Hari OM Dear Families,
Here is this week's update.
Week : 14
22nd Feb 2026 / 9:15AMShlokas-
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)
"Guru Brahma" (page 61 in My Prayers book)
We had an e balavihar session due to the anticipated inclement weather. Thanks to parents for your cooperation in running today's online session.
Next Letter: T is for Truth which means Integrity and Sincerity in words and actions. And that we need to be truthful by not being scared of the consequences and understanding that it is always better to tell the truth than lies. And Ultimately Truth alone always triumphs.
We all had some instances where we had not spoken the truth. We discussed why we think we did that - we all know lying is not good, but sometimes we are scared if we will get scolded if we share the truth! However, we also agreed that we lose peace of mind, we worry if our lie might get caught, we lose confidence and of course , we never feel good lying! Above all, people stop trusting us!! We should always be Truthful in our thoughts , speech and action. Truth always wins! We also discussed ways where we will be able to express truth without being worried!
We lie when we feel that the truth will get us into trouble, Ultimately, truth alone wins. Also, it takes a lot of effort to tell lies, whereas when we tell the truth, all facts can easily be remembered.
STORY- The Boy who cried Wolf
We watched the video about the shepherd boy who takes the sheep daily up the hill to allow the sheep to eat grass. But he would get bored. Three days in a row, he would cry, "Wolf, wolf." The villagers would run to him to see if he is alright. The boy would laugh and tell them there is no wolf. But one day, there was a wolf that came. None of the villagers came to help him when he cried "Wolf." The wolf ate the sheep. The boy realized how wrong it was to lie and promised to the villagers that he will always tell the truth. Moral- there are consequences to lying.
by lying , we can hurt ourselves and others around us.
SATYAM VADA, PRIYAM VADA. Say the Truth and Be Loved.
We asked each child again what they would tell their parents if they broke a glass, did not read their book, did not brush their teeth, or break a toy. They were all correct in saying that they will admit that they did not do the task, that they would tell the truth.
T for Think
An intelligent person will Think before speaking, think before acting.
What happens when we think before we speak or act? When we think before we speak or act, we decide the most truthful course of action to take or words to speak. This is wisdom.
An intelligent person will Think before speaking, think before acting.
What happens when we think before we speak or act? When we think before we speak or act, we decide the most truthful course of action to take or words to speak. This is wisdom.
The turtle story. The turtle who forgot to keep its mouth shut while holding the stick with its mouth. The turtle did not think before opening the mouth.
Next letter: 'U' is for Unity is to join hands and work together to help each other and achieve a common goal.
how our body works in Unity! Our eyes see food, hands pick them up and put them into our mouths, the teeth help break food down, stomach does the further break down and our entire body is energized. All our body parts look different , they function differently - Yet they all work together!
We discussed Unity in Body, All body parts are different. They look different, they function differently. Yet, they all work together. This is called Unity in Diversity.
Brainstorming: We discussed what Unity means and discussed in detail Unity is Strength.
Storytime: Story: The four cows
Once upon a time there were four cows who were very good friends. They always helped and cared for each other. Every evening, the four cows would go to a meadow to graze. A lion also would come to the meadow every day in the hope of killing and eating the cows for dinner.Brainstorming: We discussed what Unity means and discussed in detail Unity is Strength.
Storytime: Story: The four cows
The cows, while smelling the lion approaching, would be on their guard. They immediately would stand next to each other pointing their horns in the direction of the lion, threatening to charge. Seeing the four angry cows together, the lion would run away and look for dinner elsewhere. Because the cows were united, they were able to defend themselves against the mighty lion. One day the cows had a fight amongst them, and even stopped talking to each other. When they came to graze that evening, they stood apart from each other. The lion, who had returned to the meadow, saw the cows grazing far away from each other, and immediately attacked and hurt one of them. They realized their mistake and got united again.
Moral: We have a far better chance of protecting ourselves from an enemy if we stand together.
Through the story of the Four Cows, we learnt that 'We have a far better chance of protecting ourselves from an enemy if we stand together'.
Story: The Old Man's Advice.
An old man was dying and he was leaving a lot of his wealth and property to his three sons. But the problem was, the sons were always fighting and quarreling among themselves. So the old man called them and gave them a bundle of sticks and asked them to break it. Do you think they could break it? No! Then he asked them to take one stick from the bundle and break it. Do you think they could? YES! Just like you all could. The son's understood what their father was trying to say.
The moral of this story is, "When we all stick together as one, then there is great strength. In unity there is strength."
An old man was dying and he was leaving a lot of his wealth and property to his three sons. But the problem was, the sons were always fighting and quarreling among themselves. So the old man called them and gave them a bundle of sticks and asked them to break it. Do you think they could break it? No! Then he asked them to take one stick from the bundle and break it. Do you think they could? YES! Just like you all could. The son's understood what their father was trying to say.
The moral of this story is, "When we all stick together as one, then there is great strength. In unity there is strength."
United we stand, Divided we fall. And we also discussed how easy it is to break one popsicle stick, but difficult to break ten popsicle sticks which are tied together.
U for useful (being kind and helpful) Prince siddhartha was useful in curing the bird which was hurt by his cousin devadutta.
universal (brotherhood), utsav (festival)
Gita- We practiced chanting the first two verses from chapter 12. Link given below.
https://youtu.be/rO6yshuE5aI?feature=shared
Next balavihar class is Sunday 3/01/2026 and the kids can be dropped off in the class directly before 9.15 am.
Please reach out to us with any questions or concerns you may have.
Hari OM
Veda Rajamony and Vidhya Aiyer
