We had the last class of instruction last Sunday, but we are not done yet for the year - CORD Color Run and Samskriti are coming up! We missed a couple of kids at the last class, and hope you all can make it to the two events!
Jun 4th 2017 9am - CORD Color Run is at River Road Park, Bedminster, NJ. Please register, and have fun, while supporting a great cause:
More details at: http://www.bbnjbalavihar.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=108
Jun 11th 2017 - Samskriti: As already mentioned, we will be doing 2 things that day - Audience engagement at Samskriti and also hosting 'Wheel of Dharmam' at the Fun Fair after Samskriti
We will have questions ready for them, and also instructions. Our ask is to be present 30 minutes early to go through instructions, that is by 9am. We will communicate if different. Please have the kids dressed in Indian Festive clothes.
We hope to have all the kids present at Samskriti. In case, they are not able to, please let us know ASAP, so we can plan accordingly. thanks!
Please sign up for Potluck for these events:
June 4th CORD Walkathon food sign up: 2017 CORD Walkathon Potluck
June 11th Samskriti sign up link: 2017 Samskriti Potluck
Now to the class summary...
You will agree that teaching/learning is a '2 Way Street'. In the last class, we were sitting down to hear the kids presentation on what they learnt this year - Kudos to the kids who prepared '10 (one child did more than 10) things that they learnt from the classes. It was interesting to see how different lessons/topics appealed to different kids, their way of presenting what they learnt. We can clearly see how kids 'dug in' deep into their memory, and talked about things that touched them. And this touched us !
We also went through an exercise of what they liked about the class, and what they did not like. Some of the likes:
- Learning about their country of origin and different aspects - Science, sports,Geography
- Doing Yoga and more importantly the theory of yoga, thanks to Mythri Aunty
- Classes inspired one kid to take up Tanjore Painting classes, and others to know what kind of paintings do they have at home
- Slide Shows on various topics
- Dressing up as Indian Leaders, and learning about them in the process
- Mini Painting exhibition
- Dancing
- Mini Music Festival
- Learning to play Kabaddi, Kho-Kho
Not surprisingly, 'Waking up early on a Sunday morning' is not something that our class kids like. So that's something we all need to work on, to make Balavihar classes even more pleasant.
We did a polling exercise on 'To me, India is....' in September 2016 and repeated it in May 2017. Please see below for a screenshot of the comparison and how the opinions have changed over the course of the academic year.
We chanted Gita Dhyana Slokam and Tapovana Shatkam for one last time. We concluded the class after some Munchkin treat, a class picture (attached), and a graduation ceremony with certificate, gratitude journal etc., You will remember that at the beginning classes, we talked about the importance of an 'attitude of gratitude', and this journal is to help the kids started with 'gratitude' journal entries.
We, indeed, are very grateful for a wonderful set of smart, and fun kids, and an active, engaged and supportive parents! We had a great time, teaching and learning !
Wishing the kids and you all the very best!
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