Fond adieu to Crossroads

Hari OM
We can't believe it, but the last day of balavihar at Crossroads is this Sunday,June 8!
We will meet here for our final annual day here on June 22 and you have been hearing about this from us for sometime now,but what a year this has been.

The classes have enthusiastically and  successfully completed learning all the 40 verses of Hanuman chaleesa. They will chant this on our annual day along with Dhyana shloka.

In an effort to see if this blog is really serving its purpose,I am looking for parents to come back and find Uma aunty and say Rakshasa mardana vaanara rakshaka! ( your children will explain this inside joke)

Hopefully you have all registered for balavihar for 2014-2015 year at the new ashram.

Mark your calendars and attend the inauguration of the ashram on July 2,3 and 4. Guruji will be here and all of us will be blessed by the sacred chanting of mantras that will reverberate in that space for those days. There will be plenty of ways to get involved and do seva, if that is something you would like to do.The children will be inspired by what they see for sure.

All the teachers would like to express their gratitude to the parents for all their support through the year.May Gurudev's blessings be with us as we transition into our own ashram.

Hari Om
2nd grade teachers

 Hari Om parents,

  This school year is unique as it will be the last time we will be in rented school premises. I am sure that you are as excited as we are at the prospect of moving to own Ashram!

The possibilities of what one can do in one's own premises are infinite and we are eagerly awaiting the start of the next school and Balavihar year.

As part of the Ashram opening day celebrations, we have an opportunity to participate in the souvenir that will be unveiled by Pujya Guruji Swami Tejomayanandaji. The theme is Navavidha bhakthi.We could, with your support, put in a full page picture of the entire class.  This will cost each student $50. We are looking forward to your support.

Please let us know if you are willing to be a part of this small token of our combined gratitude to the mission.

 Adults and children can send in articles,anecdotes,poems related to Bhakti. Creative Likhita Japa works are also welcome. The deadline to receive contributions is May 11th,2014. All works will be sent to the editorial team for consideration.

Any questions about ad sponsorships and Contributions can be sent via e-mail to:

anandhi.l@gmail.com  or

kayarcee@yahoo.com

Pranaams

2nd grade teachers

Annual day on June 22- mark your calendars
Our second graders will go up on stage- await details from the teachers.
Hari Om and enjoy spring break.

Geeta chanting yagna is on March 30 at Crossroads.Please use the text the children have to practice with them.The text is available in the handout given to all balavihar families also.Even if the children don't memorize all the verses needed for their grade,please encourage them to participate.The goal is to create a love of Geeta and interest in chanting which will lead them to study of the Geeta in their older years.That is why the word yagna suits the occasion better than competition.As parents, if you can register to read, that would be great motivation for your children,

In Hanuman chalisa we are doing Chaupai 27

Saba par Ram Thapasvi raja 

We  learned about the tapasya done by Rakshasas like Ravana, Hiranyakashipu that was prompted by their desire to dominate, destroy opposition.These stories provided the perfect landing today with the story of Prahlada and Holika telling the story of Holiday.We celebrated in a small way with a dab of Holi color on their foreheads and a sweet treat!

Do remember to ask your child about an interesting discussion we had in class about keeping thought,word and deed in line and when it is ok to deviate. In their words- when is it ok to lie?

We love and encourage free thinking.Do write / talk to us to let us know how your child responds to things we talk about here.

Finally,some housekeeping rules- please have the kids bring paper,notebook, pencils when they come,They do feel out of place when everybody is writing and they can't because they weren't prepared.

.Please have the children have a drink and use the bathroom before classroom to have minimal disruption.

Thanks and be back in 2 weeks.

Uma Aunti and Prajna didi

HARI OM!

A few weeks ago, we did the Seva Project with all the second graders, and, in response to that, we showed this video to the children in class.

It introduces the concept of the 'kindness boomerang', which says that when you do something kind to someone else, you will receive kindness in return. Of course, this doesn't mean that every person you're kind to is morally obligated to do something for you! :) The video explains it better than anything, even without any dialogue or anything!

Of course, the opposite is also true, with the idea that negative actions towards someone would then start a series of negative actions that could come back to the first person. Like with fundamental attribution error-- if you're having a normal day, and then someone is rude to you, it might really dampen your mood. Then, because of that, if someone else maybe bumps into you, you might snap at them more harshly than you normally would. Then that person would think that you're generally a rude person, even though that's not true. Anyways, the video is great; I really think all of you should watch!

Through the seva project and the classes, we learnt how important kindness is, and that we should be kind to other people because it is right, not because we expect anything in return.

(Sorry, I went on a bit of a tangent there, but I didn't want to delete the paragraph, so it's there.)

The video is below, but if you want to watch it on YouTube, the link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwAYpLVyeFU

Believe it or not, when I promised to put the video on the blog and didn't get around to it, several students came and asked me why I hadn't put it up yet. :) I'm impressed you all!

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the video!

Prajna Didi & Uma Aunty