Dharma 3 - Practical Hindu Wisdom for Kids

Class Information -

This class covers: Instructive narratives from Panchatantra, the Puranas, Hitopadesha, Jain scriptures etc. to teach them some practical wisdom and Hindu etiquette. Use the game ‘Snakes and Ladders’. Learn the general Shlokas used in the Temple Liturgy.

Ages: 7 / Grade: 2

Download PDF copy of book: CLICK HERE

Teachers -

Teachers:

• Annette Kurek

• Sritha Manoj

EMAIL teachers: Click HERE

Teenage Volunteers:

• Akash Nagapurkar

• Abhiram Vadali

• Neal Mukherjee

Class & Homework-

Sunday, March 5th-

Material Covered in Class:

• Morals: to respect one another, not to be greedy, always think about others when doing actions.

• We collected more of the finished puppets from our students. They are all turning out BEAUTIFUL. For students still working on them, please get them back by next week. I will string all the puppets---no need to worry about that.

• Once a puppet is brought back, I will hold onto it for safe keeping---so they all survive to the final show.

• We will start rehearsing soon after spring break.

Homework:

• Finish designing the puppet and bring it next week

Sunday, March 12th-

Reminder:

A friendly reminder that HATS starts at 10:00 sharp and Dharma at 10:30, we have had many children arriving late and missing critical Bhajan practice time. Please be on time.

Material Covered in Class:

• The puppets are coming along very well, if you have not yet given the teachers a puppet (or received/given a complete puppet) please do so as soon as possible.

• We covered the first and second avatars of Vishnu (Matsya and Kurma) please ask your kid to tell the story and review it with them if they can't remember it. A link to the stories is provided here (http://www.balagokulam.org/kids/stories/dashavatara.php). In addition we have repeatedly covered the importance of charity, kindness and honesty as central virtues, please review this with your children.

• We have begun our quest to memorize the Achyutam Keshavam Bhajan, students should have memorized the chorus, first and second verses. The script is provided in document HERE.

Homework:

• If you haven't submitted a puppet please bring in a doll next week (preferably not a Barbie doll as we have too many of those) it doesn't have to be expensive and one can find some at Goodwill. The doll's arms and legs will be separated from the body and the puppet shall be strung. After that an assigned character will be given to the family for dressing. Please avoid using staple and scotch tape, it would be much better if you could sew the clothes on.

Sunday, March 19th-

Material Covered in Class:

• We covered the story of Holi and the story of the three friends.

Homework:

• Remember to memorize and keep practicing the Bhajan we sing in the beginning of class. We will be performing this for the assembly so make sure everyone has it down.

Sunday, March 26th-

Material Covered in Class:

• Keep memorizing Achyutam Keshavam bhajan with the corrections we made in class.

• Due to a shortened dharma class and because of a lengthy assembly, we only covered one story.

Homework:

• Remember the story of Genius Goat? Tell it to a parent and review the morals of that story with them.

Sunday, April 9th-

Material Covered in Class:

• Our class brought in the final handmade puppets for the graduation show.

• We read the script and everyone got to practice manipulating their puppets

Homework:

• No homework. Next week we will read and discuss more stories from our book, and save time at the end of class for puppet rehearsal!

Sunday, April 23rd-

Material Covered in Class:

• Class went outside to practice their puppet show in the beautiful sunshine. Afterwards, Akash and Neal took them back inside for a story. Annette and Saritha packed up the puppets.

Homework:

• Please try to have your child in class from now til graduation. Attendance makes rehearsals so much easier!

Sunday, April 30th-

We delved into the puppet show this week. There are only two more rehearsals before Graduation. Please make sure your child attends classes. When we lose a cast member, things do not run smoothly. The class seems to be enjoying themselves. The puppets they created are fun and lively.

Sunday, May 7th-

Covered in Class:

• We enjoyed the weather again, by taking the class outside for Graduation Day rehearsal.

For Next Week:

• Once again we ask you to PLEASE make sure your child attends class for the next two weeks.

• The puppet show we have planned needs all its stars to practice, in order to be a success.

• We have our last rehearsal on the 14th and then we perform on Graduation Day. PLEASE do your best to have your child in class.