there with us all the time? That is Krishna! He is the best friend we could have. He is

really the BEST friend anyone can have.

Story: Krishna and Sudama

When Sudama came to meet Krishna, the Lord was in his palace. Now Sudama was poor and was poorly dressed and was hesitating to go into the palace. Krishna at that time was with his wife Rukmini. A guard entered saying, "Sir, a poor Brahmin in tattered clothes named Sudama has arrived and claims Your Honour as his dearest friend and.…." Sri Krishna did not allow his guard to finish. The word 'Sudama' was enough. Immediately, left His seat and ran out of the room crying, "Ah! Sudama! My dear Sudama!"  The intensity of love that Krishna has for His Bhaktas is a lot more." Then Sri Krishna gave Sudama the seat of honor, the seat of the Lord. While exchanging news, Krishna noticed a small pouch tied on Sudama's waist. This parcel contained 'poha' or puffed rice, which Sudama had brought as a present for the Lord. He was feeling shy to offer such a small present.

Krishna however, snatched the pouch, opened it and put a handful in his mouth and ate it relishingly and exclaimed, "Rukmini, never before have I tasted such a delicious preparation." Such is the great love the Lord has for his devotees.

Activity : Children drew what their best friends like and each one made sense and were very cute.  Key takeaways through the activity were

1. To have a good friend, one has to be a good friend also 
2. Value of of treating their friends nicely at all times.

F is for festivals
what is a festival? a celebration  of events centered around a specific theme and a cultural tradition.

Diwali
What it is: The Festival of Lights.

• What happens: People light oil lamps (diyas) and decorate their homes with colorful patterns called rangoli.
• What it means: It celebrates light winning over darkness and good winning over evil. 

Holi

• What it is: The Festival of Colors.
• What happens: People playfully throw colored powders and water at each other.
• What it means: It marks the arrival of spring and is a time for fun and joy. 

Raksha Bandhan

• What it is: A festival for brothers and sisters.
• What happens: Sisters tie a special thread called a rakhi on their brother's wrist.
• What it means: It celebrates the special bond between siblings, with brothers promising to protect their sisters. 

Ganesh Chaturthi

• What it is: A festival to honor Lord Ganesha.
• What happens: People create clay idols of Lord Ganesha, worship them, and then immerse them in water.
• What it means: It is a celebration of wisdom and new beginnings.
  Navarathri, Dussehra, sankranthi.
  
  Letter 'G': stands for God. God loves us,protects us and is everywhere. God gives us everything we need and we should thank him for all these gifts and pray to God. 

 Who is God and what does God do? God is everywhere and God gives us a lot of gifts, like Sunshine, rain, snow, air, flowers, birds, animals, fruits, food, clothes, the whole universe and God gives us everything.

We can express our gratitude and show our gratefulness to God by 'praying'.

Various ways to pray to God : by chanting slokas, singing bhajans, reciting God's name, doing abhishekam and pooja, meditation, likhita japa. 

G is for Guru - Guru means a teacher. Guru guides us to get closer to God and shows us the right path. Guru is  one who has read the Shastras, Scriptures and helps to remove ignorance and bring us closer to lord. 'Guru 'is guiding us to walk through the obstacles and reach our goal or destination.

We learned a guru stotram verse, "Guru Brahma" (page 61 in My Prayers book)

We then headed to the temple hall for Arti and pledge. 

Next balavihar class is Sunday 11/16 and the kids can be dropped off in the class directly before 9.15 am. (NO class on 11/9)

Class Rules and requirements:
1. Children should bring their notebook for likhita japa and writing alphabets. Balavihar handbook, pencils and erasers and crayons. ( Please bring your own items if kids are allergic)
2. Children may bring their own "spill proof water bottles"

NO snacks please. Please give them a good breakfast before coming to Balavihar. Also make sure they use the bathroom before going into the class.
3. Please bring the children to balavihar a few minutes before 9.15. We want to promptly start by 9.15. Please make sure the student is not late and may come latest by 9.20 and not later than that.

Links and Reminders:
Please join the class WhatsApp group if you have not already- the invite link sent in one of the earlier emails, from KG class chinmaya vrindavan domain.

 We will update the class blog for the parents through an email and at the parent portal - Parent Portal 2025-26 (cmnjparentportal25-26.blogspot.com)

Please refer to the Balavihar Handbook-  for the various House contests and Geeta Chanting Yagna information. (Handbooks have been distributed in the class) 

Please reach out to us with any questions or concerns you may have.

Hari OM

Veda Rajamony and Vidhya Aiyer