Sarvam Krishnarpanamastu

हरिः ॐ
If you see Krishna in everything around you, you will feel content.

This was the concept of our class today.
After our opening slokas and bhajans we learned a new bhajan

Vrindavan mein, kunja galina mein, radhe radhe! gayenge, syama syama! gayenge! 

Jai Radhe Sri Syam! Jai Radhe Sri Syam! 

.. In Vrindavan, in the forest, Radhe Radhe! We will sing, Syama Syama! We will sing! 

Jai Radhe Sri Syam! Jai Radhe Sri Syam! 

... In Vrindavan, by the Yamuna, Radhe Radhe! We will sing, Syama Syama! We will sing! 

Jai Radhe Sri Syam! Jai Radhe Sri Syam! 

.. In Vrindavan, with the children, Radhe Radhe! We will sing, Syama Syama! We will sing! 

Jai Radhe Sri Syam! Jai Radhe Sri Syam! 

We sang the song with actions. The children sing and dance so well. They all looked like little Krishnas dancing in the forest with their friends. What a beautiful sight to behold.

For our arts and craft activity we made a Crown (मोरमुकुट) for all the Krishnas. 

We told the story of how Krishna loved butter and how he broke the pots to steal it all. What a fascinating story it was for our  little ones.

We colored q picture of Lord Krishna stealing butter and reenacted the story while doing the activity.

A day with Krishna is a day full of joy and love.

Attitude of Gratitude -Thanksgiving

हरिः ॐ
Attitude of Gratitude

If one can teach the children only one thing in life, it should be the attitude of gratitude.

The day began as usual. We revised all our bhajans after we did our morning routines.

Thanksgiving holidays are coming up, so we asked each and every child in the class what or who they are thankful for. It was a difficult concept to make them understand. We spoke about how our parents are always there for us, how our teachers are always helping us etc. Children told us about who they are thankful for.

Each child made a thank you card for the person they love the most. Most of them chose their siblings and parents, but we had the unique opportunity to listen to a child say that he is thankful for himself. When asked why, he said, he loves himself because he makes everyone smile. What a beautiful thing to say. (Btw, he made a card for himself) :*

For our coloring activity we found this beautiful picture for them to color. We spoke about all the things mentioned in the small poem in the page that we are thankful for.

We concluded the day with the thought of being kind to one another, always. 

Diwali Aayi

Hari ॐ
As Diwali, the festival of lights, is approaching, who better to celebrate than our dear Amrutham children.

Our day began with our threeॐ‌ followed by the opening shloka. By now all the children in our class are able to chant it very clearly. Following this we sang our bhajans and reinforced the newest one
Jaya Dura Lakshmi Saraswati.

The children were told the story of Diwali. Why the lamps are lighted. The ramayana was also touched upon while explaining the importance of lightning the lamps on Diwali day.  Each child eagerly elaborated on his/her Diwali experiences.

We then did our art activity for the day. Since we are celebrating Diwali, we decided to make 3D paper diyas.

We then continued with our Likhita Japa while Deepa aunty told them the story of the Honest Woodcutter. We spoke about Maa Lakshmi. We also told the story of how Lakshmi chose Mahavishnu to be her life partner. We explained to the children that Maa Lakshmi does not just represent the physical wealth, it also means prosperity and well-being.

The class concluded with our closing prayers. 

Back to Balavihar

Hari Om
Back to Balavihar, a day for parents.
Today the parents got a taste of what it's like to be an Amrutham student.

We began our classes with our three ॐ, opening slokas and our stretches. Then we moved on to the bhajans. We learned a new bhajan;

Jaya Durga Lakshmi Saraswati
Devi Jaganmata
Devi Jaganmata maam paahi Jaganmata
Jaya Durga Lakshmi Saraswati
Devi Jaganmata

The children then did some coloring activities followed by snack time.

For the parents we had a session of cutting and pasting the Ma Saraswati puzzle and coloring it. The parents enjoyed the activity while we explained what we do in Balavihar, the curriculum we follow and the bhajans we sing.

The children did their Likhita Japa while the teachers discussed with the parents.
The session ended with all of us chanting the closing prayers.